Submitted by
fearless139
a Downhiller
from colorado springs, CO
Date Reviewed: May 27, 2009
Strengths: everything it peddles great and handles beautifully. I have already won a few local dh races with it. Definatly recomend it to anybody who loves big air and fast speeds. Works best when going fast as hell.
Weaknesses: none yet
Bottom Line:
One of the best dh bikes ive ever owned it has been through alot of crashes and even more huge jumps but it is still riding like a beast
Similar Products Used: rmx,
big hit,
giant dh team
Bike Setup: black and flamed frame, shiver, avid code 7, deemax, saint, blackspire, dhx
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
brendan
a Weekend Warrior
from dublin, ireland
Date Reviewed: April 21, 2004
Strengths: Firstly this bike looks excellent. Its without a doubt throughly strong and built to last. The suspension action is impressively responsive on all sizes of bumps and impacts. The frame itself, like all Rocky Mountains is finished to an amazing quailty, with all the welds clean and thick duralbe paint. The overall stationary weight is high but its easy to wheely and jump once your moving. It manouvers like a much lighter bike. The high price means its fairly uncommon, so your unlightly to see another one out on the trails. Wait til you see the flames on this baby. The chain ring takes a while to get used to, but once you get used to it it is pretty easy to pedal about. On the flat. It features a custom Black Spire ring and the quietest chain guide ever. It all works soundly too. Its got 9 honking inches of travel, 2 years before specailised managed to pull one out of the bag. The rear suffers none of the lateral flex that was common in the older models. It pedals well for what it is.
Weaknesses: Takes a while to get used to the weight as you push it up hill. No ski lifts in this country. No willing farmers with trailers either. Can feel a little wallowly at low speeds, so go faster! Until you fix the chain suck you can't do anything on the bike.
Bottom Line:
This bike has a real air of grace to it, a real presence on the hill. Its a real head turner, partly because in its own right its a legend, it looks unusal and its cool flaming paint job. The bike rides the same way it looks, fast! The only thing that slows it is my own personal limits. It sucks awkward jumps and drops up and begs to be pushed round the corners. I doubt there are many of these left brand new, but as a second hand bike this is a real bargin. Ebay usually have a few for sale. The bike is built so solid, just replace the dogbone bearings twice a year and your sailing. Other than that it is pretty maintainence free, except for washing it!
Similar Products Used: RM7, Giant DH comp, Bullit, Stinky, Marin Wildcat Trail DH, a 99' Stab Deluxe (with the funky curvy tubing)
Bike Setup: I bought the frame, Race Face cranks, BB and chain device for 2600. 2002 Monster T's, XT discs, XTR rapid Rise mech, 24" and 26" Planet-X LMF's built on XT hubs, Michelan front, Tioga Factory rear, DX 646 spds, Azonic bars, Titec seat post, grips, stem, 1 golden screw and white plastic bong
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Peter
a Downhiller
from Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Date Reviewed: May 22, 2003
Strengths: Bomb proof. Impossible to break and lots of tuning options. Progressive suspension is the best suspension. Wants to go very very fast.
Weaknesses: Nothing if you shuttle all your runs.
Bottom Line:
The best Downhill bike ever made. More technology than any other downhill bike. If Rocky had a downhill team it would be the best selling downhill bike in Canada. Way better than the Stab Primo
Strengths: Ooooo, look, a 7 foot drop landing in large boulders, cool!
Weaknesses: Weight, bob, ONE SIZE??????? Big is huge, and anyone under 6 feet shouldn't ride it
Bottom Line:
Its a play bike, nothing else. I would never race it, or recommend it to race unless your freakin huge and strong. But as a play bike, damn its fun. Just point, shoot and slam into everything. Not actually that heavy with an X-Vert on it. Put some Rynolites and a couple other weight savers, you could get it to 42 Ibs or so. I only played with it for a day or too, and it was fun, but for the amount it cost and what it comes with, i'd give it a 3
Similar Products Used: M1, Tomac, Super 8, Ellsworth, etc etc etc
Bike Setup: X-Vert Carbon, Doublewides, Hayes, XTR
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Chris King
a Downhiller
from Prescott, AZ - US
Date Reviewed: March 5, 2000
Strengths: The RM-9 handles big drops and downhills like there is no tomorrow. It doesnt slow down for anything (once you get it going). It is beefy and handles roof-jumping without any hesitation
Weaknesses: Hmmmmm- It has to have an 8" disk brake rotor on the rear, and the linkage makes some noise.
Bottom Line:
If you want an awesome DH bike, have 3000 dollars to spare, and have a ski lift next to youre house you are a lucky person. Make sure you have a ski lift though- its no fun to pedal uphill with this bike. The RM-9 will do all the work for you if you just get on it and ride down!!! Oh, and make sure you have an 8" rear disk brake rotor that will stop you!!
Similar Products Used: None really- maybe the Karpiel Armaggeden or super 8 - thats about it!!
Bike Setup: Well..... My RM-9 is actually set up with a Marzocchi Z-1 bam (w/ only 5" of travel), race face cranks, Hayes disk brakes, Azonis stem and bar, Mammoth wheels and a King hub.
Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Andy
a Weekend Warrior
from Newport, South Wales, UK
Date Reviewed: August 28, 1999
Strengths: Amazing amount of rear travel that will soak up ANYTHING at speed. Quality of construction.
Weaknesses: A bit on the weighty side A bit on the pricy side (went to canada to buy, far cheaper!!)
Bottom Line:
This bike just wants to be thrown down hills and takes it all in its stride.With the Monster T's at the front it can handle anything you wana ride, the only limitation is my own bottle. You really need to live near somewhere with a chairlift to get you to the top of the mountain as it takes no time to get down the hill but forever to push the heavy b*****d back to the top..
I'm reading all of these reviews, and they say all of this good stuff, but they usually say simply, "and it's a RM9" what makes the RM9 SO great?
Hope my stupid question didn't Read More »
What's the deal on this frame? I'm looking at an '02 with an Avalanche shock. I understand that the high leverage ratio is a big problem on these frames, as is the lower bearings b Read More »
I have a 2002 RM9, anyone who has one is familiar with the probelms it suffers from. However I was wondering if anybody knows if I could replace the rear of the bike with that of a Read More »
Hello,
I was stripping down my 2002 RM9 (the flames one:madmax: )
, when whilst trying to drive out the swingarm bearing pivot
(its alloy with 6mm threads on ea Read More »
