Here's mine
Pretty stock actually. Only replaced the wheels with a pair of Hope wheels after this ride and Goodridge hoses. Absolutely love it. A while ago I took it to the Ardenne after riding a few months on a HT. I had so much fun. Here's a review:
Rocky Mountain Slayer SXC 50 Review
By Marc-Andre Casavant february.28.2008 18:49
Rocky Mountain's Slayer SXC 50 in its natural habitat
As previously stated in our review of the Rocky Mountain ETSX 50, early this season, Andreas "Dre" Hestler of Rocky Mountain sent us an ETSX 50 as well as a gorgeous Slayer SXC 50 for review. As one of Rocky Mountain's newest designs, the Slayer SXC 50 is built for all-around trail riding. This definitely showed to be true during the many hours of riding the SXC during the beautiful summer and fall months.
We've had hours and hours of fun tweaking every single feature that the Slayer SXC 50 provided us. With Gatineau park nearby, we had a wide variety of trails to test this beauty on.
Initial Impressions
Out of the box, the Slayer SXC 50 showed some impressive lines and a build suitable for a wide variety of riding conditions. We were especially impressed by how light the complete bike felt considering it's aggressive XC look.
Like every other bicycle Rocky Mountain sells, the SXC 50 came personalized with the signature of the person who built the bike on the back of the seat tube. It doesn't make the bike go faster but it is a really nice touch. The frame is beautifully welded and has a beautiful clear coat to help protect the paint job from the elements once on the trails. The Slayer SXC 50's frame came painted in a glossy "barnum green" paint job. A few maple leafs were masked during paint, enabling these leaves to be embedded in the paint. The craftsmanship and the attention to detail is one of those things that I've always enjoyed with the bikes built by Rocky Mountain.
The first time on the bike, the Slayer SXC felt very different than other cross country bikes I have ridden. Built as all-around bike and slightly more tuned to XC than the Slayer, I was extremely curious to know how it would perform on the XC trails and wanted to see how well a bike could perform with 6 inches of travel front and back.
The Slayer SXC Lineup
The Slayer SXC series is Rocky Mountain's "One Bike. Any Trail" or "Super XC" line, built for you to enjoy on any type of trail that mother nature can throw at you. Rocky's Slayer SXC product line extends what we've all known as Rocky Mountain's Slayer. In 2007, the SXC line had 3 models: Slayer SXC 90, Slayer SXC 70 and Slayer SXC 50. For 2008, Rocky Mountain adds 2 new models to the growing Slayer SXC "Super-XC" line: Slayer SXC Ladies Only and the Slayer SXC 30. The Slayer SXC Ladies Only and the Slayer SXC 30 are a nice addition to the lineup and will definitely see success as these two models will ensure that there are a wide range of models to choose from.
The SXC50 came stock with a FOX Float RP23
The main difference between each of the Slayer SXC models is color and the components of the complete bike build. In 2007, all Slayer SXC frames were built basically the same with the exception of the color of the frame. Compared to the SXC 50 which we were able to test, the SXC 70 and SXC 90 came in metallic white and GM silver respectively. Some of the other differences on the two higher models of the series included an upgraded braking system, upgraded drivetrain components, front fork and rear shock. That said, the Slayer SXC 50 which we tested was very nicely spec'd as you will see bellow.
For 2008, the only difference in the line is that the 2008 Slayer SXC 30 does not have the carbon fiber seat stay which the higher-end models have. In the end, all Slayer SXC models will give the same great performance and options on the trails.
Marzocchi All Mountain fork with Extension Travel Adjustment (ETA)
Easy adjustment knobs on the fork to adjust damping and the amount of travel.
Bike Setup
The Marzocchi All Mountain fork with Extension Travel Adjustment (ETA), and the Fox Float RP23 enabled us to have a wide variety of setup possibilities for any type of terrain; from big climbs to fast descents. We especially liked the Mavic Crossride wheels, the SRAM drivetrain and Race Face Evolve components which came stock on the bike. The Slayer SXC 50 also comes with powerful Avid Juicy 5 hydraulic disk brakes, a comfortable SDG Belair seat for those long rides and a FSA headset.
Below are the Slayer SXC 50 specs on our test bike:
Frame Rocky Mountain FORMTM7005 Taperwall Aluminum + Carbon seatstay
Fork MARZOCCHI ALL MOUNTAIN 1 W/ETA
Front Travel 160 mm
Rear Shock FOX FLOAT RP23 CUSTOM VALVED
Rear Travel 152 mm
Headset FSA ORBIT
Stem/Bar Race Face EVOLVE
Brakes AVID JUICY 5
Brake levers AVID JUICY 5
Shifters SRAM 7.0 TRIGGERS
Gearing SRAM X9 / SHIMANO LX
Cranks/rings RACE FACE EVOLVE XC X-TYPE
Bottom bracket RACE FACE EVOLVE X-TYPE
Pedals SHIMANO PDM520
Hubs MAVIC CROSSRIDE
Cog SRAM 970
Chain SRAM PC971
Spokes MAVIC CROSSRIDE
Rims MAVIC CROSSRIDE DISK
Tires IRC MIBRO 2.25
Seat post RACE FACE EVOLVE
Saddle SDG BELAI
Beautifully sculpted and welded frame design.
Carbon fiber seat stay giving the SXC more bling factor and keeping the weight down.
Weighing in at approximately 28 lbs (without pedals), this bike felt really light. We were taken aback the first time we lifted the bike. There's something incredible about having 6 inches of travel front and back in a really light bike. This was all for the best. As a bike designed and built to perform in a variety of trails, keeping the weight down is important, mostly when tackling long climbs.
The SXC is made of aluminum with the exception of the seat stay on the rear triangle which is made of carbon fiber, protected by a thick layer of clear coat.
There's something about Rockie's paint job...love it!
The rear suspension has been designed to offset the force exerted on the pedals, from the rear suspension pivots. Applying force on the pedals barely activates the rear suspension and pedaling the Slayer SXC 50 showed us just how much the new generation of full suspension XC bicycles have come a long way. The rear suspension design of the Slayer SXC family of bicycles absorbs forces exerted on the rear wheel very efficiently.
The Ride
With the bike fully unpacked and tuned up for a ride, we couldn't wait to go for a rip on the Slayer SXC 50! Granted, the first few rides had to be tame because of an extremely bad ankle sprain which had me off the bike for a couple of months. It didn't take long before I was able to put the Slayer SXC 50 to the real test and see what it was all about.
With the Gatineau park 15 minutes from downtown Ottawa and a vast network of trails in the Ottawa region, we couldn't have had a better place to put the SXC 50 to the test.
Before I discuss the overall performance of the Slayer SXC 50, it's important to point out the different types of suspension settings available to "tune" the SXC's performance during the rides.
The FOX Float RP23 air shock allows you to adjust your preload and rebound. The Float RP23 also allows you to choose from three different ProPedal firmness adjustments; light, medium and firm. We found it very easy to turn on/off ProPedal on-the-fly while riding the bike, which turned out to be extremely useful on the trails. Whether it was to setup the bike for a steep climb or a descent, the rear suspension of the Slayer SXC 50 was easily tuned for the type of trails we were riding.
The medium ProPedal setting turned out to be one of our favorite settings of the three available on FOX Float RP23 due to the type of terrain we were riding on in the Gatineau park. It gave us a good mixture of firmness in the rear suspension while keeping the shock set up to absorb some of the roughest sections of the trail. We would of course turn off ProPedal on descents to get the most fun out of them and to let the bike flow with the terrain. Being able to quickly turn ProPedal on before a steep climb or turn it off during descents turned out to be extremely useful and was a luxury to have on the bike. The idea of being able to set up the bike so easily on-the-fly was something we absolutely loved about the Slayer SXC 50.
In addition to the great range of settings available on the rear suspension of the SXC, the Marzocchi All Mountain 1 front fork added its fair share of adjustments. The Marzocchi All Mountain 1 enabled us to set up the travel of front fork, and enabled us to switch between having 3 inches and 6 inches of travel. The fork also enabled us to quickly adjust the compression damping of the fork. Having these options at the tip of our fingers turned out to be very useful and enabled us to lower the front of the bike for steep uphills or let us add some travel for the descents.
Compared to some of the early full suspension trail bikes that we've ridden and tested, the SXC 50 is truly part of the next generation of full suspension "all mountain" bikes. In addition to the vast amount of suspension settings available on the bike, the pedaling efficiency is nothing short of fantastic. The Slayer SXC 50's pedaling efficiency is simply amazing and this bike definitely pulls its own weight when compared to its competing counterparts.
We found that the Slayer SXC 50 does a very good job at reducing the amount of energy lost when pedaling the bike while enabling the suspension to absorb those gnarly rocks and roots. Even when pedaling aggresively, the bike is very easy to pedal which is impressive considering the Slayer SXC can be setup to have 6 inches front and back.
When ProPedal was turned on, and the front fork setup at the 3 inch setting with compression damping maxed out, you'd almost think you are on a hardtail. Long flat rides or extremely steep climbs benefited from this setup.
For long cross country rides, we were able to set up the front suspension with 3 inches of travel to keep the front-end low and set up with a low or medium ProPedal setting which would enable us to increase the pedaling platform while setting up the rear suspension to be more sensitive. It really was extremely easy to adjust while riding the bike. I should also note that the light weight of the bike was really appreciated on the long epics and the descents alike. The bike could just go and go and was light enough to be very agile in all conditions.
During descents or while riding rough trails the Slayer SXC 50 was easily adjusted to give us 6 inches of travel in the front (it is always 6 inches in the back) with ProPedal turned off to take full advantage of the rear suspension. Switching the front fork to the 6 inch setting raises the front by, yes you guessed it, 3 inches which always caught me by surprise when I made the change. This slackens the head angle of the bike and transforms the bike into one plush and fun ride. In this setting, the Slayer SXC was nicely set up for some awesome descents while maintaining a great pedaling platform.
Overall Performance
Overall, the Slayer SXC 50 is an great do-it-all bike which gives you enough options to truly adjust the riding characteristics of this bike to your liking. From the amount of time we rode the Slayer SXC 50 in Gatineau park and the Kanata Lakes trails it's obvious that Rocky Mountain has done an awesome job in designing a bicycle which can be ridden in all types of trails. As much as I liked to be able to set up the SXC for the different type of trails I did find myself setting up the bike with 3 inches of front suspension and with ProPedal turned on on the rear shock. This type of setup still enabled me to comfortably ride descents in the Gatineau park but since most of the trails seem to have long climbs and technical XC trails, setting up the bike for XC most of the time seemed to make more sense.
The Slayer SXC 50 would be a bike perfect for anyone with a mix of great cross-country trails around, just like in Ottawa. It is a beautifully built and hand-crafted bicycle, and an extremely efficient bicycle which leaves you wanting more trail. The joy of riding trails and having rear shock and front fork adjustments at the tip of your fingers is wonderful. Full suspension cross-country bicycles have come a long way and the Slayer SXC 50 shows how rear suspension design combined with shock technology can produce incredible rides. It was a pleasure to be able to enjoy hours of fun on the Slayer SXC 50 this season and it will be hard to go back to my old cross country bike after being spoiled with such a well-rounded and well-spec'd bike.
Final Words
Rocky Mountain has built one solid line with the Slayer SXC. Marketed as the "One Bike. Any Trail" type of bike the Slayer SXC proves that it is exactly what it is said to be. This bicycle is as versatile as we have ever experienced on an "all mountain" or cross country bicycle. Weighing approximately 28 pounds, the Slayer SXC 50 is definitely a bike that can adapt to a wide variety of trails. The Slayer SXC 50 attracted a lot of attention during the summer months. You can see for yourself in our pictures why it got so much attention and from our experience on the bike, there is no question that this is one superbly designed and built bicycle.
