On Test: Rocky Mountain Altitude 29
Posted: November 16th, 2009 by Eric McKeeganI almost don’t want to jinx us by talking about it, but good golly we’ve been having a nice fall, weather-wise. Best summer in recent memory too. What better way to enjoy it than a ride in the woods on a new test bike?
I’ve been excited to try the Altitude 29 since it was unveiled in prototype form at Sea Otter in April. Fast forward to Outdoor Demo and Rocky Mountain had a small fleet of demo Altitude 29’s ready for test rides. I picked out the only large size available, and some guy named Wade decided he wanted to tag along, maybe he would learn a thing or two (yeah, right).
A month or so later, what I suspect was the same bike I rode at Outdoor Demo showed up at the office. I had some great rides on it already.
In the photo below, we’ve got the Race Face cranks, direct mount SLX derailleur, Fox Float RP23 shock, and the upper linkage.
I set the sag at 25 percent, and I’m still experimenting with rebound and ProPedal settings. the Boost valve seems to be working well, no noticeable bottoming, even after some harsh landings.
Hard to see from the following picture, but that is the new Shimano 12-36 Deore cassette, mated to a new, stronger Shimano hub to handle the increased torque generated with the big rear cog.
Easton flat bars, 27″ wide. Perfect width for the spacing of our local trees.
Formula R-1 brakes. I think the front pads are a bit contaminated with something, they ran very hot on the first ride. Whatever it was seems to have burned off. I might try some replacement pads anyway, these are still a bit noisy.
My favorite spec so far? Continental Mountain King 2.4 tire. They look a little narrow for 2.4’s to me, but hands down, the best late season east coast 29″ tire I’ve ridden to date. We’ve been riding some muddy and wet moto trails, full of deep ruts and deep leaves. These tires instill confidence rather than fear in these conditions.The handbuilt wheels with Stan’s Arch rims are not at all shabby either.
Full specs on Rocky Mountain’s website.
Too soon to talk about the ride, but I will say I had one of those zen moments out on the trail yesterday. Feeling the flow is a great thing.
November 18th, 2009 at 11:01 am
I am afraid, very afraid of trying this 29er Altitude in case it disrupts my new found attachment to my 26″ wheeled Altitude which has become my new FS bike of joy, displacing my connection to my ETSX and SXC FS bikes.
November 22nd, 2009 at 8:23 pm
I wanna know what Wade thinks of the 29. He tolerated me expounding on 29s during a conversation one time but I could tell he was being polite.
November 30th, 2009 at 3:50 am
[...] ruote con cerchi in conditions.The handbuilt Stan’s Arch non sono affatto uno squallido. Rif. LINK __________________ Inside : Come caricare le immagini nel forum utilizzando Google Picasa [...]
January 30th, 2010 at 5:25 pm
I had an opportunity to ride an Altitude 29 through the landscaping at my LBS this morning in the pouring rain. Didn’t get a chance to give the suspension a workout as that was smooth surfaces, but there were lots of tight turns and some faster stuff, and the bike has really crisp turn in at speed, surprisingly so, and it sure feels nimble at slow speeds in switchback turns. It doesn’t feel long and heavy, and it accelerates very snappily with the upright geometry. Just like my 26″ Altitude it is very easy to get it up through the gears. I’m looking forward to an opportunity to try this on real trails in drier weather.