Rocky Mountain Pipeline plus bike review
The Rocky Mountain Pipeline is full suspension plus bike targeted towards the rowdier end of the trail spectrum.
Lowdown: Rocky Mountain Pipeline
I wasn’t sure about plus bikes coming into this review, but the Rocky Mountain Pipeline changed my opinion. While the geometry may not appear particularly rowdy or playful on paper, it was a revelation on the trail. With lively handling and the ability to climb up or descend almost anything, this was a bike we didn’t want to send back. Find out why in the full review below.
| Front travel: 150mm | Gearing: 1x only |
| Rear travel: 130mm | Frame material: Carbon front, Alloy rear |
| Wheel size: 27.5+ | Price as tested: $4799 |
| Max tire clearance: 3.25” |
Rating:  4 out of 5 |
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Review: Rocky Mountain Pipeline
When Rocky Mountain offered to send Mtbr its new full suspension plus bike for review, I wanted nothing to do with it. I thought the whole plus concept was stupid. You’ve heard the complaints before: the tires feel squirmy in corners, their imprecise, heavy, and lack durability.
The Pipeline is based on the Instinct chassis. It comes equipped with a 150mm fork and 130mm of rear travel.
And to be fair, that’s all true. The thing about new standards is that it often takes a few tries to get it right. The first time I rode a 29er it was eye opening. The thing could roll over anything, but the geometry was terrible, there were no good tires, and the frame and wheels were more flexible than a politician’s moral compass.
As manufacturers trampled themselves to get a plus bike to market, the same thing happened. The early test bikes we rode were plagued with component issues like rims that weren’t wide enough or flimsy tires, so the hate was and is understandable. But the Rocky Mountain Pipeline changed my mind.
Wide bars, short stem, great tires, and a full Shimano XT groupset. The spec is damn near perfect right out of the box.
Top-Shelf Spec
The Pipeline is marketed towards aggressive trail riders, so the spec is very similar to Rocky’s other trail/enduro bikes. Right now only two build kits are available.
The more affordable version, the 750 MSL, retails for $3999 and comes with a RockShox Yari fork, a smart mix of Shimano components, and some Rocky branded cockpit bits. The 770 MSL, tested here, retails for $800 more. That extra cash nets you top of the line suspension from Fox, a full Shimano XT groupset, plus Race Face finishing kit. Both bikes share the same wheelset and tires.
The FIT 4 damper in the Factory level Fox fork is better than what is found in RockShox’s budget oriented Yari.
For our money, the 750 is the smarter buy. While we prefer the performance of the FIT4 damper in the Fox fork over the budget minded Yari, everything else is roughly comparable in terms of performance. The main difference between the two price points is weight.
The 28T chainring paired with an 11-42 XT cassette provided plenty of range, but we would have preferred the 11-46T version because bigger is better.
Overall, both builds are spec’d well. You get a short stem, wide(ish) 760mm bar, great tires, etc. Our only complaint (and it’s minor) is the range of the stock cassette. The stock gearing left us nothing to complain about, but we would have preferred the wider 11-46 Shimano XT cassette over the narrower 11-42 XT unit.
Like the Thunderbolt and Instinct, the Pipeline gets grease ports at the pivots for ease of maintenance.
Tech
The Pipeline shares the same front triangle as the 130mm travel Instinct, a trail oriented 29er, but utilizes a purpose built rear end. What’s interesting is that unlike most competitors in this segment, the Pipeline is not convertible to 29er.
By going plus only, Rocky was able to lop nearly half an inch from its chainstays. At 17.4 inches, they’re still on the longer side (although you wouldn’t know it from riding), but that’s because the bike has clearance for up to 3.25” tires.
While 2.8” is widely regarded as the sweet spot for plus, the Pipeline has clearance for up to 3.25” tires.
It should also be noted that Rocky also nixed 2x compatibility in the name of shorter chainstays. We’re sold on the range of 1x drivetrains, so that’s a compromise we’re happy to make. Most buyers shopping for an aggressive plus sized trail bike probably feel the same.
On paper, the Pipeline isn’t as long and slack as some bikes in this category, but we loved its fun lively character.
Geometry and Ride 9 System
If you’re used to the geometry numbers on the new crop of long and slack bikes, you’ll immediately notice the Pipeline looks conservative in comparison. This bike isn’t intended to play the same role as the Slayer, it’s a trail bike first.
However, if you want to get rowdy, the geometry is adjustable via a set of interlocking chips. Depending on their orientation, you can tweak the head angle up to 1.6 degrees (67.2-68.8), adjust the BB height, and can make the suspension feel more linear or progressive.
An added feature of the Ride 9 system is that by making the suspension curve more linear or progressive, it can better tuned to rider weight. Having trouble utilizing all your travel? Make it more linear!
In the middle setting, the handling is fast and nimble. The XC mode offers more of the same, so we skipped right over to shreddy. This small adjustment to the linkage makes a big difference. The bike retains that playful character that all Rocky’s share, but felt more stable and confident on descents. It also helped ramp up the bottom of the stroke.
If you like to get geeky, this system is a great feature. Everyone else will probably experiment until they find a setting they like and stay with it. Unfortunately, none of these changes will lengthen the reach, so consider trying a size up before you buy.
Continue to page 2 for more of Mtbr’s Rocky Mountain Pipeline plus bike review
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