Neuheiten 2009

[bikeopi]

schaut aber fesch aus das froggy! mit hammerschmidt - bin neugierig was die ersten beta radler davon erzaehlen werden...

 

was passiert eigentlich mit dem zug zur sattelstuetze, wenn man den sattel absenkt, macht der dann ein noch groesseres schlauferl?

[Bikeaddict]

@ribisl: welche rahmengröße ist es schlussendlich geworden?

[Solid_Snake]

JUHU!

 

Die alten haben mir garnicht zugesagt aber die neuen scheinen ja echt ein traum zu sein!!

 

mehr gibts dazu auf der pinkbike site

 

http://p1.pinkbike.com/photo/2439/pbpic2439961.jpg

http://p1.pinkbike.com/photo/2439/pbpic2439962.jpg

http://p1.pinkbike.com/photo/2439/pbpic2439968.jpg

 

Wenn das wirklich die Neuen sind, dann servas :f:

 

Erinnert mich auf den ersten Blick an eine Hanebrink und die warn auch nicht grad die Feschesten. Ziemlich klumpig die Optik, da bin ich froh ne 08er zu haben. Schade eigentlich, weil die Grafiken schaun gar nicht mal so schlecht aus.

[ribisl]

@ribisl: welche rahmengröße ist es schlussendlich geworden?

 

Konnt mich nicht entscheiden zwecks Größe, Farbe und Dämpfer und irgendwann hat das Gschäft dann zu sperren wollen, also hab ich spontan L, schwarz und Fox gsagt.

[bs99]

....das wüsst ich zu verhindern, wär dir aber eh zgroß:D

 

was wird dann mitn nomad rahmen? welche größe bei nomad und 901?

und was hat der 901 jetzt gekostet (gerne auch per pm)?

(das 901 wäre momentan mit nomad mein wunschrahmen als E1 nachfolger)

[Bikeaddict]

Konnt mich nicht entscheiden zwecks Größe, Farbe und Dämpfer und irgendwann hat das Gschäft dann zu sperren wollen, also hab ich spontan L, schwarz und Fox gsagt.

 

ist, glaube ich, eine gute wahl!

schlimmstenfalls passts mir

[ribisl]

stimmt hab ich mir auch gedacht, ich verkauf ihn dir dann zu einem für mich Guten Preis:D

 

Bei der Dämpferfrage wurde mir zu Dtswiss geraten, zumindest bei der 170mm Version.....

[Bikeaddict]

stimmt hab ich mir auch gedacht, ich verkauf ihn dir dann zu einem für mich Guten Preis:D

 

Bei der Dämpferfrage wurde mir zu Dtswiss geraten, zumindest bei der 170mm Version.....

 

warum nicht gleich die vollen 200? was für eine gabel gedenkst du zu verbauen?

[ribisl]

Da ich alles vom Slayer übernehm, also Fox 36 VAN RC2! Bin mit der Gabel super zufrieden und will Sie eigentlich nicht hergeben und wieder was neues riskieren, was dann die halbe Zeit im Garantienirgendwo ist.

Und die 200mm Version mit 160mm Gaberl is wohl nix.

Auserdem kann ich mir dann immer noch eine Totem Coil ohne Uturn und einen längeren Dämpfer kaufen, wenn die 170mm FW nicht passend sind!

 

@bs99: Ich hoffe auf den Servicevorteil und eine nähere, bessere Kundenbetreuuung von Liteville gegenüber SantaCruz. Also im Grunde bin ich ein Opfer des LV Marketings.

Auch sonst überzeugt mich das Konzept des 901ers mehr, ist einfach vielseitiger einsetzbar. Aufgrund einiger Forumsberichte (dt&us Foren) bin mich mir auch übers VPP System unsicher, obwohl selber hab ichs ja no nie getestet und gschrieben wird ja bekanntlich viel. Was solls hab mich fürs 901 entschieden. Hab auch kurz übers Nicolai Helius AM nachgedacht (Dank ba) - nur so als Anregung.

 

Preis war Ok!

[JoeDesperado]

@ ribisl: spannend, spannend! wie lang musst warten? ca. bis märz?

fox-dämpfer, also DHX air?

[kunschi]

hui...sehr fein...sehr gespannt auf das gerät

[robotti80]

fox-dämpfer, also DHX air?

 

Tust du nix aufpassen?

 

Bei der Dämpferfrage wurde mir zu Dtswiss geraten, zumindest bei der 170mm Version.....

[JoeDesperado]

Tust du nix aufpassen?

 

ich schon, und du?

 

also hab ich spontan L, schwarz und Fox gsagt.

[robotti80]

ich schon, und du?

 

Ich lese, höre und sehe nur was ich will. :devil:

1 zu Null für die Fraktion mit geschrotteter Calvicula.

[JoeDesperado]

(ich könnt eigentlich mit links nichtmal ein krügerl heben, fällt mir grad ein.)

[robotti80]

(ich könnt eigentlich mit links nichtmal ein krügerl heben, fällt mir grad ein.)

 

Kannst ja einen Behinderten Ausweis beantragen.

Und eine chice Krankenschwester, die dir beim Krügerlheben hilft. :devil:

[Gast chriz]

Ridley Ignite 2009 mit integrierter sattelstütze

http://www.rider-store.de/catalog/images/Ignite%20Team%20905A.jpg

[wo-ufp1]

Wieder ein bisserl was übers Banshee Legend.

 

Da wird sogar dem Kalle seine Fräse neidisch.

Mächtig, mächtig

[ribisl]

@ ribisl: spannend, spannend! wie lang musst warten? ca. bis märz?

fox-dämpfer, also DHX air?

 

Ja, hab eh an deine Posts zu Thema DHX Air denken müssen, wie der Typ mir zum DtSwiss graten hat, der dürfte sie übrigens auch glesen haben.

 

Trau michs kaum schreiben, aber den Rahmen soll schon der Nikolaus 08 bringen....:bounce:

Man wirds sehen!

[st. k.aus]

...

...

Trau michs kaum schreiben, aber den Rahmen soll schon der Nikolaus 08 bringen....:bounce:

geil!

was kost der rahmen inkl. dämpfer (listenpreis)?

[ribisl]

2380.-

+

225.- fürn Part Kit I (Steuersatz, Sattelstütze und irgendeinkleinkram)

 

Niklaus ist ein braver Mann, der.......

[ribisl]

Was a bisserl blöd ist, ist, dass ich wegen der x12 Steckachse noch Umrüstkits für die HR Naben meiner 1750er und 2200er (hier weiss man noch nit ob es überhaupt einen gibt!) brauch.

[JoeDesperado]

Ja, hab eh an deine Posts zu Thema DHX Air denken müssen, wie der Typ mir zum DtSwiss graten hat, der dürfte sie übrigens auch glesen haben.

 

 

...meine hochtechnischen ausführungen? auweh.

[st. k.aus]

http://reviews.mtbr.com/blog/rocky-mountain-altitude-50-frameset-2009-review/

 

Introduction

 

Rocky Mountain Bicycles (RMB) will be resurrecting a venerable name from history when they release the Altitude in 2009. A marked departure from the racing-light steel hardtails that formerly bore the name Altitude, this new Altitude is described as a trail bike that keeps its wheels on the ground for “epic cross country”.

 

RMB provided me with a prototype Altitude aluminium 50 frame for review. The Altitude is slated to replace the ETS-X in the category which RMB calls XC Marathon and what other manufacturers loosely refer to as “all-mountain”. It will be produced in an aluminium version and in a (lighter, higher-end spec and more expensive) carbon version. As the Altitude is further refined to a production frame with a production spec, some details of this review may be redundant (I’ll highlight those details further in the review) so I urge the readers to also check the RMB website which should be considered to be authoritative.

 

I’ll note at the outset that I am reviewing the frame and NOT the components. My bike was built with a heavier-then-stock package for riding the Downieville downhill course. Although it is difficult to separate the bike from its parts, I will do my level best to confine my remarks to the performance of the frame. Because there is currently a paucity of information about the Altitude, I will be excerpting from a RMB presentation about this bike in lieu of my standard practise of directing readers to a website. I’ll then present my general impressions about this frame’s performance.

 

Reviewer’s biases

 

I am 155 lbs and 5′ 10″ and have had over 15 years experience riding bikes in North Vancouver, Squamish, Whistler, the Chilcotins and many other areas in B.C. and Alberta. I’ve also made many bike trips to other places such as Utah, Washington, Oregon, California and Ontario (for example) so have had some experience biking in a variety of terrain. My bias is towards pedalling up and unlike many people who learned to ride bikes on North Shore trails, I actually enjoy riding (and sometimes bushwhacking) uphill.

 

I rode this bike over a period of two weeks in a 4 day trip in the South Chilcotin and a few day rides in North Vancouver, Whistler and Squamish. As a frame of reference I have enjoyed riding and have owned and/or tested the following bikes listed below (links to previous reviews I have written are provided:

 

* Dean Titanium hardtail (light racing hardtail)

* Rocky Mountain Element 70 (light dual suspension)

* Norco Fluid (2006, 2007 vintage) and Fluid LT One (2008) - (all-mountain dual suspension)

* Norco Six 2007 vintage (freeride dual suspension

* Very old-school Norco Rampage (1996 vintage steel hardtail built with heavier parts)

 

Frame highlights

 

As previously mentioned, the Altitude will replace the ETS-X. Design highlights of the Altitude include; SMOOTHLINK™ suspension; STRAIGHT UP™ geometry, swooping top tubes on the front end for low centre-of-gravity and increased standover, swooping down tubes for shock piggy back and water bottle clearance, 7005 aluminium frames utilizing RMB’s FORM™ design and on higher-end lighter framesets - C12 carbon monocoque frames (rocker links, front end main frame and seat stays).

 

I’ll expand more on these above concepts further in the review. Note that the carbon frame is outside the scope of this review so that is all I will mention in this matter. Please check the RMB site for more information on the RSL (Racing Super Light) carbon framed Altitude 70 and 90

 

Frame material

 

As expected, the Altitude’s welds are clean. The paintjob on my prototype bike is a nice eggshell white that seems to shed mud very well. The production bike colours will be more of a bright white colour as depicted in the pictures at the end of this review. The aluminium tubes are designed in a process that RMB calls FORM™. All tubing on the Altitude is custom-made, drawn from 7005 alloy then cold-worked. Every tube is fully butted.

 

The Altitude incorporates a large hollow head tube area in an effort to increase stiffness. Also of note is the incorporation of aerodynamic leading edges - not to decrease wind resistance but to aid in deflecting rocks. Unfortunately in many of these pictures I put a mud splash guard on the down-tube to help forestall rock damage.

 

The Altitude’s seat tube is butted and hydroformed. Note in the pictures below that the centre section of the tube is bulged. By bulging the centre section, RMB eliminated the need to weld on a rocker mount, opting instead for a stronger piercing for the oversized rocker link pivots. The rectangular bias in the seat tube is an effort to also increase stiffness.

 

The swooping bends in the seat tube and down-tube are apparently not motivated purely by fashion. According to RMB, the down tube shape was necessary in order to keep the shock (and centre-of-gravity) as low as possible in the frame, and also in order to create enough room for a water bottle in all frame sizes. The down tube shape also allows the rider to run a shock with a reservoir.

 

Since the Altitude frameset is so well thought-out it was with some relief that I felt I could do my “job” as a reviewer and point out some possible negatives. The water bottle placement mounts do not allow a shock with a piggyback reservoir to be run as the reservoir would impact the water bottle. I am told that RMB will be correcting this in production frames.

 

Under certain circumstances, when approaching technical obstacles (the up and over log-pile in the picture below being a perfect example), the downtube kink on the frame could potentially impact the obstacle well before the large chainring hits the obstacle. This won’t be a huge problem with something nice and soft like a log but could be a tad more damaging if the obstacle is a rock ramp or ledge. Of note, the carbon frame’s downtube will not have such a pronounced kink so RMB is aware of the possibility of damage. This isn’t so much a flaw in the design but a note to the rider to be conscious of using technique when going up and over obstacles at the risk of some inadvertent downtube contact and/or damage.

 

RMB designed a pocket in the rear of the seat tube to allow for tire clearance at full rear shock compression, giving the frame set a full 10mm of clearance with a 2.3” WTB from the seat tube. There is also that much clearance in the chain stays with the same tire. I am told (but did not independently verify this claim) that a 2.5″ WTB would fit. Numbers are all very fine. The true test was on my Chilcotin trip when I encountered some very muddy trails. I can state with some relief that there is plenty of clearance with a 2.3″ WTB tire even with the presence of copious amounts of mud. I further note that production frames will have even more tire clearance then the prototype frame as depicted in the picture below.

 

Suspension

 

This next section describes RMB’s SMOOTHLINK™ Suspension, a design based on RMB’s ETS patent. Useful links are referenced below. I am not, and have never pretended to be an expert on suspension design so this next section is almost entirely based on materials provided by RMB and from discussions with RMB’s engineers. I’ve decided to include this lengthy, technical exposition because there appears to be interest about the Altitude’s design and some speculation about whether or not RMB has successfully produced a design that does not infringe the Horst Link and ICT patents.

 

* Horst Link Patent (Horst Leitner - US 5,509,679 - now owned by Specialized Bicycles)

* ICT patent (Tony Ellsworth - US 6,378,885 - owned by Ellsworth)

* ETS patent (Duhane Lam - US 6,843,494 - owned by RMB)

* Some speculation by Feed the Habit is contained in the article (”Horst Link or Not“).

 

I asked RMB’s engineer to put some thoughts together on this topic and asked for, and received permission to put some technical notes in this article. The engineer’s thoughts are as follows:

http://reviews.mtbr.com/blog/rocky-mountain-altitude-50-frameset-2009-review/4/

 

Performance - xc and uphill

 

Enough with the numbers, on to the ride. My test bike as built with a mix of heavier and lighter parts (XTR, Fox Talas upfront, DHX Air in rear) weighed about 30lbs - not a featherweight but a good balance of light yet strong for my purposes. The xc trail riding test component took place in the South Chilcotin, an area of rugged sub-alpine and alpine beauty with a variety of trails ranging from smooth-and-fast to technical rooty singletrack to faint tracks through scree.

 

The Altitude incorporates RMB’s STRAIGHT UP™ geometry. This geometry incorporates a radically steeper seat tube angle of 76°. Head tubes are more conventional at 69°. When the rider sits on the bike, the seat tube angle is designed to sag to 74.5°. The theory is that this riding position allows someone climbing to stay on the middle of the saddle (as opposed to sitting on the nose) thus allowing the rider to maintain comfort while continuing to harness max legpower.

 

Bottom line - this bike is a terrific climber. I was able to literally crawl up climbs and maintain traction in many situations where I was hoping that the rear tires would cut loose thereby giving me an excuse to walk and take a break. Perhaps it was the tires but this happened a lot of times on many sections of trail. I couldn’t say that the seat tube angle played a part in this; I tried climbing steep, loose trail sections seated mid-saddle and on the nose but this did not alter the superior traction characteristics. The frame has that intangible quality of confident climbing.

 

Fire-road climbing is …. fire road climbing. The Altitude as I had it built is not particularly light so one sits down and grinds away. I didn’t particularly feel the need to engage ProPedal on the Fox DHX Air rear shock as I had set the shock with fairly stiff setting in any event so the bike didn’t bob much. It’s a competent doubletrack or fire-road climber.

 

Rocky Mountain’s have long been known to be fast, capable singletrack bikes - a trait common to bikes designed in British Columbia. The Altitude is no exception to this rule. Generous standover lends itself to manoeverability; dancing in and out of cambered loamy corners, this bike felt right at home. I expected the bike to give up a bit of comfort in rooty sections given that I had set suspension up fairly stiff but this wasn’t the case. Instead I was able to charge rooty sections. The superior rear-wheel traction combined with the expected agility of the bike gave me the ability to attack technical singletrack with confidence.

 

Performance - downhill

 

As one might expect from my praise of this bike’s ability in technical xc singletrack applications, the Altitude is an extremely capable bike on downhills. Its geometry (exceptional standover, relatively slack head angle) is suited for technical downhills of the more moderate xc, all-mountain variety. Some bikes that excel in tight, twisty singletrack sacrifice high-speed stability. The Altitude was not one of those bikes and could rail corners and handle long-straightaways at high speed with aplomb and without trouble. I note that the Altitude’s wheelbase is approximately 2.2″ longer then the comparable ETS-X which it replaces in the size 19 frame; perhaps this and the lower centre-of-gravity design helps with high-speed manners?

 

I wasn’t quite as confident on the bike when it was used in steeper terrain in free-ride type applications or in the air, for example in steep rock rolls, ladder bridges or skinnies (see pictures of the Altitude in Action at the end of the article in North Vancouver for guidance). Acknowledging that it’s even more difficult to separate the frame from its parts when reviewing downhill performance, I felt that the Altitude as I had it spec’ed (conventional front air fork, 100mm stem, light front wheels) approached its limits in those free-ride situations. Having said that, RMB does not bill the Altitude as a free-ride bike. A rider is perfectly within his/her rights to customize the Altitude’s spec and make it more heavy-duty and bias it to free-ride applications but it isn’t within the scope of my review to change components to assess that aspect of the Altitude’s performance envelope.

 

Rocky Mountain Altitude 50 frameset - summary

 

The Altitude delivers on its promise as a bike for epics. It is a multi-faceted platform, a comfortable ride yet a capable tool that can be used to slice and dice singletrack. In its test build, it is a balanced bike but, based on its potential specifications, this reviewer suspects that it will be spec’ed in a way that is biased more towards climbing then descending. It’s going to be a worthy addition to the RMB franchise.

 

Pros:

- Quality finish on the frame

- Bike handles beautifully in tight technical trails

- Well-thought out with lots of room for customization

- Light

 

Cons:

 

- Downtube kink rides low; prone to hitting frame on objects

- Clearance for a tire bigger then 2.35 is doubtful on the prototype frame. Production frame to be tweaked so a 2.5″ tire can fit

- Prototype frame water bottle mounts too far back so a shock with a piggyback reservoir would not work with a waterbottle cage. Production frame to be changed so waterbottle mounts are moved forward.

 

Specs: N/A

Price: N/A

Ride: 4.5

Overall: 4.5

 

Rating Guide:

5.0 Outstanding

4.0 Very Good

3.0 Above Average

2.0 Fair

1.0 Poor

 

By the numbers; weights, geometry, draft specifications.

 

Weights below are approximations (all with a RP23 rear shock):

 

* The RSL (Racing Super Light - ie carbon frame) Altitude 90 and 70 Frame with shock (18”) is 5.7Lbs

* The Altitude Alloy Frame with shock (18”) is 6.6Lbs

* The Altitude 90 RSL, 19” fully built, with pedals is 25.9Lbs. The 18” frame should weigh about 25.5Lbs.

 

Geometry figures and some stock photos from the Rocky 2009 site are featured below.

http://reviews.mtbr.com/blog/rocky-mountain-altitude-50-frameset-2009-review/7/

 

http://www.bikes.com/main+de+01_102+ALTITUDE_50.html?BIKE=543#3

[bikeopi]

das ist ja einmal ein ordentlicher testbericht!