The Complete 2021 Rocky Mountain Altitude Lineup Compared - Across the Pond Beaver

 RM has their breakage issues to think about too.

 Rmb has the worst price/component ratio in europe too expensive for the components it comes with, at least for slayer

 They give you an unsprung rotating boat anchor, and pass the savings on to you!!!!

amIdoingitright?

 This really irritates me as well. Unfortunately they're catering to the average bike buyer who walks into a shop and sees a shiny derailleur and isn't paying any attention to the cassette, shifter, brakes, hubs, etc. Pivot, Yeti, Trek and many other brands do this. The new Slash 9.9. has a GX cassette with the X01 build which is embarrassing. On my own bike I'm running X01 cassette, NX derailleur, NX shifter, Code brakes, and i9 hydra hubs. Once you've been riding for a while you start to learn where to put your money. Although, if I was building my bike up again I'd probably go XT instead.

 The A30 is probably a decent deal though. Suspension components look good. You know you need to pull out the cone spanner every now and then to keep those hubs running sweet or you're just very specific about your wheelset and was planning to get something else anyway so that the stock wheels serve as spare. Are the Deore drivetrain components even holding you back compared to full Deore XT? It isn't quite like SRAM SX or NX.

 Yep. On the other hand, SLX derailleur and cassette with XT shifter = smart spec choice.
And DT 370 hubs on a $7k model is unforgivable.

The real head scratcher is the 70 coil vs 70 (the coil version gets a 350 rear hub but the regular version doesn’t) ... typo??

Otherwise looks like a really nice bike, and I love seeing higher spec alloy models in the lineup on a bike like this,

 Hiding cheaper components behind nicer shiny components really sucks. Especially when lesser components cause early failures. Or when you buy an expensive build and the 370 3 pawl hubs engagement sucks and diminishes the riding experience in tight technical riding. I know this bike is more for shuttling than tight single track, but still.

 Unpopular opinion: Drivetrain should be steel only. I purposely put a 12spd Deore cassette (and steel chairing) on my fancy carbon bike. It's 125 grams heavier than an XT cassette and it's totally worth the durability. Otherwise I go through the big aluminium cogs of 'fancier' cassette in just a couple months. Sick of disposable bike parts.

The DT 370 hub really sucks tho. Literally lasted me two days.

 @Loche: Back when I rode with two rings up front (22t and 32t) I had both in steel. The 22t one obviously never wore, but the 32t did. They were 9 euros a piece though, so not that much of a deal. As for cassettes thought, I'm not sure. I ride with 1x10sp now and use an XT 11-36 cassette as it is easy and cheap to replace individual sprockets or smaller clusters. I was told though that the titanium XTR sprockets are even harder wearing so that's what I'm trying now for the smallest sprockets. Can't tell yet how much better they are though. But they're 6 euro instead of 3, so it isn't that much more expensive. Deore or SLX would be more expensive actually as after the smallest two sprockets, you'll need to replace bigger clusters even when only one or two of those sprockets are worn.

As for the front sprocket, I'm using aluminum now. There are a few steel options available (like Wolf Tooth) but these single speed oval narrow-wide rings in aluminum have served me quite well until now. They're not as vulnerable I think, compared to those which are supposed to work with a front mech. I also use a top guide and a taco type bash guard, so that makes it a bit easier on the chainring.

 @Loche: If I rode as much as you I'd do the same thing lol! I choose a lighter cassette to help compensate for my lack of fitness.

 @healthcare1: They're not really hiding them though. It has become industry practice to say "xt drivetrain" when only the deraileur is xt. At least Rocky is saying slx / xt. I agree on the hub though, the 370 is a throwaway part that's too expensive for a cheap bike and too crappy for a good bike.

 @Loche: Agreed. Steel is real on the shore where it is wet and gritty. XTR chain and shifter with Deore cassette/front ring/crank and an SLX derailleur. Try to min max the Shimanostein/Frankimano build.

 @nzstormer: Not always. Just looked at the Vitus Escarpe bikes. If CRC says it has an SLX drivetrain, it has a XT rear mech with SLX shifter and cassette. If it has an XT drivetrain, the cassette and shifter are XT but the rear mech is XTR.

Not sure why DT even has the 370 hubs. It messes with their good name.

 @monsieurgage: I'm not sure if I follow. Are you saying steel is better in wet conditions?

 @kusa: Sort of?? Whether that is the amount of material on the cassette or that the material itself is harder than the aluminum and wears less quickly I am not sure but anecdotally my full steel cassettes last longer.

 @kusa: THAT BEING SAID...for the cost of one XTR cassette you can buy 3-4 deore or 1-2 XT or 2-3 SLX...point being it feels criminal to pay close to 500 Canadian monopoly moneys for something I'll turn to swiss cheese, start tearing teeth off of, and have my chain skipping around on in 4-6 months.

 @vaedwards: Is there any difference between deore and xt apart from weigth? I always go for deore...to me xt means same function, a bit less weight, a lot less durability. Who rides xtr? Not even pro's!... I can't get how people put their attention to transmission components so much...It's an enduro bike!!!!. How long until the tansmission starts working like crap??? My first month of a new bike is always like: hanger and derailleur cages put back into place manually , upper and lower limit screws re-set in consequence, derailleur starts developing play. Plastic jockey wheels don't look like new at all... I don't really know where the problem comes from but the fact is that the bike shifts like shit most of the time...Early cassette, chain and chainring wear... Maybe I exagerated a bit, but if you ride hard, or in a rocky terrain you sure know what I mean... For instance take cranks. XT's are hollow and break, deore's are ok. The only difference noticeable for me in shimano's line from deore to xt is in brakes, but I'm stuck in 10 speed. Maybe new components are different....

 Yeah the front hub engagement must be so bad!

 I can deal with front hubs as long as they're not screw together or loose ball jobbies as they are just bearing carriers and you can press some stainless bearings in later and they will perform great. That DT370 rear however, a slap in the face when you're paying so much.

 RM should be 100% embarrassed and downright ashamed about that one. MF'ing ZERO excuses for that. It's criminal. Close to a $9000 dollar bike and generic sh*t???!! F you RM. Haha

 @bman33: It's a front huband does nothing except passively roll, hold spokes and a rotor. Invest in parts where it counts.

 @CaptainSnappy: While you are correct, the price should reflect that. That and garbage rear hubs almost across the board.

 @CaptainSnappy: You can bet that the bearing quality is also bad. The cheap specialized hubs rust quite fast.

 @SickEdit: My RMB hub has been rolling 12 months a year since 2018 in a temperate rain foerst. Haven't touched it yet.

@bman33, Brent, Same goes for my DT 370 rear hub. Have opened it once to add grease in 2.5 years. Rolls great.

 @CaptainSnappy: I wasn't implying 370's don't work. I am implying folks are being charged as if the bike comes with a 240 series. I am sure your experience with the 370 is great and rock on for that. However, being charged for a Porsche and receiving a base model Kia is the point...

 The Alloy 70 and Carbon 90 Rally have 38s on them. Funny, though, that it is not one fork chassis across the whole line.

 Yeah, we're anticipating a generalized post-covid sale. Patient buyers will probably get incredible deals.

 I don’t think the COVID buyers are buying these types of high end bikes.

 @TheR: Agreed, they're not. My local bike shops are sold out of sub-$2k bikes, not $5k bikes. Not to say there won't be any, but people are buying bikes not just for fun, but also to avoid transit and minimize their chances of contracting COVID-19. How many people commute on a $5k 2021 Altitude with Minions? More like an commuter ebike.

 @CaptainSnappy: Maybe if a guy was on the fence about getting started in mountain biking, I could see COVID pushing him in the direction of finally buying a bike, but even then, they’d probably pick up some of the more “entry level” stuff, not the $5k+ market.

There is a disruption right now in the supply chain for these higher-end models, though. Maybe a manufacturer can’t get frames finished or certain parts, but that’s only going to make things cost more in the short term. I don’t think people are going to dump them at cheap prices en mass in six months.

 It took almost 3 years, but your prediction panned out. A new Altitude A30 is now cheaper in 2023 than it was in 2020.

 Pretty sure you can do factory level upgrade on even the lowest model spec.... checks the website... It’s $600usd on the sb150 base model.

 Good friend of mine just picked up a Forbidden. Damn thing is REALLY well built and rides excellent.

 Exactly! At least maybe an alloy frame only option...but I don't like the builds but loovveeee the geometry!!! That's perfect for me! At those price I'll also wait to see the long travel Forbidden! 6000$ cad for the SLX Druid is a real joke compared to those!!!

 The geometry and ajustable rear end is so perfect for me but yeah, like you said for everything else..... I guess I'll have to still look for another bike!

 they totally blew it. i would have bought this thing straight up based on the initial impressions, went and looked at the frame only color way and prices and threw up. Will keep looking.

 Proportional stays are a step in the right direction. I cant see why brands dont just offer bikes with say 15-20mm of adjustment and a short-mid-long setting, that would keep most people happy surely

 32lbs is probably the top one...

I don't really like the look (color and shape) and builds but geometry wise I loooveee it!!! Same travel as Meta AM but less extreme geo, perfect for me! Plus like you said, ajustable rear end length is realllyyyy nice!! I would ride it at the shortest one too but I could still try the longest one, maybe in the future I'll like it more... never knows! lol

I would maybe consider it if there was an alloy frame only...

 Totally. Carbon 70 does not have factory suspension, for starters, making the PB caption inaccurate, as well. The pic is right though? lol.

 They should be fixed for the correct specs now

 The slayer colour are really nice! The first ones for like 10 years?! I was expecting something as nice for those.... ishh!

 @Timo82:
yep there was an ok one or two on the slayer. the paint shop must have made a mistake!

 @telephunke: Hahaha probably!!

 I'm not saying it's a good value, but that 10k bike does have carbon wheels, cranks, and handlebar.

 I never look at the expensive builds, but the Alu frames seem to be very sensibly specced and priced.

 @Mugen: the spec on the 50's are anything but sensible. Xt mech paired with slx shifters and deore cassette? Xt brakes over slx ones? C'mon now... The correct way would have been like this: full slx gruppo. Bamm.

 Yeah and it's ugly to boot...

 @mikekazimer: annnnd then there's the benchmark-the yt jeffsy pro race.
Everyone else's 8-9k bike for 5.
Sure warranties will take longer but with the savings, can have a 2nd bike

 @ilyamaksimov: but why would you care about the element? Isn't the Scalpel better? :-)

 @Climbtech: you need to look at the new element, suddenly it will be better)

 The Instinct is still here for 2021. This replaces the BC Edition, though.

 Good question...