Video: Trading Carbon For Alloy on a Sea to Sky Shred

Dec 6, 2018
by Rocky Mountain  

Thunderbolt Alloy
Justin "Dewey" Roy
Dylan Forbes rides the Instinct A50 BC Edition in Whistler.
Dylan Forbes
Jakob Jewett rides the Instinct A50 BC Edition in Squamish.
Jakob Jewett

ALL OUT ALLOY

Carbon bikes see most of the time in the spotlight, but you can have every bit as much fun on an alloy frame. Alloy frames offer great value as they mimic frame geometry and the incorporated technologies as their carbon cousins, but with a lower price tag. To try something different, we called in three Sea to Sky shredders who've been riding Rocky Mountain carbon bikes for a number of years and told them to hit the trails on the new alloy models. These three pretty much live on their carbon trail and downhill bikes, so why not try something new?

Justin "Dewey" Roy took out the Thunderbolt Alloy 50, a 27.5" 130mm trail bike, to match his snappy and playful riding style. Dylan Forbes and Jakob Jewett were set up on the Instinct Alloy 50 BC Edition, as they both like prefer longer travel bikes, have a need for speed, and aren't afraid to send it.

Thunderbolt Alloy

Justin "Dewey" Roy

Dewey started out as a dirt jumper in Ontario, and after moving to Whistler in 2008 he never looked back. When riding the Whistler Bike Park, the municipal river jumps, and the pumptracks in town became his day to day, the playful style he'd initially developed through dirt jumping began to transfer to the other disciplines. Fast forward to today and it doesn't matter what bike he's riding, he's popping off rollers, tricking jumps, and jibbing whatever's possible.

Thunderbolt Alloy
Thunderbolt Alloy

Thunderbolt Alloy
Thunderbolt Alloy 50

Dylan Forbes

Dylan Forbes has become a fixture of the Whistler Bike Park over the last 10 years. Known for his speed, style, and ability to smash corners, Dylan has achieved peak "bike bum" status. He's always been a freerider focused on sending it and until recently was pretty hesitant to throw his leg over a 29er. He's put in a lot of time riding 27.5" wheels on the Maiden, Altitude, and Slayer. So what happens when you put a guy like Dylan aboard a 29" platform? Exactly what you'd think. The same hard turns, the same fearless style, and just a bit more speed.

Dylan Forbes rides the Instinct A50 BC Edition in Whistler.

Dylan Forbes rides the Instinct A50 BC Edition in Whistler.

2019 Instinct A50 BC Edition
Instinct Alloy 50 BC Edition

Jakob Jewett

Jakob's a soft-spoken kid who lets his riding do the talking. Growing up in the Garibaldi Highlands, his backyard features a series of aggressive granite slabs that spit you down the street from his house. Jakob dreams of racing downhill at the World Cup level, and he's always searching for the fastest lines down the mountain. Crawling down the backyard slabs doesn't really interest him. Instead, he likes to ride them fast, calculated, and throw in the odd nose manual.

Jakob Jewett rides the Instinct A50 in Squamish.

Jakob Jewett rides the Instinct A50 BC Edition in Squamish.
Jakob Jewett rides the Instinct A50 BC Edition in Squamish.


MENTIONS: @RockyMountainBicycles


Posted In:
Videos Riding Videos Trail Bikes Rocky Mountain Rocky Mountain Instinct Dylan Forbes Jakob Jewett


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128 Comments

  • 118 15
 I wonder if the bike companies are prepping us to start getting used to down-speccing our bikes because they're about to get real expensive as a result of Trump's trade war. Not that I don't like aluminum, but I see a trend here developing.
  • 16 2
 That's an interesting narrative I'll start watching for
  • 35 5
 I think it's more about getting more people on bikes and not excluding people who can't afford high end rides.
  • 54 4
 @kwdog: Used dentist bikes for me. I like my $3000 year old $8000 bike, cant beat the spec at the price.
  • 28 3
 Sounds to me like Rocky didn't get a great insurance payout for those bikes that went missing. Wink
  • 80 19
 @DH-Angel: Oh this is classic, I'm no supporter of China's scary and corrupt government by any means , but America getting ripped off ? HA laughable. PAX Americana has been 'ripping off' the rest of the world for generations now. South america even ! , how much meddling did the US do in south america in the last 60 years ? Chickens are coming home to roost budz.
  • 13 3
 Nah...I don't think it has anything to do with Trump. I think they do not sell enough carbon to rely just on it and try to increase alloy sale.
  • 8 3
 Lotus - and they'll spread that increase out across both plastic and alu models. I noticed the 2019 carbon comp stumpjumper just went from an 11-speed slx/xt drivetrain to an nx eagle at a $200+ price jump. that should have been a cost neutral switch, but it's being called out as a spec improvement because of 1 extra gear even tho the nx groupset is cheap as hell and certainly doesn't cost more to spec.
  • 13 153
flag kwsvox (Dec 6, 2018 at 9:08) (Below Threshold)
 @DGWW: It's amazing how stupid some people are. Good luck with all of the Islamist immigrants that are creeping into Canook land. Better start brushing up on your kneeling skills. And don't ask us to help you when your being stoned to death either. Idiot!
  • 10 3
 @DH-Angel: harley employees are getting ripped off
  • 8 0
 @eswebster: highly doubt for example that you'd get a used yeti sb130 /150 in a year used for $3000
  • 7 1
 It's winter and affordable bikes sell better in these times.
  • 27 3
 @DH-Angel: Pretty amazing that you can become the wealthiest nation in the world by getting "ripped off" by everyone else... How's that work anyway?
  • 7 1
 The funny thing is that a fair portion of it is NOT hurting or stifling trade with China because the strength of our dollar vs the Yen has increased and as such offset most/all of additional costs that were projected thereby not effecting companies supply chain. I'm sure this has irritated Trump but its good for bike companies still doing business with China and perhaps is why he is looking at pulling out from the trade war policies now. I think a lot of us want to wring our hands about yet another Trump-News cycle we find outrageous (there are a lot), but this isn't actually one of those at the moment.
  • 10 17
flag SlodownU (Dec 6, 2018 at 9:59) (Below Threshold)
 @gtrguy: Studying in school and working hard, vs. being a slacker and bitching on the internet that the government isn't taking good enough care of you, and blaming your problems on everyone else but yourself.
  • 14 2
 @SlodownU: I agree. So is the US getting "ripped off" in one sided trading or not? Or is that just the "blaming your problems on everyone else but yourself" part?
  • 54 6
 @kwsvox: a 40 year old Texan calling people stupid and "idiot" and then making a statement like that. Its bordering on satire.

By the way, we've had Muslims immigrating to our country for many years and most are great people just looking for a better life for their families.

Maybe you should worry about the white, male, born and bred Americans that keep shooting up your schools and workplaces?
  • 12 0
 It is funny how in the States you can buy consumer stuff i.e. bikes, clothing, electronics etc etc. at a much lower price than anywhere else. THEN you realize that primary needs such a food, medicare etc. are at least twice as expensive as anywhere else. The mtb industry reached the top... like in the 90's.... it is only gonna go down from here... therefore smart brands start pushing the models that make more sense i.e. the well made, durable, reasonably priced alu mtb.
  • 5 0
 @gtrguy: Ripped off? No. Imbalance, yes. Also off-shoring most of your industrial capability into one location may be good from a cost-perspective in the short-term, but is the equivalent of single-sourcing in a supply chain scenario, and is a recipe for disaster in the long-term.
  • 7 0
 @SlodownU: Again, definitely agree. The situation is complex and sadly too many want to somehow frame it in simplistic terms in order to point the finger of blame. And that's not really fair nor constructive to resolving the problem. Companies and governments looking at the short term and not thinking about the long term got us here.
  • 9 3
 @Coppermine: Interesting hypothesis.
Moreover, we have to consider the manufacturers`course to novelty, which are the basics of marketing and mass consumptiont. Each year they conditionates the customers to make them buy ``brand new`` stuffs that they often don`t need, even if I agree that our sports has evolved considerably these last 10 years, technically speaking, so we are all tempted to buy and try the ``last best machine in the world``...

I feel concerned and also irritated by the fact that most brands are tending to the same goal nowadays that consists in selling quickly consumable/throwable/removable items with a programmed obsolescense such as carbon frames. OK: the brands will always say that it`s not true, that `their`carbon frame`s conception are reliable and so on..... this is pure bullshit, except probably if you never ride in rocky terrains and mine-fields...

I`m often here as sort of anti-carbon activist, in a soft way though, as I really care for ecology, recycling, durability, economy, respect of every steps and actors of what is making our sport so cool and connected to nature. More than a simple sport or leisure, mountain biking has to be a certain philosophy as well, with a deontology. So that`s my aim...
Personally I have 2 bikes: a steel aggressive hardtail for 90% of my rides, and my old-school Rocky Mountain Slayer SXC from 2008 for gnarly runs in bike parks or destroyed terrains. What else would I need? A carbon piece of crap that costs both my arms and my testicles and that`s gonna crack in two at the first stone? Hum.... No thanks.

Cheers!!
  • 7 0
 @gtrguy: Yea, it really is complicated. The imbalance also comes from US companies paying way more in tariffs (from both cost and volume) than Chinese companies. What Trump is trying to do, in a very heavy-handed way, is to move more manufacturing back into the US by making it more cost-attractive. Raising tariffs is a very one-dimensional way of doing this, and you'd really need to strap yourself in for a long, wild, ride for it to be effective, which I don't think is sustainable. Just look at the impact on the stock market alone. Other reality is that after all the effort and money that was spent in moving capability to Asia, its unrealistic in the short-term to expect companies to turn around right away and spend the same amount of time and money to move it back, just to pay higher cost and overhead here.
  • 5 0
 @kwdog: High end has little to do with frame material or carbon in particular. When talking "high end bikes" I think of Yeti, Unno, Nicolai, Liteville. (And sure we can always argue about that.) Could be aluminium as well as carbon. An aluminium Rocky Mountain is just as high end as the similar model in carbon with the same spec. Back in the days people used to say an aluminium framed bike was more high end than the steel model but I think we've grown way past that. And I think we've grown past that too with the carbon vs. aluminium comparison.
  • 7 0
 Industry: "You need Aluminum again - we took all your Carbon money".
  • 2 0
 @bohns1: www.pinkbike.com/buysell/list/?region=3&q=yeti%20sb%202017&category=2

WAY more than 1 in that ilk out there....
  • 2 0
 @eswebster: I’m on the same program. Buy a bike that someone who doesn’t ride a lot dumped a lot of money into.
  • 2 0
 @kwdog: except anyone who's the least bit price-sensitive can't afford these new bikes regardless if you go carbon or alloy. Didn't anyone here think we'd be seeing very nicely spec'd but pretty ordinary trail bikes north of $10K?
  • 2 1
 @eswebster: yes, because there are just droves of $8k dream builds, one year old, selling for $3k.......keep dreaming man
  • 3 0
 companies finally have the kinematics that work on both affordably made aluminum frames and their "higher end" counterparts. both frames perform the same save for a weight advantage with the carbon frame. I've switched to aluminum for my latest ride/which was custom built and am not going to go back to carbon for a long while.
  • 23 3
 @gtrguy: You have to understand something about the US. It's an plutocracy that's fast becoming a true oligarchy. One thing it has ceased to be is a democracy. 3 People hold more wealth in our country than the bottom 50% combined. We have no access to real healthcare, unless you're actually well off, or willing to be indebted for years to pay for it. The ACA was an attempted step in the right direction but it's been thwarted and gutted at every turn. This bit about China ripping off intellectual property in exchange for doing business is a farce for folks that have no critical thinking skills. (They gut education here too) The decision to move manufacturing to China was decided on in board rooms all across our nation. Every person that signed off on the decision knew that sharing tech and know how was conditional in the agreement. They decided that basically free skilled labor was worth it. It was a conscious decision made upon the basis of short term greed. China is hardly the enemy here, although they aren't helping anybody but China.The majority of the blame and enablement of Chinese malfeasance lies with the corporate board room members who wanted skilled slave labor in exchange for intellectual property. That goes hand in hand with the Wall Street scum that encourage such "deal making". The orange painted self proclaimed "Tariff Man" is completely clueless, incompetent and complicit throughout it all choosing distraction and bigotry to draw people's eyes away from his own egregious behavior. Wow! OK this is a mtb website right?
  • 2 0
 @Svinyard: the yen is Japanese currency
  • 5 1
 @fattyheadshok:

+1 for using “malfeasance”. Last person I heard use that was Dwight Schrute.
  • 4 0
 @WasatchEnduro: malfeasance for malfeasance’s sake!

Best show of all time hahaha
  • 2 0
 @nvranka: Yep well written, well produced and great chemistry between the cast members. Good one.
  • 62 1
 My bike is aluminium throughout - mostly because I can't justify the extra dollar for carbon - and here I am - at the forefront of the latest trend
  • 15 0
 I don't think aluminum is going anywhere. Cheaper, almost as light as carbon when using hydroforming, and handles being thrown down a rock garden much better.
  • 26 0
 Next step: 26" for more playfulness?
  • 16 0
 The whole premise of this video was stupid and shows the pros/industry are out of touch with average riders. All of the sudden it is Pinkbike-newsworthy that some pros are ripping it up on an alloy frame. Welcome to the world of the average rider--but to RMB this is like slumming it. It's like Michelle Pfeiffer got a job teaching at an inner-city school. They should have used Coolio's Gangsta's Paradise for the soundtrack of this edit, no?

It's not like they bought WalMart bikes and were riding them like pros do, but I guess that horse has already been flogged, so here we are.
  • 1 0
 I don't think my 2019 carbon spec enduro tracks as well across cambers and roots as well as my old alu NS snabb which flexed noticeably in comparison.... I think it's too stiff, forks are acknowledged to require a certain degree of flex, why not frames too??
  • 2 0
 @pbuser2299: For your average rider it probably is better, only the pros benefit from that level of stiffness.
  • 3 0
 I just purchased a Knolly Fugitive (alloy) and couldnt be happier. It out weighs my Warden Carbon by a little but its built so stout I doubt have any regrets about going with alloy.
  • 29 1
 BIKE WITH WHEELS ROLLS GOOD: NEWS AT 11
  • 29 5
 It really makes little sense for the average Jo to ride a carbon frame. Plus 95% people wouldn't even notice the difference between the two
  • 18 13
 ??? I can certainly feel a pound and a half on my bike.
  • 24 2
 @eswebster: What hes trying to say is, the feel of how the bike rides on the trail.
A regular rider wont notice the difference between carbon and alloy. And i think that 2.3lbs (1kg) on the frame is not that important! See explanation from Joe of Starling Cycles.

"Weight

It is the currently accepted belief that the lighter the bike the better. There is a certain truth to this, a 100kg bike would be a pain. But a small increase of 1 or 2kgs over the ‘lightest bike’ weight isn’t as important as people think.

When climbing, you are lifting the weight of both the bike and the rider. For arguments sake, let’s consider an 85kg rider (plus kit), and 15kg bike, 100kg in total. It is this weight that must go up the hill; it is this mass involved in the calculation of energy required to climb. So let’s add 2kg to the bike weight, we now have 2% more energy to put in. Not 15kg bike weight plus 2kg which is 13%. The same argument applies to accelerating.

This small impact of bike weight is further reduced by the fact that rotational mass (in the wheels) is more important than the static mass of the frame and components. So if the wheels of the heavier bike are the same weight as those of the lighter bike, then the 2% impact is reduced.

When descending, some additional mass actually helps the suspension by increasing the sprung to un-sprung mass ratio. A bit of mass in the frame also helps keep it ‘calm’. By that I mean it is less likely to be bounced around by bump forces and pitch fore and aft. If you’ve ever ridden an e-bike, you’ll know how well it grips the ground and sit happily unfazed by the bumps.

So a bit of mass helps with bike grip and stability, and as long as we don’t add too much, it doesn’t affect climbing and acceleration."

The weight difference on alot bikes (carbon vs. alloy) is not as big as the most think!

The best example for carbon vs alloy is Knolly! www.knollybikes.com/quality
  • 5 1
 @Zany2410: Nail on the head with the Knolly reference, My endorphin weighed only 200g more than the outgoing devinci troy it replaced. I would counter your claim that most riders can't feel the difference in stiffness between carbon and alloy, I think anyone pushing the bike can feel stiffness...but there are alot of variables here to convolute things .
  • 2 0
 @DGWW: Yea maybe you´re right but i think its down to the frame and quality. Theres a Knolly comparison video somewhere between carbon vs alloy warden. The testers were able to feel differences but they said that they would just choose carbon because of the look and if they had the extra cash to throw out the window.
  • 1 1
 @DGWW: I'm guessing that Troy wasn't fully carbon bike tho. Only the front triangle. I have one in the garage. The models are full carbon however.
  • 1 1
 @eswebster: yes u can, but u can still ride aluminum fast, just takes a tad more work on the flats and climbs.
  • 1 0
 @Zany2410:
  • 2 0
 @Zany2410: Agree with this. I’ve got a YT Jeffsy which is just over 12kg (2017 Pro Race). It’s too light. Great for uphills but noticeably unstable on the downs.
  • 2 1
 That's funny cause in a urban ride with lots of stairs, with a few friends, one of them had a intense m6 alloy and full BOS suspension and I thought that must be the pinnacle of plushness so in a place where we stopped to send a few times the stairs I asked his bike for a descend and oh boy bring back my sweet full carbon 2015 Tues with shitty boxxer wc and vivid at that time, now float x2...
  • 2 0
 @Zany2410: Actually there wasn't much of a concensus in that article about which frame was better. I have owned both an alloy and a carbon Warden, and there is very little difference between them. I do prefer the carbon, but if I had to pay retail price I would choose the alloy version all day long.
  • 1 0
 @jamesdunford: I have a fully aluminium Jeffsy with Stans flow rims and minions. Mine is 15kg and I wish it was a bit lighter. Funny that we have the same bike and opposite problem.
  • 19 0
 Cause the 160 carbon bikes were stolen, they only have these aluminum bikes left to cover their sponsorship ride!
  • 21 4
 but, but...MTB industry told us alloy frames were lame....
  • 24 3
 No, the comments section of PinkBike did.....
  • 1 0
 What kwdog said, the comments sections of blogs did. MTB industry like it or not is there to make $$. Carbon is a great material and it's in demand and they make money on it. Therefore they will make them. The also still make alloy bikes. That said, they are noticing a trend toward alloy for more affordability, therefore, they will promote those as well.
  • 9 1
 Am I supposed to be surprised aluminum works as a frame material ? I think we should see them further up the ranges. Tired of Carbon frames with junk parts hanging off. Carbon is great yea, but not at the expense of the rest of the bike when aluminum is also so good.
  • 6 1
 If you wanted an alloy frame (not because it's cheaper, just because), there seems to be fewer options than ever today. the 'nicer' bikes (yeti, intense, santa cruz, evil, ibis) only offer carbon frames. instead of having an alloy option, riders must go elsewhere to get a different brand. so good on rocky mountain for having both options.
i got away from carbon cause it's just too expensive to keep fixing after a minor crash. so now im back to alloy, but would have loved a yeti sb-150 or an intense carbine if alloy was an option.
  • 1 0
 agreed. Im riding a scott gambler and transition patrol for this exact reason. There are very few top spec alloy bikes out there but the market exists. I want an alloy frame for reasons other than it being cheaper and it drives me nuts when companies assume this
  • 3 0
 Most of the Santa Cruz line has aluminum build offerings, they are still priced above the competitors for the spec, but they are available...
  • 1 0
 I had a 2018 Bronson alloy. It was awesome. Decently specked for the price. I bought it new at the end of the year for $2700.

I only ride alloy, mostly due to budget, but also just don’t have a big desire to go carbon. I haven’t ridden one so I don’t know what I’m missing I guess.
  • 5 0
 Here @RockyMountainBicycles; instead of "Alloy frames offer great value as they mimic frame geometry and the incorporated technologies as their carbon cousins, but with a lower price tag."

It should read; "Carbon frames offer zero value as they mimic frame geometry and the incorporated technologies as their Alloy cousins, but with a much higher price tag."

There, fixed it for you.
  • 12 5
 i might be in the minority here, but i personally have broke a lot more aluminum bikes than carbon bikes.
  • 5 3
 Same here. Never have cracked a carbon bike (few cosmetic scuffs). Cracked three alloy frames.
  • 10 2
 buy one with a lifetime warranty, and the aluminum frame can be recycled.
  • 2 2
 ...and sometimes the replacement frames must be destroyed because they are faulty as well

forumfoto.mtbiker.sk/347_demolacie_5bc7a5cc0afc4.jpeg
  • 8 2
 @ScreamingKnees: 99% of cracked frames are not recycled. Yes, they can be but most end up in the dumpster. #reality
  • 2 0
 I broke carbon dh cranks RF sixc. They were protected by the crank boots too.
  • 5 0
 @bman33: Every shop I've worked at recently holds onto their big ticket alloy pieces for recycling at the end of the year. Biggest shop I worked at had a guy who did it every month since we went through so many rims/tires/spokes/chains/frames.
  • 1 0
 @kmg0: That's great and I encourage it. However, that is the exception, not the rule.
  • 7 0
 the real "Trade" would be to race in them.
  • 3 0
 Right? I think that they just traded them in for the video.
  • 7 1
 @pdxkid: like it's impossible to win races on aluminum....tell that to Commencal.
  • 3 0
 @inverted180: not what I"m saying at all. This is just a publicity stunt for a video
  • 3 0
 @pdxkid: id call it Click bait. that title is puuuure click bait lol
  • 5 0
 I was hoping to get some feedback and commentary from the riders. It looks like alloy can manual and skid through Berms like their carbon counterparts...
  • 4 0
 after getting my first carbon mtb this past year, I'm pretty sure Ill stick with aluminum from here on out. Just didn't notice enough difference to justify the price difference.
  • 4 0
 Never really saw the appeal, difference, advantages of carbon. I'm notoriously brutal on bikes so I always stuck with aluminum, cromoly, steel frames. Looks like I'm "cutting edge" again.....
  • 7 2
 I have had enough carbon my new bike is an alu Trance and it is not TWITCHY.
  • 36 2
 Looks like alluminum is quickly beating Jesus to the whole second coming thing.
  • 15 1
 @TheBearDen: Only so bike companies can eventually charge as much for alloy as they do carbon... and then raise carbon prices even more.
  • 4 0
 @stevemokan: @stevemokan: ally bikes already crept up considerably when they realised they can sell a 10k bike as long as it’s made of carbon.
Now they’re trying to sell us the ally again cus nobody buying em.
How about...selling them cheaper so they’re actually a budget friendly option?
  • 5 0
 @TheBearDen: it's not the Messiah, it's a very noughties ploy.
  • 1 0
 @BenPea: best pinkbike pun I’ve ever seen!
  • 1 0
 @iqbal-achieve: do you realize they cost quite a bit of money to develop? The only way you will get cheaper bikes is to make them with lower quality manufacturer processes and materials.
  • 7 0
 @themouse77: no, I’d never considered there might be any costs involved and I don’t know why manufacturers can’t simply give me a frame. I mean why wouldn’t they, do they want to make money or something? What a daft concept.
If somebody can give me a good reason for my new frame in 2015 costing me £1100 and that same frame going up to £1600 the year later after once all the development costs have been covered and the thing is actually cheaper to produce I will be more receptive to arguments for bikes costing more.
  • 1 0
 @iqbal-achieve: It's because they now choose to develop two designs for the same frame, one in alloy and one in carbon.
  • 1 0
 @iqbal-achieve: @iqbal-achieve: how can you say that development costs have been covered? perhaps they planned that the frame would be on sale for 2 years, and priced accordingly.
  • 1 0
 @AyJayDoubleyou: development costs or no it’s just supply and demand.
“Hey look these idiots are paying £1800 for our competitors frames, why are we selling ours so cheap again, Dave? They sold twice as many units, Dave....50% higher than ours and they came out the same factory. f*ck this. Dave, you’re fired. Keith, change the price to £1600 for 2016. Sam’s gonna win everything, they’ll pay. Oh they’ll pay alright”
*rubs hands together and chuckles madly*

So. Everyone stop buying bikes pls. I can’t afford them.
  • 6 0
 Who rode an alloy slayer? Oh there isn't one...
  • 5 0
 a brushed aluminum slayer.... one can dream right?
  • 8 0
 @TerrapinBen: right? Is there anything that looks better than a brushed Alu. frame?
  • 2 1
 @ReformedRoadie: Yes there is. Raw carbon, Raw titanium, Raw magnesium, Cherry wood oak, A pretty woman in a small bikini with a beer
  • 4 0
 Are we sure Rocky isnt pushing this narrative to sell more bikes, rather than "Pros trading carbon for alloy?"
  • 10 0
 INCONCEIVABLE!!
  • 5 1
 "Rocky Mountain's Pros Trade Carbon For Alloy." Worst premise ever? Another shameless pivot by the bike industry.
  • 2 1
 So dumb of a title and purpose to make a edit. The human race has become such a consistent disappointment. Didn't watch.
  • 2 0
 My new first carbon bike feels like it weighs the same as the Ali one it replaced and I can’t tell a great deal of difference in stiffness either. Looks prettier though ????
  • 2 1
 i'll do my best to be the voice of reason here-ever since the interstate highway act became law (eisenhower) the fed has pursued policy that keeps the value of the dollar high relative to other currency in an effort to keep gasoline prices low. this is what fueled suburban development in the US. china does exactly the opposite-they keep the yuan valued relatively low to fuel an export economy. the fed could pursue policy to devalue the dollar, but we'd all piss and moan about the high cost of gasoline.
  • 2 1
 @kwsvox: Its ok, I'm grateful to be living in the REAL land of the free. Seems you aren't familiar with your own amendments (#1 & #14) Muslims make up 25% of the whole world's population, people are people, they aren't creeping in, they are coming in legally and mostly have value to offer to our great country. Just remember that outside of the Natives , all north Americans are immigrants (Idiot)
  • 1 0
 getting a Alloy alternatives is pretty nice i guess, but even as a Rocky fanboy i've to admit that it just lookis like the unloved step sibling of the carbon instinct.
other brands like commencal showed that an alloy frame can look really sexy, and yt just nailed it with their alloy capra, but this..? i dont know..
  • 5 1
 I was unaware you could shred on an alloy bike...
  • 2 0
 Can you zoom out some so I can see the riding. Everything was framed so close to just see the bike we missed out on the riding.
  • 3 0
 If Rocky Mountain is pushing alloy bikes that can only mean the shipping container was full of carbon models.
  • 3 0
 I didnt hear enough chainslap for alloy... must have edited that out.
  • 2 0
 Pssh, alloy - what am I, poor or something? ... Oh wait, right, I am *sobs*
  • 1 0
 Bring on the resurgence of the aluminum bike! Just make sure to make me a full 180mm/180mm aluminum 29er for smashing park laps and gnar... all... day... long.
  • 1 0
 i ride 26 steel. it's coming back i think. all that steel is like suspension when you lower your tire pressure to 40psi. 22lbs even! Smile
  • 2 1
 Can see this being the next big trend into the MTB industry, companies offering all builds of bike with a choice of frame
  • 2 2
 I have an Instinct C70 custom. Love it. That Alloy version is pretty dang fugly tho regarding the paint job. Thunderbolt looks mint tho
  • 1 0
 Please make an Aluminum Free ride bike . It does not have to be very light. Call it the Simmons or the Tippie.
  • 1 0
 My god can we all golf clap for these brave heroes riding alloy bikes. Not all heroes were capes.
  • 1 0
 Breaking news! Extra,extra ... read all about it. You can ride a aluminum bike and have fun! Who would of thought.
  • 2 0
 Yea Dylan!
  • 1 0
 crazy low cables hanging.
  • 1 0
 Did I see that Jakob was on credit line??? Let's get him on a pb hot lap!
  • 1 0
 Where's the aluminium slayer at Rocky? C'mon!
  • 1 0
 Sooo alloy bikes are good for doing skids?
  • 1 0
 Aluminum, it's the new carbon.
  • 2 4
 Trump hates bikes. The saddles mock him. he hates being mocked. So there you go.
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