Altitude 2021 Review

Presentation

The 2021 Altitude from Rocky Mountain is their EWS winning bike under Jesse Melamed. It is built for going up efficiently and descending as fast as possible just like in enduro races. The Altitude received a new rehaul this year, that has people like me excited. I got a chance to rent the bike for about 3 hours and do a first ride impression on the bike.

Specs

The model I got to test out was the A50 which is an aluminium model with an in the middle specs. It had fox 36, SLX and XT Deore drivetrain and brakes with an aluminum wheelset. The bike boasts 170mm of travel upfront and 160mm of travel in the rear. The reach on the L bike was a bit short for me at 474mm. It took me around 30 min of the 3h that I had to get used to the reach. The wheelbase is rather long at 1249mm but pretty in spot for an enduro 29er. The handlebar was a tad bit too small for me at 780mm but just like the rest you can get used to it. Finally, the tires on the bike had assegais 2.5 in front and DHR 2.4 in the back.

Climbing

Let’s be honest, this isn`t the section that you want to read or hear about. BUT, if you do, then the bike is okay at climbing. If you are going through a gravel road or a fire road climb you can lock the suspension and the bike doesn’t move an inch. If you are going up a trail climb you can put the shock in firm mode and climb like as if it had 100–120mm of travel. It is reassuring that you can use the pedal assist switch to turn your bike from an energy sapping machine to an efficient climber. When you pair that with a comfortable position and a 12 speed SLX drivetrain, you get a machine that you can take your time going up the hill, reserving your energy for those sweet, sweet descents. The only complain I did have was with my front wheel wandering from time to time when I was not paying too much attention or when I was tired. You do need to take the climbs seriously when you’re going up or down or you might slip up. The tires are really well specked. On the climbs, I never spun out even on the steepest hills. There is this famous climb at my mountain that comes straight after a corner. You don’t really have time gain speed in a run-up. With the 12 speed drivetrain, the comfortable position and the tires, I had just enough to ascend the slope.

Descending

This is the section you want to read. When you point this enduro 29er downhill, put your suspension on open, you can go down as fast as you want. Just like any bike the smoothest line is usually the fastest line. The pro with the altitude is that sometimes your smoothest line is going to be going Mach speed on a gnarly line. Between going around a boulder and taking your chances at jumping over it and landing flat the latter is going to be the best option with the altitude. The suspension absorbs what it has to and doesn’t what it doesn’t need to. That unfortunately doesn’t mean you can get away with landing flat on the ground (FIY: you’ll still feel that pain in your heels as you land). The bike corners pretty well to be honest and is easy to lay down for those flat corners. The bike does require you to be active and it is expected from a long travel machine. On slacker terrain the bike numbs terrain and the only way to make it feel livelier is to firm up your suspension. That being said if running the bike on firm mode makes it better for you can still get the bike run it on firm on normal days and set it open for those rough enduro or bike park days.

Opinions

This is the bike that I want, but unfortunately not the machine that I need. Its too much suspension for all the things that I do, and it has allowed me to appreciate having less travel to be honest. If I, had it in the garage, I would bring it out one ride out of two just to have the fun of plowing through everything and not really care about line decision. The trails here in Quebec are on the softer side which is why I am saying this.

On a side note, this is my first article that I am posting here and I really want to get better at writing stuff in English and French. If you have any comments you can message me and it would be my pleasure to try and improve.

Thanks for taking the time to read this and I hope you all have a good day, from ya boy,
Mickael.