[tbonegreen]

2016 Rocky Mountain Blizzard 10

While shopping for a new budget fatbike, I came across the Rocky Mountain Blizzard 10, but wasn’t able to find a lot of information on it.
I asked a LBS that is a Rocky Mountain dealer about a price and was quoted $1150 CAD (just over $800 USD). Without hesitation, I bought a size medium.

When I first saw the bike I was blown away. No picture I saw online did it justice.

- The 4.5” Kenda Juggernauts on the 95mm rims were massive and chunky - they made my old 26x4.0 tires look TINY in comparison.

- The rear hub stood out right away because of how loud it was - a little research shows that it’s a pretty decent hub to get on a bike of this price. SunRingle SRC FB.

- The crankset with single narrow-wide chainring looks very solid and well built even though it’s a ‘no-name’ item. I’ve never had a narrow-wide system before and had no issues.

- The bottom bracket is also a ‘no-name’ item, but can be easily replaced with a SRAM unit in the future.

- I had intentions of immediately swapping the shifter/derailleur out for a new SRAM X7 pair I have kicking around. So far the shifting has been super solid with no issues, so I think I’m going to hold off. The only issue is all my bikes have SRAM shifters, and I have to get used to the finger shifting, instead of 2 thumb buttons.

- The look of the whole thing was really nice. The decal scheme that is found on the top tube and head tube is actually found all over the bike. The grip on the seat, the handlebars, and the insides of the chainstays all have similar decaling which make it look like somebody actually put some thought into how the complete bike looks.

I’ve ridden the bike for one week - with a ride of 15-20 kms each day in the snow. I’ve had an absolute blast. The trails have ranged from fresh snow (4-5”) to hard packed, almost icy, trails. At this point I’m blown away at how much I like this bike.

After riding for 5 days and snapping a bunch of pictures of how it came “stock”, I’ve swapped out pedals, the seat, a new stem, wider handlebars, and lock on grips. None of these parts were necessary (except maybe the pedals for winter riding), I just needed to change the size/shape of the cockpit to suit my style. The single ring in the front is great. I almost always used the granny gear in my last fatbike, and having the fixed single ring is fine with me.

Things that I don’t necessarily like about the bike:
- There are no rack mount options. I had a rear rack on my last fatbike and can’t use it with this bike.
- The stock peddles don’t have sharp pins in them, which make them less than ideal for using in snowy conditions.
- The stock grips were nice and tacky, but they moved around just a little too much if they got some moisture from snow under them.

I’m including a whole bunch of pictures so anybody interested in the bike can get a closer look. If anybody has questions or needs additional information, don’t hesitate to ask!

 

[ColoradoMitt]

Really a great looking bike. I also looked at the Blizzard, but a model or two up from this one. Ended up getting a Fatboy, but I really liked the RM a lot. The graphic is awesome - taken from a Snow Owl totem.

 

[mfc1972]

Sweet ride tbone! Gotta love Country Cycle, Peter is top notch.

 

[bikerfisher11]

Great looking ride. Thanks for sharing this with us. Good deal too, I'm finding it hard to find a great deal in CAD$ compared to the deals in the US. Hopefully we will see more Canadian prices reflecting what is down in the USA.

How much does it weigh stock?

 

[tbonegreen]

My previous bike was a Bikes Direct Boris x5. The bike treated me very well, and I never had any issues with it.

I decided I wanted the ability to run bigger tires, and thought I'd support a local shop in the process - instead of ordering online.

With the CAD$ the way it is, I couldn't say no to this bike.

And yup - Peter was great to deal with. I have a few riding buddies who have made the trip to Country Cycles to pick up a Rocky Mountain and had great experiences, so I thought I'd give it a try. I'd do it again in a heartbeat and wouldn't hesitate to recommend the shop to anybody else.

 

[l3eaudacious]

LBS told me the SunRingle SRC FB Hubs on the 2016's were failing just like the 2015 Wheeltech's. The loudness of the rear hub is them doubling the spring count in the hubs, for better pawl engagement. I stripped a 2015 Hub, they rebuilt with double spring count and I stripped that as well. So they upgraded me to a Hope Fastno 2015, been rock solid ever since. The 2015 Hope hubs are much stiffer then the stock RM hubs, big difference in feel when pedaling. They're also even louder then the RM hubs with doubled springs. People can hear me coming for a long ways away.

 

[McGuillicuddy]

This bike is on my short list. I can't decide between

Budget Option: Blizzard -10 for $1300

Higher end Option: Blizzard -30 for $2200 (better parts + 197mm thru axle rear and)

Middle Ground: A 9zero7 190mm frame build (Deore + BB7 + Vee Snowshoe 4.8") for $1750

 

[tbonegreen]

For me, the differences between the Blizzard -10 and -30 weren't worth an extra $1000.

After riding the Blizzard -10 for a week I have zero regrets.

Beaudacious's post about the week hub has me a little curious though - I've blown through a few freehub's in my time...

 

[KantoBoy]

This bike is on my short list. I can't decide between

Budget Option: Blizzard -10 for $1300

Higher end Option: Blizzard -30 for $2200 (better parts + 197mm thru axle rear and)

Middle Ground: A 9zero7 190mm frame build (Deore + BB7 + Vee Snowshoe 4.8") for $1750

The -30 is bang for buck. There are FBs at that price range which are a bit overpriced. I'm also one of the few that actually loves the paint job on that bike as well.

 

[angelo]

Looks like a great bike-have you tried to set up the wheelset tubeless? Also, where is Country Cycles located? Thanks and congratulations on the new ride!

My previous bike was a Bikes Direct Boris x5. The bike treated me very well, and I never had any issues with it.

I decided I wanted the ability to run bigger tires, and thought I'd support a local shop in the process - instead of ordering online.

With the CAD$ the way it is, I couldn't say no to this bike.

And yup - Peter was great to deal with. I have a few riding buddies who have made the trip to Country Cycles to pick up a Rocky Mountain and had great experiences, so I thought I'd give it a try. I'd do it again in a heartbeat and wouldn't hesitate to recommend the shop to anybody else.

 

[tbonegreen]

Looks like a great bike-have you tried to set up the wheelset tubeless? Also, where is Country Cycles located? Thanks and congratulations on the new ride!

Country Cycles is a little bike shop in Winkler, Manitoba, Canada.
Country Cycle-Your local bike shop-Winkler Bicycle repairs

Last night I actually pulled my tires off my wheels to check out what was in there. I yanked the rim strip and put in some coloured duct tape (white) to make the holes in the wheels pop.
I put the tube back in, but I definitely should have taken pictures of the lip on the rim. There is a decent edge with a fairly distinct lip. I don't see any reason why a tubeless setup wouldn't work.

I've never ran a tubeless setup personally, so I can't see myself doing it anytime soon. I should probably get some new tubes though. The tubes in there are fairly chunky tubes with schraeder valves.

 

[firemb]

I bought a -10 as well. The more i ride it the more I like it. Can't complain at that price.

 

[urmb]

Are these hubs the same as last years? On my 2015 Blizzard, the rear hub pawls chipped and the engagement was spotty. Rocky Mountain sent me new pawls, but the hub is once again making that dreadful noise on hard climbs. One riding buddy with a Blizzard had same problem. His freehub finally got to the point were it had no engagement. He was able to upgrade to the Hope. I plan on moving on to a DT rear hub.
urmb

 

[l3eaudacious]

Are these hubs the same as last years? On my 2015 Blizzard, the rear hub pawls chipped and the engagement was spotty. Rocky Mountain sent me new pawls, but the hub is once again making that dreadful noise on hard climbs. One riding buddy with a Blizzard had same problem. His freehub finally got to the point were it had no engagement. He was able to upgrade to the Hope. I plan on moving on to a DT rear hub.
urmb

Different Hubs, same problems. Once your hub skips/chips pawls, it's only a matter of time.

If you want to extend the life of the stock Hub, remove the freehub, clean out all the stock grease, and lube it with something like Tri-Flow lube instead. Your hub will be louder, but It will work for much longer. You will have to re-lube it though on a regular basis (About 3 months of active ridding?). Also make sure there is zero play in the freehub, they can often come a bit lose from the factory.

The main problem is that the stock hubs are more flexy then something like the newer Hopes. I assume the large amount of grease in the Freehub mechanism paired with the flex allows the pawls to loose alignment, slip, chip, then strip. Once the pawl is chipped, its becomes easier and easier to strip. Replacing the grease with Tri-Flow like lube, essentially increases friction for the pawls, reducing the likelihood of a slip.

If you're a lighter rider though its less likely to occur. Both of my original hubs blew up on steep climbs. The rear hubs are then only real blemish for this bike. But from my understanding Rocky has been really good about fixing the problems.

 

[tbonegreen]

The rear hubs are then only real blemish for this bike. But from my understanding Rocky has been really good about fixing the problems.

I'm not a lighter rider and have had issues with other freehubs in the past. I'll keep this thread updated if I have any issues.

 

[DeeEight]

The co-owner of #1 fat dealer here has told me that even though they do not have a model priced between the Blizzard 10 at $1300CAD and the Blizzard 30 at $2200CAD, that it is not worth spending money upgrading a Blizzard 10 because you'll never fix everything wrong with it for the price difference on a better complete bike. On paper its got lots of boxes checked but in reality... the stock tires are actually all the wire-bead non-tubeless versions of the 4.5 Juggernaut which do not roll that great, are heavy, and are often out-of-round as Kenda doesn't seem to be paying much attention in production quality control. The wheels are also quite heavy even with all the drill out holes for their size. For the money the entry level Norco Bigfoot or KHS 4-seasons 500 is a better bang for buck.

 

[l3eaudacious]

The co-owner of #1 fat dealer here has told me that even though they do not have a model priced between the Blizzard 10 at $1300CAD and the Blizzard 30 at $2200CAD, that it is not worth spending money upgrading a Blizzard 10 because you'll never fix everything wrong with it for the price difference on a better complete bike. On paper its got lots of boxes checked but in reality... the stock tires are actually all the wire-bead non-tubeless versions of the 4.5 Juggernaut which do not roll that great, are heavy, and are often out-of-round as Kenda doesn't seem to be paying much attention in production quality control. The wheels are also quite heavy even with all the drill out holes for their size. For the money the entry level Norco Bigfoot or KHS 4-seasons 500 is a better bang for buck.

The Bigfoot is a nice bike on paper, except for the fact I think it's one of the ugliest fatties on the market. Also Norco bikes never fit me right, the Blizzard fits me like a glove.

Don't really care about spec's, its all changeable, the main thing is geo. RM bikes always ride great. I tell myself I don't want to be close minded, try other brands, but the bikes feel great descending, climbing or cornering. Feel like real All-mountain/trail bikes.

Also the Blizzard frame kit was a pretty good deal, with warranty on the hubs. Even though I bought a frame-kit my setup isn't too far off the completes, just some small tweaks.

 

[tbonegreen]

The co-owner of #1 fat dealer here has told me that even though they do not have a model priced between the Blizzard 10 at $1300CAD and the Blizzard 30 at $2200CAD, that it is not worth spending money upgrading a Blizzard 10 because you'll never fix everything wrong with it for the price difference on a better complete bike. On paper its got lots of boxes checked but in reality... the stock tires are actually all the wire-bead non-tubeless versions of the 4.5 Juggernaut which do not roll that great, are heavy, and are often out-of-round as Kenda doesn't seem to be paying much attention in production quality control. The wheels are also quite heavy even with all the drill out holes for their size. For the money the entry level Norco Bigfoot or KHS 4-seasons 500 is a better bang for buck.

So you don't own, or haven't even seen a Blizzard 10 in person? This is all third party information from somebody who makes more money selling the more expensive bike? Thanks for your comment - it was really useful.

This is an entry level bike. Its unique in this category in that it has 100mm rims with a true 4.5" beefy tire.

I was out tonight in a dump of fresh snow. There is no way that the Norco and KHS that you mentioned would go anywhere even close to where I was going tongiht. No-name crappy "4.0" tires (more like 3.5) that come on the bikes you mentioned have to be upgraded immediately if you have any plans of riding in snow.

 

[Charger H]

So you don't own, or haven't even seen a Blizzard 10 in person? This is all third party information from somebody who makes more money selling the more expensive bike? Thanks for your comment - it was really useful.

This is an entry level bike. Its unique in this category in that it has 100mm rims with a true 4.5" beefy tire.

I was out tonight in a dump of fresh snow. There is no way that the Norco and KHS that you mentioned would go anywhere even close to where I was going tongiht. No-name crappy "4.0" tires (more like 3.5) that come on the bikes you mentioned have to be upgraded immediately if you have any plans of riding in snow.

--

Superb bike this - I posted it on here some months back before it was listed on RM's website. My two buddies got the first two bikes at my LBS when they came in. Lovely build quality and great RM geo. The only change might be to up the fork to their carbon blade as Alu can be a little harsh . Also one of them, a convert to MTB, bent one of the rear cogs when changing gears in a rock garden - has now upgraded to a better rear set up. Regardless they love their bikes and I have two mates to go fatbiking with - now all we need here on Ontario is snow..

 

[firemb]

The co-owner of #1 fat dealer here has told me that even though they do not have a model priced between the Blizzard 10 at $1300CAD and the Blizzard 30 at $2200CAD, that it is not worth spending money upgrading a Blizzard 10 because you'll never fix everything wrong with it for the price difference on a better complete bike. On paper its got lots of boxes checked but in reality... the stock tires are actually all the wire-bead non-tubeless versions of the 4.5 Juggernaut which do not roll that great, are heavy, and are often out-of-round as Kenda doesn't seem to be paying much attention in production quality control. The wheels are also quite heavy even with all the drill out holes for their size. For the money the entry level Norco Bigfoot or KHS 4-seasons 500 is a better bang for buck.

I started with a KHS 1000 last year. The -10 is a lot nicer ride and the quality is noticeably better. I would never recommend the KHS over the -10.