Mountain Bike Rider — March 2018

frame has been refined in several areas.
Perhaps the most significant difference,
visually, is that Rocky’s chip-in-a-chip
Ride9tuningsystemhasmovedfrom
thetoptube(whereitwasproneto
knee interference) to the shock link.
Rockyhasalsotakentheopportunity
to add boost dropouts, metric shock
sizing, and reconfigure the kinematics
forextraprogressionand greater
mid-strokesupport.

LONGER AND SLACKER
And no modern makeover would be
complete without a trip to the body
shop for some updated geometry.
As such, the new Pipeline reach grows
ahealthy40mmorso,dependingon
theRide9setting.It’salsoquiteabit
slackerandthechainstayshaveshrunk
by 6mm. Sit on the bike, though, and

the extra length over its predecessor

is masked somewhat by the 10mm taller

headtube.

Equally curious is the decision to

chip back on fork travel, reducing it

from150mmonthepreviousPipeline,

to 140mm. And then, to bring the

geometry back in line, Rocky fits a

deep lower headset cup. You also get

a shallow headset cup, should you

wanttorun29inwheels,asfittedto

the identically framed Instinct. To me,

this seems excessively complicated.

Plenty of brands share frame platforms

betweenwheelsizes,andletyoumake

theswitchwithjustachip-flip,rather

thansomethingasinvolvedasheadset

removal. And Rocky already offers

theseshockoptionswithitsRide9

system.Sowhynotjustbumpthefork

travel to 150mm and use Ride 9 to make

SPECIFICATION

FrameSmoothwall

carbon, FORM

alloy rear triangle,

140mm travel

ShockFox Float

DPS Evol

ForkFox34Float

Performance,

140mm travel

WheelsRocky

Mountain/DT Swiss

370Boosthubs,Sun

Duroc 40 rims, Maxxis

Minion DHF/DHR II

27.5x2.8in tyres

DrivetrainSRAM

Stylo Eagle crank,

SRAM GX Eagle

shifter and r-mech

BrakesSRAM Level

TL, 180/180mm

Components

Rocky Mountain AM

760mm bar, Rocky

Mountain AM 50mm

stem, Fox Transfer

Performance Elite

150mm dropper post,

WTBVoltRacesaddle

Weight13.45kg

(29.6lb)

SizesS, M, L, XL

GEOMETRY

(POSITION 1)

SizeriddenL

Rider height5ft 10in

Head angle65.2°

Seat angle69.2°

BBheight324mm

Chainstay436mm

Front centre775mm

Wheelbase1,211mm

Down tube730mm

Toptube628mm

Reach 450mm

HIGHS

Frame now runs on bearings

rather than bushings.

LOWS

Front end feels too high.

1ST IMPRESSION





32 mbrMARCH 2018

NEW BIKES

Ride9system

SPOTLIGHT ON...

Flip-chipsareatoolcommonly

used by bike brands to offer a

degree of geometry tuning, as well

asmaketheirbikesadaptableto

different wheel sizes. Rocky’s Ride

9takesthatideaastepfurther

with,youguessedit,ninedifferent

configurations. At the heart of the

design are the two interlocking

chips, through which the lower shock

boltpasses.Bychangingthisshock

bolt position, you manipulate every

aspect of the geometry, as well as

the suspension progression and

travel,allatonce.Position1(bottom

left corner) is the slackest setting,

with the lowest BB height, and

the most progressive suspension.

Position9(toprightcorner)isthe

steepest geometry with the least

progressive suspension. From one

end of the range to the other, the

headanglevariesby1°andtheBB

height changes by 13mm. Rocky

publishes a comprehensive guide

to each position.

upfor the size discrepancy? Fortunately

the Pipeline will be in the line-up for our

2018TrailBikeoftheYeartest.Which

givesmeafewmonthstoseehowwell

all those revisions have worked out,

explore the tuning options on offer and

findsomeanswerstomyquestions

aboutforktravelandthatheadset

cup. Look out for the full test in a few

months’ time.

Danny Milner

Flip-chip offers

ninegeometry

settings

Thenew Pipeline

offers a wealth of

set-up options