Rocky Mountain Instinct C70: First Ride Review

Rocky Mountain Instinct at a glance: longer chainstays, steeper seat angle, longer dropper posts plus adjustable reach and chainstay length.

Brand: Rocky Mountain
Product: Instinct C70
Price: £7,900
From: Rocky Mountain
Tested by: Tim Wild for a day

Pros

Great geometry
Useful range of adjustment options
Built for wet and mud

Cons

Only two colourways, one of which looks like Liberace’s puke
UK prices are a little, er, zesty

Change is possible

There’s a four-position chip at the base of the rear shock that allows you to select one of four different geometry setups, each offering more/less stability and progression, depending on your ride style. Not as convenient as a flip-chip, and not something I’d want to do trailside, but it’s a lot of options with a relatively simple procedure – it just requires two allen keys and some time- so you could try out all four without having to know much about the maths or the mechanics. It’s the first Instinct to have it, although it’s been out on the Powerplay e-bike and some other models for a while.

That drive to increase adjustability also extends to the reach – you can remove the stem, then change the position of an oval cup underneath, to give you +/-5mm on the stock reach length. Again, it’s an adjustment that takes workshop time, but reach makes such a huge difference to ride feel that it’s nice to be able to try three different positions to make this your perfect bike. There’s also the option to have two different chainstay lengths for agility/stability tuning.

At this level of bike, and this kind of money, the ability to fine-tune your setup and solve those pesky ‘between sizes’ problems feels like a rider-focused decision – one designed to help you enjoy the bike for longer, rather than drive desire to replace it within a year.

Garnishes

There’s an elegant storage compartment in the downtube of the carbon models, with a custom-made tool wrap and space for tubes and gels and lucky rabbit’s feet and whatnot. The downtube bottle mounts are on its lid, but the cage is sized to allow you to open the storage without removing the bottle or the mount, so you can leave everything be while you rummage for an allen key or whatnot.

The bike I tried

I got the chance to ride an Instinct Carbon 70 29” in a Large running in the neutral ‘Position 1’ setting of the Ride-4 system.

150mm Fox Float up front, Float X Performance in the rear (140mm travel), full Shimano XT groupset and brakes, with tons of swishy components – Raceface cranks, BB and rims, WTB saddle, ODI groups etc. It’s excellent spec, and you’d only want to change any of this for personal preference. The Maxxis Dissectors front and rear were perfect for the dry, grippy rocks of the Sedona trails too.

The less said about the gold/sickly lime colourway the better, but maybe that’s just me. You may love something that reminds you strongly of Hulk Hogan’s crotch.

Riding

First thoughts? This bike is really balanced. I’m a crappy trackstander at the best of times, and anything over five seconds feels like a triumph to me, so when a mid-climb pause at the start of the ride leads to the longest successful ride-away-after track stand I can remember achieving, it tells me that I’m right where I’m supposed to be.

That’s probably not very scientific, but it does make me warm to the bike immediately. If you feel at home with only cursory set-up time (including riding with US brake setup), that;s got to be a good sign.

Upward mobilty

The climbing in Sedona is no joke. There’s no winding fire roads or gentle singletrack traverses round these parts. Every serious climb throws you straight into the tough stuff – sharp, right-angled rocks, tight switchback turns, narrow ledges and everything else you can imagine. So if you’re on a bike where it feels hard to pull up the front wheel, or hop the back wheel over a lump, or quickly shift weight and power to get out of trouble, you notice immediately.

Given that this particular Instinct is a 29er, with fairly descent-happy geometry, a chunky frame design and 150mm travel upfront, this thing climbs with the confidence and agility of a much lighter and more trail-focused bike. Any problems I have on the way up – and there are more than I’d prefer – are entirely of my own making.

The XT drivetrain delivers power really nicely, particularly on the nuanced, half-a-crank applications that this technical climbing demands. I crept slowly up some very steep rock slabs without ever threatening to tip over backwards, and I’d be happy to take it out all day on longer, more endurance-focused climbs without locking out the suspension. And you could even put your tools in your pocket and stash a little picnic in the downtube storage unit.

This is a borderline enduro bike, but one I’d be happy to own for just about everything.

Get down on it

Let’s be honest – at this price point and build quality, any 150mm carbon full-suss would have to be an absolute howler not to work perfectly on the downhill. But that balance I sensed in the first few minutes really comes into play when riding this Instinct on Sedona’s famously sphincter-tightening descents.

In the spirit of trying to get one reasonably exciting photo of me riding the thing, Evan the snapper is forced to get me to try out a bunch of different moves. I roll big, steep rock chutes with alarming g-outs, launch off slab ramps and land with graceless thunks, and hit sandy berms faster than I’d like, and the Instinct feels natural, composed and ready for more in every circumstance.

I felt none of the slight hesitancy that a 29er can prompt in tight drops and turns, the suspension was smooth and forgiving without being soggy, and I only handed the thing back with reluctance. In other words, a big, go-fast-downhill bike handled delicate, technical rock descending with a grace that belies its heft.

One other thing

It might seem a bit abstract, but Rocky Mountain design and build their bikes in Vancouver. Where it’s wet, and muddy, and the roots are the very slipperiest known to man. So to my mind, that gives their bike an edge over its many similarly-specced and priced competitors, because they know it’s going to get covered in filth, and designed it accordingly. Not so with every brand out there. Just a thought.