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My new short travel "Downcountry", "BC-XC", "Marathon" (god I hate marketing terms!), short travel XC/Trail bike... Finished building it last night, then out for a 40km spin on it today! First impressions are very favourable, and though I won't be selling my Evil Offering any time soon, I will reserve it for rides more deserving of its travel and attitude going forward... (And yes, I know about the weeds on my driveway, I not only haven't been furloughed, but have been very busy working, and it has taken me two weeks to build this bike where normally I'd just smash it out in 3-4hrs of an evening the moment I had it all ready!)
Yes... I really do live at number 29, and have exclusively ridden 29ers since 2013! 😂
Anyway... So far, so good... Really impressed with it! I was expecting the 69deg HA to feel like a massive step backwards, but au contraire, it didn't really pose a problem at all. I may still pop an angleset in at some point, but the bike is a more capable descender than its geometry and travel suggests it would seem! What a climber though... Stood up or seated, it just surges forward and finds traction.
Looking forward to logging some more miles on it, and experimenting with the geometry and setup a little more. 👍🏻
Tyres = excellent
Weeding = required
Nice!
Lovely
Yass. Always had a soft spot for RM.
Yass. Always had a soft spot for RM.
Same... And in a post I started recently I realised it might be time to do something about it too... 👍🏻
Maple leaves 👌
Maple leaves
Yeah their paint jobs have always been something to behold...
That does look lovely. 👍👌
Were fork graphics standard, or did you get some to match?
That is lush. Top choice.
Not sure about that fork offset... 😉
I don’t get the tyre thing
Yes... I'd want a go on that.
I don’t get the tyre thing
They remind me of farmer John's I had back in the 90s. I don't get them either. Tyres should be black!
Apart from that it looks good.
Looks great, i missed out on getting Element C90 XCO for nearly half the price but hesitated and it went in my size, gutted as they nice bikes.
Maple leaves
Just behind the front caliper?
Yes, I thought so too!
Everything that is wrong about tan wall tyres is illustrated on that bike. They work on some, but that is not one of them....IMHO of course.
Other than that it looks awesome. I do like RM bikes.
Looks very nice! I love these sort of bikes too. My Scott Spark RC was so capable for 100mm of travel and very quick too.
Rode all sorts from trail centres, Hope Pre Peaks and stuff like Jacobs Ladder without a dropper post!
I'd be lying if I said I won't consider something like this again in the future 🙂
Like that, what model is it?
Looks really good 👍
I've just acquired an epic, my first fS XC bike and looking forward to getting out on it more.
Bike looks amazing, tyres; not so much
As much as I want to love that, could they not have designed the suspension without that awkward shock position?
Regarding the tan walls I think a set of Vittorias in anthracite / black would work better with the white / black colour scheme.
😍
Proper MTB that is, it’s the first bike posted here in a long time that I’ve though “I want one of those”.
And those tyres are bang on too.
Beaut of a frame/bike, ruined by the tyres! IMHO 😀
I don’t get the tyre thing
They're like marmite, they get people talking... You either love them, or you hate them. Either way, as long as people are talking about them, there's no such thing as bad publicity! 😉
They remind me of farmer John’s I had back in the 90s. I don’t get them either. Tyres should be black!
Back when the Farmer Johns were relevant, there was no choice about tyre colour... It was tan wall or nothing up until about the late 90's! Didn't matter whether you thought they suited your colour scheme or not...
Regarding the tan walls I think a set of Vittorias in anthracite / black would work better with the white / black colour scheme.
No blaspheming on this thread please! 😉
Like that, what model is it?
Was a 2019 Rocky Mountain Element A50. I bought the complete bike, stripped everything off it bar the fork and shock, and rebuilt with a custom spec mostly from bits I already had. So X01/GX now instead of NX, Guide RS brakes instead of SLX, Mavic XA Elites instead of Deore on Sun Ringle rims, shorter stem, wider carbon bar, 150mm Fox Transfer etc.
Were fork graphics standard, or did you get some to match?
Came like that as the fork came on the bike. 👍🏻
Proper MTB that is, it’s the first bike posted here in a long time that I’ve though “I want one of those”.
And those tyres are bang on too.
I'm chuffed too to be fair. First ride today, and ironically enough, saw someone else out on a Giant Trance 29, the other option I'd been considering, and there was no buyers remorse thankfully!
As much as I want to love that, could they not have designed the suspension without that awkward shock position?
Making room for 2 bottle cages was a very important consideration when designing it apparently. Also the family similarity with other Rocky Mountains I guess, albeit the shorter shock on this does mean it sits at more of an angle. It does mean the suspension has a decent amount of progression to it though.
Looks very nice! I love these sort of bikes too. My Scott Spark RC was so capable for 100mm of travel and very quick too.
Rode all sorts from trail centres, Hope Pre Peaks and stuff like Jacobs Ladder without a dropper post!
Have you seen the recent video of Nino Schurter on his, dropping Claudio Calouri on an Enduro eBike (and Calouri can ride!) on some of his local descents? OK, so they're a bit more groomed than some, and he's running a decent length dropper post (no plus points for not running a dropper in my book, it's such an integral part of an MTB these days I wouldn't consider not running one even on the most XC of XC bikes). But shows what the bike is capable of, albeit under a world class rider.
Not sure about that fork offset…
I do have a 44mm offset 34 on my Hardtail that I could swap over to try out, but I also think there's a time and a place for both. Shorter and steeper XC geometry seems to suit the 51mm offset more, and the longer and slacker bikes do seem to suit a short offset fork more IMO.
Looks class. RM make some fine looking (and riding) bikes
It's very nice - I don't see that all that many RMs about in the UK.
Maybe you'd like to consider sharing the new bike day joy here: https://worldbicyclereliefuk.charitycheckout.co.uk/cf/singletrack-supporting-world-bicycle-relief
I can't unsee those tyres, sorry mboy!
I miss my RM element....did a Fred Whitton on it, plus all the training, rode over fell and moor, down some stuff that was way above its supposed geometry.
Lovely suspension, great bike. Sold it as I felt it was a bit short and wanted something else, mistake!
Bike? Yes please, lovely looking.
Tyres, no.
Needs bar ends!
Mmmm, part of me definitely wants a fast XC bike to ride as fast as I can everywhere, as an antidote to the winch/plummet riding I always do. If I could afford a second MTB that’s the sort of thing I’d buy.
I like it 🙂
Like that a lot! Couldn't see any mention of weight - how much guv'nor?
Looks fast and capable. Love the paint job and skinwalls. Weed's aren't a problem.
Handsome bike...👍
Nice. I do like a XC flying machine!
Lovely suspension, great bike. Sold it as I felt it was a bit short and wanted something else, mistake
Size up... Fit shorter stem, wider bars. That’s what I’ve done. They do come up a little small anyway so I haven’t found it a problem, I can still just about fit a 150mm dropper on the Large so all good.
The suspension feels superb for “only” 100mm, and must say the 120mm SC34’s feel better than the regular 34’s I have on my hardtail weirdly enough!
That said, for when I need more travel and/or burlier geometry, I will still have my Evil Offering.
Mmmm, part of me definitely wants a fast XC bike to ride as fast as I can everywhere, as an antidote to the winch/plummet riding I always do. If I could afford a second MTB that’s the sort of thing I’d buy.
That was kinda where I was coming from. 2 years ago, almost all my riding was going somewhere like Staunton/Mallards Pike and as you say... “Winch and Plummet”. I’ve started riding a bit more XC again, have used my Hardtail a bit but got beaten up on it at times so felt like wanting a bit of give at least. Had decided a while ago that in 2020 I wanted to do a few bike marathons (shame they’ve all been cancelled!) so just decided to buy the bike anyway... Planning on doing a few longer rides with mates at least, and am now turning the typical 25km Sunday rides into 35-40km now too.
Like that a lot! Couldn’t see any mention of weight – how much guv’nor?
Can’t find my scales at the mo annoyingly, but probably not as light as you might think. I’m guessing 12-12.5kg inc pedals going on that my Evil is 14.5kg. It’s full alloy frame rather than carbon so that’s probably 1lb penalty, and the components could be lighter if I threw money at it or didn’t mind breaking them (I’m 90kg still and not the fleetest of foot). There’s 1kg to be lost with lighter wheels, lighter cassette, lighter cranks, lighter saddle, lighter brakes etc... But that’s spendy and would in many cases, detract from the ride.
Ohh I like that, love a good XC flying machine.
I've just acquired an older Lefty so I'm thinking of converting it to 29" and building a new XC/trail bike around it. Struggling to think of a frame that fits my wish list though. Long, low, slack (by XC standards) and cheap secondhand?
Nice, I had the previous version in carbon, also bought a complete bike, swapped wheels and drivetrain and removed the remote lockouts. They have a short reach so if I was doing it again I would size up.
Took it on a holiday which involved a 4 day bike packing trip, followed be a 75km marathon race and an Enduro race, it handled it all brilliantly.
Big thumbs-up from 90’s Man here 👍🏼👍🏼
Tyres look ace.
Trim the steerer-tube and get some bar-ends on it for my perfect 10 😎
Looks lovely! I wondered what you'd end up with.
I love RockyMountain too.
There was a good video of one of these a couple years ago where the rider was taking it down some Whistler trails and making it look easy. It just looks fast and composed.
I find it strange how so many trail riders think that XC bikes are all nervous rubbish affairs that can't handle anything. Take a look at a modern XC race course you'll find it's similar to most of your local singletrack, and these bikes are designed to be ridden flat out all the time.
My joint main bike is an XC bike with 100mm and a 70.5 HA. It's fast as f on most descents, and on the steep gnar then I do slow down a bit. But with a dropper the HA is not a disadvantage any more.
In my defence, the lack of dropper was because it hadn't been delivered at the time 🙂
But I agree, even my wife's Pro Caliber has a dropper now!
Nice. I’m thinking more and more about this style of bike, the amount I use my bigger full suspension bike it’d more more sense just to hire for bikepark days.
Brendan Fairclough put out a video on the Scott Spark, not surprising it’ll put up with a lot given what modern XC race courses look like.
Yes… I really do live at number 29, and have exclusively ridden 29ers since 2013! 😂
I used to live at number 1334. Terrible problems finding the right tyres, tan-wall or not.