As a part of our 40th Anniversary celebration, we asked Rocky Mountain riders to submit their favourite bikes and the stories behind them. Whether it’s a brand new Altitude Powerplay or their retro Hammer from the 90's, we love them all. Here are some of the stories we've collected from riders around the world.
Andrew Otterstrom
My bikes story is one that spans 26 years. I was extremely fortunate to have a father that loves to mountain bike. From an early age him and I spent most weekends in the woods on our bikes. As this was the early 90s, kids bikes where heavy and poorly made. For my 10th birthday my dad kept me home from school and surprised me with a new to me Rocky Mountain Hammer. It was pretty basic by today's standards with 26-inch rims, cantilever brakes and a RockShox Mag 30 that you had to pump up with a basketball needle before every ride, but I loved it. I eventually outgrew it, and it was passed down to my little sister who loved it as much as myself. For the next 14 years I bounced around between different bike brands while riding the amazing trails on the north shore and whistler. In 2010 I moved north for work moving back in 2017. In 2017 I moved back to the lower mainland and threw myself back into biking. The bikes I rode while amazing felt awkward to me. While riding in the back of an Air Canada flight from Toronto I struck up a conversation with a Rocky Mountain employee. We naturally started talking bikes and he hinted of something big coming out soon. When the 2020 Slayer was released, I was instantly obsessed with it. It was a thing of beauty, and I was in love, unfortunately 2 kids and other grown-up responsibilities meant it was beyond my reach financially. Unknown to me my beautiful wife started saving and in March of this year she told me to drive to Kamloops to pick up my new 2021 Slayer C50. The second I threw my leg over it I felt at home. The Slayer is so natural on the trails and every ride I am blown away with its capabilities. It took me 26 years, but I am finally back on a Rocky now riding with my 7-year-old and my dad who is on an Altitude Powerplay.
Tero Hannuksela
Yep.
Remember it like it would have been yesterday. Our ski school had a summer meeting at Rukatunturi in northern Finland. As I lived that time kind of close at Kemijärvi, it was easy to take part. The year was 2000 or 2001.
DH or Downhill biking was something that basically no one had even heard in Finland. I had Sunn Xircuit Plus with NO suspension what so ever, but kind of liked it, until I fell while riding kind of DH route from top of the hill to the valley.
The jump wasn't anything special, normal table top, but as the bike hadn't any suspension and I was a bit too much over the bar when jump started I was doomed to do an OTB and wound my hands with crash on the gravel.
This single accident made me become Rocky Mountain lover and 2005 I got myself a Switch S1 as a tax free, since I worked as a peacekeeper in Afghanistan and anything bought from home country and brought to mission area was tax free.
Later on, I've done the same again in 2018 and updated my Switch S1 to brand new Slayer C50, due to a mechanical issue on my older Rocky Mountain bike.
And yes, the long update gap was totally depending on fact, that nobody Sold/represented Rocky Mountain in Finland between 01/2011-12/2017, otherwise I think I would've gotten Flatline at some point.
Love the ride, mee too!
In 2001 I was introduced to Rocky Mountain Bicycles when I rode a Soul from Jasper to Banff along the Icefields Parkway. I said during the ride that my vocabulary became limited to exclamations like beautiful, fantastic, unbelievable, OMG. Oh Canada!
It was only my second time on a mountain bike as I'm more of a road bike guy. The Soul was perfect for the ride. They suggested to bring my own seat and pedals and that was a good suggestion. I bought the bike from the tour group at the and of the season and they shipped it back to Virginia where I still ride the hell out of it. I love it and am so glad I came to know and experience your brand.
My 2001 Rocky Mountain Soul is a great bike from a great company with solid values.
On your left,
William Yarborough
Alexandria, VA
Just this past summer I recently got back into mountain biking. I had for over 20 years just a simple CCM Excel bike but I broke the frame within 2 weeks of riding again. My good friend told me about Rocky Mountain bikes, and he currently uses a Growler 40. I ended up finding and loved a 1996 Cardiac that I’ve used on bike trails. I just put on new Shimano pedals and some Race King 2.2’s to replace the slicks it came with. Never a dull moment when I’m riding it. I just recently picked up a classic 1994 Hammer too. So, bow my Cardiac has a buddy!
Peter Quinlan
I'm 15 years old and started Mountain biking this year with my 2021 Thunderbolt A10. Over the summer I entered in the St. John's Enduro Series, the local enduro racing series and I placed 2nd overall in U19 Sport class. I love mountain biking and I love my Rocky Mountain Bike!!
Deaon and Alessandro La Fata
Hi I am Deaon 9 years old and I love my fully..🤙 For me this bike is everything and I love your brand!
Grant Nipkow
This year I celebrate my 50th birthday and 18 years riding RM bikes. My first RM bike was a 2003 ETSX 50 with the brushed aluminum flames. It was my first full suspension bike and it felt like I was flying. The paint job was also a thing of beauty, and I always kept the attached photo on my desk alongside a picture of my wife. I now ride a 2018 c70 Altitude which has been an outstanding bike but a small part of me still wishes I had those silver flames helping me smash the trails at home on the North Shore.
I was reintroduced to mountain biking 8 years ago with a 2004 Slayer 50. Shamelessly beaten for 10 years before my tenure, the bike owed me nothing. Yet everything still worked. It carried me for years while I worked out the riding kinks. Breaking, and replacing components, but the frame was always fine. 4 years later I sold it and moved on to a new trail bike. But I still had an appreciation for the brand. Fast forward 4 more years and I have a family, two little boys, winter fast approaching and no time. And what does Rocky Mountain release? A 66HTA thru axle monster Blizzard fat bike. I’d been mulling one as an all season, do it all bike for years, but none quite caught my eye like this. I had to have it. This is one to keep forever. It quite literally can do anything. Ride thru the woods scoping new trails, ride the beach, ride snow, pull the kid trailer with wheels and skis, attach a Mac-Ride, charge singletrack, and cruise bike paths. It got me out with kids all winter and saved me when my trail bike was down. In fact, it is now the bike I grab for gravel rides, unknown adventures, and for no-hassle rides. While it is no lightweight, it is remarkably capable, and reliable. Much like my first bike. I hope Rocky continues to offer bikes with this level of value. Everyone deserves a bike like this
Zac Cheney
I picked up my first Rocky Mountain bike in 1999, a beautiful blue and white Vertex Team frame, wrapped in an XTR group, Sid fork, and Mavic CrossMax wheels. I wanted an elite high-end bike that wasn't so mainstream but built by people who really know how to shred. I respected the British Columbian roots of its origin which gave the bikes slightly more slack headtube angles for attacking the downhill. I moved from the Vertex to the Element platform for several bikes, and then into the Slayer, then into the first Altitude 29r, then back to the Thunderbolt, and now into the Instinct line. I lost track of how many Rocky's I've owned but it's a lot! My neighbors tell me I should be getting a commission because I have introduced at least a dozen friends and family members to Rocky who have now become lifetime fans as I have. My son is now racing Varsity in the NICA HS league, and of course on a Rocky Mountain Element! I'm personally stoked with the new Element. How did Rocky Mountain know to design a bike just for me without even talking to me?!
Mandip Kang
In 1998 my father suffered a heart attack. The doctor to my dad he needs to get more active so we both purchased our first mountain bikes. A 1998 Rocky Mountain Element Race in candy apple red!! We both fell in love right away! Riding together was one of the best father-son bonding’s a boy could ask for.
In 2009 my father passed away of heart failure and I stopped riding for years. Until 2018 when my own child to me dad lets go for a bike ride and I went to the bike shop and fell in love with the Rocky Mountain Altitude, and we been riding together ever since!
Life is short. Enjoy the all the beautiful places and love the ride!!
Garanger Arnaud
The Rocky Mountain brand and bikes have been the absolute dream for me ever since I started cycling! I'm the new kid, I managed to get the brand-new Altitude last year! It was a great moment for me! And what a slap! This bike is so amazing, truly the best bike ever! I keep discovering more about it, so beautiful, easy to ride and efficient. Often, we are disappointed by the things that we idolize but here, it’s even better than in my wildest dreams! It really is the ideal bike for me to race on and take me to the top step of the podium at the national level. Thanks for what you do!
