Submitted by
Mikey Likes it
a Cross Country Rider
from Boulder, CO
Date Reviewed: October 6, 2002
Strengths: This is just a follow up to the review below
Weaknesses: Follow up
Bottom Line:
REPLACED THE FOX FORK FLOAT 100RLC!
I got that Fox fork off and put on the Marzocchi Marathon S.
What an incredible ride this bike is. You do not need more front travel, it is perfect. I only thought I did due to the incredible mismatch of the Fox Float 100RLC front fork with this bike. The 80MM Marathon is perfect for this bike.
NOTE: I talked to the factory and DO NOT USE A 100MM fork with this frame. they have gotten elements back with broken welds and ovalized headtubes from use with a longer travel fork (changes the headtube geometry to a more slackened position, increasing the strain on the headtube and welds).
Actually, with the Marathon S they currently ship the bike with, you do not need anything else. this bike is just unbelievably good.
Similar Products Used: follow up, read review below
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Submitted by
Mikey Likes It
a Cross Country Rider
from Boulder, CO
Date Reviewed: September 3, 2002
Strengths: Lightweight. Good suspension design. 3.5" of travel. All air. Good geometry for the local terrain.
Weaknesses: Not as plush as some of the other rides I have. I think air rear shocks are greatly overrated - I prefer a properly tuned spring system. NO DISC BRAKE MOUNTS on rear!
Bottom Line:
It truly is a world class bike.
This one was built by a LBS bike mech, who sold it to me when I could not find one in my size. It was a lucky and good deal for both of us.
I am not as confident of the Fox front suspension as I have been of the Marzocchi - but this review is really of the frame, right?
Finally, I am confident on technical descents. The Mantra was scary on really steep technical descents, but this bike lives for it. Very responsive, yet the suspension does not bob - strangely it seems to just propel you forward with each flex of the frame!
I am amazed at how light this bike is. It climbs like a rocket ship. Rides that took me 3 hours are now done in little over 1 hour! Not to mention finally I can clean some rides that I had no choice but to do small portages with the Mantra.
Everytime I think that I could have gotten a used Trek Fuel 100 for this price (and start having doubts), I go take my bike for a ride - then there is no doubt that this may be the finest XC machine ever made.
I plan on installing the 4.75" Slayer suspension links, I will post how that works out. My dealer can get them for about 75.00. I will increase the front shock to 125mm as well, to give a better front/back match.
If you are looking for the super plush ride - this is not it. It is a XC racing machine - so you will still have to use your knees and legs for that ridiculously rough stuff. However the good suspension design will keep you in good traction over those nastry rocks, ruts, roots, etc.
Similar Products Used: Klein Mantra, Specialized Rockhopper, Specialized Stumpjumper FSR XC.
Bike Setup: Fox Forx Float 100mm RLC front end, Fox Float RC rear, Easton Carbon flat bar, Thomson Elite Stem, Syncros seatpost, Raceface Headset, XTR Cranks, Raceface Chainrings, XT Shiftpods & Derailleurs, Mavic Crossland wheelset, IRC Serac XC tires, XTR Brakes.
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Submitted by
Jay Goetti
a Cross Country Rider
from Muttenz, Switzerland
Date Reviewed: October 20, 2001
Strengths: Stiff frame, fairly light with excellent suspension!
Weaknesses: Plastic bushings on rear suspension have a high breakfree point.
Bottom Line:
Excellent Bike even for a heavier guy (180lb) like me. Very direct steering and top handling. Never again without discbrakes! Very good for steep triallike downhills. Amazing how much punishment it takes without a scar. Lets you do things you didn't even think about before.
Bike Setup: XT-Shifting, Hugi240/Mavic 317 Wheels, Magura Julie Disk, FSA Carbon Crank, Selle Flite Titanium
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Submitted by
Andreas
a Cross Country Rider
from Innsbruck
Date Reviewed: August 11, 2001
Strengths: Great geometrie, beautiful paintjob, stiff and light, best compromise for a cross country fully
Weaknesses: none found yet - exept the relativley high price
Bottom Line:
One of best bikes ever seen. Great in climbs and wonderful for downhill and single trails. But if I would buy a new bike know I would choose the Vertex t.o. with a superlight suspension fork and the tubeless set from mavic. When you ride with low pressure - its near a rear supsension and you save weight and money...
Submitted by
Adam
a Cross Country Rider
from Kamloops
Date Reviewed: August 3, 2001
Strengths: -realy good alround bike -fast descender -great geometry -nice paint -sweet to ride -climbs good
Weaknesses: -I swapped the x-fly for an atom race because the air fork wasn't cutting it, the coil is better for my riding preference
Bottom Line:
I find it funny how every other company has consistantly been redesigning their xc fs bikes because their designs suck, where as rocky mtn has used the same design for years and it's been a proven winner. I ride about 4 times a week on this bike and it's held up amazingly and I have absolutely no complaints. This bike realy shines on tight twisty technical trails and on rough trails this bike is a dream to ride. The total weigh is around 24lbs for my 18" bike which is pretty good considering the fact that I have real components in it not the feather weight tires and tube bull$hit. I have michelin wildgripper comp s's with the black sidewall and they look phat and totally help out this bike. I have raced this bike before and it did realy well, but it realy stands out on the trails where it's quick responsive handling play a big role in the overall ride. I would recomend this bike to anyone. It also handles some of the local shore type stunts to, I've launched it off of 6 footers and it hasn't broke so the durability is high on this bike.
Bike Setup: stock with a coil fork and a easton ct2 1" riser bar
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Submitted by
Chris
a Cross Country Rider
from Portland, Oregon, USA
Date Reviewed: July 3, 2001
Strengths: Light Frame (4.75lb), efficient pedaller, quick handling, good suspension, laterally stiff, mainframe feels like a good steel hardtail only better.
Weaknesses: Not good at high speed fire roads. Quick geometry makes for some front end instability. Cables wearing the paint immediately. Nitpicking little things.
Bottom Line:
The 2001 RM Element Team SC is a sweet trail/race bike! 24.5lb with disks. This bike is less responsive while pedalling than the Trek or Klein, but is definitely more active on the trail. It is a good balance between travel and efficiency. It climbs very well seated or standing. With lockouts on front and rear it feels very fast on smooth gravel or pavement.
It loves tight singletrack, both up and downhill. But, it is not as good on fast fireroads because of its quick geometry. The front end gets unstable at high speeds (30mph+) when it gets rough. That's a reasonable compromise for a good technical trail bike. The SID SL might be to blame for the high speed issues also.
The frame has a nice active feel. The rear shock soaks up the bumps without being too soft. It feels like more than 3.6" of travel in back. The front and rear track very well as long as the speeds are kept <25mph. The Scandium tubes seem to feel like steel.
It's light and efficient enough to race XC. Yet, it's comfortable for an all day epic ride. It is a great all around bike for my type of riding which is lots of fast trailrides with a few XC races. The frame is relatively cheap compared to the competition, and is as light as they come.
Similar Products Used: Trek Fuel, Klein Adroit, Cannondale Jekyl, Intense Tracer, Specialized FSR ...
Bike Setup: 2001 RM Element Team SC, Sid SL, XTR, Hayes Disks, etc
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Submitted by
Dave Ford
a Cross Country Rider
from Calgary, Alberta
Date Reviewed: June 30, 2001
Strengths: proven durable design, light weight, component spec, real wheels (XTR/517), price (slightly used demo for $3200 Canadian!)
Weaknesses: Pedals. Time pedals are the most over-rated product in mountain biking. There, had to be said. Shimano 858's do it for me.
Bottom Line:
What an amazing ride! I have a 19" Element Race and it always felt a bit too big and heavy and my Kona Hot leaves me beat up after a race. So I opened the wallet for a 18" T.O. and don't regret the decision one bit. The difference between my old 19" and this new 18" is unbelievable. I'm descending with more flow than ever, climb like a rocket (relatively speaking), and feel faster than ever. My kind of riding is big singletrack in the Rockies and endurance racing, lots of climbing on both fireroad and technical singletrack. Cleaned a killer steep climb (Cox Hill) last night for first time ever.
I looked at the FSR, SC Superlight, and Sugar 2. My thoughts... FSR, not durable for 180lbs, XMax's not for me Superlight, too much $$$$$ for frame Sugar 2, prefer rear lockout over front for climbing
A bit of advice. Buy Lizardskins for the rear and front suspension. Air shocks hate dirt.
Bottom line, if you like long XC rides and/or races this bike is worth the money.
Similar Products Used: Element Race (coil shock/Z-2 Bomber), Moho CSX
Bike Setup: XTR, Race Face, Mavic 517, X-Fly 80mm. The only swap I did was Panaracer FirePro XC's for general trail riding. Oh yea, and those damn pedals.
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Submitted by
flupke
a Cross Country Rider
from belgium
Date Reviewed: June 21, 2001
Strengths: light good rear suspension (lock-out) good-looking reasonable price compared to cannondale-scott-trek-...
Weaknesses: heard a lot about rear-pivot-screws getting loose but still haven't noticed it on my own bike defenitly a XC-bike so fast downhill less secure than previous bike
Bottom Line:
try it before you spend a lot of money on a complete bike of a very popular brand that delivers cheap parts on a good frame and makes you spend en more money on upgrades to make it as good as mine
built up your on bike, from the frame/front-suspension that suits your riding-style don't pay for a racing-team, downhill-teams, publicity-agencies, R&D-teams that bring out revolutionary bikes every 2 years proving the previous one wasn't that revolutionary
at rocky-mountain you can buy the same suspensionsystem/frame-geometry/... at the price (read weight) you want to pay for it
Similar Products Used: cannondale super V active specialized fsr-mlfqmsdfsfmqjfoioipaiurx
Bike Setup: sidxc, xtr, raceface, fizik, crossmax-wheelset (the best upgrade on your bike) ===>light but secure
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Submitted by
Raymond Weber
a Cross Country Rider
from Thalwil, ZH, Switzerland
Date Reviewed: May 28, 2001
Strengths: This is my dreambike. It cliems very good, it looks terrific and the suspension works just perfect. You just want to go faster and faster on this bike.
Weaknesses: Nothing yeat.
Bottom Line:
Don't think about the prize. It is quite expensive but it is worth it. I just love riding this bike. The suspension works very smooth but you don't get this "wasting energy into the suspension" feeling. It's almost like a hardtail, uphill. Downhill you are much faster than on any hardtail and it is just the perfect bike to do bike-marathons.
Submitted by
John Zornes
a Weekend Warrior
from Campbell, CA, USA
Date Reviewed: May 22, 2001
Strengths: Very light, even when you have to carry it out. Climbs much better than I do. Suspension is smooth and responsive.
Weaknesses: A tire exploded on my 2nd ride. No apparant reason. I was gonig pretty fast so there was a little damage to the rim but it could easily be trued.
Bottom Line:
I am new to mountain biking but I got a smoking deal that I couldn't pass. WOW, what a bike. As an amature I can even feel the suspension working. VERY smooth and responsive, it gladly eats up even big steps. The bike allows me to do stuff that is technically way over my head. I will get there and I am confident that the bike will be there with me. NO, you can't have it.
Bike Setup: Marzochi Z-2 X-Fly, Fox Floater RC, XTR (front, rear, levers, hubs, brakes), Mavica 517 rims, Raceface carbon crank, Terry Fly saddle (only change), ATAC Carbon Pedals
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Submitted by
Chuck Shahan
a Cross Country Rider
from San Jose, CA USA
Date Reviewed: May 19, 2001
Strengths: Light weight and climbs like a mountain lion
Weaknesses: none
Bottom Line:
light weight, climbs like a god and just a kick ass bike. Still looking to make it lighter. Any suggestions? If you have the Money buy the Rocky Mountain Element Team SC frame and build it.
Bike Setup: Race Face (bar,stem,cranks,rings,seatpost,TI BB) XTR (hubs,brakes,deraillers,levers) Marzocchi Bomber Z-2 Atom 80 Sella Italia Titanium saddle, Oury grips, IRC Mythos XC tires, Mavic X517 rims
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Submitted by
todd sandin
a Cross Country Rider
from Lakewood
Date Reviewed: April 21, 2001
Strengths: Excellent full suspension, locks out for climbing massive technical rides. Plush 3.6" of travel air sprung rear end. Great bike for hard tail enthusiast.
Weaknesses: Front shock is not plush enough. I replased it with a phsylo at 100 m travel-nice. Race face rings dont have the quality of xtr. had to replace small ring 2x, before replacing with xtr ring-same bolt pattern. Race Face stem heavy and too long. Replace w 120m. light ritchy stem.
Bottom Line:
Excellent all around cross country race bike. light , fast . performace and quality. Nice design and craftmanship. The groupo it comes with is little wierd, but minor changes/upgrades make all the difference. Dont pass this one by.
Similar Products Used: specailized fsr m4-xc sloppy
Bike Setup: Rock shox physlo 100mm. 200 psi rear travel. Grip shift 9.0 sl.,shifters and rear drl. CT carbon .75" riser bar., race face cranks, .b.b, xtr front drl., carbon bar ends. time atac ti pedals., thompson seat post, rithcy wsc 120mm stem. panaracer pro xc.
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Submitted by
Keith WEGENER
a Racer
from Tahoe City ,C.A
Date Reviewed: April 3, 2001
Strengths: This is a great race bike. Fast, agile, and smooth. With the lockout it climbs like a champ.
Weaknesses: NONE!!
Bottom Line:
This bike rockets, have raced it 5 times this year and it kicks butt! The price is rediculous but worth it(thank god i got it on team price) I ride very hard and fast, and this bike has only made me faster and more aggressive. Can't wait for the 24 hour races. Buy it if you want a killer fs-xc race bike or you ride hard every day on great trails. I would have to say one thing, if you live in the flat lands or you are not an aggressive rider, get the Vertex or find another bike. enjoy the ride
Similar Products Used: For this race season i tried lots of bikes, since i pay team-cost for any bike, i tried all the top fs-xc bikes
Bike Setup: 2001 team SC.full XTR, custom King race wheels, gel-flite saddle
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Submitted by
Al
a Cross Country Rider
from Victoria B.C.
Date Reviewed: March 18, 2001
Strengths: -realy good bike for covering a lot of ground -a lot faster than my old 98 vertex t.o. -climbs good -descends realy good -nice light weight -dependable
Weaknesses: -I took it to visit my cousin in Saskatoon Saskatchewan and this bike stood out like a soar thumb, on the flat long climbs of the smooth Dh's. It was alright to ride but the old vertex would have been ideal.
Bottom Line:
I bought this bike because I love to ride xc, and lots of it. I don't race, I just ride a lot xc trails and some shore and Dh runs. This bike is a lot more versatile than my old vertex because I can use a shuttle or chairlift andit will smoke my old hardtail on the DH's and I can take it out on my favourite xc trails and still go faster than my old vertex because my trails are rough steep and technical. Except when I went to the praries I wouldn't ever give this bike up. This thing climbs better on rough trails and descends leaps and bounds ahead of the hardtail. for any xc purist this is a very good bike to buy. I just threw an easton monkey lite bar on it and it's a west coast xc riders dream bike.
Bike Setup: 2000 element t.o. with a polished atom 80 coil with a whole bunch of diffenent tires. ( factory xc'x are the best for where I live ) and an easton monkey lite xc bar ( helps out with the west coast riding a lot )
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Submitted by
Jeremy
a Racer
from Black Mountain, NC , USA
Date Reviewed: March 7, 2001
Strengths: This bike is sweet from head to toe. I love the lock-out in the rear for dirt roads,etc. The shocks and paint job work/look great together. Super cross-country race bike and makes any trail feel like your riding on air.
Weaknesses: nothing yet
Bottom Line:
super bike a little pricey for the average rider. I really like this product from Rocky Mountain it does the job right. I am going to keep this bike for a long time - just bury it with me.
Similar Products Used: I purchase a new bike every year and this is my second full suspension bike. I sell every bike each season and now I am going to keep this one and add to my collection.
I may have the opportunity to buy a used (and well cared for) 00' Element TO. I've just barely started researching bikes from RM and all I've heard are good things. If anybody ha Read More »
