Rocky Mountain Altitude: New heights, same old RM reliability

Six months in the Rocky Mountain Altitude has become a firm feature on a lot of our rides. Although ours is a more custom build, the picture above shows the $6900 full-on Rally spec bike which weighs in at around 30 pounds.

First impression of the frame is that it's absolutely gorgeous. The deep metallic purple really isn't done justice in the photos and, paired with the eye-catching fluorescent yellow decals, is a definite winner. This framesjust flows from end to end as though it's one stunning piece of seamless carbon. The metal tab on the chainstay is a small but useful detail which prevents that flash paintjob getting unnecessary scratches too.

The technical side of this frame, and in particular the 'Ride-9' chip, could be the subject of more than one article. The main takeaway, however, is that the two clever little chips which house the top shock mount offer a variety of different configurations which allow you to tune the frame itself to exactly what you want. Personally, I've left it in one setting as the terrain this bike has been on is a constant mixed bag of brutal climbs and flowing trails inevitably punctuated by steep descents and jump lines. I could see this being really useful, however, if your use for the bike is doing local XC loops for fitness, but then you change the chip configuration for an uplift day on steeper, rockier ground. While we're on the technical side, the high 67 degree head angle does more than provide a gnarly DH-aesthetic; it translates really well when the terrain gets steep by compensating slightly for that 150mm rear end.

The 428mm chainstay pairs beautifully with that rear travel to provide snappy handling that has you charging faster and faster into each corner. Friends with the newer Altitude reported exactly the same feeling; you just point and shoot with this frame and it follows exactly where you want to go. Obviously different configurations with the Ride-9 chip can reduce or enhance this side of the frame, but it has genuinely been one of the easiest handling bikes I've ridden. When things get tight and technical, simply turning the bars is translated through that burly front end to the short rear triangle, and it switches direction like nothing else.

The inevitable cost of this agility is that, when the trail gets really steep and fast, there isn't a vast amount of support. Suddenly that flickable rear end is bouncing of rocks and roots and a few extra millimetres of insurance frame length would come in handy. This isn't aided by the Fox rear shock either which, despite a useful bar-mounted lockout switch, actually feels underpowered for the frame and left us wishing for a coil or more supple option that didn't blow through the travel as quickly and instead provided a supportive, consistent feel to match the insane turning ability of the Altitude. However, buying a frame like the Altitude to throw it down steep, rocky chutes relentlessly on uplift days misses the point; it's like buying a downhill frame for your commute to work. The Altitude is supposed to be fun, making the flatter trails faster and flowing singletrack glide by easier.

Would it be my first choice for enduro racing? Maybe not, although I can think of more than a few courses where the incredible grip and handling, combined with how efficiently it climbs and eats up singletrack, could come in really handy. Does it have a purpose? If you like your rides social and your smiles wide, absolutely.

It's fun, fast and ridiculously good looking - but if you're looking for a gravity sled that you can occasionally pedal back to the top, you'll probably find yourself parting cash for another frame. And while there's no harm in that, you might just find your eye is still drawn to the Altitude's sleek lines, gorgeous metallic paint job, and playful feel.

Back to Back to Back: Enve DH Carbon vs Pro Tharsis DI2 Carbon vs Spank Spike Vibrocore Handlebars.

1 – Visuals: The first impression you, or anyone else, will get of the bars and the most subjective part of this review. The Enve DH bars have that classic matte-and-white understated styling that just goes with everything and brings a superbike feel to any build. The Pro bars have a murdered-out all black look which looks at home on any bike but doesn’t scream style. The Spank, the only alloy bar on test, comes in a variety of colours so can highlight any custom build or retain a subtle OEM colour-coded look.

2 – Price: The sticking point for most of us mere mortals who pay to ride, rather than the other way round! 
At £90 the Spank bars come in at the lowest price, followed by the Pro Tharsis at £120 and the Enve in excess of £160.

3 – Feel: How does it all translate on the trail? 

The Pro bars are exactly as you’d expect: light and incredibly stiff. The bonus of it being one of the few bars with recesses for DI2 cables is commendable, but even on a trail bike their rigidity was to the point of discomfort; for smashing out timed runs their trail feedback was excellent, but they were hardly a comfortable companion for long days in the saddle.

Enve are one of those brands where the reputation invariably precedes all else and that rep is, well... enviable. There’s a subtlety to these where they feed back exactly what’s going on downstairs without the irritating ‘buzz’ in a lot of other handlebars which invariably saps energy from your arms, loosens your grip and is all-round unpleasant.

The real surprise of the test, however, was the Spank offering. I’m always wary of a gimmick, as all bikers need to be with the new standards inundating the market, but it was genuinely excellent. Granted, it pays a weight penalty compared to the skinnier carbon counterparts on test, but circa 100g for the incredible feel these bars provide is a trade I’ll snatch with both hands. The aforementioned irritating chatter is refined by the clever foam insert within the bars and fed back as a much more manageable rumble. These bars don’t detach you from the trail, but rather report it back in comfortable doses in a manner only the very best suspension setups usually can. It’s no silver bullet but, paired with the same well-set suspension and grips tested with all of these bars, made a noticeable difference both on long rocky descents and general trail feel; it’s akin to replacing a dodgy front-end bearing you never knew you had.

The Rankings:

No prizes for guessing the Spank Spike Vibrocore comes out on top. Like when dropper posts first came into play, there’s a feel to this bar that we’ll happily pay the weight penalty and wonder how we ever coped before. The vast choice of colours and low price are an added bonus to make this bar a no-brainer for my next build.

Enve DH comes a second when all three factors come into account. However, they remain the undisputed kings of performance and would still be the bar I reach for if I was counting grams and milliseconds on a world cup build. Weekend warriors and penny-pinchers need not apply!

The Pro Tharsis should feel no shame in being bested by the two other bars on test. If the engineers called me a fat, lazy hypocrite who needed to work on his fitness rather than blame a set of carbon handlebars I’d have to agree. However, for a pricey bar it lacks the ‘bling’ factor of Enve or the performance-enhancing feel from the Spank bars. It’s a tidy bar, make no mistake, with the built in DI2 option keeping any cockpit clean. On a personal level, the trail feedback and high price would make it a no from me as an upgrade, but they probably wouldn’t be the first component to change if they came with a factory build. 

Cane Creek Inline Coil

Cane Creek Inline… three words to send a shiver down your spine.

At least, they were, before the coil offering emerged. Where its predecessor offered sublime damping but a maintenance schedule which would make world cup mechanics wince, this coil counterpart promises all of the performance without the faff.

First up, it weighs in 250-300g above an air counterpart with wiggle room depending on dimensions and spring weight; the ‘lightweight’ in-house Cane Creek offering is surprisingly good at under half the price of a Fox SLS spring. Talking of price… a brand new shock under £350 is great value and certainly provides better performance than a comparable air shock.

But the main thing; how does it ride?

Pretty damn well.

Paired with an Intense Carbine 29er it handled the descents with ease. It’s common knowledge that coil provides a more consistent feel than air due to a spring providing a completely linear relationship between force and travel. The Inline coil never feels outgunned, providing more of a grippy feel that tracks the ground than being ‘poppy’ like a comparative air shock. Personally, I went from a Vorsprung tuned Monarch and the Inline genuinely felt like an upgrade in most departments; it’s heavier and perhaps doesn’t feedback the tiny nuances in surfaces as well as the (frankly, sublime) Vorsprung Monarch. However, the confidence-inducing consistency of the Inline had me pushing harder and harder to find the limits of the bike’s capabilities without a fear of suddenly blowing through the travel on one misjudged landing or poor decision. Likewise, the ‘trail’ capabilities of the inline are brilliant as it tracks the surface and provides seemingly endless grip as your rear tyre is magnetised to the floor. Some articles I’ve read raise fears about the lack of additional chambers like on the CCDB coil which prevent overheating. As a 110kg rider who likes to think that they push their kit pretty hard, I never felt a thing. I daresay on the windiest of alpine descents you might feel some difference, but unless your riding back-to-back Megavalanches most weekends you’ll have no complaints from the Inline on UK trails.

The really outstanding feature of this shock though, is when you point the bike uphill. No leaning, no standing, just sitting comfortably is required as the top of the trail pulls into view much quicker than usual. When the lever is flicked across even the most descent-hungry, high-travel monster becomes a dutiful cross country steed to help shuttle you on to the next fun bit. Weirdly enough, when a shock tracks the ground as well as this, the uphills become a big part of the fun because usual frustrations like pedal-bob or skipping strokes and bouncing over obstacles become a distant memory. The inline holds its composure so well it almost feels like cheating… although those seconds can be quickly lost if one forgets to switch the lever back for a descent. But a seasoned biker wouldn’t be daft enough to do that would they?

We’d better move hastily on to a verdict!

It’s not an air shock, and it doesn’t try to be: it’s undeniably heavier and does require £50-odd on a new spring each time you lose or gain a significant amount of weight.

But that argument has circulated since air and coil shocks have been in production. The real benefit is in the feel: if you like your climbs and aren’t fazed by a bit of extra weight it’s sublime. Despite what people might tell you about its air-sprung predecessor, it is incredibly consistent as it devours descents and hurtles up the climbs. It came to a straight choice: Vorsprung Monarch or Cane Creek Inline. I chose the Inline. In my experience, that’s the highest praise there is; I could’ve written that at the beginning and saved you five minutes!

Giant Reign Carbon 2017 (£Various)

Two years old now, this is one of many carbon enduro machines flooding the second hand market. With a lineage back to 2015, there’s some pedigree in this frame – Giant’s flagship enduro bike has faced little change in four years, a feat almost unheard of in these uncertain times!

I should add that mine’s a completely custom build, so I’m reviewing the frame as I experienced it with two differing shocks; the Vivid RC2 coil and Monarch RC3 (Vorsprung tuned) that I replaced it with.

Visually; the frame looks good. The lines are clean, the rear triangle being metallic means it’s easily replaced, and I did a full bearing change at home with relative ease. The paint finish is slightly disappointing; there’s significant lacquer peel, rubbed decals and chips which aren’t often found on bikes within this price range. The odd mark’s to be expected, but there is a sense that Giant are making these by the thousands, not crafting each one. Yes, I know that’s how they’re made (as indeed most brands are) but this Reign is the first bike (especially at this price range) that I’ve experienced with a ‘cheap’ feel to its visual finish.

More importantly, though, how does it ride? In a word: excellent. There’s a snappy feel coming out of corners and over jumps that could trick you into thinking you’re riding a shorter travel bike. Compared to the mega I’ve raved about before, there’s a more ‘upright’ feel that encourages pedalling; there’s not a sense of holding on and ploughing the track, more of a playful feel that has you popping off small rocks and lips. When things do get serious, however, it still reigns supreme as it soaks up the hits and remains unfazed by steep terrain. There is a more ‘forward’ feel to the riding position (which could be tweaked with different stems etc) but not an uncomfortable one. Put simply, rather than hanging off the back wheel and trying to plough the terrain, there was a sense of the reign pushing you forward into the driver’s seat to find the best lines. It never felt like I was heading out of the front door, but it keeps you honest when things get steep and rough.

I found it to be a comparable whippet on the climbs, a feat aided massively by switching from the Vivid RC2 to a Monarch. As should be the case with bikes in this class, there’s little sense of energy being wasted through pedal bob – each sweaty stroke rotates a wheel. Sitting atop the bike, and not too far over the rear wheel, keeps traction on the steep climbs and never poses an issue when you point it downward. As a predominantly ‘dh’ rider who likes to pedal too, this feels like a brilliant companion – tuned for the descents but light (and efficient) enough to really make up ground on the climbs too. And for some extra good news, Giant is, well, giant in the UK; a huge range of UK retailers stock replacement parts for absolutely any eventuality.

So… a verdict. This isn’t the rave review the 2015 Mega received, but it is coming from a position of more experience, of higher expectations, of a higher price range. On the one hand the Giant is a great companion that supports you on the descents and compliments you on the climbs. On the other, it’s an expensive frameset that somehow manages to feel cheap – a carbon front end and metal rear triangle at a price point competing with full-carbon offerings. In short, it’s a machine I’d deter nobody from buying because it’s fast, comfortable, and easily maintained. However, in a class stacked with outstanding machines, this remains merely adequate. I own one, I ride one quite happily, but I’d have no qualms about exchanging it for something else. Perhaps it's simply too efficient; it’s a bike that takes serious abuse and (thanks to its paint finish) has the scars to prove it, but it stoically remains a tool, rather than my pride and joy.

Windhill Bikepark

If you’re into swanky trail centres and expensive coffee, this isn’t for you. If you like things back to basics; portaloos, friendly staff, and a brilliant ride on your doorstep – it definitely is! It’s easily accessed via A-Roads and there’s a nearby services if you’re looking for hot food / accommodation.

You park up a three-minute ride from the kiosk, which is no issue – a bag of spanners and spare tubes is never too far away, and the staff often lend pumps and tools for trailside tweaks. The first thing you’ll see is a big wooden drop in ramp – and it links to every trail in the park, so makes a perfect hub for meeting new riders. Underneath this there’s a cubby hole to store bags etc and the kiosk where you pay. There’s a couple of seats and a load of tree stumps to sit on and have a bite to eat, and the kiosk sells the usual chocolate bars, energy drinks etc that you’d expect.

But the important bit, the trails…

They’re impressive, seriously impressive. There’s a massive amount of variety, from the (quickly becoming) infamous pro line you can see in Pilgrim and Reynolds edits, to a blue trail you could have an absolute blast on whether you’re experienced, or a complete novice

Blue Trail - It’s fast (as fast as you can go!) and flowy with a lot of BMX-type features that you can hone your skills on, finishing up on a nice set of jumps that you can send as hard as you like. Big berms opening up onto a few fast, straight sections give plenty of runoff and the chance for a novice to explore their potential. There’s a nice set of whoops at the start, and this beginning section shoots off into three other red trails, so no deflated egos when you drop in from the main ramp – you really can pick and choose your trails.

The red trails – You’ve got a lot of choice in this department. One trail follows the same ethos as the blue trail; fast, flowy and massively fun! The jumps are bigger, and you require reasonable pace to clear them - a novice could ride it without feeling too intimidated, but there’s a really sweet set of tables at the bottom that require good speed if you’re going to clear them. There’re two other red tracks that are slower (if you ride like me) and a bit more technical – tight corners, muddy roots and uneven ground – nothing like the stony, smooth blue runs. Bigger jumps, drops, and even a little road gap; all designed to keep you on your toes. If you were being picky here, you could argue that there’s nothing super-technical; there’re no big rock gardens or root-strewn ribbons of track threading tightly between trees. It never poses an issue for me though – I was having too much fun on what was there, and its an omission I’ve only really noticed on reflection.

If you’re a dirt jumper, don’t despair – there’s a great set of dirt jumps running off the pro line and no, you don’t HAVE to drop off that Northshore feature to hit them (but massive props if you do!)

So, yeah, it’s an easy day out. A few people might complain about an uplift, but the big positive about the park not being very steep is that it’s an easy 10 minute push up the fire roads – and if you can’t handle that, you need to work on your fitness. The tracks snake down the hillside, really making use of the shallower gradient – I found I wanted trails to last longer because I was having such a good time, not because they were noticeably shorter than I’m used to. As part of the B1KEPARK franchise (that runs Tidworth Freeride and Rogate too) it’s run as efficiently as you’d expect, and £10 a ride seems like a bargain – especially if you’re used to going further afield spending money on fuel, bridge tolls, parking and expensive trail centre food. The only thing worth mentioning is that you need to register beforehand; it’s a two-minute job online and is (as far as I understand) the equivalent of signing the waiver at BPW and most other bike parks. Plus, once its done, they mail you a membership card you can flash each time so you don’t need to take any other ID - if it’s your first time take a pic of the membership number they email you and show them that. Oh, and yearly membership is £125 with discounts for servicemen, youths and students, which works out a bargain when you think that’s 1 visit a month for a year – yet you’ll find most locals out there shredding almost until the sun sets on summer weeknights.