2017 Rocky Mountain Slayer unveiled
The new Slayer replaces the Altitude as Rocky Mountain’s EWS oriented race machine.
The Enduro World Series was first held in 2013. That doesn’t seem like a long time ago, but that series was won (and hotly contested) on 26” wheels. Crazy, right? Since then, we’ve been introduced to a number of new technologies, including boost, metric shocks, electronic drivetrains, plus tires, and cassettes the size of a records. We’ve also seen big shifts in geometries, with everything gravitating towards the three headed monster that is long/low/slack.
New changes in technology and suspension have made going fast a lot easier.
As much fun as it is to sh*t talk this tech, the truth is that it works. It works really well. Which is why we’re so excited for the new Rocky Mountain Slayer.
This model has always held the place of all mountain/mini DH bike in the line but was noticeably absent over the past few years. After the hiatus, it’s back. This time reborn with an 170mm fork, 165mm of rear travel, and 27.5 wheels (although it is also compatible with 26+ aka 26×3.0” tires.)
The Rocky Mountain Slayer is available in S/M/L/XL.
The geometry is picture perfect. It has a slack head tube angle and long reach for stability when descending. The BB drop is neutral and paired with a short rear center for improved cornering. As you’d expect, the seat-tube is rather steep to help lay down the power, but it’s also been trimmed down to provide clearance for this new generation of long dropper posts.
For increased versatility, Rocky has also built in a way to fine tune suspension and geometry characteristics via a flip chip. While it may seem gimmicky, it actually makes a noticeable impact on performance.
Moving onto the finer details, you’ll notice the frame has oversized intake ports for internal routing. It is designed for 1x systems only and the maximum chainring size is a 36T. It is Di2 compatible and has enough room in the front triangle for a bottle cage, regardless of frame size.
The frame uses a metric shock, paired with a shock eyelet bushing for improved small bump performance. Out back, the frame has single sided chainstay and seatstay pivots for better heel clearance.
All four build kits share the same frame, which is also available as a frame only.
We don’t have pricing information yet, but there are four builds available. All of them share the same carbon frame, which is also available as a frame only.
Even the budget version of the Slayer is well appointed.
The entry level Slayer 730 MSL model gets a SRAM NX drivetrain, Guide R brakes, Yari Fork, Debonair shock, and Reverb. At the other end of the spectrum is the Slayer 790 MSL, which comes with a Fox 36 fork, Float X2 Evol shock, Shimano XTR drivetrain (with 11-46 XT Cassette), and Reverb. We’ll update with pricing info as soon as we get it.
For more info, visit www.bikes.com.
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