Electric Unicycle Full Suspension Mountain bike Hitch Bike Rack

The Canadian brand's flagship cross country mountain bike, the Rocky Mountain Element, has been around for 25 years. The previous generation Element was conservative by today's standards. It was clearly designed with smooth-legged, spandex-clad XC racers. Rocky and other short-travel 29ers followed them down the logic-defying down country rabbit hole. The 2022 Element, as it is known, was completely redesigned to cross all categories and be a lightweight short-travel 29er capable of handling steeper trails and more rugged terrain. Rocky mountains mtb claims this feat was possible without compromising its primary XC attributes.

Rocky Mountain raised the Element's rear travel by 120mm and designed the platform around a 130mm fork. The old blueprint was completely scrapped and the geometry was reengineered from scratch. The 2022 rocky mountains mtb Element's Head Tube is a staggering 4.5deg shorter than the previous generation. Reach numbers across all sizes are also significantly longer (up to 38mm for the XL). To compensate for the longer front, the seat tube angle has been skewed to 76.5deg. The wheelbase has also been extended. This isn’t your typical yearly redesign. These subtle differences transform the Element into a more advanced XC race bike.

TO THE TRAILS

The demo 2022 Rocky Mountain Element arrived with Ride-4 chip set in neutral. This is how I kept it for quite a while. Initial impressions were mixed. The Element of a mountain bike felt a bit awkward when I tried to climb on some of my favourite backyard trails. I love climbing and was not happy to miss and stab technical bits that I normally clear. When things got technical and slow, I was often thinking too much about how to balance the bike and get the front wheel up and above obstacles. The bike's length made me feel a bit off my game. On flatter terrain, the Element felt a bit slow while climbing. This was quite surprising given that the Element is one of my favourite full-suspension bikes. This was possible due to the carbon frame. Rocky claims that he turned it to each size in order to dampen trail chatter and still be responsive while pedalling.After several more rides, I began to feel comfortable with climbing on the Element of a rocky mountain bikes and adjusted my riding style to be more aggressive and forward. It felt faster too. It felt slightly slower than my Ibis, however. Although the shock and fork pressure was adjusted to a more comfortable setting, it felt a bit bouncy at its rear and awkward up front. The cockpit felt a little too small for me considering Rocky's claim that his reach was greater than other bikes. It was still a lot of fun, and I almost forgot about it.

Rocky Mountain Element Field Test

The Rocky Mountain Element is quite a different bike from the previous model. This bike could be described as a copywriter's gold ticket and its entire description could be reduced to buzzwords. But does this modern take on a short travel bike still hold water? Is it just a damp squib or something more?

It's shorter, lighter, more aggressive, slacker and more attractive than the previous model. However, it is also steeper in its seat tube. It also has room for two water bottles and geometry adjustment that provides a useful amount range.

Many of these features are delivered by the bike in large numbers. The bike's headtube can be as loose as 65 degrees and is 2.5 times more efficient than the Canyon Lux. The bike is also well balanced, despite the quirks or shortcomings of other bikes. It has well-proportioned dimensions, even with geometry measurements that aren't headline worthy, like a short seat tube, and a deep insertion depth. The large model came with a 175mm dropper, which was very appreciated as this bike has a lot of travel.

Rocky has also adopted the wheel-size-specific frame sizing idea. An example is the XS, which comes with smaller wheels. All the rest of this range come with 29-inch wheels. Each size also has a damper tune. This will ensure that riders can adjust easily and don't operate at the extremes of the range.

Unsurprisingly, Rocky's flip-chip appears. We're now down only to 4 positions, as opposed to the dizzy-days that the Ride-9 system caused. Although I have made clear my dislike for chips like this in the past, the Element allows me to clarify my position. On mountain bike as extreme and where it doesn't try to be very conservative or very conservative, I believe that some degree of geometry adjustment is appropriate. This is one of my favorite bikes.

The Rocky spec is definitely more light than the burlier parts. There were some amazing parts. The Fox 34 was a remarkable bike and delivered on its promise. Also, the Fox DPS shock worked well. This bike had a perfect balance of comfort, tracking, and support. If our large test bike's size-specific tune is any indication, it should be possible for most riders of all sizes to reach this level.

This bike is not for everyone. Your opinion on how aggressive they should be will depend on where you live. We complained about the bike's lack of power and bite compared to the Niner or Trek, but the next thing we knew it was light. While I am happy with the FIT4 damper, light two-pot XTR braking system, and never felt that they lacked power and bite, I would have loved to have seen wider rims than those 26mm models on the test mountain bike.

Climbing

With its new Element's low weight, improved shock tune and kinematics, as well its steep seat tube angle, the Element delivered on its promises on the climbs.

It is very efficient. We ranked it second in efficiency and it came within one second of winning the top honors. It is also an excellent climber. Although it isn't as stable under load as Trek, technical climbs are easier than ever with its firmness. It also climbed singletrack's timed section at the second fastest.

The Element tracks very well and, while it's not as flexible as the Santa Cruz, it's one of the most grippier bikes for seated climbing downcountry. It's very comfortable, much like the Santa Cruz.

Due to its slightly higher front, the Rocky is a bit shorter than the Trek in its seated position. It's still not as tall as the Niner and strikes what I consider a happy balance. The distance between your contact points and how stretched you feel can affect your balance on climbs. This is especially evident on steeper sections. You can move your weight around the mountain bike and get it exactly where you need it. The bars allow for a very healthy range of motion.

The Element is both balanced and stable, but it's also very responsive. The Element's riding position evenly distributes your weight among the wheels and allows you to focus on the task at hand, even when it gets more technical.

Descending

On the descents, The Rocky has a trail-like feel. The Rocky is different from the Trek, even though they share many similarities. It's incredible how fast it can go through rough and choppy terrain for a bike that weighs in at 25 lbs with 120mm travel. It's not an unrefined brute. However, it's better suited for technical trails than the Trek. The Element is the most suitable downcountry bike for those who want to keep up with their friends riding larger bikes.

It's incredible how this bike inspires confidence in steeper sections and turns. However, the geometry of this bike keeps your weight central for demanding trails. It does however compromise precision when turning on flat roads.

Every compromise is important, and Rocky seems to have it right. Although it may not have the same trail feel as the Niner Jet RDO and the Giant Trance but that's what's important. It feels like the Rocky does a good job of picking its battles and striking a balance between making-flatter-trails-fun and getting your down more challenging trails. The Rocky also manages to reduce weight, which is a huge bonus to me.

Timed Testing

All downcountry mountain bikes were tested on a section that had everything you would expect to see on an aggressive XC loop. The track opened up to fast turns, small drops and jumps.