EWS Bike Check: Jesse Melamed's Rocky Mountain Altitude

May 28, 2015 at 15:13
by Mike Kazimer  
Jesse Melamed bike check

Hailing from Whistler, BC, Jesse Melamed has been steadily working his way up the EWS rankings, and a 9th place finish last weekend showed that he's starting the season with plenty of speed. When race day arrives in Peebles, Scotland, he'll be aboard a size small Rocky Mountain Altitude Rally Edition with 150mm of rear travel.


Jesse Melamed bike check
The full carbon bike is equipped with FOX's latest Float X , which features the new EVOL air can that's designed to create a more supple feel in the initial part of the shock's stroke. A handlebar mounted remote allows for it to be switched between three low speed compression settings on-the-fly.


Jesse Melamed bike check
In its slackest stock setting, the Altitude has a 66.2 degree head angle with a 160mm fork, but Jesse's running a 170mm FOX 36 to slacken things out even further.


Jesse Melamed bike check
Shimano's XTR Di2 electronic shifting system is becoming increasingly common on the race circuit. A single wire takes the place of the traditional, contamination-prone cable, running from the derailleur to a down tube mounted battery and then to the shifter on the handlebar.


Jesse Melamed bike check
The Di2's battery is housed in this unit, which has a claimed weight of 58 grams. Running out of juice during a ride is unlikely, as the system is designed to go hundreds of miles between charges.


Jesse Melamed bike check
The low profile levers for the XTR Di2 rear derailleur are on the right side of the bar, situated just underneath the remote for the rear shock.


Jesse Melamed bike check
A small screen displays the rear derailleur's position on the 11-40t cassette, the bike's shift mode, as well as how much battery life is remaining.


Jesse Melamed bike check
Having small hands means Jesse can get away with cutting his grips down, and then scooting the rest of his controls further outboard on the handlebar.

Jesse Melamed bike check
Maxxis' Highroller II is mounted to a set of Stan's Arch EX rims front and rear. Those rims are lighter duty than what you'd typically see on an enduro racer's bike, but running tires with a DH casing helps provide a little more protection.


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71 Comments
  • 34 1
 is it gonna be like last race? you reviewed his bike and he won, would be cool to se another "under dog" win
  • 23 0
 We'll see... it looks like it's going to be a wet weekend, and Melamed's no stranger to riding in the rain.
  • 13 0
 certainly will be a good race
also cheering up my buddy José Borges which did 19 lasy week with a flat on one stage, i think was the fastest privateer
  • 2 0
 I reckon Mike Kazimer is race fixing. paying off the other riders to go down in the third ... stage.
  • 23 4
 Am I the only one who thinks the display screen seems irrelevant?.... It's like the index display on a cable shifter..... Who uses those anymore? The only thing that seems to make sense is battery life indicator.... They could easily integrate that in to the shifter, displayed like cell phone battery life..... Other than that di2 seems pretty badass! I never thought I'd say that....
  • 2 1
 Totally agree. I feel my gears.. I don't look back to check which one I'm haha! Di2 looks very slick, I will wait until the tech has been around a bit and trickled down to better prices.
  • 10 0
 It [display] is when running a 1x, but you cannot eliminate it.It affords the ability to customize shift modes and suspension settings. I'm certain Fairwheel or someone will hack it soon. People that worry about the Di2 charge should worry about their phones for Strava, because Di2 will FAR outlast any other electronic that most seem to not be able to go without.
  • 3 1
 I agree, who needs to know which gear you're in? It either feels too hard or too easy, or sometimes just right if you're lucky maybe, and you just shift accordingly.
  • 4 3
 Why can't Shimano make a small generator off the cranks or something that keeps Di2 charged? Maybe it's in the pipeline?
  • 2 1
 Not really irrelevant. I don't use the needle display because it interferes with getting the correct brake lever position, otherwise I would definitely use it. The display's in a good spot with di2, so it seems nice to me.
  • 5 3
 Why even mess with wires? Couldn't they just use Bluetooth or WiFi for Di2? I would bet that in 10 years, our bikes will not have cables or wires of any kind. That would be sick.
  • 6 2
 I think a self charging battery housed in a BB would be cool. Get on it shimano!
  • 5 0
 @tetonlarry, SRAM's prototype road transmission is wireless, so one would expect...
  • 6 0
 Maybe the resistance would cut into pedal efficiency?
Like old school dynamo lights?
  • 2 0
 we will see sram rider's go back to cables once they start getting hacked
  • 9 0
 @twinsdad The display doubles as the junction box, which is necessary for the system. It's what ties all the components together.
@b1k35c13nt15t Yea people shouldn't worry about the battery. I haven't charged it once since I left Canada 2 weeks ago and I have been riding every day and I still have full battery.
  • 1 9
flag YouAreWelcome (May 29, 2015 at 4:46) (Below Threshold)
 @tetonlarry no cables and wires? Do you understand how wifi works? Bluetooth? Derrrrrrrrrrrrrr America!
  • 1 0
 Got it... Hadn't thought it that far through..... Thanks
  • 2 0
 The display can be eliminated and replaced with a regular Junction-A box. The display is only required to run Synchro-shift with a 2X11.
  • 2 1
 @YouAreWelcome ... do YOU even understand how bluetooth works? Or are you just trolling?
Link to the wireless SRAM road system spyshots -- pelotonmagazine.com/goods/sram-wireless-what-we-know-so-far
  • 1 1
 im surprised shimano hasnt made a "race" version of di2. no gear indicator required. smaller/light battery that only lasts say only 1 day of racing. just to keep things in a tighter package.
  • 1 5
flag YouAreWelcome (May 29, 2015 at 11:53) (Below Threshold)
 @MTT77 Hey Mike, I would be glad to come to Idaho to show exactly what I know about Bluetooth. I could also show you what I know about Wifi from where I am. Don't confuse yourself on the internet. Have a great day.

Thank you,
YouAreWelcome
  • 3 0
 @Youarewelcome: I'm no expert in Bluetooth, but I do know how to use google. Try looking up "Bluetooth Di2". Your comment was extremely rude. There are intelligent and unintelligent people in every country. Who pissed in your cereal is morning?
  • 1 0
 What exactly does the shift mode do?
  • 1 0
 I take it back, you can use the EW junction box in the display's stead. @JesseMelamed @jyoucha
  • 1 0
 Just like a kinetic watch, a charger could be inbuilt. I love di2. Can't wait for it to come to XT. I'm going to go 2x again I tell thee.
  • 16 0
 i'm just happy to see any rider not doing the captn. morgan pose.
  • 29 17
 awwww look how cute that bike is.... its so tiny
  • 27 54
flag CaptainSnappy (May 28, 2015 at 15:41) (Below Threshold)
 Top 10 finish on the EWS and you're ridiculing him for the size of bike he rides. Classy. Better get your mommy and daddy issues sorted out there, kiddo.
  • 30 3
 I ride an XL and say that about every bike I see. Oh wait no joking allowed.
  • 8 1
 Joking is against all pinkbike. Troll or no comment.
  • 5 2
 @CaptainSnappy ahahahahahahaahahah calm yourself fella, hardly ridiculing jheeez.....
  • 2 1
 Does look fun to play around on though.

Sorry, couldn't resist Smile
  • 9 1
 @mikekazimer Do you know if he is riding those egg beater pedals in the race? or was he just using them in training to save weight and will use the Mallets to race?
  • 3 0
 That would certainly seem backward to me.
  • 6 0
 @nwarren, he raced on eggbeaters last weekend in Ireland, so I'd imagine he'd do the same for this race.
  • 15 0
 @nwarren You are correct, I have been using the Eggbeaters in practice to try and conserve as much energy as possible. I have a set of Mallets that I may use for the race if it rains a lot more. As of now I will keep the Eggbeaters for the race.
  • 4 0
 @JesseMelamed Thank you and good luck!
  • 1 0
 @jessemelamed good on you for getting on here and answering questions. You're a gentleman. Best of luck in the race.
  • 8 2
 Climbing with a 66 deg HA and 170mm fork when you are 5'6" and below is kind of a drag...but if you are an enduro pro you suck it up and deal with it. Sweet bike.
  • 9 1
 Nicest bike on the circuit.
  • 8 1
 small hands.. dang
  • 4 0
 The first thing I did was scroll down for the small hands joke. PInkbike did not disappoint.
  • 10 1
 See. We can be mean & unnecessarily sexual to men too!
  • 5 1
 But seriously how smalls are his hands... look at those grips.....
  • 2 0
 I had to scroll back up to see his hands. They look normal to me. I was expecting something hilarious.
  • 2 0
 He´s cutting down his grips and I´m having problems because most grips are too small, that´s not fairBig Grin
  • 5 0
 as the cliche goes--it ain't the size of the dog in the fight...it's the size of the fight in the dog. at least that's what my girlfriend says.
  • 18 0
 Your girlfriend fights dogs?!
  • 3 0
 Dude, you know your GF is taking about your wiener... right?
  • 3 0
 noooooooooooo!!!!!
  • 2 0
 with people worrying about the battery dying while out, you can just charge it with a portable power bank as it uses a standard mini/micro-USB cable, now the thing would be is if you can use it while charging, as it would suck being stuck waiting for it to charge.
  • 2 0
 I don't see why ya couldn't use it while charging.
  • 6 1
 You know what they say about guys with small hands...they're fast as $hit on a bike.
  • 6 0
 No one mentioning the fact that he's running a 20 mm thru axle up front!
  • 4 1
 20 mm for LIFE!!
  • 3 4
 I love Shimano, and though I think XTR M9000 has it's fair share of flaws (no 10t cog- which is way more important than 42, no narrow/wide ring, stupid bcd, too much emphasis on di2 with 2x setup, etc- I haven't ridden it though), I have to say that handlebar is the cleanest setup I have ever seen with a shifter, brake lever and shock lockout. All three units are on point with design.
  • 4 1
 #bicyclejockey
  • 1 0
 Anyone know who makes the fender he is using on the fork ?
  • 5 0
 Cant be sure but it looks an awful lot like mine. Its a mucky balls front mud guard.
  • 6 0
 Sorry thats mucky nutz, lol! Same difference!
  • 4 6
 Check out a more comprehensive review of the Rocky Mountain Altitude 790 MSL Rally Review Here:

performancegearresearch.wordpress.com/2015/05/28/2015-rocky-mountain-altitude-790-msl-rally-edition-review
  • 1 0
 Looks like a super-rad bike. Wish I had more money, I'd buy one.
  • 1 0
 Is there an evil following lurking in those woods?
  • 1 0
 Bring out isabel!!!
  • 3 3
 That s an e bike ?
  • 2 3
 Looks electrifying.
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