mike14
Likes Bikes and Dirt
Frame - Altitude Alloy Size L, 160mm travel
Rear shock - Fox DPX2 Performance 230x60mm
Front shock/fork - Fox 36 Float EVOL Grip Performance 170mm, 44mm offset
Handlebars - Spank Spike 35mm, cut to 780mm
Stem - Rocky Mountain 35mm
Headset - FSA Orbit
Grips - Ergon GE10
Saddle - Ergon SM Comp
Seatpost - RaceFace Aeffect R 175mm
Front brake - Shimano XT trail with 203mm rotor
Rear brake - Shimano XT trail with 180mm rotor
Cranks - RaceFace Affect 170mm
Chainguide -
Chain - Shimano M6100
Pedals - DMR Vault
Front derailleur - u wot?
Rear derailleur - Shimano XT
Front shifter -
Rear shifter - Shimano SLX
Cassette - Shimano Deore 10-51T 12spd
Front hub - Rocky Mountain
Rear hub - DT Swiss 370
Front rim - WTB ST i30
Rear rim - WTB ST i30
Spokes - DT Swiss (apparently. I'd have no idea)
Nipples - tender
Tyres - Assegai 29x2.5 up front, DHRII 29x2.4 out back
Tubes - nope
Total weight - more than enough. Website says 15.7kg and I'd say that be about right
Purchased this in December 2020 as my 'big bike' to complement the Django. I had a YT Capra which I'd purchased 12 months previously with the idea that I'd take to Tassie for a few trips. I never got on with the Capra (which is a shame because it looked nice and was well specc'd) and so decided to move it on and look for something new.
I was tossing up between the Ripmo AF, the Stumpjumper Evo, the Slash 8 and the RM, the latter 3 of which had all just been released. Managed to find a carbon Altitude in stock at BikeNow and so took it for a carpark spin where the geometry felt much better than the Capra. As I'm a tight-arse, and there's constant battle between the wife and I over how much $$ should be spent on bikes, carbon was out of the question, but there were two large A50 builds in the country, so i threw down a deposit and picked it up two weeks later.
The build - The A50 is the middle model of the RM's 3 alloy offerings and while it's probably a bit pricey for the specc it's a good, clean build and everything works well together. I'm a fat hack when it comes to riding so bikes tend to get abused under me, but everything has held up well so far. I swapped out the RM bars for some Spank ones, changed to my preferred Ergon saddle and put on some vault pedals, but everything else is stock because I tend to just be happy with what's on the bike and just change things as they break/wear out. This has been my first Shimano MTB in a while and I really enjoy the feel compared to the GX on Django.
Ride 9 - I'm always intrigued by adjustable geometry (maybe because I don't really know what kind of bike I want?), but for the most part it doesn't seem to do much. I had a Strive with Shapeshifter that I barely used, I've never even thought about flipping the Django to the high position and apparently the Capra had a flipchip but I never saw it...
Ride 9 seems to make enough of a difference to the numbers that it is actually worth it. The bike comes in the slackest and shortest (as well as the ride 9, there's an adjustment at the rear axle to make the bike 10mm longer) setting, which makes it incredibly low. Changing the system is not a trail-side job IMO as it's a bit fiddly, the chips tend to go everywhere, and you really need to prop the bike up on something to realign everything, but after the first frustrating attempt, it's now pretty easy to do and I will change it up depending on where I'm riding the next day. To lengthen/shorten the rear end you do have to swap the brake adapter around, but again it's not difficult.
I can certainly notice the difference in handling depending on configuration, as well as the performance of the rear shock.
The ride - I haven't had a chance to take it down the trails that would really test it to it's limits (which are way ahead of my limits), but I'm loving it so far. It's very confidence inspiring and I've found myself riding lines I've been cautious of before, as I just feel that the bike will get me through when my skills get overwhelmed.
It's an almost 16kg bike but it climbs just fine if you aren't looking for KOM points and has a very comfortable climbing position. It feels better climbing single track than fire road for some reason. The DPX2 has a 3-pos climb switch and depending on the Ride-9 position depends on how I use this. In 'trail' mode (normally posn 6 for me) the mid setting is great for non-tech climbing while fully locked out feels horrible, even on fire roads, while in 'enduro' mode (posn 3) full lock out is the go-to for road climbs.
As stated before, I find it really confidence inspiring coming down pretty much everything, although the low bottom bracket means I have to pay attention to pedal position (my shitty riding style means the vault's are taking a beating!). When it's long and slack it's superbly planted and has made for some quick times down my You Yangs favorites. Unless I'm doing downhill focused days I usually keep it in the short setting which makes it a bit more maneuverable for most trails. I thought I'd be looking to upgrade the DPX2, but I've been really happy with how it feels, even through all those bloody rock gardens.
Now that I've converted the Django to Shimano 12 spd I'm interested in throwing the 2.3 Agressor wheel on the back, putting the ride 9 into trail mode and seeing how it can perform as trail bike with far too much squish.
TL;DR: Loving the bike, it's a heap of fun so far, the spec is good without being great and the Ride-9 actually seems to do something useful.
It should be noted that the alloy versions don't come with the replaceable shock-mounting like the carbon models do, so if they release some kind of update in the future us alloy riders are shit out of luck.
Rear shock - Fox DPX2 Performance 230x60mm
Front shock/fork - Fox 36 Float EVOL Grip Performance 170mm, 44mm offset
Handlebars - Spank Spike 35mm, cut to 780mm
Stem - Rocky Mountain 35mm
Headset - FSA Orbit
Grips - Ergon GE10
Saddle - Ergon SM Comp
Seatpost - RaceFace Aeffect R 175mm
Front brake - Shimano XT trail with 203mm rotor
Rear brake - Shimano XT trail with 180mm rotor
Cranks - RaceFace Affect 170mm
Chainguide -
Chain - Shimano M6100
Pedals - DMR Vault
Front derailleur - u wot?
Rear derailleur - Shimano XT
Front shifter -
Rear shifter - Shimano SLX
Cassette - Shimano Deore 10-51T 12spd
Front hub - Rocky Mountain
Rear hub - DT Swiss 370
Front rim - WTB ST i30
Rear rim - WTB ST i30
Spokes - DT Swiss (apparently. I'd have no idea)
Nipples - tender
Tyres - Assegai 29x2.5 up front, DHRII 29x2.4 out back
Tubes - nope
Total weight - more than enough. Website says 15.7kg and I'd say that be about right
Purchased this in December 2020 as my 'big bike' to complement the Django. I had a YT Capra which I'd purchased 12 months previously with the idea that I'd take to Tassie for a few trips. I never got on with the Capra (which is a shame because it looked nice and was well specc'd) and so decided to move it on and look for something new.
I was tossing up between the Ripmo AF, the Stumpjumper Evo, the Slash 8 and the RM, the latter 3 of which had all just been released. Managed to find a carbon Altitude in stock at BikeNow and so took it for a carpark spin where the geometry felt much better than the Capra. As I'm a tight-arse, and there's constant battle between the wife and I over how much $$ should be spent on bikes, carbon was out of the question, but there were two large A50 builds in the country, so i threw down a deposit and picked it up two weeks later.
The build - The A50 is the middle model of the RM's 3 alloy offerings and while it's probably a bit pricey for the specc it's a good, clean build and everything works well together. I'm a fat hack when it comes to riding so bikes tend to get abused under me, but everything has held up well so far. I swapped out the RM bars for some Spank ones, changed to my preferred Ergon saddle and put on some vault pedals, but everything else is stock because I tend to just be happy with what's on the bike and just change things as they break/wear out. This has been my first Shimano MTB in a while and I really enjoy the feel compared to the GX on Django.
Ride 9 - I'm always intrigued by adjustable geometry (maybe because I don't really know what kind of bike I want?), but for the most part it doesn't seem to do much. I had a Strive with Shapeshifter that I barely used, I've never even thought about flipping the Django to the high position and apparently the Capra had a flipchip but I never saw it...
Ride 9 seems to make enough of a difference to the numbers that it is actually worth it. The bike comes in the slackest and shortest (as well as the ride 9, there's an adjustment at the rear axle to make the bike 10mm longer) setting, which makes it incredibly low. Changing the system is not a trail-side job IMO as it's a bit fiddly, the chips tend to go everywhere, and you really need to prop the bike up on something to realign everything, but after the first frustrating attempt, it's now pretty easy to do and I will change it up depending on where I'm riding the next day. To lengthen/shorten the rear end you do have to swap the brake adapter around, but again it's not difficult.
I can certainly notice the difference in handling depending on configuration, as well as the performance of the rear shock.
The ride - I haven't had a chance to take it down the trails that would really test it to it's limits (which are way ahead of my limits), but I'm loving it so far. It's very confidence inspiring and I've found myself riding lines I've been cautious of before, as I just feel that the bike will get me through when my skills get overwhelmed.
It's an almost 16kg bike but it climbs just fine if you aren't looking for KOM points and has a very comfortable climbing position. It feels better climbing single track than fire road for some reason. The DPX2 has a 3-pos climb switch and depending on the Ride-9 position depends on how I use this. In 'trail' mode (normally posn 6 for me) the mid setting is great for non-tech climbing while fully locked out feels horrible, even on fire roads, while in 'enduro' mode (posn 3) full lock out is the go-to for road climbs.
As stated before, I find it really confidence inspiring coming down pretty much everything, although the low bottom bracket means I have to pay attention to pedal position (my shitty riding style means the vault's are taking a beating!). When it's long and slack it's superbly planted and has made for some quick times down my You Yangs favorites. Unless I'm doing downhill focused days I usually keep it in the short setting which makes it a bit more maneuverable for most trails. I thought I'd be looking to upgrade the DPX2, but I've been really happy with how it feels, even through all those bloody rock gardens.
Now that I've converted the Django to Shimano 12 spd I'm interested in throwing the 2.3 Agressor wheel on the back, putting the ride 9 into trail mode and seeing how it can perform as trail bike with far too much squish.
TL;DR: Loving the bike, it's a heap of fun so far, the spec is good without being great and the Ride-9 actually seems to do something useful.
It should be noted that the alloy versions don't come with the replaceable shock-mounting like the carbon models do, so if they release some kind of update in the future us alloy riders are shit out of luck.
