I initially thought this would be an easy review to write as the Rocky Mountain Slayer SXC70 is in fact my own bike. Of course I think it’s great, but then I guess I would.
I test rode one then got a frame and built it to my own very picky spec. It’s no surprise then that I think it rides well. It’s not always that simple though, I’ve built many bikes before and despite all my best intentions, some of them have ended up riding like skips (I am very, very picky!).
A good bike obviously starts with a good frame and the Slayer SXC is one of the best out there. They seem to have an apparently ‘love it or hate it’ look to the frame. I love it. Purposely chunky without looking heavy with a long and low back end. They don’t really look much like anything else out there and you don’t meet many others out on the trail, perhaps I’m a snob but that’s a good thing in my books.
The frames are proudly hand-built in Canada, which is a nice touch and something of a rarity for a ‘big range’ company. You know this because the welder initials the frames!
The rather complicated looking back-end is in fact a single pivot design, an LC2R design to be specific. Rocky Mountain has this to say:
“LC2R suspension rate is tuned for Super Cross Country riding. Single pivot design makes pedalling more efficient and suspension feel consistent. Compact LC2R suspension design eases the ride over stutter bumps, roots, and rough terrain. Low centre of gravity makes the bike manoeuvrable, stable, and quick handling. Counter rotating top link creates a laterally stiff rear end of the bike for a predictable ride in all conditions.”
Now it sounds all a bit generic and you’re probably left thinking ‘what the hell is super cross country?’. It’s an enduro/all mountain frame and one of the most capable frames ever. I wanted a bike that would be good for all day epics in the mountains, blasts around trail centres and just generally mountain biking and this frame does all that and a lot more besides.
Remembering that is has 150mm of travel at the back wheel it is a very capable climber indeed, helped in part by the relatively short top-tube, putting you in a nice compact position for powering through steep rough sections without being too short to be comfy on long drags.
Depending on exactly how you set up the shocks it can be an extremely sprightly trail rocket, or give it a little more sag and it can almost compete with my full blown downhill bike when it comes to the steep/fast/technical stuff. It’s this last aspect of the frame that most interested me, It’s the kind of bike that genuinely does everything I want. I’ve been on 50 mile rides around the Brecon Beacons where its travel means that it’s comfy all day and always up for a bit of fun on the way down. The same attributes make it a blast around trail centres and its confidence inspiring handling means that it often comes to out and out downhill courses with me.
All this capability made it the obvious choice for last years Alp D'huez Megavalanche race; an event that asks a lot of bike and rider. It performed faultlessly; in fact it performed a lot better than I did.
At the beginning I said that I built mine up from scratch with a very picky selection of components, this all seemed a little pointless when I rode the off the peg version which despite weighing a shade more, rode just as well. This just goes to show that it’s all about the frame when it comes to building a great riding bike and in the Slayer SXC, Rocky Mountain have created a superb riding mountain bike that may prove to be the only one you’ll ever need. Plus you’ll have the pleasure of riding a hand made bike that stands out from the crowds of Oranges, Specializeds and Giants of the UK scene.
Posted by Chris
