Element A50 ShimanoNew Color

This is such a great bike. It is so versatile. So, while Rocky Mountain calls this a XC bike, it's not in the traditional sense. And that isn't a criticism. The new Element is a genre-bender. It's a fast light weight short travel trail bike that can ride pretty much crush anything not completely downhill oriented and be incredibly fast at it. I have modified mine pretty substantially and am now running a Fox 34 Factory with the Grip 2 damper and the new Factory Fox Float rear shock and as a guy who isn't in the world cup weight class, I completely love it. (I also liked the old DPS, but get along better with the new slightly bigger shock that isn't currently an option). The other reviewer who said that if a if person had two different wheel set that this bike would feel like two different bikes is completely right. I run a RaceFace Turbine SL wheelset when I want to go fast on my local trails with the bike in the steepest setting and it just flies. It also flies (and digs in while feeling unflappable) when I take it to the trail park in the slack setting and use the RaceFace my Turbine R30 wheels with a more aggressive tire. Such an awesome bike.

This is our 3rd Rocky Mountain, (Growler, Instinct, Element) and we love it. I spent considerable time deciding on a bike for my 9 year old daughter, and chose an XS Element. The bike has Rockys quality that is top notch, and an excellent build spec for the price. One thing we really liked is we could get a good tune and suspension setup on the shock and fork, even at her light weight of 85 lbs. There are a couple of things we found after purchasing, that are not deal breakers, but wish we knew before buying. We have solved each problem...

1- The XS frame cannot fit any cage or bottle inside the triangle, even though the bolts are there. We went with a cage under the frame on the second set of mounts, and a hydration pack for muddy days.

2- On the alloy frame, the dropper post cannot be slammed all the way to the frame clamp. It needed 1.5-2" to alloy proper function. I think this may be different on Carbon models

3- The XS frame, designed for riders 4,8"-5'2" ships with 175 mm cranks, which really hindered her ability to ride (we solved this with Goldix 140mm cranks, and a wolfltooth chainring)

We also installed narrower bars, grips and seat, similar to the 26" Reaper. (and to add pink)

She loves her Rocky and we are already planning the purchase of our next one!

Bike is amazing. Reminds me of my ‘18 Instinct c90.

Only complaint is the front hub. Why not at least a dt 350 to match the rear at this price? Already blown through it, rough bearings after 5 rides and squeaky as hell.

I already had a carbon wheelset so i put a butcher/purgatory on. With the suspension in pos 1 and those its a trail bike. Throw the stock wheels on with the rekons in pos 4 its an xc bike.

Love it as i do a couple local xc races still but wanted something a lot more fun than a xc or long travel xc down country bike.

For the price you get a lot vs the competition. The xt shifter is awesome with the multi click up and down, the xt mech shifts better than gx eagle. The seat is sticky as F so its hard to slide forward on for gruelling climbs. I have an XL and the 170mm is too short, fine for XC I suppose but riding steep slabs in BC it catches your shorts, 200mm would be far better; Probably will switch to a 240mm one up.

Great down-country bike. Used it for the BC Bike Race and it was the ideal choice. It's very capable and can punch above its weight when trails get gnarly.

Issues:

- Rear Hub has gone bust. It was the stock Race Face Trace J-Bend Hub (which has terrible reviews on the RF site https://www.raceface.com/products/trace-j-bend-hub?variant=33069831127122) Also, good that Rocky has swapped it for a DT Swiss. In the middle of seeing if Rocky will change this for me.

Upgrades & changes:

- Upgraded clippers to the 4-piston SLX for a bit more stopping power

- Installed a Flip Lock water bottle which works perfectly

- Although WTB seat was comfortable, it makes a very obnoxious squeaky sound (swapped it for an Ergon)

- Swapped dropper lever for a PNW red lever, just cuz it looks better