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2018 RM Altitude

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2018 RM Altitude
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flag Nicksen
O+
Posted: Nov 14, 2017 at 22:43 Quote
andrewspencer wrote:
Did anyone else read that Enduro Magazine bike shootout today and feel heartbroken? lol
Its the rider not the bike, and I still love my Altitude.

Hmm, the only bike in the test it can really be compared to is the Jeffsy in my opinion, but then the Jeffsy tested has 160mm rear travel. Also, just putting it in the slackest position and not trying e.g. the neutral one seems a bit odd, too.
Oh well, I think the Altitude is plenty fast and fun to ride. Sure it's not a plow and forget bike like the Reign or the Mega, but hey, I think it's the perfect all-rounder bike out there and should maybe rather be compared to the Trek Remedy and SC Bronson.
flag ybsurf
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Posted: Nov 25, 2017 at 14:30 Quote
Anybody upgraded their fork for a 170mm I know enduro team ride 170mm just want to know if their a big change in bike handling and feel? Still poppy? Can get a good deal on a hsc/lsc performance elite to replace my stock performance grip on my c50.
flag applepie
Posted: Nov 26, 2017 at 2:27 Quote
Nicksen wrote:
andrewspencer wrote:
Did anyone else read that Enduro Magazine bike shootout today and feel heartbroken? lol
Its the rider not the bike, and I still love my Altitude.

Hmm, the only bike in the test it can really be compared to is the Jeffsy in my opinion, but then the Jeffsy tested has 160mm rear travel. Also, just putting it in the slackest position and not trying e.g. the neutral one seems a bit odd, too.
Oh well, I think the Altitude is plenty fast and fun to ride. Sure it's not a plow and forget bike like the Reign or the Mega, but hey, I think it's the perfect all-rounder bike out there and should maybe rather be compared to the Trek Remedy and SC Bronson.

The whole thing was a bit cheesy. Firstly it was rated over one 2 minute track and we don't get to see the data so we have no idea how consistent it was across riders on a different track you coud get totally different results. It was odd thay Rocky sent a stock altitude when the EWS guys don't ride a stock Altitude the ride a bike that is closer to a slayer in travel spec or they ride a slayer. It was interesting that they put it straight in the slackest HTA and assumed it was fastest (probably time constraints, but hardly scientific). I strongly suspect mechanical grip doesnt change a lot from bime to bike, yes some bike are easier to get along on a specific track especially for a tester who has never ridden one before but the theoretical best time between bikes is probably alnost the same. Also one of the slowest bikes the specialised enduro won there recent enduro bike shootout but was one of the slowest, so you have to ask is a fast bike a good bike for an owner who wants to have fun on the weekend . Some of the extrapilations they made were pure cheesy bs too, like saying this would equal 2 minute over a 40 minutes of race runs. Sam Hill and Jes must be freaking gods if they habe to beat the other riders by the equivilant of 2 minutes in still to win a race (especially when you look at ews margins) . I also recently rode a super long super slack boutique bike and my impression was 'boy this bike has the potential to go fast, but wow it feels heavy and dead'(even though it was a pretty standard 30 pounds give or take). The thing is it made me not want to buy a super long super slack bike, as it didnt seem fun. Anyway I'm probably making excuses as my altitude arrives this week
flag trifecta
Posted: Nov 26, 2017 at 13:09 Quote
picked up a new carbon 50 in large this weekend! ..came from a Medium 2015 Altitude Rally Ed, new bike makes the old one look like a toy!! Buzzing!

is ride-9 in the steepest setting the top right hand setting on the right side of the bike (and top left setting on the left hand side of the bike)?

I’m about 180lb, and was quite surprised to find that i had to stick about 200psi in the dps to get 15mm sag, does that sound about right? have i set it too stiff?
flag trifecta
Posted: Nov 26, 2017 at 13:12 Quote
ybsurf wrote:
Anybody upgraded their fork for a 170mm I know enduro team ride 170mm just want to know if their a big change in bike handling and feel? Still poppy? Can get a good deal on a hsc/lsc performance elite to replace my stock performance grip on my c50.

Doubt there is much point in adding 10mm unless you just want to upgrade to a bargain longer fork. it will slow steering unless you normally have it in slack and switch to steep when you add the 170. personally i don't like deviating from manufacturers spec, its kinda frankensteining all Rockys hard work sweat and tears over getting the new altitude right in the first place.

Do you not like the Grip fork? Its got a great cartridge from a durability perspective and the 1/4 turn from open setting feels great to me..
flag andrewspencer
O+
Posted: Nov 26, 2017 at 17:49 Quote
trifecta wrote:
picked up a new carbon 50 in large this weekend! ..came from a Medium 2015 Altitude Rally Ed, new bike makes the old one look like a toy!! Buzzing!

is ride-9 in the steepest setting the top right hand setting on the right side of the bike (and top left setting on the left hand side of the bike)?

I’m about 180lb, and was quite surprised to find that i had to stick about 200psi in the dps to get 15mm sag, does that sound about right? have i set it too stiff?

Theres a detailed run through of all the ride-9 positions on Rockys website with pictures and everything showing you which position is which, I would check that out.
flag applepie
Posted: Nov 26, 2017 at 20:46 Quote
andrewspencer wrote:
trifecta wrote:
picked up a new carbon 50 in large this weekend! ..came from a Medium 2015 Altitude Rally Ed, new bike makes the old one look like a toy!! Buzzing!

is ride-9 in the steepest setting the top right hand setting on the right side of the bike (and top left setting on the left hand side of the bike)?

I’m about 180lb, and was quite surprised to find that i had to stick about 200psi in the dps to get 15mm sag, does that sound about right? have i set it too stiff?

Theres a detailed run through of all the ride-9 positions on Rockys website with pictures and everything showing you which position is which, I would check that out.

Here is the link

https://www.google.co.nz/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=http://www.bikes.com/sites/default/files/resources/2018_Ride9_Altitude_EN_0.pdf&ved=0ahUKEwiekt7p-N3XAhUMwrwKHYvTBX0QFgg6MAI&usg=AOvVaw0SJS98S2FpnaivFzpOKwyT
flag Nicksen
O+
Posted: Nov 26, 2017 at 21:16 Quote
trifecta wrote:
picked up a new carbon 50 in large this weekend! ..came from a Medium 2015 Altitude Rally Ed, new bike makes the old one look like a toy!! Buzzing!

is ride-9 in the steepest setting the top right hand setting on the right side of the bike (and top left setting on the left hand side of the bike)?

I’m about 180lb, and was quite surprised to find that i had to stick about 200psi in the dps to get 15mm sag, does that sound about right? have i set it too stiff?

I'm at about 230psi with roughly 200 lbs so yeah, that sounds about right. There's a guide for the ride-9 positions on the rocky website which gives you the various geometry measurements as well
flag applepie
Posted: Nov 26, 2017 at 22:28 Quote
trifecta wrote:
picked up a new carbon 50 in large this weekend! ..came from a Medium 2015 Altitude Rally Ed, new bike makes the old one look like a toy!! Buzzing!

is ride-9 in the steepest setting the top right hand setting on the right side of the bike (and top left setting on the left hand side of the bike)?

I’m about 180lb, and was quite surprised to find that i had to stick about 200psi in the dps to get 15mm sag, does that sound about right? have i set it too stiff?

The vitalmtb did a pretty in depth article on the suspension. they say 26% on shock shaft is equivalent to 30% sag at the rear wheel

https://m.vitalmtb.com/product/guide/Bikes,3/Rocky-Mountain/Altitude-Carbon-70,18884
flag trifecta
Posted: Nov 27, 2017 at 13:50 Quote
applepie wrote:
andrewspencer wrote:
trifecta wrote:
picked up a new carbon 50 in large this weekend! ..came from a Medium 2015 Altitude Rally Ed, new bike makes the old one look like a toy!! Buzzing!

is ride-9 in the steepest setting the top right hand setting on the right side of the bike (and top left setting on the left hand side of the bike)?

I’m about 180lb, and was quite surprised to find that i had to stick about 200psi in the dps to get 15mm sag, does that sound about right? have i set it too stiff?

Theres a detailed run through of all the ride-9 positions on Rockys website with pictures and everything showing you which position is which, I would check that out.

Here is the link

https://www.google.co.nz/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=http://www.bikes.com/sites/default/files/resources/2018_Ride9_Altitude_EN_0.pdf&ved=0ahUKEwiekt7p-N3XAhUMwrwKHYvTBX0QFgg6MAI&usg=AOvVaw0SJS98S2FpnaivFzpOKwyT


Perfect, thanks for the pdf and link to vital suspension diagrams.

Those will be very handy, I'm going to send them to our suspension guys and see if they think the suspension design will be compatible with an Ohlin's custom coil shock. They create the correct internal length from the 8.5' x 2.5' Öhlins TTX 22 M14 series shock, then modify to 210x55, so apparently no need for offset bushings / warranty invalidation.

Update (28/11): TF Tuned guys confirmed today that they can create a 210x55 shock, they said it would have a 502lb spring for rider weight 180lb and that it would work really nicely with the 2018 Altitude suspension. A cool comment they mentioned when they looked at the rise / rate / progression of the altitude, was that they thought the curves were pretty much what every other manufacturer is attempting to achieve just now and they thought that Rocky had it spot on. Apparently the mod is quite straightforward for Ohlin's approved guys to do. On the altitude they believe the Ohlins TTX 22 will outperform the DHX2, DPX2, Float X2 and DPS Factory. Just wondering how much of it was sales pitch haha! I'm tempted though...seriously..
flag applepie
Posted: Nov 29, 2017 at 12:49 Quote
ybsurf wrote:
I have been told by rm there are no loss of travel with the ride 9 but found the position 3 to be more progressive as I'm a lightweight rider. Thinking of putting a 170mm fork to add extra slack or a angle headset to get under 65° hta


This is straight from Rocky Mountain today

Hi,
travel does differ in the different settings. We base the travel on the neutral setting, and it increases in steeper settings, and reduces in slacker settings. However in slacker settings the bike is more progressive, controlling bottom our more. So, it's not as it you get the feeling of less travel.p
flag trifecta
Posted: Dec 2, 2017 at 12:43 Quote
Well i had the maiden run on my new Carbon 50 today: The bike climbs more efficiently than the last altitude (i also have the 2015 Rally Edition), its a more stable descender, feels like it has more travel, its just as agile, feels lighter, pops off jumps better, its an all around better bike. Love it!!
flag applepie
Posted: Dec 6, 2017 at 1:50 Quote
DonLopez wrote:
Ride-9 is fairly easy to adjust on 2013-2016 Altitudes. I hate when something that wasn't broken gets changed (maybe because the bike is slightly thinner and easier to box and ship) but now doesn't work as well. If position 3 doesn't work on the 2018s, Rocky needs to fix the problem or give 11% rebates to everyone buying a Ride-9 but ended up with a Ride-8. (I came up with 11% because loosing 1 position is 11%)

I'll keep riding my 2014 Altitude and 1999 Element, both bikes designed and built very well and working flawlessly...Don

Ride 3 works fine. I just got my altitude and it to about 5-10 minutes to get it into ride 3 on my first time changing the chips. It is slightly fiddly and I wouldn't do it on the trail, but it isn't half as bad as I thought it might be with people aaying it took hours to change
flag applepie
Posted: Dec 9, 2017 at 0:12 Quote
trifecta wrote:
Well i had the maiden run on my new Carbon 50 today: The bike climbs more efficiently than the last altitude (i also have the 2015 Rally Edition), its a more stable descender, feels like it has more travel, its just as agile, feels lighter, pops off jumps better, its an all around better bike. Love it!!

Just had my fist run on my Al 50 thing is amazing , I had a GT Force and a Banshee Runes in recent years I immediately felt fully at home on the Rocky (i put it straight in ride 3). It rips so hard loves pulling a manual pump or jumping rollers. What a bike, my Rune had good review but it never felt quite balanced to me it was a straight line smasher that required a lot of body english to get front wheel bite (i wouldn't recomend it, it is ok). The Rocky just rips and the suspension is soo smooth and it just wants to jump everything, first run and I was trying to double random rollers etc. The 50 has a great sensible spec money spent on the important bits like the derailleur and saved on shifters etc which really don't make a difference. I suspect the benefit ypu get going 50 to 70 etc is pretty minimal
flag trifecta
Posted: Dec 12, 2017 at 10:21 Quote
applepie wrote:
trifecta wrote:
Well i had the maiden run on my new Carbon 50 today: The bike climbs more efficiently than the last altitude (i also have the 2015 Rally Edition), its a more stable descender, feels like it has more travel, its just as agile, feels lighter, pops off jumps better, its an all around better bike. Love it!!

Just had my fist run on my Al 50 thing is amazing , I had a GT Force and a Banshee Runes in recent years I immediately felt fully at home on the Rocky (i put it straight in ride 3). It rips so hard loves pulling a manual pump or jumping rollers. What a bike, my Rune had good review but it never felt quite balanced to me it was a straight line smasher that required a lot of body english to get front wheel bite (i wouldn't recomend it, it is ok). The Rocky just rips and the suspension is soo smooth and it just wants to jump everything, first run and I was trying to double random rollers etc. The 50 has a great sensible spec money spent on the important bits like the derailleur and saved on shifters etc which really don't make a difference. I suspect the benefit ypu get going 50 to 70 etc is pretty minimal

I put my 2yr old fox 36 factorys on the carbon 50, sold the 36 grips as new to bring the new bike spend down even although the grips seemed really good. it came with slx brakes which I'm upgrading to saint or xt twinpot when they come out next month. ill get a second shock even although the dps shock is great, I'm going to get a dhx2 coil for dh tracks (enduro racing). apart from that, everything is solid. i don't imagine anybody feeling that they need to upgrade anything but the shock or brakes on lowest spec models once the have ridden them. i could probably get away with just the brake upgrade.

 


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