Text, photos and videos by Lee Lau
Introduction
At the outset, let me clearly unequivocally state that this is merely a preview of the RM Element 29er. I have not even ridden the bike (although that opportunity will emerge in the near future). This preview will consist of pictures, RMB's-provided information with some commentary from myself and a synthesis of information provided from RMB and from my one ride with someone on a prototype Element 29er. With that, on with the show!
Testing the Element in Squamish, BC - photo Margus Riga
Testing the Element 29er - Whistler Valley Trails
Riding the Element 29er in Squamish - provided by RMB
Highlights
Rocky Mountain Element 29er at RMB World Domination HQ in Vancouver, BC. The depicted Element 29er 950 has a RockShox front (Revelation 90 - 120 adjustable travel, 20mm thru-axle) and rear (RockShox Monarch -size 7.5 x 2.5).
BB92 bracket and direct mount front derailleur. When RMB re-designed the Element they kept the rear shock position essentially the same so that riders could make adjustments on the fly. In keeping with the Element's xc bias and desire to go fast, Rocky specs Maxxis Ikons in the front and Maxxis Aspens in the rear.
Close up of the bottom bracket shows the beefiness of this assembly & how tight the front derailleur is to the frame.
Even RMB's XC bikes are getting tapered headtubes - reflecting the industries's recognition that tapered headtubes add stiffness without adding significant weight. Note the zero-stack headset. You could run an angleset if you desire
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Custom for RMB is a travel adjustable (90 to 120mm) RockShox Revelation with (hallelujah) a 20mm Maxle lite through-axle. Chalk me up as one of those who think the 15mm front axle is a useless standard. This 20mm Revelation is a blow for function over (empty) form
Another nice touch is not only internal cable routing (for aesthetics and to help prevent cable contamination) but ease of cable change by way of a port on the BB
E thru 142 x 12 rear end on the Element 29er. RMB's reasoning is that 29er wheels flex more and generate more torque and hence, require the increased rear end stiffness. Rocky maintains that the rear end is so stiff that a seat stay bridge isn't required - this has the side effect that there is enough clearance for a 2.25 rear tire
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Speaking of rear - end flex, Rocky uses angular bushings in place of regular bearings to increase rear-end stiffness while reducing weight. The end-result is a not insignificant 120g of weight-savings in the Element frame (20g saved per pivot - ABC bushings are used in six pivots. Apparently this ABC concept is patent pending for applications in bicycles. I must admit to some confusion about patentability as I could have sworn that such bushings have been used in other mechanical applications but this is an article generally overviewing the Element and not angular bushings so I let the matter lie. I will note that a cursory search of the US patent application database did not yield any results. If I do obtain the patent application I'll update this story with a link
Above graph courtesy of Alex Cogger - it will be a collector's item one day!
The more formal graph shows how Element uses Smoothlink suspension; an adaptation of RMB's ETS patented suspension. I won't go on about it in detail since I've already gone on at length in another article (although it was about the RMB Altitude). Suffice it to say that the RMB Element's implementation of Smoothlink allows the suspension curve to initially be linear (in theory good for small bump compliance) and progressive towards the end of the suspension (ie resist bottoming out harshly towards the end of travel
Geometry for the RMB Element 29er (with 26 wheeled geometry for comparison) - see below for comparison with other 29ers. As MTBR forces a too-small picture; click here to see the geo chart in a readable format
Specs for the RMB Element 29er. As MTBR forces a too-small picture; click here to see the specs in a readable format. Note that all these 29ers share common spec of 180mm rotors; 29er specific gearing (38-24 2x10 front; 36t rear)
MSRP and weights
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Geometry
While RMB was unwilling to get into a "shoot-out" vs other 29er full suspension bikes, I have a handy dandy little geometry chart I put together to compare 29er bikes and thought I would I offer the comparison without comments. The truth will be in the riding. Note that the chart was put together for my review of the Norco Shinobi which was a bigger AM-styler suspended 29er so keep that in mind when reading the numbers.
mm
inches
* Norco website's 69.5 is measured with a 120mm front fork.
** BB Drop is defined as "is the distance by which the center of the bottom bracket lies below the level of the rear hub."
Andreas Hestler doing what he does best in Squamish, BC. - photo Margus Riga
More to come on the new Rocky Mountain Vertex over the weekend
Introduction
At the outset, let me clearly unequivocally state that this is merely a preview of the RM Element 29er. I have not even ridden the bike (although that opportunity will emerge in the near future). This preview will consist of pictures, RMB's-provided information with some commentary from myself and a synthesis of information provided from RMB and from my one ride with someone on a prototype Element 29er. With that, on with the show!
Testing the Element in Squamish, BC - photo Margus Riga
Testing the Element 29er - Whistler Valley Trails
Riding the Element 29er in Squamish - provided by RMB
Highlights
- 95m rear travel full-suspension bicycle with 29er wheels
- Race Tuned Compact 29er geometry; to the extent there is a norm for full-suspension 29er the Element will have relatively short chain stays, a short wheelbase, and a short top tube - all to maximize agility in technical terrain
- Sizing; the bikes go from 15.5 to 21.5. It's well-known that 29ers fit larger people well. However, the smaller sized 29ers fit smaller riders also - the video I shot featured Lindsey who is a 5' 2" competitive woman's downhill racer on the BC Cup circuit and she looked very comfortable on the bike
- Smoothlink suspension; a variation of the ETS suspension results in an initial linear spring rate at the beginning of the travel stroke and a ramped progressive spring rate at the bottom of the travel stroke
- Continuing with the acronym jargon, the Element uses ABC (Angular Bushing Concept) pivot technology; this saves weight yet increases pivot stiffness
- Other features that add stiffness to the Element frame includes a BB92 bottom bracket shell, tapered head tube, an E-thru 142x12mm rear end
- Nice touches that show RMB's attention to detail include internal cable routing, an E-type direct mount front derailleur (eliminating clearance issues), cable guides for dropper posts, an anti chain drop plate to help prevent chain jam and an integrated sag indicator (markings on the upper rocker pivot)
Rocky Mountain Element 29er at RMB World Domination HQ in Vancouver, BC. The depicted Element 29er 950 has a RockShox front (Revelation 90 - 120 adjustable travel, 20mm thru-axle) and rear (RockShox Monarch -size 7.5 x 2.5).
BB92 bracket and direct mount front derailleur. When RMB re-designed the Element they kept the rear shock position essentially the same so that riders could make adjustments on the fly. In keeping with the Element's xc bias and desire to go fast, Rocky specs Maxxis Ikons in the front and Maxxis Aspens in the rear.
Close up of the bottom bracket shows the beefiness of this assembly & how tight the front derailleur is to the frame.
Even RMB's XC bikes are getting tapered headtubes - reflecting the industries's recognition that tapered headtubes add stiffness without adding significant weight. Note the zero-stack headset. You could run an angleset if you desire
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Custom for RMB is a travel adjustable (90 to 120mm) RockShox Revelation with (hallelujah) a 20mm Maxle lite through-axle. Chalk me up as one of those who think the 15mm front axle is a useless standard. This 20mm Revelation is a blow for function over (empty) form
Another nice touch is not only internal cable routing (for aesthetics and to help prevent cable contamination) but ease of cable change by way of a port on the BB
E thru 142 x 12 rear end on the Element 29er. RMB's reasoning is that 29er wheels flex more and generate more torque and hence, require the increased rear end stiffness. Rocky maintains that the rear end is so stiff that a seat stay bridge isn't required - this has the side effect that there is enough clearance for a 2.25 rear tire
<
Speaking of rear - end flex, Rocky uses angular bushings in place of regular bearings to increase rear-end stiffness while reducing weight. The end-result is a not insignificant 120g of weight-savings in the Element frame (20g saved per pivot - ABC bushings are used in six pivots. Apparently this ABC concept is patent pending for applications in bicycles. I must admit to some confusion about patentability as I could have sworn that such bushings have been used in other mechanical applications but this is an article generally overviewing the Element and not angular bushings so I let the matter lie. I will note that a cursory search of the US patent application database did not yield any results. If I do obtain the patent application I'll update this story with a link
Above graph courtesy of Alex Cogger - it will be a collector's item one day!
The more formal graph shows how Element uses Smoothlink suspension; an adaptation of RMB's ETS patented suspension. I won't go on about it in detail since I've already gone on at length in another article (although it was about the RMB Altitude). Suffice it to say that the RMB Element's implementation of Smoothlink allows the suspension curve to initially be linear (in theory good for small bump compliance) and progressive towards the end of the suspension (ie resist bottoming out harshly towards the end of travel
Geometry for the RMB Element 29er (with 26 wheeled geometry for comparison) - see below for comparison with other 29ers. As MTBR forces a too-small picture; click here to see the geo chart in a readable format
Specs for the RMB Element 29er. As MTBR forces a too-small picture; click here to see the specs in a readable format. Note that all these 29ers share common spec of 180mm rotors; 29er specific gearing (38-24 2x10 front; 36t rear)
MSRP and weights
Model | Size | kg | lb | USD | CAD |
Element 970 | 18.5 (M) | 12.10 | 26.60 | $ 4,299 | $ 4,449 |
Element 950 | 18.5 (M) | 12.54 | 27.58 | $ 3,299 | $ 3,299 |
Element 930 | 18.5 (M) | 12.99 | 28.58 | $ 2,599 | $ 2,599 |
Element 50 | 18 (M) | 12.04 | 26.48 | $ 2,999 | $ 2,999 |
Element 30 | 18 (M) | 12.95 | 28.48 | $ 2,399 | $ 2,399 |
Element 10 | 18 (M) | 13.49 | 29.68 | $ 1,899 | $ 1,899 |
Geometry
While RMB was unwilling to get into a "shoot-out" vs other 29er full suspension bikes, I have a handy dandy little geometry chart I put together to compare 29er bikes and thought I would I offer the comparison without comments. The truth will be in the riding. Note that the chart was put together for my review of the Norco Shinobi which was a bigger AM-styler suspended 29er so keep that in mind when reading the numbers.
mm
RM Element 29er (18.5) | RM Altitude 29er (18) | RM Element 26 MSL (18) | Santa CruzTallboy (M) | Santa CruzTallboy (L) | NorcoShinobi (18) | |
HA | 70.6 | 70.5 | 69.5 | 70 | 70 | 68.5* |
STA | 74 | 76 | 73.5 | 73 | 73 | 74 |
TTT | 605 | 595 | 585 | 585 | 609 | 610 |
HT | 120 | 100 | 135 | 100 | 100 | 100 |
BBH | 39.5 (drop)** | 336/ 0 (drop) | 13.5 (drop) | 325 | 325 | 335 |
WB | 1120 | 1140 | 1089 | 1082 | 1135 | 1149 |
RC | 445 | 452 | 425 | 444 | 444 | 450/17.7 |
RM Element 29er | RM Altitude 29er (18) | RM Element 26 MSL (18) | Santa CruzTallboy (M) | Santa CruzTallboy (L) | NorcoShinobi (18) | |
TTT | 23.8 | 595 | 23 | 23 | 24 | 24 |
HT | 4.7 | 3.9 | 5.3 | 3.9 | 3.9 | 3.9 |
BBH | 1.55 (drop) | 13.25 | 0.53 (drop) | 12.8 | 12.8 | 13.2 |
WB | 44.1 | 44.9 | 42.9 | 42.6 | 44.7 | 45.2 |
RC | 17.5 | 17.8 | 16.7 | 17.5 | 17.5 | 17.7 |
** BB Drop is defined as "is the distance by which the center of the bottom bracket lies below the level of the rear hub."
Andreas Hestler doing what he does best in Squamish, BC. - photo Margus Riga
More to come on the new Rocky Mountain Vertex over the weekend