ROCKYMOUNTAIN ALTITUDE 29C90 RALLY EDITION
£8,999.99 The world’s fastest enduro bike?
Rocky Mountain bikes aren’t that common in the UK these days, but they are some serious bits of kit, as you’d expect from a brand hailing from Vancouver’s North Shore. The Altitude C90 Rally Edition is as close to team rider Jesse Melamed’s EWS-winning ride as you can buy. So, how does this world-beating bike stack up?
The frame
There’s a lot going on with the Altitude frame. Rocky Mountain’s RIDE-9 system uses a chip at the lower shock mount to let you choose between nine geometry and suspension configurations. Each incremental change is subtle, but the di erence between positions one (slack) and nine (steep) is significant. The head angle increases from 64.4 to 65.5 degrees, reach extends from 449mm to 461mm (on the medium), the e ective seat tube angle steepens from 75.4 to 76.5 degrees and the bottom bracket drop goes from 34mm to 19mm.
This is accompanied by a decrease in suspension progressivity, from 46 to 23 per cent. Furthermore, a chainstay flip-chip gives the option of a 436mm or 446mm rear centre.
The full-carbon frame comes in three sizes (M, L, XL) and delivers 160mm of travel, with size-specific shock tunes. We tested the 29in-wheeled version, but there’s a 650b model also. Rocky Mountain use specific types of carbon in di erent frame areas and construct their bikes using solid moulds, which they claim helps eliminate excess resin and fibre, resulting in a high strength-to-weight ratio.
With clamped internal cable routing, Boost rear hub spacing, space for a water bottle, plenty of frame protection and fully-sealed bearings, Rocky Mountain have taken care of the details.
The kit
For the eye-watering price, it’s not surprising this bike is kitted out with high-end parts. A Shimano XTR drivetrain – with their 12-speed, 10-51t cassette – and four-pot brakes get you up to speed and scrub it o . Fox take care of the suspension with their burly 38 fork and Float X2 shock, both top-spec Factory units. The cockpit is from fellow Canadian brand Race Face – a Next R carbon handlebar and Turbine R alloy stem. They also supply the dropper post.
While you might expect carbon rims at this price, the Rally Edition rolls on aluminium Race Face Turbine R 30 wheels. These perform just fine, plus some riders may prefer alloy. The Maxxis Minion DHF/DHR II tyre combo, in the 3C MaxxGrip compound and with the tough DoubleDown casing, is one of the most race-ready sets of rubber we’ve seen specced on an enduro bike, completing this luxury build.
The ride
We expected big performance from such an expensive bike and high-quality components, and it delivered. At 14.62kg (medium), the Altitude feels pretty light when climbing, especially for an enduro
bike, and the suspension is stable whether or not you flick the lockout lever. It also feels sprightly when you’re cranking hard – a good job, because the compromise for having such grippy tyres is how much they drag until it gets steep. For us, this is a worthwhile trade-o .
The frame arrived with the RIDE-9 chip in the slackest, lowest setting. We changed it to position two, to make the suspension slightly less progressive while keeping the geometry as aggressive as possible. The first trait that shone through was how well the bike corners, its low 336mm (measured) BB height and MaxxGrip tyres keeping it planted through the turns. There is a downside to this low-slung belly, though – in tech sections it’s easy to catch it on rocks. We’re glad the bike comes with a bashguard. While the geometry isn’t wildly progressive on paper, we measured the head angle at a full degree slacker than quoted, at 63.6 degrees. The 75.6-degree e ective seat tube angle doesn’t compromise seated climbing.
Another quality that stands out is how easy the Altitude is to ride fast.
It feels highly e cient and agile, demanding less energy and rider input than some other enduro bikes to get the most out of it, and is happy to be thrown into corners at speed and exit just as fast. We tried both chainstay lengths and liked the di erent handling characteristics, but settled on the longer setting (446mm), as we felt it gave marginally better stability for attacking the trail.
Rocky Mountain have nailed it with the Altitude Rally Edition – it can mix it with the fastest enduro bikes, yet is easy enough to ride that you can have a ton of fun, too. Fortunately, there are less expensive models in the range, allowing more people to experience this for themselves. LUKE MARSHALL www.rockymountainuk.com
An entertaining and extremely capable bike that’s fun to ride both lat-out and at more chilled speeds