Come see us at the USGP!

Thursday, October 22, 2009

We are excited to be present as a shop for this year's US Grand Prix of Cyclocross Derby City Cup! We will have a tent out on the concourse both Saturday and Sunday. We are equally excited that our Rocky Mountain rep, Rob, will be joining us with a few demo bikes for you all to try! All you need to do is bring your helmet, shoes, and pedals! We will have a Solo CXR Team in a 60cm for the tall folks, a Solo CXR in a 54cm, and an Altitude 30 5" travel full susser in a 19".


The Solo CXR lineup is meticulously designed so that when your legs are screaming on a run up or your lungs are burning on the bell lap, the bike is the last thing on your mind. It's snappy, which is a must for my tastes, quite stiff, and feels great in the corners. The geometry allows for easy shouldering - even in smaller sizes. The team bike can be seen this year under the likes of Geoff Kabush and Alison Sydor, as well as local favorites Mitchell Kersting and Mike Kennedy. Both the CXR Team and CXR are drawn from the same custom Rocky Mountain 7005 Super Triple Butted tubing, but the Team bike adds unidirectional carbon seat stays for added comfort on the rougher courses. Both also feature surprisingly stiff, smooth Rocky Mountain designed UD carbon forks; here, the Team frame boasts a full carbon steerer as well! The Team edition comes built with SRAM Rival, and the CXR comes with the workhorse 105 gruppo from Shimano.

The Altitude is one of my favorite bikes currently on the market. It's a 5" bike billed as a marathon XC masterpiece, but it's geometry and suspension allow it to climb so well that it is pretty rock solid in the usual "XC" applications as well. The Altitude features Rocky Mountain's "Straight Up" geometry, which largely refers to the ultra-steep 76 deg. seat angle that makes this bike such a rocket on the climbs. Starting steeper than the common 74 deg. allows the rider to sag into something more like a true 74 deg. seat angle, which is biomechanically optimal for climbing, and it also takes a considerable amount of pressure off the lower back and more "sensitive regions." Combined with the super efficient SmoothLink suspension, which totally eliminates pedal bob, this is a bike that will go up and down and back up all day long. For 2010, it is also available as a 29er, which I had the luxury of riding at Bootleg Canyon out in NV. Of all the bikes I tested, this one was the most fun. It had all the speed of a 29er, but all the tight handling ability of a 26", and the climbing speed of a hardtail. It was plain nutty. Rocky Mountain did a lot of homework on the center of gravity, and designed a bike that feels low, but performs high. It took a moment to get used to the slightly shorter cockpit, but I immediately realized this kept my balance centered and allowed me to climb with a great deal of ease and speed while remaining in the saddle, even when those around me were huffing and puffing and stomping on the cranks. With five full inches of travel, it took the downhills just as well. And as a result, was a whoooole lot of fun to ride.
We'll be on site both Saturday and Sunday, so come by, bring your pedals and helmet, and experience a Rocky Mountain. Once you ride one, you'll know.

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