A 29er Smooth as Maple Syrup

Rocky Mountain Element 950

The Element line has long been a staple in Rocky Mountain’s cross-country offerings. For 2012, 29er fans can finally rejoice, thanks to the addition of three new 29-inch wheel models. The Element 950 is the middle child of the series and does a great job vying for attention.

WHO IS IT MADE FOR?

The Element 950 is designed for the cross-country rider who wants a bike that can handle cross-country racing and marathon-style endurance events all while being comfortable and nimble enough for all-day-trail riding.

WHAT IS IT MADE FROM?

The Element’s frame is constructed from FORM 7005 hydroformed aluminum. Hydroforming refers to the process of shaping the raw aluminum tubes. Through this process, aluminum frames can be manipulated to increase stiffness without increasing weight. The head tube is tapered from 1-1/8 to 1-1/2 inches, and the RockShox fork features a 15-millimeter thru-axle for front end stiffness. The bike features 3.7 inches of Rocky Mountain’s SmoothLink suspension, which is designed to minimize pedal bob. New for the 2012 Element line, the design uses Angular Bushing Concept (ABC) pivots—an angular contact bushing made of polymer that rests against a tapered alloy pivot. The company claims this increases stiffness in the rear end and decreases weight by almost 3 ounces on the 29-inch models. Along with the new ABC pivots, the rear wheel is built around a 142x12 millimeter axle for even greater stiffness.

WHICH COMPONENTS STAND OUT?

One thing that sets the Element 950 apart from other Element 29er models is the RockShox Revelation RL29 fork, which features their “U-turn” adjustable travel from
3.5 inches to 4.7 inches. Rocky Mountain spec’s the bike with a SRAM X9 2x10 drivetrain that cooperates well with the race-inspired feel of the bike. The front uses an E-type front derailleur, and the bottom bracket is a SRAM GXP PressFit-30 style. The Formula RX brakes feature 7-inch rotors for tons of stopping power.

HOW DOES IT PERFORM?


Moving out: Due to the variety of suspension designs to choose from, the old rules of suspension setup are all but extinct. For this reason, we appreciate when bike makers incorporate setup guides into their bikes. Rocky Mountain includes an integrated sag indicator on the upper rocker pivot, visible from the rider’s position, to speed up the process of getting set up. Setting up the RockShox fork is quick and easy as well, with an air pressure guide sticker right on the fork leg. The cockpit is a mixture of Easton’s EA90 and EA70 lines with the EA70 XC Wide handlebar measuring 26.9 inches wide. The saddle is a Fizik Gobi XM. It’s a fairly flat saddle with a slightly ramped tail for pushing against when climbing. We found it comfortable and never felt the need to stand up just to give ourselves a break from the saddle. When you sit on the bike, its cross-country roots are obvious; but at the same time, the position isn’t overly aggressive and leaned forward—thanks to the shortened the top tube. The bike’s short chainstays are quickly noticeable as the rear wheel feels tucked up underneath you.

Cornering: The cornering characteristics are determined by the length you have the fork set to. With the shorter setting, the head tube is at a steeper angle and the bike handles very quickly. With the longer setting, the steering is slowed down and you get more stability. We found ourselves dialing the fork to somewhere in between the two settings to get a compromise between the two extremes. While quite nimble through the tight stuff, the Element really shines through fast sweeping corners. The bike tracks really well when traction hard to come by. The Maxxis Ikon/Aspen tires were impressive on our local trails, which feature a mix of hard pack and loose soil on top of hard pack.

Climbing: The bike comes to life on rough climbs where you can stay seated and put the power to the pedals. It’s downright tough to get the back wheel to break loose. Staying seated is the best way to use the Element’s strengths to your advantage. The rear suspension feels very efficient climbing in the saddle, but at the same time didn’t really encourage us to jump up out of the saddle and stomp on the pedals. Unless you activate the motion control lever on the fork, attacking out of the saddle wastes energy. The Element was surprisingly good on steep climbs, thanks to the short chainstays and wide bars. Grinding up the steep stuff was great for a 29er and not far off the mark of a 26er. The bike felt snappy and the bars gave us plenty of leverage.

Descending: The Element 950 does just what it aims to do in the descending department. It doesn’t offer long-travel, big-hit plushness, but for the cross-country racer tired of carefully picking his way down descents, the bike is welcome improvement. Choppy stuff that would rattle a hardtail rider, is smoothed out without losing the feel of the trail. When we adjusted the fork to the longer-travel setting, the bike had plenty of travel to suit the rougher trails we encountered. As with cornering, setting up the fork some- where between the two extremes gave us the best results by putting enough weight forward to keep the steering planted without making us feel like we were too far over the front wheel.

Braking: The Formula RX brakes are very powerful. It takes some time to learn how to avoid locking up the wheels, but once we got a feel for the amount of power, we were happy to have it when we found ourselves coming into a corner too quickly.

TRICKS, UPGRADES OR TIPS?

The fork on the 950 required the most time to set up to our liking, mainly because of the adjustability that the fork offers. The U-turn feature gives you full adjustment between 3.5 and 4.7 inches of travel, and on the trail, this level of adjustability can be cumbersome to deal with. It takes about 6 or 7 full turns on the dial to go from one end of the adjustment to the other, which makes switching quickly between a climbing and descending setting impossible. It is easier to find a setting that feels comfortable and leave it alone. Rear tire clearance is minimal. The bike comes spec’d with a Maxxis Aspen 2.1 tire in the rear, and even at this average size, the tire sits close to the front derailleur. Those looking to outfit their bikes with larger volume tires will need to make sure they fit first. One thing that holds the bike back as pure racing machine is its weight. Upgrading the 950 with some lighter components, such as a new wheelset, would be a quick way to make the bike more competitive.

BUYING ADVICE

The Element definitely falls on the cross-country end of the trail riding spectrum and won’t offer enough big-hit compliance for riders looking to tackle really aggressive trails with big drop offs and rock gardens.

Those interested in cross-country or flowy trail riding with some racing mixed in will love what the Element 950 offers at its very attractive price. The bike’s ability to keep the power to the ground on climbs and take the edge off rough descents makes spending a long day in the saddle much more pleasant. Crewers commented that the Element simply made riding easier. This bike likes to go fast and really shines when you are attacking the trail.



Reprinted from our March 2012 issue. Like us on Facebook