ROCKY MOUNTAIN INSTINCT POWERPLAY SL

Feature by Cole Gregg

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The Instinct Powerplay SL is Rocky’s first foray into the lightweight EMTB category, with their new Dyname S4 Lite motor. This new lightweight motor produces 65Nm with a “SL” class-leading 550W peak power, and can have up to a 794Wh battery capacity on board. We’ve logged some initial ride time on Rocky’s new eBike machine, so let us tell you all about it.

As with all of our Tech Check Features, this is not intended to be a long term review or endorsement of a product but is instead a chance for our viewers and readers to get a deep dive look into some of the newest tech and products in the mountain bike space. We thank Rocky Mountain for the opportunity to create this feature and getting you some valuable beta on this new eMTB.

STANDOUT FEATURES AND TECH

So what’s the Instinct Powerplay SL all about? Well it’s a trail-focused, mid-high pivot eMTB. With 145mm of travel out back and 150mm up front, plus a ton of adjustability, the Instinct Powerplay Lite hopes to tick a lot of riders boxes.

The bike features Rocky’s Smoothlink linkage design, with their Ride 4 adjustment. This allows not only for tons of geometry configurations, but also the ability to run a full 29 or mixed wheel setup. Additionally, there is a reach-adjusting headset cup, allowing for increasing or decreasing reach by 5mm, giving you the chance to further tune in your ride feel.

The Instinct Powerplay SL frames come in sizes S through XL with size-specific rear triangles that grow 10mm through the size range to help tailor the ride feel for riders of all heights. Each frame features fully enclosed cable routing, making for headache-free maintenance and part swaps.

Carbon models have Smoothwall carbon front and rear triangles. Smoothwall carbon frames are constructed using a rigid mold instead of a bladder-based system. This not only helps lower waste, but produces a stiffer and lighter frame. The aluminum models have Rocky’s FORM aluminum front and rear triangles. Each tube is constructed with its given purpose in mind, using a mixture of hydroforming and butting.

SMOOTHLINK SUSPENSION | The Smoothlink suspension is a four bar system with a mid-high pivot, and used to deliver the 145mm rear travel to the Instinct Powerplay SL. The ride characteristics feature tailored anti-squat and an optimized leverage rate, providing a ride feel that can be efficient and supple all in one. The mid-high pivot idler helps control chain growth due to the rearward axle path, providing a brake bump-erasing feel we all are after. Each size bike comes with a custom tuned shock ensuring the ride feel Rocky Mountain are after can be experienced by all riders, regardless of what size bike they are on.

ADJUSTABLE GEOMETRY | Like other Rocky Mountain bikes, the Instinct SL gets the Ride4 adjustment system. This allows you to fine tune the bike to your style and terrain, with a four-position chip. This adjusts how slack or steep you want the bike to be, as well as the bottom bracket height. Additionally each position does slightly alter the leverage rate increasing or decreasing the amount of bottom out resistance provided by the linkage.

BATTERY SIZE AND DRIVE UNIT POWER | The Instinct Powerplay SL is fitted with the Dyname S4 Lite drive unit. This is 30% lighter than the full power Dyname 4 drive system it is modeled after. Just like its big brother the D4 Lite offers exceptional power at low cadences. Additionally, the internals of the motor have been tuned to run at a lower RPM, reducing noise and providing more peak assistance at slower cadences.

Unique to Rocky Mountain, the torque sensor measures chain tension, creating a mechanical solution to what would normally be a digital reading. By doing this, Rocky Mountain has decreased the power lag in the drive system. With 550W of peak power, the Powerplay SL ranks well in the “lightweight” eBike motor category. The removable 480Wh battery can be paired with the OvertimePack 2.0 Range Extender, which delivers an extra 314Wh of capacity.

The Jumbotron integrated display screen is home to all the info you need to tune the bike, view settings, modes and battery life. There is no app needed to make changes to the system – the 3 button remote on the bar is all you need for a day on the trails. There are 2 custom maps that are fully tunable, allowing riders to create their own ride experience. There is also the option to run the factory setting, with no faffing needed to get out on a ride. If you do decide to tune the system, there are 4 power levels that can be modified: Eco, Trail, Trail+ and Ludicrous.

WEIGHT AND MODELS | The Instinct SL is offered in six different build kits, starting at $5,999 for the aluminum framed 30 up to $11,999 for the decked out carbon framed 90. A medium Carbon 90 weighs in at 42.9bs, while the aluminum lands at 47lbs. Our Carbon 90 model is the top of the food chain, dripping with high-end parts from Fox, Raceface and Sram. Full build specs and models will be listed at the bottom of this page.

THE WOLF’S FIRST IMPRESSION

When it comes to getting up the mountain with the Dyname 4 Lite motor, it offers a ton of power at a noticeably slower cadence. It is much more like climbing on a normal bike, compared to the cadences required to get full output from other systems. That’s definitely the biggest standout motor wise. It has a little bit more kick than both the Fazua and the Bosch as well. That extra five newton meters of torque over the Ride 60 system (and 10Nm over the Bosch SX) does a great job at getting you up, especially noticeable when the terrain gets very steep. The mid-high pivot proved to be supple over the square edge bumps without sitting into the travel too much and provided tons of traction.

The front end on the Instinct Powerplay SL felt really light getting it up and over rocks, but was still manageable through tight switchbacks. It finds a nice balance there, giving a very predictable feeling when you want to lift the wheel.  The 480 millimeter reach with five millimeter reach adjust option was perfect for my 6’1” (187cm) stature. The one downside for me was that the bar height was a little bit low, with no extra spacers left on top of the stem to bring it up. So you would need to either run a taller bar if you’re a fellow high front lover.

When it came to descending, the cornering traction levels stood out immediately. Being able to weight my outside foot and push into the loose, sandy corners we were riding was a real treat. There was what at times felt like an endless amount of front end grip on tap. There were no moments where I felt uncomfortable in those awkward corners, other than the bar height being a little bit low.

We ran the geometry in the nominal position. For the long-term test, we’ll be testing the slack position to suit most of our ride styles. When it came to some of the bigger hits and chunk we encountered, the initial suspension setup was pretty much spot on. I think there could be a little bit more fine tuning with volume reducers to get some more small bump compliance on the high speed chatter, but overall I was very impressed.

It’s hard to say at this point with only a few descents on the bike if some uncomfortable sensations on high speed braking bumps were due to the suspension design or the shock setup. More testing is required to play with the settings and get to the bottom of performance, but initial impressions are very solid. I would love to get the new Rocky Mountain Instinct Powerplay SL out on some wet roots in sloppy conditions to really push the limits of what this bike can tackle. Stay tuned for the long term review coming in the future months to see how it goes.