RMB Altitude Ride Review

Today I had the chance to demo a Rocky Mountain Altitude. The sales/marketing crew from rmb dropped the bike off for me at a local shop and I took it for a spin on Mt. Seymour. The particular model I rode was the Altitude 70, which includes a Fox 32 Float RL fork (15qr thru axel), Fox RP23 shock and Formula R1 brakes. I think the shifters and drivetrain were XT. The Altitude is marketed as having “straight up technology.” For Rocky, this means that the seat tube angle is very steep when relaxes under load and is great for climbing. For me, prior to riding this meant nothing. I’m typically just doing my best to ride up steep fireroads and that’s that. However, a strange thing happened on my way up the trail. I hit a particularly steep section so I hunkered forward on the seat and leaned into the bars in order to keep traction on the rear wheel while not pulling a wheelie. It didn’t feel right though, so I went back into my regular position and voila! the altitude continued to climb with no slippage and no problems tracking with the front wheel. It was pretty cool. Further on the trail flattened out but there were a lot of rocks and roots to contend with. I had the Altitude flying along the trail, it was really fun.

When it came to the downhill I had mixed feelings. First off I should clarify my technical downhill capabilities. I don’t really have any. Even after practicing on the North Shore lately I’m still in awe of riders that fly down the black diamond trails. I figure my balance is actually quite okay, it’s my cahones that need work. Anyways, I still had to walk several sections of the downhill. Compared to the Norco Fluid LT, the Altitude was definitely not as confident descender, and that shouldn’t surprise anyone. The Fluid is an AM bike that leans more towards freeride, so it’s head angle is more slack and has plusher suspension. However, I wouldn’t say that I had problems with the Altitude. Compared to my RMB ETSX it was improved and did not have the feeling of pitching me over the bars. The Altitude was solid in the drops but its lighter front end made it less stable than the Norco. In other words, the hit and feel were okay while the directional stability was less. As you can tell, I’m no expert but I will say that the tires on the Altitude suck. Suck big time. I think they were very XC orientated and felt extremely slippery on the downhill. They really didn’t grip the soil and gravel very good. I guess that’s another compromise between the flats and uphill vs the downhill.

I’d like to say a few things about comparing the Altitude to my ETSX. First of all, the bb and pedal clearance on the ETSX is outstanding compared to the Altitude. I don’t think this is a fault of the Altitude but more of a characteristic of all-mountain bikes. I’ve read that people think the ETSX can feel tippy but that’s not really something that I’ve noticed. I think the main problem with the ETSX is that it’s suspension and geometry really limit what it can do on drops. And there are a lot of drops in Vancouver and the NS. While I really like the ETSX, the Altitude was easily the better descender. What I think is really special about the Altitude is that while it goes down better, it also goes up and around better too. It truly is a big improvement on the ETSX which I think is a good bike in it’s own right. The ETSX is definitely left in the xc category whereas the Altitude makes good strides into the All Mountain category. Going along rocky/rooty trails on the NS such as the Baden-Powell was a true pleasure on the Altitude and while the ETSX is fun too, the Altitude takes it to the next level.

Aside from the tires I have one more complaint about the Altitude. It’s an expensive bike. I wouldn’t want to go lower than the Altitude 50 because I really like the idea of 15qr thru axel on bikes here in Vancouver. Unfortunately while the Altitude 30 comes with decent shock (RP2) and components, the fork is not what is required in our neighbourhood. It’s okay, but I think most people would agree that the thru axel is much better suited. To get an Altitude 50, I’m looking at $3600 or so. Even the Altitude 30 is steep at $3100+. When you compare these to something offered by Specialized or Giant, I think the Altitude is priced $500 above the others. So the question is whether the frame is worth the extra $500, and in the long run I think that it is. Unfortunately not everyone can increase their budget by $500 and it’s difficult to rationalize $500 for a bike that I assume has a production cost similar to its rivals.

I’m not sure if I’ll be able to get an Altitude because of finances. I must admit that I’m partial to RMB, for good or bad. My RMB habit started in ‘92 with a Summit RL (awesome bike). My next rmb was an Element and I bought a Fusion for my girlfriend at the time (now my wife). The Element was replaced with the ETSX and the Summit was replaced with an RC50 (nice bike). Due to an unfortunate theft incident, the RC50 was replaced with the Metropolis NRT, which is a very cool bike. BTW, the picture of the Summit was taken during a trip along the Continental Divide route in Colorado (before there were maps and guide books, I might add).

Here are some pros and cons for people riding around Vancouver: Pros light fast on the rocks and roots very nice going up can get down

Cons expensive poor tires not a NS gnarl ride