First Ride: 2024 Rocky Mountain Slayer
The Slayer has been in Rocky Mountain's lineup since 2001, and each new model has been longer and slacker than the previous one. That trend continues for the latest edition of this freeride machine, which now has 180mm of rear travel and a 180mm fork (it's also dual crown compatible for anyone interested in creating what would essentially be a pedalable downhill bike). At this rate, I'm pretty curious about what the next version will look like – there has to be a limit to just how long and slack a bike can get, right?
According to Rocky, the Slayer is aimed riders looking for an “aggressive, big mountain bike that can smash bike park laps all day long, and still be pedaled to, from, up, and down their local trails.”
According to Rocky, the Slayer is aimed riders looking for an “aggressive, big mountain bike that can smash bike park laps all day long, and still be pedaled to, from, up, and down their local trails.”
Slayer Details
• Wheel size: MX (S, M), 29" (L, XL)
• 180mm travel, 180mm fork (200mm dual crown compatible)
• 62.5° - 63.3° head angle
• 439 or 449mm chainstay length
• Sizes: S, M, L, XL
• Aluminum & carbon models
• MSRP: $4,599 - $10,299 USD
• bikes.com
• Wheel size: MX (S, M), 29" (L, XL)
• 180mm travel, 180mm fork (200mm dual crown compatible)
• 62.5° - 63.3° head angle
• 439 or 449mm chainstay length
• Sizes: S, M, L, XL
• Aluminum & carbon models
• MSRP: $4,599 - $10,299 USD
• bikes.com
The size small and medium models come with a mixed wheel setup, and the large and XL versions receive dual 29” wheels. All sizes can be set up in either configuration, but an aftermarket link is necessary to make the switch.
There are a total of seven complete versions of the new Slayer – four carbon framed options and three aluminum. Prices start at $3,799 USD for the Slayer A30 and go all the way up to $10,299 for the Slayer C90. The carbon frame only is priced at $4,199.
Frame Details
The Slayer's front triangle casts a familiar shadow – the shock is still mounted to a brace between the top and down tube, where it's driven by a link that connects the top tube and seat stays. One new feature is the addition of downtube storage that's hidden underneath a magnetic cover. Rocky are calling it the PenaltyBox, and it provides plenty of room for stashing spares and snacks.
There's also tube-in-tube internal cable routing that's designed to work well for all riders, no matter which side they run their rear brake on. Bonus points go to Rocky for not succumbing to the ill-conceived thru-headset cable routing trend.
The carbon frames now also have a carbon rear triangle that Rocky says is stiffer, and designed for aggressive park riding. It's no secret that we had an unfortunate frame failure the last time we tested the Slayer, so it's good to see that the back end has been revised. In Rocky's words, “We designed the Slayer to be resilient enough for non-stop aggressive riding in bikes parks, off features, and down other big mountain mayhem. We’ve reinforced the frame and all suspension pivots to take a beating.”
That new swingarm also has a two position flip chip, similar to what's found on the Altitude enduro bike. That allows for a 10mm difference in chainstay length, going from approximately 439mm to 449mm depending on the position of the Ride-4 flip chip. The Slayer is also UDH compatible, but only in the longer chainstay position.
Like many of Rocky's other models, the Slayer uses bearings at the shock eyelet to reduce friction. It's a valid concept, but it does make spring swaps more of a hassle, since you'll need a special tool to remove the bearings in order create enough room to slide the spring off the shock.
Geometry
The 63-degree head angle of the new Slayer is a whopping 1.5-degrees slacker than the outgoing model. That's in the neutral position, too; it can be lowered all the way to 62.5-degrees by using the Ride-4 adjustment system. Those numbers make the Slayer's intentions clear – downhill stability is very high on its priority list.
The reach has increased by 5mm per size, and now measures 480mm on a size large. That change is accompanied by a steeper seat angle of 77.5-degrees. As I mentioned earlier, there are two chainstay positions, with a 10mm difference between them.
Red lines: 2023 Slayer (MD). Grey: 2021 Altitude 29. White: 2020 Slayer 27. Dashed lines = anti-squat. Solid lines = suspension rate.
Suspension
As the above chart illustrates, the Slayer's leverage ratio has been changed to create a more linear, but still progressive suspension curve. The anti-squat has been increased slightly to help improve the pedaling performance, and it drops off more quickly as the bike goes through its travel.
I wish I could ride like this. That's Hayden Zablotny getting it done down in Utah. Margus Riga photo.
Ride Impressions
Even though shorter travel bikes keep getting more and more capable, I still have a soft spot for a proper freeride bike. They bring me back to my initial years in the Pacific Northwest, when almost every weekend involved trying to conquer some new stunt or rock roll in the woods of Vancouver's North Shore. The trails have evolved, but there are still plenty of tricky test pieces hidden in the forest where a bike like the Slayer makes a lot of sense.
A C50 recently showed up for review, and I've been able to get in a few solid rides so far. All of them involved a decent amount of fire road and singletrack climbing, and even a couple hike-a-bike sections, just to boost the freeride cred, followed by steep, rough descents punctuated by plenty of drops, jumps, and a few spicy rock slabs.
It's been a few years since I last rode the Slayer, but going off my slightly hazy memories the new version feels like a much more formidable machine. The previous version felt a little more like a long travel all-rounder; this new iteration is decidedly more downhill focused. It's not a bad climber, but I did find the climb switch handy to have on long fire road slogs for firming up the shock, and the overall length is noticeable on tighter switchbacks.
As you'd hope, the Slayer is in its element (no pun intended) at higher speeds and on steeper trails – I'd put it solidly in the monster truck / smash through everything category, although it's not totally stuck to the ground – it still jumps very well, and touchdowns are very smooth and controlled.
So far I've been running it in the neutral Ride-4 postion with the chainstays in the shorter setting. That's felt nice and balanced, but I'll be playing with the longest and slackest modes as testing progresses. There are a bunch of bike park laps in the Slayer's future too; look for a in-depth review later this summer.
Spec Check
The C50 is priced at $6,299 USD, and comes with a Shimano SLX drivetrain and 4 piston brakes (with metallic pads), a Fox 38 Performance fork, and a DHX2 Performance Elite coil shock. For the wheels, WTB i30 aluminum rims are laced to a DT Swiss 370 rear hub and a Rocky Mountain branded front hub.
The tires are exactly what you'd hope to see on a bike like this – a Maxxis Assegai with a DoubleDown casing and MaxxGrip rubber up front, and a DHRII, also with a DoubleDown casing but with longer lasting MaxTerra rubber in the rear. In addition, all of the carbon Slayers come with CushCore's XC tire inserts installed. They add an extra 150 grams or so per wheel, but do help prevent pinch flats and rim damage.
Overall, while the price might not present an absolute screaming deal, the build is very solid – there's nothing that needs to be swapped out immediately (okay, I did swap the 175mm post for a 200mm one – I'd consider that a slight spec oversight), and it's great to see that the little things, like good tires, metallic brake pads, good grips, and even tire inserts are taken care of.
Models & Pricing
Slayer C90 | $10,299 USD / $12,999 CAD
Slayer C70 | $7,799 USD / $9,699 CAD
Slayer C50 | $6,299 / $7,799 CAD
Slayer A50 | $4,199 USD / $6,199 CAD
Slayer A30 | $3,799 USD / $4,699 CAD
Slayer A30 Park | $4,599 USD / $5,599 CAD
Photos: Margus Riga / Rocky Mountain
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When you point it downhill you have a mini DH rig. Love it!
@rnayel: what was cracking on the previous frame? Assuming it wasn't the aluminum models that had that issue?
The last time: www.pinkbike.com/news/field-test-2020-rocky-mountain-slayer-carbon-90.html
Cracking was the wrong term, should have said "lower failure risk"
Also, can't say there are enough changes with this one to make me want to replace with this iteration. They nailed it right off the bat!
Right, like that happens all the time to folks with a loose rear axle.
Let’s just call it what it is: poor design that wasn’t adequately tested before going mainstream.
Who knows, maybe we just got unlucky and had the only weak axle out of a batch - it's great that so many riders out there haven't had any issues with their MY20 Slayers. The good news is that the new bike has a revised design that's claimed to be stronger.
The new bolt from RM had blue loctite on thread. The standard one I removed to check on the other side, nothing.
Both now have it. No issues since. I used a Milwaukee yellow pen to mark it so I can easily check every now and then
I love a good conspiracy theory as much as the next guy, but I have to think PB wouldn't make statements about a product failure that resulted in serious injury without a thorough investigation and a high level of confidence in what they are stating.
Maybe Rocky got a bad axle from a supplier. These things can happen to the best manufacturers.
Meanwhile there's literally hundreds if not thousands of examples online of Specialized Enduros which have practically all cracked in the same spot at headtube - and no one is talking about that. Not even PB, who gave glowing review to a bike riddled with engineering flaws.
Compared to the size small, reach grows 16% while stack grows a whopping 4%.
Tall guys need tall bikes. Not many companies seem to get it.
Mfgs should take a page from the XXL SC megatower, with a stack of around 670, I can only just get the cockpit high enough without excessive risers and spacers. The struggle is real
I'm not as tall as some of you guys here (6'1" barefoot, about 6'2" in my riding shoes), but this sounds an awful lot like my problems with too short of chainstays.
I really think proportional/long chainstays are something I need to stay balanced (personally, as a short torso/long leg person). I know some people love short chainstays, but for me they just cause a lot of front end grip problems, especially if I try to have my handlebars high enough to feel good.
I mean, Greg Minnar rolls what... 472mm chainstays on his v10 or something like that? I'm loving the 452mm chainstays of my Banshee Titan fwiw.
Maybe check out the XL Forbidden Dreadnought which has 464mm before sag. Or maybe that new Orange Stage 7 with 468mm chainstays?
The bar to saddle height ratio is useless imo. Set the raised saddle position for on-saddle pedaling efficiency, and set bar position for off-saddle maneuverability. It's not complicated, but there's no magic #, it requires time and feel. This is what makes these quiver killers so fascinating, a poor setup can kill the climbing ability and leave you with just a limited DH rig.
While the reach is similar (506mm vs 510mm), the fact that the chainstays are way longer makes for a way more stable and "in the bike feeling" compared to the process. While this may be slightly detrimental for slow speed stuff or small little jumps on the side of the trails, the bike just feels stable and composed while going through rough terrain
HA, thats the exact bike I came from, and for the same reason (super short chainstays, and super slack actual STA). A 2018 Kona Process 153 29'er had 425mm chainstays on all sizes, and like a 67 degree actual STA. Its interesting on the revised model they went to 435mm, and on the Process X they had a 450mm option. Apparently Kona thought they were to short too.
That Forbidden is on my radar (short stack though :/). I'm also sort of curious to try Banshees longer chainstay dropouts, just to see the effect (adds ~9-10mm iirc).
But agreed, from a perspective of strength of the construction, less spacers is better.
Yes, you need to take into account that two bikes with the same number for reach in the geo chart will not have the same fit (even in horizontal direction!) if the stack is not the same. But to me, that is something different than claiming "spacers change reach and headtubes don't"
This looks great, and is right up my alley for the sort of bike I’d be interested in. But… I’m not looking for a $4200 carbon frame on a big bike like this. The fact that the alloy complete is only $3700 means the alloy frame only (if it existed) would be competitively priced!.
But for some reason despite offering an alloy frame (unlike say, Yeti), you don’t sell it separately?
Sorry, just bummed about that is all.
I get that.
But they are already making the alloy frames in this case (unlike brands that only do carbon like Yeti). So it’s not like they have to make something “new” in order to sell alloy frames. Just sell the thing they’re already making.
Probably worth asking around! They're often inclined to do it if you're going to complete the build with them.
They make much more money selling the parts which they get at wholesale as a complete bike than they do selling frame alone.
The $4200 frame only option has that mark-up baked in, so you'd prolly be looking at a $3000+ alloy frame option, and no ones buying that.
Buy the alloy complete bike, and part it out, keep what you want (headset, bb, etc)
They make much more money selling the parts which they get at wholesale as a complete bike than they do selling frame alone.
The $4200 frame only option has that mark-up baked in, so you'd prolly be looking at a $3000+ alloy frame option, and no ones buying that.
Buy the alloy complete bike, and part it out, keep what you want (headset, bb, etc)
1) Colors leave something to be desired. Mint on bronze for a badass freeride bike? C'mon...
2) Why is the downtube protector segmented? For the ~aesthetic~? There are two 1" gaps ready for rock strikes.
3) A 63 degree HTA paired with a 29" wheel is recipe for a TON of mechanical trail. That doesn't bode well for tight-medium trails.
I don't understand why some people are saying this is ugly and the previous ones looked good. To me this just looks like an extension of those models. Do you guys not like the color or something?
Pretty hard to find 150-160mm bikes that are much shorter than 435mm. Most bikes in the 160-180 range seem to center on 440-450mm.
Personally, I love the more centered feeling of the longer chainstay, even for just all mountain riding purposes.
"How about I just go ride my Slay, I can make things out of clay, and lay by the bay, I just may, whaddya say?"
The chart shows the opposite. Perhaps you're thinking of the more typical leverage ratio charts? Motion ratio charts, such as this, are more intuitive and are more common in motorsports, but require us to flip our thinking from leverage ratio charts.
The anti-squat has been increased slightly to help improve the pedaling performance
True, when compared to the previous Slayer.
and it doesn't drop off as quickly as the bike goes through its travel
Are we looking at the same chart? That one is obviously incorrect.
Freeride today it's not the hucking/urban riding/skinnys of the early 00's,but rather big mountain lines and huge jumps ala Fest series.
From doing RC cars We always had issues with bearings that were small with high load and didnt see much rotation, for the rocky altitude i had, the bearing balls just split, locked the bearing and that forces the pin to rotate inside the inner race, which ruins the pin, causes creaking etc.
On the altitude FB page there is a few with the same issue.
RM were nothing but helpful as the local importer wanted me to pay for the bearings after 1 ride lol... RM sent me the tool, several sets of eyelet bearings and new ride 9 hardware before swapping the frame. They ended up refunding me for the frame.
Friend of mine bought the a70 and had the exact same issue.
A few items that require routine inspection and maintenance would be the Ride4 bolt and the bearing eyelet spacers. They do wear out eventually and are often the first source of a creaky frame.
I dont think you understand, Rocky replaced it all multiple times, the bike was only a month old...
I've also had this issue on a nukeproof bike that uses similar design.
Standard hardware fixed my friends frame and Hes a damn fast rider and he couldnt notice the different between them
So fairly standard in size, but you'd no way get spring off with them installed.
I mean let's be honest here, how often are people swapping springs? Mine came with 450, I swapped to 550 after a month and now 6 months later am throwing a 500 on. But it's like 10 mins work. (Although less now I have standard spacer instead)
But either way, it's not like it's 2 hours
As with all non-direct brands it depends on the dealer network in your area.
In Germany, the cheapest carbon model (Slayer C50) is 7.000€ with a very basic build kit. Just to put into perspective how insanely terrible value that is: Instead, you could buy a Santa Cruz Megatower or Nomad frameset at full retail price, build it up with nicer components and still come out cheaper than the Rocky.
I sometimes wonder how Rocky Mountain is even still in business.
If I were RM, I would have let the big cassette and the dropper. Since anyway weight isn't much an issue downhill, but those 2 differences can save you when you don't ride 100% park.
I’m intrigued by their ebikes. Anybody got one? Due to their low tech torque sensor i reckon you could easily fit a throttle with some cunning mods
enduro-mtb.com/en/new-rocky-mountain-slayer-2023-first-review
It will be interesting to read PB:s review on this if they experience the same things.
But rattling cables, doors that fly away, useless fork and shock, wheels that are crooked after a couple of laps in the bike park and to top it of with bad handling on a +6k bike doesn't sound good.
I could never justify buying one unless it was a n+1 bike I was given for free, but if I saw one at a shuttle/park demo or rental line-up it'd be the one I reach for first.
Why not really bend the consumer over and install "resin pad only" rotors as well.
At this point I'm wondering how Rocky is even still in business.
At 6ft tall with a ~35" inseam, I can use a 240mm post on my large carbon Slayer frame if I wished, although my go-to length is 200mm.
What’s the max post insertion depth?
Does Knolly hold a patent on the straight seat tube? I’m genuinely curious why the kink is there at all?
My unfortunate proportions (6’2”x33”inseam) have me forever wishing for XL bikes to come with L seattube lengths.
My current bike (520reach/460st) has a 200mm OneUp slammed all the way and it barely works (admittedly, the added stack of the Aenomaly Switchgrade doesn’t help my situation, but it’d be hard to go back to a fixed seat position ♂️)
Actually my son rode the RM Reaper for years and am a big fan of the company.
Anyway, it’s not that Rocky has bad bikes. The failure was unfortunate, but stuff happens. It was especially unfortunate that it happened so publicly. Hope this one turns out better for them.
You gotta go big and have an opinion. “Cool bike, brah,” doesn’t cut it. Upvotes and downvotes are the same thing in my opinion. People are reading and having a reaction.