Shop Rocky Mountain Element
Rocky Mountain's new Element just dropped, and we're excited! The Element is Rocky's XC bike, and while cross country bikes can be a tough sell here on the North Shore where the trails are steep, deep, and rough, the Element is a different breed of XC bike. There aren't many bikes out there that combine XC bike weight, trail bike travel, and enduro bike geometry, but that's exactly what the Element does, creating an XC bike that climbs like a goat, descends like a beast, and slays on events like BC Bike Race.
The newest version of the Element combines all that was great about the outgoing bike, with a few updates that make the bike even lighter and stiffer, for a more modern and purposeful rig, blending lightweight efficiency, and technical precision, to make it one of the best bikes in its class.
Rolling on 29" wheels front and rear, the Element rocks 120mm travel out back, and 130mm up front, with the exception of the top spec c99, and size XS bikes, which run a 120mm fork. Coming in sizes XS-XL, the XS size is the exception, rolling on 27.5" wheels.
The Element is available in three colours - a gloss metallic white available only on the top spec C99 bike or frame only, a gloss metallic black available on the C30 and C70 builds, and a gloss snakebite green/champagne on the C70 build.
Frame Details
The Rocky Mountain Element sits at the cutting edge of technology, using their SMOOTHWALL carbon frame construction, building an extremely lightweight yet stiff frame. Modern geometry makes the Element one of the most capable cross country bikes out there, while the suspension design provides traction and comfort, without sacrificing speed and efficiency. A new flex-stay Smoothlink SL suspension design eliminates the rear chainstay pivot, dropping 350g off the frame weight, and increasing torsional stiffness.
The new Element is light, fun, fast, and practical. Featuring two mounts for full-size water bottles in the down tube on most frame sizes, as well as a tool mount on the underside of the top tube, nobody can accuse the Element of being short of carrying capacity. Fully-enclosed tube in tube cable routing makes the Element tidy looking and easy to work on, with consideration for moto-style brake users.
A ride-4 adjustment chip at the shock mount gives riders four different geometry positions to choose from, so they can get their ride totally dialed. Upgraded dual-row bearings at the seatstay junction increase stiffness and service life.
Suspension & Geometry
The new Element uses a brand new suspension platform - a variation on their Smoothlink design, called Smoothlink SL. Smoothlink SL eliminates the rear chainstay pivot, replacing it instead with a flex-pivot in the chainstay. This simultaneously shaves weight while also increasing torsional stiffness in the frame, making for an incredibly light and responsive ride.
Rocky Mountain's suspension philosophy is centered on ride characteristics that blend efficiency, comfort, and traction, for a bike that climbs as well as it descends. Going a step further, Rocky Mountain use size-specific suspension tunes, to perfectly tailor the suspension to each size and weight of rider.
The Element uses light weight and efficient suspension to create an incredible climbing bike, but the ace up its sleeve is its geometry. Balancing aggressive yet practical geometry, the Element combines a long reach and slack head angle with mid-length chainstays and the option to put it in a high and steep mode for peppy handling.
Head angle sits between 65º-65.8º, and seat tube angle from 76º-76.8º. Reach is between 475-483mm, and stack 624-628mm on a size LG. BB drop varies from 47-36mm, with rear centre measuring in at 435mm across the board.
Build & Spec
Currently available in the top-spec C99, followed by the C70 and C30 builds, there is also a frame-only option. The C99 build is the top tier race build, with 120mm SID Ultimate Flight Attendant fork and SIDLuxe Flight Attendant shock, SRAM XX Transmission drivetrain with power meter crank, Reverb AXS dropper post, Level Ultimate four-piston brakes, Race Face Era handlebar, and DT Swiss XRC 1501 carbon wheels with Maxxis Rekon 3C MaxxTerra EXO 2.4 WT tubeless tires. It's the ultimate in lightweight race builds, and comes only in the gloss metallic white.
The C70 build comes with Fox Performance Elite 34 fork, Float shock, and Transfer dropper post. SRAM GX Transmission takes care of the drivetrain with Level Bronze Stealth brakes, and Race Face finishing kit, including Turbine handlebar and ARC 27 rims on a DT Swiss 370 rear hub, with Maxxis Rekon 3C MaxxTerra EXO 2.4 WT tubeless tires.
The C30 build features a Marzocchi Z2 fork, Fox Float Performance shock, and X-Fusion Manic dropper post. Drivetrain is a mix of Shimano XT and Deore, with four piston MT4120 brakes. Wheels are Shimano TC500 hubs on WTB KOM Team I27 rims, wrapped in Maxxis Rekon EXO 2.4 WT tubeless tires.
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