2024 ROCKY MOUNTAIN ALTITUDE

REDESIGNED AND READY TO RIDE

Words by Drew Rohde | Photos by Brian Niles – Treeline Cinematic

When it comes to the new 2024 Rocky Mountain Altitude, the brand’s claim is for riders to “Charge harder. Go faster.” With their ground-up redesign of this 160mm travel enduro mountain bike, Rocky Mountain set out to design a bike whose goal was to help you secure that “Top Step” on the podium, or just demolish your local steep trails with confidence. In our latest Tech Check installment, we’ll be taking a look at the newly updated and very attractive Rocky Mountain Altitude.

WHAT’S NEW ABOUT THE 2024 ROCKY MOUNTAIN ALTITUDE?

SUSPENSION | First off, we’ll focus on the backbone of the new Altitude – its LC2R suspension platform. It’s not something that’s new to Rocky Mountain Bicycles, but it is making a comeback after some time away.

The Rocky Mountain Altitude’s LC2R (Low Center Counter Rotating) suspension platform is their take on a virtual pivot design that, in their words, has several key advantages.  Rocky claims that those advantages are increased small bump control thanks to the high initial 3-to-1 leverage ratio before the sag zone; a linear rate curve in the mid stroke that provides a supportive feel, and a subtle increase in leverage rate in the final 25mm of travel to reduce harsh bottom outs. Overall, Rocky Mountain says the Altitude has 36% total leverage ratio progression through the travel range.

Another claimed benefit by Rocky Mountain’s team is that the system offers a low center of gravity, as the main pivot is positioned near the bottom bracket so the weight of the links, bearings and shock are lower down in the frame. Along with those links being concentric to the BB, the short links also help keep the union between the front and rear triangles stiff and strong, yielding increased lateral stability for improved precision.

FRAME | The all-new frame design commands attention. Everyone who’s stopped by our office has stopped and ogled this stealthy beast. Perhaps it’s the beautifully painted and raw carbon two-tone finish, but we believe the overall stance and appearance of the frame, linkage and tubes have as much to do with it, if not more.

Along with stiffness enhancements from the short links, oversized bearings and size-specific one-piece rear triangles are designed to improve performance for the aggressive riding the Altitude is targeted at. Along with the size-specific rear triangle, each frame size also gets tuned suspension performance throughout the stroke. Another ride-changing feature is the built-in flip chip, allowing you to convert the bike from full 29” to MX (Mullet), provided you’re riding a Medium-XL sized frame.

Other frame details include the new PenaltyBox 2.0 downtube storage, which is only found on carbon frames. The large storage cavity comes with a custom tool wrap and a burly hinged door system. This also has a water bottle cage mount, and there are provisions for a concealed AirTag or Tile tracking device within the door.

Rocky Mountain’s Ride-4 adjustment system is simplified for ease of use, but retains versatility and tuning capabilities, which should make riders who don’t have a PHD happy. The Ride-4 system allows the rider to adjust the geometry with a single Allen key on the rotating chip.

GEOMETRY | Available in four sizes from Small to XL, the new Rocky Mountain Altitude can be run with either Mixed Wheels or dual 29” in Medium to XL. The size Small comes with a dual 27.5” setup while.

Riders can choose to run the bike in any of the four Ride-4 positions, providing a Slack, Neutral or Steep head tube position. In addition, there is a Reach-Adjust headset, which gives you +/- 5mm of Reach modification by changing out the headset cups.

MODELS | Rocky Mountain offers the Altitude in a number of carbon and alloy builds, as well as a carbon frameset. For our Tech Check and subsequent long term review, we got the Carbon 70 Coil model, which sits towards the upper-middle end of the spectrum at $7,199. Complete bikes start at $3,999 and go up to $10,000 USD, with that carbon frameset with Fox Float X2 Factory shock being available for $4,099.

FIRST RIDE REVIEW OF THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN ALTITUDE CARBON 70 COIL

Our ride time aboard the new 2024 Rocky Mountain Altitude has been primarily focused on creating this informative feature in time for the embargo. While we haven’t put nearly enough miles on it for a true long-term review, we do have some initial impressions that stand out as regarding the bike’s performance and the overall package.

First up, this bike absolutely looks the business! And yes, we all know looks only go so far, but we also know that if the best riding bike in the world has elevated chainstays it still won’t sell, so looks do matter! Thankfully for Rocky Mountain and its prospective customers, the new Altitude looks sick.

Moving into some more tangible aspects of the Altitude, we got along with many aspects of it right off the bat. Not all, but most! The geometry and its wide scope for adjustability, as well as the overall rider position and stance on the bike pleased our riders. I primarily spent time on this bike for the test miles and filming, and at 192lbs, found the 500lb spring on the 60mm shock to offer a pretty good base point for suspension tuning. With an initial leverage ratio of 3-to-1, it meant the 30-33% sag I was running did put me a bit lower to the rocks and debris below. I opted to move the bike from the neutral to the steep position (Pos.4 of the Ride 4 chip) to take the static bottom bracket drop from 31mm to 27mm. I found this helped quite a bit in the technical rocky trails I find myself frequenting.

Other preliminary suspension testing took me down the compression and preload adjusting route as I tried to find a nice balance between suppleness and sensitivity off the top, whilst retaining enough progression for end-of-travel support for drops to flatter landings. This is something that I’m sure air shocks will offer a slight advantage in comparatively. For my riding style however, I would rather opt for the plushness and mid stroke support of a coil on this platform. After just a couple rides, I felt like the suspension was 90-95% dialed in for my terrain and preferences. I have not yet had enough time to get that final 5-10% dialed in but look forward to doing so as this bike is already a rocket ship going downhill.

Unfortunately, going downhill isn’t always how we spend the majority of our time on mountain bikes. So, how does the Rocky Mountain Altitude climb? Surprisingly (or perhaps not so surprising to Rocky Mountain fans), pretty darn well. At 35.5 pounds for our size large, with the coil shock and CushCore, it’s well within the acceptable weight for aggressive enduro riders who want a bike that lasts. Still, it is heavier than the outgoing Altitude as tested, even if it is way more capable. I found myself using the climb switch on smoother bits of trail but opened it up to keep traction and comfort for more technical climbs. It was plenty good at keeping me rolling forward as long as I could keep my cranks off the ground, which was the main reason I flipped the Ride4 chip to the steeper, higher position.

Overall, our initial impressions of the new Rocky Mountain Altitude C70 Coil are positive, but we do have a couple nitpicks so far. It is a bit low for super chunky terrain, with that high position helping a bit but not being a cure-all solution. It seems this is very much a region and rider specific dimension though, and we’re sure that riders climbing forest roads with minimal tech will love how low this bike can go. We also noticed the dropper post rattles and reverberates quite loudly in the top tub of the frame. This is a known and warranty issue with Fox so, it sounds like owners who do end up getting a post with rattle/knock can initiate a warranty to get a new post to keep the bike silent as day 1.

Moving beyond those bits and focusing on the grander picture of the Altitude, it’s likely been my favorite non-electrified Rocky Mountain bike I’ve ever ridden! The geometry is widely adjustable, it loves to go fast, jumps nicely, pops and plays well and is a capable climber. We look forward to passing this bike around to more of our testers and putting in some more gravity-inspired mega-rides. Rocky Mountain seem to have unlocked a new level of craftsmanship and design with the 2024 Altitude, and it’s a bike we’re excited to log many more miles on.

If you’d like us to focus on any certain areas for our long-term review or compare this to any other bikes on the market, please let us know in the comments below. 

To learn more about the new Rocky Mountain Altitude, visit bikes.com