ROCKY MOUNTAIN ALTITUDE C70 COIL REVIEW

Words by Travis Reill  |  Photos by 

Significant changes were in store for the latest generation of the Rocky Mountain Altitude. Previous iterations somewhat resembled a long-legged trail bike, whereas the new model is undeniably aggressive in its enduro and bike park intentions. Changes are apparent just by glancing at the frame, with the shock in a completely different location and a new suspension platform. The 2024 Altitude has increased in length and aggression all round, giving a ride quality that firmly plants it as a modern enduro race bike. The result? Keep on reading to find out.

ABOUT THE 2024 ROCKY MOUNTAIN ALTITUDE C70

Formerly using a Horst Link suspension design, the new Altitude instead opts for a counter-rotating dual-link suspension. Rocky Mountain calls this their “Low Centre Counter Rotating,” or LC2R™ system. The LC2R is their take on a virtual pivot suspension, and while we’ve seen it on some Rocky Mountains of the past, it hasn’t appeared for quite some time. Until now.

FRAME AND FEATURES | There is a lot to pack in here. Rocky Mountain offers the new Altitude in different materials and wheel sizes; adds in-frame storage; includes tons of adjustability, and even includes size-specific rear triangles. All this, without even touching on the reintroduction of the LC2R suspension platform.

Rocky offers the Altitude in either alloy and carbon material, with five different build options for carbon and three for alloy. We were stoked to receive the Altitude C70 Coil build. This is an option we probably would have chosen, combining the ride quality of the coil with the LC2R suspension. The frame has a dark, raw carbon finish, that turns heads and stands out from the glossy paint jobs we’re used to.

The frame is stiffer than previous Altitudes. This is partly due to the short linkage with oversized bearings, combined with one-piece size-specific rear triangles. Size-specific goes a step further, as Rocky Mountain tunes its suspension based on frame size. Rocky offers the Altitude in four sizes S, M, L, and XL. The size S is built around 27.5” wheels, whereas M–XL run on 29” wheels, with the option to run a 27.5” rear wheel via flip chip.

We also see the addition of in-frame storage on the 2024 Altitude, but only on the carbon frames. A hinged door opens to a large (maybe the largest we’ve seen?) storage compartment, with a water bottle attachment on the exterior. On the inside of the door is a space to discreetly store an AirTag or other tracking device in case your bike is stolen. However, make sure you remove the sticker identifying the space as such!

Lastly, the Rocky Mountain Altitude features incredibly adjustable geometry, which I’ll discuss more. Rocky trades their previous Ride-9 chip for what is perhaps a more manageable and less overwhelming Ride-4 geometry adjustment on the shock mount. In addition to the Ride-4 adjustment, Rocky includes three different reach adjust headsets: neutral, +5mm, and -5mm.

SUSPENSION | LC2R is back! For the 2024 Altitude, Rocky Mountain has returned to its take on a virtual pivot suspension. Along with giving the Altitude a stiffer chassis, moving back to the LC2R platform increases control over small bumps—providing traction for both climbing and descending. According to Rocky, our size L Altitude has a 36% leverage ratio progression overall. They further break this up into the beginning, mid, and end stroke of the Altitude’s travel. It starts with a 3-to-1 ratio in the sag range, allowing for the small bump sensitivity. It becomes more linear and supportive during the mid-stroke. Then bottom-outs are handled by a ramp up of leverage rate in the last 25mm of travel.

What is easily noticeable is the relocation of the Altitude’s shock and linkage, from the top of the frame to a much lower placement. Having the shock, bearings, linkage, and mounting hardware lower on the frame lowers the center of gravity. This theoretically leads to a favorable ride feel.

GEOMETRY | Adjustability is the name of the game for Rocky Mountain Altitude. In 2024, Rocky moved away from its Ride-9 geo-adjust system, trading it for a more manageable Ride-4 adjustment. Despite “less” geo adjustability from the Ride-4 system, switching between the four positions on the geometry adjustment provides significant changes to both geometry and suspension. Switching the Ride-4 chip to different positions changes the geometry by a consistent amount. In the “slack” position, the reach on our size L was 475mm, but grew 8mm when the Altitude was on the other end of the spectrum in the “steep” position. These reach numbers do not factor in the further +/- 5mm adjustment with the reach adjust headset cups.

HTA and STA follow a similar pattern, with changes being fractions of a degree. There is almost a degree of head tube and seat tube angle adjustment, going from 63° to 63.8° on the HTA and 77° to 77.8° for the STA. This is true across all sizes of the Altitude.

Having the bike in the slackest position puts the BB much closer to the ground, with a 38mm drop compared to a 27mm BB drop when the Altitude is in the “steep” setting. The wheelbase sees no significant change from switching the Ride-4 chip, with our size L measuring a lengthy 1283mm. This long wheelbase is partly due to the relatively long, size-specific chainstay. It measured 450mm; a length also shared with the XL frame. From size L, chainstay lengths decrease by 10mm per size, reaching 430mm on the size S Altitude.

BUILD SPEC | Rocky Mountain offers a wide range of build and price options for the new Altitude. The alloy A30 model gets a reasonable build for under $4000, while Rocky’s top-spec’d Altitude C99 comes in at just under $11,000.

Our C70’s price didn’t sting as much as the C99 SRAM’s, but it is still up there at $7,199. However, it seemed reasonable for the C70’s components. The suspension was handled by a Fox Factory 38 with the GRIP2 damper set at 170mm and a Fox Factory DHX2 coil shock with 160mm of travel.

As the official name suggests, Shimano takes care of the C70’s drivetrain and brakes at the XT level, with the brakes getting the IceTec metallic pad treatment. The only exceptions to the complete Shimano XT build were the Race Face Turbine cranks, chainring, and the Race Face BB. Race Face took care of several other components, including a Turbine bar, dropper post, and AR 30 alloy rims. A 36 POE DT Swiss 350 rear hub is laced to the rear wheel, with an in-house Rocky sealed bearing hub used up front.

Rocky Mountain equipped the Altitude with a 2.5 MaxxGrip Assegai with EXO+ casing up front, paired with a DoubleDown MaxxTerra Minion DHR in the rear. The Altitude comes with Cushcore Trail tire inserts front and rear, making this a race-ready machine.

THE DIRT

As I previously stated, I spent most of my time trying to find fast and steep enough trails to put the Rocky Mountain Altitude through its paces. Mountain bikes have gotten so much more capable in the past few years. Short to mid-travel bikes now ride like bigger bikes, and long-travel bikes pedal close to their shorter-travel counterparts. While I was impressed with the Altitude’s pedaling performance, make no mistake: The Rocky Mountain Altitude is a big bike that deserves – nay, demands – big terrain.

SET UP | Factory level Fox suspension means jumping head first to a crash course on high and low-speed compression and rebound. If it is your first time, it can all seem daunting, though Fox’s recommended settings are usually fairly close as a starting point. After doing it time and time again, you typically have a general idea of where you’re going to start. Once the suspension is dialed, you can run with the “set it and forget it” philosophy, which only took a few short rides for me to get the Fox 38 where I liked it. Luckily, the 500lb coil worked for Drew, and I, and the DHX2 took less time to get along with than the 38.

The adjustable geometry seemed to consume most of my setup time. Rocky’s Ride-4 system was easy enough to use, and I was impressed that significant geo changes were made by switching the chip’s position. While the HTA and STA were perhaps not as noticeable, the reach and BB drop were. Due to some pedal strikes and other factors, I kept the Ride-4 in the steepest position, which also kept me at a 483 reach. I brought this reach down with the -5mm headset cup, finding the roughly 478 reach to be quite comfortable with the 77.8° STA. After playing around with different settings a bit, this was the configuration I landed on.

CLIMBING | The size L Rocky Mountain Altitude we had on test was 35.5 pounds. That’s with a Coil rear shock; Fox 38 fork; alloy wheels with Cushcore, DoubleDown casing on the rear tire. 35.5 pounds seemed extremely reasonable, all things considered! I have some trail/all-mountain bikes that might be heavier.

All told, the Altitude climbed quite well. With the BB being on the lower side, I opted to keep the bike in its steepest and therefore highest position, where it spent most of my testing time. I tried switching the Ride-4 chip to the other positions, but only for a ride or two. Honestly, in the steepest setting, the HTA was still a very slack 63.8°, which was more than enough to offer ample stability and confidence. With the STA at nearly 78°, there was slightly more weight over the bars, creating a comfortable pedaling position.

Rocky went back to their LC2R suspension in part to help with control and traction during climbing. Even with the more supple coil shock, I was impressed that the Altitude seemed to do just that. The difficulties I ran into tackling technical singletrack sections of trail weren’t necessarily because of a long-travel enduro bike that wallows in its coil-sprung travel, but rather the overall length of the bike.

I was further impressed with the Altitude’s climbing when I switched out the wheels. The spec’d AR 30 alloy wheelset was fine, however I was just beginning a test period for the new Race Face Era carbon wheels and wanted to give them a spin. The difference was instantly noticeable.

Right away, I could tell the Era carbon wheelset spun up faster than the spec’d alloy wheels and had significantly less rolling resistance. The carbon wheels cut some weight and spun with far less resistance, especially in the absence of the Cushcore that came in the stock wheels. Plus, Race Face’s Vault hub has nearly four times the engagement of the DT Swiss 350.

This is a point where it is important to remember what the Rocky Mountain Altitude is. I preferred the Race Face Era wheels over the AR 30 spec’d wheelset—but it may not be a better option for the bike’s purpose. I can understand a racer preferring the alloy spec’d set complete with Cushcore, as it could be the difference between finishing and not finishing a race. For me, a cracked carbon rim would just ruin my ride and my test window. I liked the carbon wheels and higher engaging hub, but others may deem them unnecessary.

Yes, longer-travel bikes are designed to climb quite well these days, and the Altitude is no exception. It will easily get you up to the top, provided the way up is a relatively smooth singletrack or a fire road. I struggled on tight, technical climbing due to the 450mm chainstays and 1283mm wheelbase. The back end of the Altitude was just a bit further back than where I would have liked it to be in the tighter climbs. And while I do feel like I adjusted over time, I still struggled up to the time we took the Altitude back to Canada.

So, is it a knock against the Altitude? Not really. It is an enduro race bike; designed as such. That lengthy wheelbase and long back end create a ton of stability on the downs. If that means a bit of awkward extra-length climbing, then so be it. But, it is important to recognize that the Altitude isn’t your “long-legged” trail bike or all-mountain pedaler. Instead, it is firmly in the enduro category, and while it climbs well, it doesn’t overly impress while ascending.

DESCENDING | Simply put, I rode the fastest I’ve ever gone on the Rocky Mountain Altitude. The bike offers a wild amount of control, which only seems to grow the faster you go. I experienced this on both my local trails and trails I traveled to to get the Altitude up to speed. The faster I went, the more planted and “in the bike” I felt.

There are a few factors coming into play here when descending on the Rocky Mountain Altitude. First is its length. As I mentioned before, the Altitude’s length had me struggling on the climbs, but provided a ton of control on the way down. The length also didn’t hinder the Altitude from pulling off things and finding air time. Although bulldozing over the top of chunk seemed to be its strength, the Rocky Mountain Altitude got its wheels off the ground nicely when needed. Perhaps the sub-36lb weight helped in that department.

Dropping the shock and linkage to the lower portion of the frame also seems to help with the Altitude’s planted feeling. Getting the center of gravity low on the bike helps eliminate any squirrely feelings I’ve experienced at higher speeds on other bikes, and really allowed me to push into the frame, which remained rigid but not harsh. The reason for moving all this to the lower part of the frame is the readoption of the LC2R suspension, which seems to be the real star of the show.

At high speeds, the LC2R provided great mid-stroke support to completely soak up bigger trail-chatter impacts than I expected. One particular section of local trail always gives me a bit of trouble, even on my 160/150 trail bike. The trail dips and drops fast, going over quite a few roots with smaller drops behind them. On their own, they’re nothing too significant, but after several in a row, a bike can basically be skipping off the ground.

After a couple of close calls and one lucky crash where I walked away, I’ve settled to be on the brakes a bit more for this section. I rode it this way my first time down it on the Altitude, with no issues. Feeling I could go faster, I hiked back up and stayed off the brakes just a bit more. By my third run-through, I hadn’t touched the brakes at all, finding that the Altitude had dug into the ground better than any other bike I’d ridden in that section.

This is where it comes back to the conversation of what type of bike the Rocky Mountain Altitude is. Again, this bike is firmly planted in the enduro race category, and needs rowdy trails. To put it bluntly, descending 400 feet in two miles may be fun on your average trail bike, but more of a chore on the Altitude. This bike is looking more for the 1000-foot descent in 1.5 miles or less. If you’re not going fast and the trail isn’t rough, the Rocky Mountain Altitude won’t give you the ride you’re looking for.

FINISH AND VALUE | Rocky offers a wide array of build options for the Altitude. At $7,200, Rocky has landed in a good spot for the C70 Altitude, with the build fitting the bill for a bike around seven grand. When a big enduro bike only weighs 35.5 lbs, higher-quality components are used to keep the weight down, which is shown on the Altitude.

The raw carbon, two-toned frame looks amazing. While I didn’t use the in-frame storage, it is a nice addition. My biggest issue with the build was the DT Swiss 36 Star Rachet 350 hub used for the rear wheel. I don’t feel the bike should be priced lower because of this, but seeing a higher engaging hub would have been nice. With that said, the 350 is relatively cheap to upgrade to higher engagement, and some may favor the lower engagement for pedal feedback reasons.

COMPONENT REPORT | We did encounter a few issues with the Rocky Mountain Altitude. First, the dropper post rattled quite a bit. While the post worked without issues, it rotated quite a bit, creating a rattle while riding. This was a warranty issue and apparently there are a few posts out there that have this issue. If you’re a Rocky owner with one, reach out to your dealer for a warranty claim.

I also switched out the Race Face alloy bars for a set of my preferred OneUp carbon bars. The alloy bars rattled my hands quite a bit, and I wanted to bring the front of the bike down, opting for the lower-rise OneUps. Ultimately, this was more of a personal preference than anything.

The biggest issue we ran into was cracking the seat stay on the non-drive side. The crack appeared near the end of my test time. After looking back, we remembered the Altitude was blown over by a wind gust during a photo shoot on some rocks with the seat stay taking the brunt of the hit. We believe this resulted in a compromised area on the seat stay, and led to the crack eventually manifesting. While we take responsibility for the crack, it did raise the point that we believe a burly, enduro-ready rig like this would benefit from some more frame protection. Yes we know it would detract from the beautiful looks, but…so does a nasty scratch.

HOW DOES IT COMPARE?

For a long, low, and slack enduro bike, the 2024 Rocky Mountain Altitude C70 does everything very well. Our coil version provided ample support and traction, making the C70 a competent climber, aside from its length, which took some adjustment. Then, pointing the bike downhill, the C70 remains poised and confident over the gnarliest chunk, asking you to push the speed more and more. However, this isn’t a comfortable crossover into some long-travel trail bike, and you’ll want long pedals and technical climbs to result in fast, steep, and technical descending. It is simply too much bike for intermediate blue trails.

The Wolf’s Last Word

The Rocky Mountain Altitude C70 is a phenomenal option for your next enduro racer or bike park ripper. Its highly adjustable geometry allows you to fine-tune and get the C70 fitting perfectly. But ensure you have the proper terrain for the Altitude—think big, rowdy, steep, fast, and technical.

Price: $7,199
Weight: 35.5 lbs
Website: bikes.com