The bike I'm referring to is the monster from the Canadian manufacture that 10 years ago decided when everyone went towards the light weight XC game they stuck to their guns and went back country burly! They listened to the market and built bikes they wanted to ride and put out the first "all mountain bike" before anyone knew what an all mountain bike was.
This bike was born and raised on the shore and built to last.
This is an all new and completely redesigned model over the 2010 and earlier models. They have lighten the over all weight, steepened the seat tube angle and slackened the head tube angle. So what, what does that mean? Well look at this monster! And the name? The name says it all, IMO! Who doesn't want a bike named Slayer! It just screems bad ass ripper that doesn't take shit from anyone or any trail! Just like the heavy metal bad from the '80!
Ok for real, what does this mean? Well let me have Rocky Mountain tell you what it means.
First they have completely redesigned this bike and we will have the head designer go through that with you.
Ok now that you have seen the design changes and what they are suppose to do, lets check out just how bad ass this bike looks in action. I know, I know a pro can make any bike look bad ass but this bike looks really bad ass! http://vimeo.com/14424781 (sorry not able to imbed this)
Now that you have seen it in action, why does this bike handle the way it does?
It has to do primarily with the geometry of the bike. I'll let Rocky Mountain explain this a bit.
http://vimeo.com/14553005
Super sick isn't it. It looks like they really have there ducks in a row. Sitting on the front of your seat has never been comfortable and neither is that feeling like you are going to slide of the back of your seat. So when that bad boy is in it's sag, it puts the seat exactly where you needed it to be! The other great thing they have done is slacken the head tube angle, which makes the bike descend like it is on rails.
As two of the greats have said, Mark Weir and Ross Schnell, a 66 degree head tube angle is the ideal head tube angle for a trail bike.
We know this bike hauls ass down hill but why? Well besides the spot on geometry, it is the bottomless feel of the rear suspension. Why does it feel this way? Let's find out why...
http://vimeo.com/14552748
I know that this looks a lot like Specialized's FSR and Norco's new ART rear suspension design and to be honest, it is similar but not the same. It is a 4 bar rear suspension and the major difference is the location of the rear pivot. By putting it above the rear axle it limits the chain growth and improves the pedaling efficiency with out having to use a shock platform like you see with many of Specialized's bikes with their brain shock technology.
Rocky is touting the proximity to the chain as one of the big advantages of this configuration. In their own words "The lower linkage member is almost parallel to the Average Chain Torque Line (ACTL), at all points of travel. Keeping the lower link parallel to the ACTL allows the instantaneous center of rotation (ICR) to follow very closely to the ACTL, thus practically eliminating pedal induced suspension bob."
The last thing I have for you is Andreas Hestler going through the Slayer
Geometry
| Size | 15" | 16.5" | 18" | 19" | 20.5" |
| Head Length | |||||
| Head Angle | 66.5° | 66.5° | 66.5° | 66.5° | 66.5° |
| Seat Angle | 75° | 75° | 75° | 75° | 75° |
| Seat Tube length | 381 | 419 | 457 | 482 | 520 |
| Horiz. Toptube Length | 546 | 565 | 575 | 595 | 620 |
| Headtube Length | 115 | 115 | 125 | 145 | 155 |
| Chainstay Length | 428 | 428 | 428 | 428 | 428 |
| BB Drop | -16 | -16 | -16 | -16 | -16 |
| Wheelbase | 1116 | 1136 | 1147 | 1169 | 1195 |
| Front-Centre | |||||
| Standover Height | 752 | 775 | 761 | 777 | 792 |
Ok so we have all the facts, what else makes this bike shine or stand out to me? It has 160mm of front travel and 165mm or rear travel. It sports a tapered head tube; an over sized front triangle and a 20mm front axle. All of this equals a super stiff front end, which will feel extremely stable when pointed down hill. The rear end sports a 142x12 rear axle and a 16.85 inch long chain stay which equals an extra stiff and stable rear end that is still flickable and nimble.
With an over all wheel base of about 45 inches this will make the bike have an over all stable feel, combine that with stiffness of the front and rear end, this bike will feel like it is on rails!
This bike has received great reviews from all the magazines, check out what BIKE has to say here. This is what the Pinkbike brethren had to say HERE actually it's mostly pictures and comments. As well as a tid-bit from off-roaders (dot) net and last but not least here is what the boys from the shore have to say about it, and who would know better? HERE
I haven't had the opportunity to ride this bike myself, yet but I will. Unfortunately there are not any dealers here in the metro but there is one in the state and that is in Crosby, Cycle Path and Paddle.
I have contacted them and they are going to be stocking at least one Slayer this summer and are also trying to organize a Rocky Mountain Demo, unfortunately that demo looks like it will be during the Cuyuna Mountain Bike Festival which will be held on June 9th and 10th and I will be in Whistler. So I guess that isn't really a bad thing but I would have really like to have been able to demo the bike and actually ride it. Nothing tells you how a bike rides the really getting out at riding it and riding her hard and putting her to bed wet. Unfortunately most bike shops don't really want you to do that, as they do need to sell that bike still. So hopefully I will be able to take a Slayer for a test ride in Whistler and also give it a second go in Crosby. I will do a test ride write up after that!
If this doesn't spark your interest in the Rocky Mountain Slayer, you might want to check your pulse or maybe you need to come out of the closet because you must be a closet roadie!
Keep it real!
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