Not too many people still ride pure XC bikes around here, I reckon’. Just look at the success of the Optic, Spur, SB115, Trail Pistol, and other bikes in this category. Yes, they are trying to appeal to both segments, with a trend towards aggressive, IMO. I would not be interested if it had a HTA that was any steeper/etc.

 

Makes sense. So do you think they are punting on "pure XC" as too small and leaving it to brands that still make low sales niche bikes especially for that segment? Has the XC race segment moved more into "aggressive XC" bikes so appealing to both the XC and the light trail segments is realistic? I agree that the new Element seems aimed to compete with bikes like the Optic, Spur, SB115, and Trail Pistol, but that seems pretty far from its XC roots, even adjusted for more "modern" geometry.

 

I changed my reservation from an A50 to a C50, simply because I've never owned a carbon bike before and want to give it a try, and because I am not planning on using this bike for any sort of rock strewn or jump trail; it will be an XC bike that can ride aggressive terrain if need be.
Going from my current "XC" bike, this will have a 2.5* slacker head angle, and a longer chainstay, so in many cases, it will be more capable than my hardtail, but I have no idea how the carbon will behave on a trail.

I think Rocky wanted to make the Element the all-rounder modern XC bike. You can race it, but if you want a race machine, the bigger brands have you covered. This is their "BC Bike Race"/Endurance XC bike. So, it can climb well, but it will feel a little more comfortable descending, at least for those of us used to slacker enduro bikes.

Have there been concerns about frame flex? I'm average weight for my height, but I tend to put a lot of power on the pedals and since I won't have a chance to choose between carbon or alloy once the bikes arrive at my LBS, I hope I didn't make the wrong choice.

 

No frame flex concerns, just that as frames get lighter something has to give, particularly with long bikes like these. It's just remarkable to me how little some of these new "downcountry" bikes frames weigh. Frame dimensions and angles are nearly identical to bikes like the Ibis Ripmo, Sentinel etc, but pounds lighter. A couple of bikes that are currently on the market that fit the same pattern of roughly same shape but much lighter and less travel than typical longer-travel trail/shorter-travel enduro bikes: Spec Stumpy and Ibis Ripley. I've read both criticized here and there as flexy in ways that hurt ride quality.

I'm not predicting this will be the case for the RM Element, just that these frames are getting remarkably light for being big bikes and there's always some issue that arises as new models get old. In the past when I shopped (and bought) the new bike trendy hotness, I'd always be focused on what was new and hot about it. Nowadays for some reason I think as much about what is inevitably going to be not so hot about this bike three years down the road, and how will that propel the next trend?

The new Element it does look great on paper though, I could see myself buying it, and if not definitely something in the category.

I'm also getting to be a bigger proponent of letting a bike be what it is. It's not really fair to ride a Sentinel with a Fox 36 and then expect a 26# downcountry bike with the same shape to have the same rigidity.

And one thing I do see in the new Element's favor rigidity-wise, at least around the bottom bracket, is the BB92 standard. I've had a couple very light carbon bikes with bb92 bottom brackets, and they've transferred power really nicely. It's an annoying bottom bracket standard for a couple of practical reasons, but it's width I think allows engineers to create a stiff platform that can take wide rear tires. Thumbs up to that .....

 

Excited for this bike to come out!

1) Weight
-Smart thinking from others to see what A50 vs C50 weight differences are on other RM bike models.
-2020 Thunderbolt A50 vs C50: 14.20 -13.28kg = 0.92kg
-2021 Instinct A50 vs C50: 15.3 - 14.15kg = 1.15kg
There were no aluminum Elements years 20 and 21. The tubes are pretty skinny so I'm expecting the weight savings of carbon frame will be <1kg.

2) Pure XC vs Downcountry
Rocky M. doesn't have a UCI cross country team, unlike Trek, Canyon etc. I'm guessing RM doesn't have as much incentive to make a pure XC race bike if they don't have a team to test it or athletes to promote and advertise pure xc bike. Looking at RM website, their athletes are some big Enduro riders, freeride, crankworks, and an XCO athlete who rides BC cup but not a UCI racer. I don't race xc bikes myself. I'm excited for this as a light downcountry bike - ie: easy to pedal on long rides and is fairly capable on steeper trails or enduro-light descents.

3) The Hype (and the price!)
Gosh it's expensive! Talking to my 2 LBS's and all the staff are quite excited for this bike and many had ordered one for themselves.
If you don't listen to Pinkbike podcast I'll summarize a little pearl from episode 81. Bike media veteran RC talks about writing reviews for bikes and that he can really tell a bike is going to be really good the first hour he jumps on it. Henry Quinney, who just put out the PB youtube video on the Element, goes on to say in the podcast that as soon as he rode the Element he knew right away it is going to be an excellent bike.

4) My (new) quiver
I'm going to splurge on a C50 and it will be my downcountry bike and an easy-to-pedal bike for my wife when she bikes with me. I'm banking on the Element to be one that will be great to ride for many years so that helps me swallow the big cost. I'll keep my usual Ripmo AF: which is a riot, heavy, and pretty darn good value!

 

I like the changes they did to the geo plus the 120/130mm travel, and i can see this bike as my second short travel trail-climb-long day driving bike, but then i saw the prices vs the builds/parts... these prices are ridiculous, and its getting hard to justify these bikes even if you can afford them.

Its not just RM, other companies doing the same, and as long as people willing to pay these ridiculous prices, this new "trend" wont stop...

 

I like the changes they did to the geo plus the 120/130mm travel, and i can see this bike as my second short travel trail-climb-long day driving bike, but then i saw the prices vs the builds/parts... these prices are ridiculous, and its getting hard to justify these bikes even if you can afford them.

Its not just RM, other companies doing the same, and as long as people willing to pay these ridiculous prices, this new "trend" wont stop...

While for the most part prices are rising due to parts/frame shortages, and therefore shops need to charge more per bike to make enough money to stay open (Which I am on board with), I think that the Element is a decent value.
I bought my Altitude before the price increase, which was roughly $400, so factoring in the shipping costs, and the pulls of supply and demand, I think the prices make sense.

Yes, they may stop some people from going out and buying bikes, but there simply aren't enough bikes for everyone since every single shop sold out of their entire stock and then some last summer.

 

has anyone seen these in a shop yet?


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Don't expect to see any in person before January. Shipping delays, woo.

 

boo…lol


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My plan for my C50 is to upgrade wheels (1 alloy set and 1 carbon set), upgrade the dropper, stem, and bars (keep them aluminum), and finally grab a 120mm stepcast. Carbon wheels and the Step-Cast for racing, swap back to the regular 34 and the alloy wheels for off-season or hearty mid-country stuff. Longer days deeper into Pisgah, I'll take my 2020 Instinct C70.

 

how much will that 120mm step cast change the head angle/bb height, or will you run a lower headset spacer to bring the front end back up?

 

It'll change about half a degree. Not really planning on changing cups.

 

I thought about doing the same thing, but worried about the bb being too low unless you run it in one or two of the four ride-4 settings and then also considered that the weight to a 130 fork from the 120 is only .5 lb ish

 

Anybody have a view on sizing yet? I'm 5''10 and ordered a Medium. Looking at the charts I'm wondering if I should better size up. Even with a longer dropper post I guess I will be close to the limit in terms of seat post excerpt. On the other hand a Large is a big jump in terms of reach and may be much less playful.

 

did they give you an ETA on when it might show up?


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My shop still thinks mine 'Should' be on the first batch released in the US this month. It was ordered back in early February.

 

The 90 everyone wants but they offered boring black only….


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I actually like the black a lot too

Here’s some pics of it from when I took screenshots off Instagram a while back

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Looks a little more grey than black?

 

seems that way

all the promo pics make it look more black, but this looks a little lighter


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The ONLY things I am keeping on the c50 I ordered are the bottom bracket and headset. Every single other thing is being replaced with XTR, piggyback shock, 140mm Pike, carbon 240 wheels, carbon bars, yadda Yadda. All the removed parts will go on another frame.

 

What frame are you going to be building up?

 

The c50 Element?

 

so you are just going to pile the removed parts on the other frame and not build it up?

 

Err…no?

I am stripping the c50 down to it’s bottom bracket, and replacing every. Single. Thing.
All the parts from the c50 are going on a different new frame, (not sure what that will be just yet, not a rocky) and being sold as new.
I hope that clarifies?

 

Of course!

 

Weights are posted on the RM site:

• C30 - 29.9 lbs
• C50 - 28.2 lbs
• C70 - 27.5 lbs

Heavier than I was hoping.

 

Wow, those things are pigs. My Large aluminum bike with better geometry weighs 23.5 pounds with pedals (no dropper).

 

So, I am supposed to get my frame only in a week or so, I will post pics of it on a scale naked. Built weight won’t be super light, as it will have a piggyback shock, 140mm Pike, EXO+ rear 2.4 tire, exo+ 2.5 front, etc. but it will be full XTR, carbon bars, transfer post, Ti rail saddle, carbon/240 wheels, etc.
my guess is going to be ~27 built as a very, very capable short travel rig.

 

Not much heavier than my scalpel se 2 from 2018.

But heavy wheels, heavy suspension, heavy crank set, plus dropper weight. Modern tires are heavier. Even my wife's epic evo is heavier than my 2012 Anthem X 29 with x.9/x.0

Just where we are now a days. Plus this is not a pure race bike.

I think it's a reasonable weight, still lighter than my my 2020 Instinct C70.

 

Oh, and my bike didn't cost $10,000 either.

 

Thanks for your single input about how Rocky's are pigs, Z. Very helpful and productive when discussing. We can all agree bikes weigh weights. Some bikes hide their weight well, some not so much. These bikes are on target with similar bikes on the market. Let's move on and accept the fact that that is a nicely upgraded aluminum bike that is pretty light, even if it doesn't exist on their website.

 

Timely food for thought.
I would much rather have a bike that RIPS than one compromised for weight, myself.

https://www.pinkbike.com/news/why-you-shouldnt-worry-about-weight-much.html