Rocky Mountain Slayer SXC 70 All Mountain Full Suspension

4.52/5

(29 Reviews)

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Product Description

Frame: Rocky Mountain Form 7005 Taperwall Aluminum + Rock Mountain FORM Carbon seatstay
Fork: Fox 36 Talas II R
Rear Shock: Fox DHX Air 4.0
Headset: FSA Orbit
Stem: Race Face Deus XC
Handlebars: Race Face Atlas Riser 31.8mm
Shifters: SRAM 9.0 Triggers
Bottom Bracket: Race Face Atlas X-Type
Pedals: Crank Brothers Candy
Chain: SRAM PC-971

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Reviews 1 - 15 (29 Reviews Total)

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Submitted by Moshe Alon

Date Reviewed: August 28, 2012

Strengths:    Rolls graet. feels like you can overcome everything.

Weaknesses:    none

Bottom Line:

The greatest bike I've ever ride.

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Submitted by JeffcoHo

Date Reviewed: May 20, 2012

Strengths:    Very stable descending. Suspension recovers quickly. Climbs great.

Weaknesses:    Some front derailure compatibility issues. As for the seat tube issue, this bike was made for a gravity dropper.

Bottom Line:

Solid bike, good climber, great descender. Really fun ride. Set it up with some good wheels (DT Swiss EX1750's), good tires (Maxxis UST ignitors 2.3), a dropper sea tpost, and a 2 position fork for the ultimate do everything all mountain. machine.

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Submitted by Buck8154 a Weekend Warrior from Gardnerville, nv

Date Reviewed: June 18, 2011

Strengths:    "Do anything, go anywhere" ability. Quality frameset.

Weaknesses:    Weight can be an issue depending on what type of riding you are doing.

Bottom Line:

Due to having more kids, I had to drop my stable of 3 bikes (CC, Trail, DH/FR) down to 1 bike that could satisfy all my riding types. Th slayer does it all, period. I may not be the fastest up, but I keep up, and I am definately the fastest down. I have been able to make all the same climbs I made on my 22 lb blur, just not as fast, and the fun factor is the best of any bike I have owned.

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Favorite Trail:   Flume

Duration Product Used:   1 Year

Similar Products Used:   GT Zaskar Team, Santa Cruz Blur XC, RM pipeline, RM switch, RM RM-7.

Bike Setup:   2007 sxc 70 frame, 2008 Fox 36 Talas, Chris king headset, easton haven bar and stem, xt brakes, shifters, and derailers, sun ringle charger pro wheels with kenda nevegal tubeless 2.35, slx crankset(36/22 w/bashguard) and blackspire chain guide, crank bros joplin with sdg bel-air ti saddle, shimano 545 clipless pedals.

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Submitted by CascadeSasquatch a Cross Country Rider from Seattle, WA

Date Reviewed: December 29, 2010

Strengths:    This was a custom build. All non-RM parts were great. Suspension set up works great. Well balanced and good bike for long rides with both up and down.

Weaknesses:    Rear seat stay pivots are weak and bushings instead of bearings. Linkage creaks and groans due to mounting. Weld broke on the top side of the seat tube/top tube mount after less than 6 months of riding. Looks like the seat tube was too thin (seat post was inserted 75mm past the broken weld).

Bottom Line:

I was very excited to get this bike together. All of the parts were selected by me. The only parts that were used that I put on it were the Transition wheels (although a bit heavy I have ridden them for 5 years and never trued them!). The Slayer rode really well and the suspension was very smooth. Most of my riding is longer trails and lots of good NW climbs. I'm not much of a freerider and this bike would not hold up to that kind of use. Pedaling up longer hills wasn't an issue despite the bikes weight. However...The bike was plagued with problems. The rear seat pivot bolts bent within weeks (same design as the old edge/element/slayer). The shock mounting was poor (used chainring bolts) and constantly squeaked even when tightened. Also this bike could have used a tapered headset. I've ridden RM bikes for 12 years and have had great luck with them. I keep up with all maintenance on the bike and clean and inspect after every ride. After 6 months of riding the frame broke. After dealing with a horrible dealership, no access directly to the factory (even though they are just hours away in BC), and 10 weeks without my bike in prime riding season I was disgusted. The bike was returned to me with the main triangle only repaired. The paint quality on the replacement bike sucked. Also the bike shop when they switched over the rear triangle did damage to it and left off components. Needless to say I immdiately sold the bike and bought a SC Nomad.

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Favorite Trail:   Devils Gulch

Duration Product Used:   1 Year

Similar Products Used:   Rocky Mountain Edge, Specialized Epic Comp, Santa Cruz Nomad

Bike Setup:   19" Frame
Fox Talas 36 RC2 Fork
Chris King Headset and Bottom Bracket
Hope Tech M4 Brakes 203f/180r
Thomson stem and seatpost
Transition 32 Wheelset (Highroller tires)
SRAM XO shifters and deraileurs
FSA Crankset

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Submitted by Gal1le0 a Downhiller from Portland, OR

Date Reviewed: November 25, 2010

Strengths:    ?

Weaknesses:    ?

Bottom Line:

This is more of a question out there Slayer SXC fans. What type of front Derailleur did you guys use? direct mount or low mount? Bottom pull??

So I just got this new Sram XX MTB group set. I'm having a huge problem on the crankset. Both crank arms are rubbing the Chain stay (actually, it wont rotate to a whole 360 degrees). So, I cannot pedal right? - right.

Is this a problem of the spindle on the crankset. Any suggestion out there how to fix this problem. Is there a "spacer-type" thing to elongate the spindle.

I wander if I should change the bottom bracket. The sram XX MTB group set comes with truvative GXP bb.

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Favorite Trail:   Any

Duration Product Used:   Less than 1 month

Price Paid:    $3500.00

Purchased At:   Home Built

Bike Setup:   Sram xx MTB group set. Magura Thor. RaceFace seatpost and handle bar. Chris king Headset. Mavic ST w/ Kendal tubeless tires.

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Submitted by Ecogeek a Weekend Warrior from Rockies

Date Reviewed: July 12, 2010

Strengths:    Superb bike. Strong. Stable. Climbs well. Descends GREAT.

Weaknesses:    Weight. But 31.5lb for a solid 6+ inch travel AM bike, it is not too bad.
Slightly short top tube creates a minor catch 22:
Bike build and performance cries out for short stem. But short top tube REQUIRES longer stem. 90mm still feels a little compact - but I am talking relative to my XC bike which is pretty stretched.
Not really a `weakness` but just a note: The frame doesn`t like an X.7 front mech due to the angle of the tube. Go w X.9 and it`s perfect. Hard to fit a bottle on the 18 and smaller frames. See note in setup. Minor issue.
Interrupted seat tube is a bit of a PITA *WHEN COMBINED WITH* the design of the top-tube/seat-tube joint. Joint is low on seat tube. So you need a fair bit of post inside to avoid damage to the frame. This means a long post. But, then, if you put the seat down, you can only drop it so far before you are at the limit of where it will destroy the shock. Another catch 22. Either lose ability to drop seat. Or, lose max climbing ability. Or risk frame damage with the seat high and not enough post left in the tube. It is not a major problem, just something you have to consider and remember that you don`t have to worry about w non-interrupted tube designs.

Bottom Line:

First, why you should think twice. Then why you should buy.

Do not buy this for XC. It is heavy.
If you live in real mountains, climb a lot and want one all around bike. It will do it, but it`s still a little heavy.
If you ride flat trails but want to look core. Suck it up and get an XC bike you poser!
Don`t buy this frame if you intend to build it w cheap components cos the weight of the resultant beast will be too high.

BUT, if you have an XC bike that climbs like a goat and want a solid bike for RIPPING up trails with proper DH sections and that can still climb brilliantly (for a serious trail bike), and something you can take to resorts and parks without fear and have the cash to get a decent component set to keep the weight down, then this bike will put a smile on your face bigtime!

Perfect for the 2-bike stable that covers pretty much everything.
I have additional bikes, but could easily make do with the Slayer plus the XC machine and have a wail of a time on any trail.

Slayer absolutely EATS rough downhills. If you ride hard, it requires a little more air in the shock than you would expect based on sag alone. At correct sag, I nearly bottom the shock without any drops on rough and fast DH sections. Just an extra 5-10psi makes the dif and you can start to hit the drops. Don`t go out first ride and hit a 5-foot drop until you have got used to the suspension and shock interplay. As outlined, you may find you need a little more air first.
Some would say that with the shock set to the right pressure for fast DHs and drops, then it is a little hard for riding flatish trails with small rocks. That doesn`t bother me. Nor do flatish trails w small rocks! That`s not what this bike is for.

This is an amazing bike paired with Lyrik 2-step fork. Or anything with adjustable travel. 2-step tech is the absolute nuts for trail riding. But it`s not a light fork to put on a bike crying out for weight savings. Put an adjustable seatpost on there too and the weight is really starting to climb faster than the bike, so I left the adjustable post out even though it would make the perfect bike in terms of all-mountain-bliss functionality. The weight would just be starting to become a drag on climbs.
Having said that. With the listed set-up I climbed over 700m yesterday on this bike peaking at over 2200m and I did not find the weight any problem. I wasn`t racing anyone *up* the hill though... ;)
None the less, the Slayer was the first bike of the day through the pass and the first back to the car too!
Have done all-mountain rides up to 50km on the Slayer so with the right components it is not too heavy for long rides.
Making the Slayer slay cheaply is not easy. If you want it to slay, you need to get light components that are still up to the task.
I could have saved 200g on wheels, but I needed strength and a 20mm thru axle front hub to go with the Lyrik.
NB. I found a zero offset post useless on this bike for two reasons. 1: Too cramped. 2: Suspension doesn`t like it. Need some setback to get rear working just right.
Oh, for the vain, the bike looks great too. Sort your priorities out and start caring about PERFORMANCE. Slayer delivers that. Performance/Value? Well, it`s not the cheapest when built to a good level of performance. But the performance is so v satisfying!.. If you go for it, go the whole hog! That is prob the best advice. ;)
If you build from the frame, buy the SXC 50 if cheaper cos it`s the same as the 70.
At just over 5foot 10, I could probably have got the 19inch frame. Standover would be getting v tight though.

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Favorite Trail:   Grand Slam

Duration Product Used:   3 months

Price Paid:    $900.00

Purchased At:   Online sale. Frame o

Similar Products Used:   Titus FTM

Bike Setup:   18inch frame. 5'10" 195lb (loaded) rider. 210psi in Fox DHX Air 4.0 shock. SRAM X0 & X9 DLs´& shifters. Stylo Cranks w GXP. RS Lyrik 2-step. Eastern Havoc wheels & carbon DH bars. Motoraptor 2.24s. Raceface 90mm stem. KCNC post 15mm setback. Time pedals. WTB shadow V. Sram 980 11-32. Hayes w Alligator serrated rotors (180/160mm) & ceramic pads. Jagwire cables & housing. Custom drilled BFL levers. Lock on grips. Light tubes. Bump & Lizard Skinz protection. Profile Stryke bottle cage w camelbak stubby bottle (long bottles won`t fit, stubby bottles won`t fit in other cages on 18inch frame.

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Submitted by maeco60 a Weekend Warrior from Honolulu, HI

Date Reviewed: May 6, 2010

Strengths:    Cimbs well, down hill machine, floats through the technical stuff

Weaknesses:    Weight

Bottom Line:

This bike climbs like a slow goat because of weight, the 100-160 mm adjust on the Talas RC2 fork really helps on the climbs with the Fox DHX 5.0 pro pedal setting. Downhill this thing rocks, at 155 and 163 mm travel with Avid Juicy 7 breaks, you can fly. The through axles really add to solid tracking and floating through rooty sections here in HI. The bike is well balanced for launching and landings, it is the best bike I have owned thus far. I think it ranks with the performance characteristics of the SC Nomad.

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Favorite Trail:   Downieville, 2nd Divide

Duration Product Used:   2 Years

Price Paid:    $4300.00

Purchased At:   Homebuilt

Similar Products Used:   RM Slayer first generation, Intense Tracer

Bike Setup:   Fox 36 Talas RC2, SRAM X9 shifters and derailurs, Shimano XT Cranks, SRAM Cassette, Crank Bros adjustable seat post,Nevegal 2.3s, DT Swiss rims with shimano Saints hubs.

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Submitted by The Grand Wazoo a Weekend Warrior from Virginia

Date Reviewed: May 4, 2010

Strengths:    Solid Design! Durable. Carbon Fiber swing arm really absorbs small bumps. Head tube angle is useful for all types of riding styles.

Weaknesses:    Reserve chamber on rear shock pain to get to.

Bottom Line:

This bike breaks all biking boundries. It is the most versitial bike I have ever owned. With a little ass it'll get you to the top of any mountain no problem. I have climbed stuff I never could on hardtails or full suspension XC bikes. This bike will climb a tree if you have the ass to do it! Now when it points downhill this bike is SICK, it comes alive! Just lower the seat and hold on because the only thing holding you back is your balls. I can ride this bike comfortably for 6-8 hour rides, and can take it to downhill parks and do drops and gaps effortlessly. If you're looking to take cross country to the next level and love speed this is your next bike, and possibly you're last.

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Favorite Trail:   The Disney Downhill (so fun Disney should own the rights)

Duration Product Used:   1 Year

Price Paid:    $3500.00

Purchased At:   Spare Parted

Similar Products Used:   Ibis Mojo, Rocky Mountain ETSX,

Bike Setup:   Chris King headset, BB & rear hub. Fox Talas 36 & DHX 4.0. Michelin 2.5 rear Kenda Nevagal 2.5 front. Juicy 7's. Race face All Mountain Cranks. NO SHIMANO!!!

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Submitted by Kris a Weekend Warrior from Ontario Canada

Date Reviewed: February 15, 2010

Strengths:    Pedals up, descends well. Trail riding in general. Beautiful frame. Love Rockies for their frame finishes.

Weaknesses:    Little bit of play in rear (tighten bolts and its fine, maybe but still a little flex), rear wheel in berm corners when compressed seems to flex-weird giving a loss of traction feel. Accessing the booster valve is hindered by frame but possible.

Bottom Line:

This is the best bike I've owned! Its is truly a all in one bike. I feel comfortable riding any style and the bike takes a thrashing. But really I baby my bike but still ride hard!I was looking into buying a Nomad but after riding it, I am happy with the Slayer! Design is pedal friendly for singletrack XC and I love to bomb hills on this bike. Took it to Blue and had as much fun as I did on my bomb proof Switch. This is the only bike I rode last year!

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Duration Product Used:   6 months

Price Paid:    $3500.00

Purchased At:   Bicycle Works

Similar Products Used:   Norco Fluid, RM Switch, Giant Trance

Bike Setup:   Swapped many parts from a Specialized Enduro with few upgrades. King headset, XT crankset, Thomson stem, Syncros bar, Hadley and hubs blah-blah-blah-etc.

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Submitted by Rock Jock a Weekend Warrior from Bat Area, Ca

Date Reviewed: November 12, 2009

Strengths:    Awesome Ride up hill and down. A bit heavy but its worth it. At over 220 pounds I am not buzzing up any hills anyway. I recommend going a little small on the frame for increased handling and control. Nice and low center of gravity with good clearance.

Weaknesses:    I broke my frame twice... once at the yolk down by the BB and once at the confluence of the Top tube and seat tube. This was a bummer since everyone said Rocky's were so bomber. The design flaw on the seat tube height above the top tube is a concern - get a nice long seat post so you can get the most for your pedaling on the up hill without damaging the frame...

Bottom Line:

I'm still waiting on my replacement frame for this last breakage. After much haggling I got Rocky to give me a crash replacement at a good deal... I still feel like it should have been free. Customer service is still a concern for me. I love the bike, but if it breaks again I might have to disown the company...

I give it a mediocre rating since it seems to have been troublesome from pretty early on. It rides great but may not take the abuse as advertised elsewhere - watch out big boys! Expect to have to dog Rocky if you bump up against product performance/durability issues.

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Favorite Trail:   Mail Boxes....

Duration Product Used:   2 Years

Price Paid:    $2700.00

Similar Products Used:   Nomad, Enduro, Yetti 575

Bike Setup:   The Talas is the way to go for the front fork. Race face/shimano drive train... all three rings.

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Submitted by LOSTMAYHEM a Weekend Warrior from margate, nj

Date Reviewed: November 7, 2009

Strengths:    Pedels great up hill

Weaknesses:    All the bolts and bearings in the rear supension likage is junk. I had to go to a machine shop and have custom bolts made. The ones that are on the bike are really thin.

Bottom Line:

As bad as the hardware is, its upgradable. When I get to the point of buying a new bike I will not go with this company again. Not because of there product but because of there customer service. As much as they want to sell you there bikes, this company has no interest in ever talking to you.

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Duration Product Used:   3 months

Price Paid:    $3000.00

Purchased At:   Built myself

Similar Products Used:   none

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Submitted by Axis_kinG a Weekend Warrior from Saint John, New Brunswick Canada

Date Reviewed: August 27, 2009

Strengths:    Rigid fork/lots of beef for drops and jumps. I can take this thing ANYWHERE. Rear shock feels like it has way more travel than 6 inches!

Weaknesses:    As previously mentioned, air chamber for boost valve is hard to access but it doesn't really need to be fiddled with anyway. Boost valve is hard to reach when climbing and there are LOTS of nooks and crannies when it comes to cleaning.

Bottom Line:

Absolutely GREAT bike that does it all. Literally... does everything. Up? Down? Drops? Jumps? EVERYTHING. Anybody that wants to invest the money... you will never regret it. I use this for XC/FR/DH and it is fantastic. Just you wait until you sit on one you may never want to sit on a hardtail AGAIN. I am going to give this 5 chilli's both for value and rating! Incredible bike guys/gals!!

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Favorite Trail:   Moose Trax

Duration Product Used:   6 months

Price Paid:    $4100.00

Purchased At:   Alternatives

Similar Products Used:   Norco Fluid

Bike Setup:   Fox 36 TALAS fork, FOX DHX AIR 4.0 rear shock, removed race ring and installed red e.thirteen bashguard, s-type snow camouflage sun rims, Specialized roller pro 26x2.30 tires, Chris King headset, Deity twelve20 handlebars, Azonic clipless flats.

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Submitted by drtrdr85 a Downhiller from San Jose, CA

Date Reviewed: June 25, 2009

Strengths:    Very durable bike. The 36 Talas front shock makes it great for the jumps and drop-offs. The rear 6" or travel is great and feels like much more than 6". Decent weight for the type of bike. Great climbing bike for an all mountain. Climbs very well and with the pro-pedal on it climbs flawlessly. WTB tires work really well and keep you on the trail. The High bottom bracket makes for easy clearance over logs and other obstacles. The frame design was really well made and makes the bike handle great on the downhill switchbacks.

Weaknesses:    The rear piggy back valve on the rear shock is a little hard to get to. Front derailer cable adjustment screw is a little hard to get to. Other than those minor issues no other complaints. Those are minor complaints on an outstanding bike.

Bottom Line:

This bike is great for anyone who enjoys the downhills, drop-offs and jumps, but still wants a bike that will climb well. It is fast on the X-country stile riding and just a fun bike where ever you wish to ride. It is a modified single pivot rear suspension bike that feels great on the downhill and drops with little rear brake jack. The bottom line is go ride one at your local shop and try to demo it on a trail. Once it is set up for your weight and riding style you will be pleased!

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Favorite Trail:   Corall at Demonstration forest

Duration Product Used:   3 months

Price Paid:    $3495.00

Purchased At:   Hyland Bikes in San

Similar Products Used:   Tested a Specialized Enduro Expert, Intense and Santa Cruz Heckler.

Bike Setup:   Stock set up so far.

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Submitted by badbiker a Weekend Warrior from MO

Date Reviewed: April 9, 2009

Strengths:    High bottom bracket, plush suspension, decent weight

Weaknesses:    decent weight, some brake dive, had shifting problems before switching to dual rings up front

Bottom Line:

After removing the larger chain ring, the shifting is very smooth. The only thing i want to say is if you like to go downhill but have to go up to get there, this bike rocks. there is a technical uphill in town that I could never make it all the way up without losing traction or banging the bottom bracket on my old stumpy FSR- first try on the slayer made it all the way. I was dead tired but 90% of that is due to the fact i'm out of shape, although there is quite a bit more weight coming up from cross country FS to all mountain. I'm not a fan of brake dive, and a better rider would ahve less than i get because i brake at the wrong times, with the wrong brake, etc. but it's still there. anyway, if you mix technical up/downhills with flowing cross country, this is a killer bike. if your ride all technical stuff and still go up, this is an even more killer bike. for straight resort downhills it would perform great, but there are obviously better, heavier, longer travel choices for the money. The 20mm QR front axel is sweet, increases rigidity, and is a piece of cake to remove. I'd give it a slight advantage over a similarly equipped Reign.

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Favorite Trail:   go up to go down

Price Paid:    $1900.00

Purchased At:   ebay

Similar Products Used:   giant reign 3, stumpjumper fsr expert

Bike Setup:   Stock SXC70

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Submitted by ryan12210 a Weekend Warrior from Atl, GA

Date Reviewed: February 14, 2009

Strengths:    Bottomless travel, climbs great, relatively light, low center of gravity makes it easy to rail turns

Weaknesses:    hard to reach boost valve cap, clip pedals easliy because of low BB, light back end takes some getting used to when jumping

Bottom Line:

I'm a xc racer converted over to dh. This bike fits my aggressive trail riding style perfectly. It climbs great and absolutely rips on descents. I've had it 2 months and still haven't bottomed it out and I weigh 215 lbs. I would definitely consider it a xc/trail bike instead of a freeride bike although it has a primarily freeride shock. Strongly recommend this as a dhers or big guys xc bike.

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Favorite Trail:   Carter's Lake, Blanket's Creek

Duration Product Used:   3 months

Price Paid:    $350.00

Purchased At:   RMB crash replacemen

Similar Products Used:   GT I drive, Specialized Stumpjumper, rocky mountain switch sl,

Bike Setup:   X9 drivetrain, Hayes carbon nine brakes, raceface atlas cranks, 317 rims on xt hubs, z1 freeride sl fork

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Rocky Mountain Slayer SXC 70 All Mountain Full Suspension

Product Description

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