Submitted by
power2rice
a Downhiller
from van nuys, ca, usa
Date Reviewed: April 15, 2009
Strengths: progressive suspension.
Weaknesses: brake jack/squat, excessively heavy rear end.
Bottom Line:
overall it handles very well for single pivot. it's very plush and responds very nicely. the top tube is a bit too short which forces you to be off and behind the seat more often than i really want to be. brake jacking is very noticeable here because the pivot point is placed below the chain line. i find that pivot points placed at or above the chain line has less brake jack/squatting occurrence.
Weaknesses: the front derailor does not hold the chian down i went of a 5' jump with really smooth landing a the chain got caught in beetween the frame and the crank and snapped
Bottom Line:
the bike is a awsome bike for what iv'e riden just need chian gaurd.
Strengths: Everything, the tubing, the welds, the thrustlink, etc.
Weaknesses: 1 bearing blew out....
Bottom Line:
Kicks ass in the city or the mountains. Best bike ever. I've raced it twice and it performed better than some race bikes with better components. 2nd and 4th ain't bad. It's a beast at the Kolob in Virgin and up at Boulder City. Completely owns at Sunrise Ski Resort, Az. The Best bike, period....
Submitted by
Ted
a Downhiller
from Fairfield Ct, USA
Date Reviewed: September 29, 2004
Strengths: Burly as anything Got his by a car and only bent the hanger @ 70 at the highway, tacoed the front wheel though
Weaknesses: Everything Else, 1) T2's stick after 1 fall (Loose 1 inch of travel) 2) Heavy as anything, can't drop it the way I want
Bottom Line:
Don't waste the money, the bike is so bad. I'm not even joking you. Is cheap though, I'll give it that. The parts are so bad like the wheelset,(whats up w/ that) and the t2's are so bad, for the money I wish I could have opted for the Super T's. If you've got the money get a nice Kona like one of those new stinkys or a cheap bullit. PASS ON THE RM7 after riding this I would never buy any Rocky Mountain. Give it the 2 chilis for not cracking after being chucked off the car
I freeride mainly...dirt jumps, trails, drops, stunts and the like. This bike has done well off 8'+ drops and 20' gaps. It is very responsive and rides lighter than its actual weight. I have tons of confidence on this bike: when I overshoot a landing the travel soaks it up. It is very stable in turns and tracks well.
Bike Setup: Super T Pro fork, Azonic Chubby bars and shorty deluxe stem...the rest all stock.
Overall Rating:
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Submitted by
David
a Downhiller
from Oak Harbor,Wa,USA
Date Reviewed: April 27, 2004
Strengths: feels great, flies straight, never a guess as to what it will do.
Weaknesses: THE REAR LINKAGE!! I hope rocky mountain fixed the problems that rear linkage had. After two months after buying my 2002 rm7 I had a crack in the front triangle where the shock bolts in. I contacted Rocky and they said that they could not warranty it because I had "abused" it. I hadnt done anything bigger than 4 feet. I bought a crash replacement for 500 dollars. So after a good year of riding, my front triangle has flexed where the front derailler attaches to. This is a 2003 front triangle that was less than a year old, and I was waiting for it to break. A few months after that I went off of a 4 foot drop at a race in my first practice run, and I busted the rear triangle. I broke it right where the rear pivots behind the bottom bracket. In the process I bent the dogbone.
Bottom Line:
I hope rocky mountain fixed the problems that rear linkage had. Two months after buying my 2002 rm7 I had a crack in the front triangle where the shock bolts in. I contacted Rocky and they said that they could not warranty it because I had "abused" it. I hadnt done anything bigger than 4 feet. I bought a crash replacement for 500 dollars. So after a good year of riding, my front triangle has flexed where the front derailler attaches to. This is a 2003 front triangle that was less than a year old, and I was waiting for it to break. A few months after that I went off of a 4 foot drop at a race in my first practice run, and I busted the rear triangle. I broke it right where the rear pivots behind the bottom bracket. In the process I bent the dogbone. MY advice to anyone who wants to drop 3200 dollars on this bike is to save a few hundred more dollars and get a devinci ollie. You get the full saint groupo, a 888rt, a manitou 6 way, and atomlab rims. Plus that frame looks bomb proof, and it has adjustable travel in the rear. screw spending 3200 for a junior t and alex rims!
Strengths: the tubing is nice and strong all around pretty pimped out bike
Weaknesses: none sept minor things can happy little play in the rear swingarm but realy nothing major costs few bucks to fix
Bottom Line:
Great bike i do 15 plus footers and its smooth good bike no major cons just few little things exactly what i expected from every company nones perfect or at leat i have yet to been proved wrong
Similar Products Used: hmmm rm7 wadesimmons norco vps team shore santacruz s8 v10 disco
Bike Setup: chose the monster t2 setup but i runa jr got few new little gadgets bars stem pedals u know
Overall Rating:
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Submitted by
Neil Sinclair
a Downhiller
from Vancouver, BC, Canada
Date Reviewed: February 5, 2004
Strengths: Before it falls apart, the ride is predictable, smooth and controlled. It sucks up big hits but bobs more than I like when climbing. Sprinting causes a lot of pogoing.
Weaknesses: Repeated rear suspension failures.
The main pivot bearings have been replaced 3 times. The dog-bone has failed twice. The dog-bone pivot bearings have been collapsed twice.
Rocky Mountain Bikes does not, repeat not stand behind their product anymore!! See the bottom line.
Bottom Line:
I have always chosen Rocky Mountain bikes after test riding almost everything comparable. The RM7 was my sixth Rocky. I have frequently recommended their product to everyone I spoke with about bikes.
Unfortunately, Rocky Mountain's commitment to product design and customer service excellence seems to be a thing of the past. The new company management was made aware of the frequent rear suspensions failures, but was unwilling to stand behind their product. To be fair, the last failure occurred when the frame was 1-month out of warranty. However, there were less than 20 descents on the bike. (It was in storage for most of the first year.)
So to re-cap, the rear suspension has failed completely on 5 separate occasions in 19 rides and the company will not acknowledge that there may be a design flaw. Further, I stated that I would happily purchase a new RMX if they felt it would be a more appropriate frame. They said that they would not sell one to me.
Please draw your own conclusions, but before spending your money, test ride everything in your price point.
The quality of ride and how well a bike fits you cannot be determined any other way. With so many excellent choices in the market these days, I'd think twice before buying a product that the manufacturer won't stand behind.
Regardless of price a very poor value if you're always replaceing parts or hurt by a mechanical failure.
Similar Products Used: 2003 Norco Team Shore 2004 Specialized Demo 9 2004 Santa Cruz V10 2004 DeVinci Wilson 2004 Cannondale Gemini DH (I bought this bike to replace the RM7)
Bike Setup: 2003 Monster T - heavy duty springs Fox Vanilla rc - 850lb spring 2.7 gagli tires Chris King head set Bolt on grips Platform pedals The rest is stock.
Overall Rating:
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Submitted by
Rod Watson
a Weekend Warrior
from Vancouver, BC, Canada
Date Reviewed: December 14, 2003
Strengths: Great frame, decent components, doesn`t ride as heavy as it feels, at least when you pick it up. Coolness facter is high. Very well balanced, and easy to adapt to.
Weaknesses: Before I even left the shop I had them put an mrp (slalem)chain guide(low gear......whats that for?). Got home and cut down the bars, slapped on Odi lok-on grips and soon realized the springs in the monster were way to soft(I`m 195lbs), 80 dollars later(Can.)I had my stiff springs and all was well......I thought! 3 months old and I`ve now had to replace BOTH WHEELS, what garbage they put on a otherwise great bike. Do yourself a favour, and insist your shop put better wheels on, I swapped for Mavic 321`s and have had no problems to date.
Bottom Line:
Stock wheels were crap(even the shops can`t argue that)....I can`t understand why others haven`t mentioned them? Forks were to soft, easy to fix. OK, now that I`ve said that, I can now tell you this, my bike rocks, this is the best ride I`ve ever had, the balence, the strength, the looks(coooooool), the bike is sweet. If you can afford it-get it! you can`t go wrong. I ride the local mountains and alot of urban(drops and stairs abound, Vancouver is a great city), the bike is perfect for me
Bike Setup: Mavic 321`s, much better tubes(I didn`t put this down as a weakness `cause all bikes come with crap tubes), MRP, and stiff springs(monster is perfect now....NOT TO HEAVY), and Odi grips. Bike is ready for the Shore and the ski hills.
Strengths: Very bottom out resistant. Great geometry. Much more agle than it should be for the weight.
Weaknesses: Rocky Mountain customer service. Just plain terrible.
Bottom Line:
Nicest riding big hit bike I've ridden. Very smooth on the small stuff, and very bottom out resistant as well. Best buy out there hands down. It's just too bad Rocky has their heads up their @$$e$. Several stock items were just plain silly, and they were NOT helpful. Great bike despite them.
Submitted by
Rob Collins
a Weekend Warrior
from Littleton, CO
Date Reviewed: September 25, 2003
Strengths: 40 lbs, lighter than any of the Konas, nimble DH/big drop rig.
Weaknesses: 40 lbs, but if that bugs you, you're on the wrong bike. Also, I can't imagine why Joel put the grip shifts on, everytime I launch, I have to be careful not to ghost shift. I like SRAM stuff, it seems like the rear derailleur spring is stronger than my shimano stuff. I'm going to try the SRAM triggers before spring.
Bottom Line:
The Bullitt, Heckler and ASX would be great if you only had one bike to do everything, but I've got a hard tail for singletrack. Better put, my hardtail has been spending more time in the garage as of late. I find my self constantly looking for jumps, even when I'm not on the bike. The RM-7 makes me want to ride more. I can't wait for spring at Keystone and Vail. If anyone knows of good DH shuttle rides around Denver, drop me a line, hopefully will try Apex this weekend.
Similar Products Used: Bullitt, Heckler, Yeti ASX, Kona Stinky Deelux
Bike Setup: Stock, except for gripe shift (see Joel Draxler's review, I bought it from him)
Overall Rating:
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Submitted by
Down Hiller
a Downhiller
from Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Date Reviewed: September 1, 2003
Strengths: Great bike for drops, jumps, etc...
Weaknesses: Rocky mountain customer service!! With a $3500 bike you would expect to get what the company says you get>> For ex. The bike is supposed to come with a 2.5 rear tire and a 2.7 front tire, instead i got both 2.5 as well as a tube for up to 2.25!! When i called RM they said tuff &%it because their manual says specs subject to change!!Although it's not a big deal, you'd think they might say( Thats not right) and maybe find an answer for it. It just pissed me off because the guy basicaly told me " we don't know, and don't care why there're being ship differently!! And why would they not use the right tubes for the tires!
Bottom Line:
Love the bike hate the attitude. With bikes and prices like these you'd think they try to keep people happy.. The 1 chili is for the customer service, not for the bike
