Rocky Mountain Altitude Powerplay C70

[teK--]

Haven't seen an Eeb PYR before; are they even allowed?

Oh well mods please delete this if it's blasphemous

Frame - 2024 Altitude Powerplay. Medium. 108Nm / 700W peak / 720Wh.
Rear shock - Fox X2 performance
Front shock/fork - Fox 38 Factory. Smashpot V1. Shockcraft GRIP2 custom tune.
Handlebars - Oneup Alloy. 35mm rise. Cut to 760.
Stem - Truvativ Descendant 40mm
Headset - Upper: Hope. Lower: Wolf Tooth Premium.
Grips - Ergon GD1
Saddle - Ergon SM Mens Pro
Seatpost - Oneup 180mm
Front brake - Hope Tech 4 E4. Organic Pads. SRAM HS2 200mm rotor.
Rear brake - Hope Tech 4 E4. Metallic Pads. SRAM HS2 200mm rotor.
Cranks - Raceface Aeffect 165mm
Chainguide - Rocky Mountain
Chain - SRAM Eagle GX
Pedals - Hope Union Gravity
Rear derailleur - SRAM AXS GX
Rear shifter - SRAM AXS GX
Cassette - SRAM XX1 10-52
Front hub - Hope Pro 4
Rear hub - Hope Pro 4
Front rim - DT XM481 29er
Rear rim - DT EX511 27.5
Spokes - Sapim Race
Nipples - Sapim polyax brass
Tyres - Assegai EXO+ Maxxgrip / DHR2 EXO Maxterra +Cushcore Trail
Tubes - Tubeless
Total weight - TBC

Some stuff will be parted out, and other parts brought over from the Banshee. Hoping to get it as close as possible to 24Kg ready to ride!

 

[Asininedrivel]

Not going mixed wheels / mullet?

 

[Stredda]

Haven't seen an Eeb PYR before; are they even allowed?

Oh well mods please delete this if it's blasphemous

Frame - 2024 Altitude Powerplay. Medium. 108Nm / 700W peak / 720Wh.
Rear shock - Fox X2 performance
Front shock/fork - Fox 38 Performance
Handlebars - Rocky Mountain AM 35x780
Stem - Rocky Mountain AM 40mm
Headset - FSA
Grips - ODI Elite Pro
Saddle - WTB Volt Race
Seatpost - X-Fusion Manic 30.9x150mm
Front brake - Shimano XT 4pot
Rear brake -Shimano XT 4pot
Cranks - Raceface Aeffect 165mm
Chainguide - Rocky Mountain
Chain - Shimano XT
Pedals -
Rear derailleur - Shimano XT
Rear shifter - Shimano XT
Cassette - Shimano XT
Front hub - Rocky Mountain
Rear hub - DT 370
Front rim - WTB i30
Rear rim -WTB i30
Spokes - DT Champion/Alpine
Nipples -
Tyres - Assegai / DHR2 Doubledown & Cushcore Trail
Tubes - Tubeless
Total weight - 24.4Kg actual

Some stuff will be parted out, and other parts brought over from the Banshee. Hoping to get it as close as possible to 24Kg ready to ride!

View attachment 424692

Nice looking ride!

 

[teK--]

Not going mixed wheels / mullet?

Yep the mixed wheels from the Banshee are coming straight over!

 

[teK--]

First Step (strip down of frame and Ridewrap) is done!

The part I hate the most of a new build.

Thought I'd share this as a laugh. This was the last piece, #24.

It got me thinking... they should have started off with this as #1 and then #24 would be the final boss.

 

[teK--]

Aaand the build is done!

Moar pics and first ride impression to follow...

 

[teK--]

First ride on the new rig!

Some observations in no particular order:

1. Battery was insanely hard to get in and out of the frame as if it was catching on something. Turns out it is essential to use the provided bottle cage bolts which are a shorter length than usual. Otherwise the bolts press down on the plastic cable carrier which sit underneath inside the frame, which in turn catches on the battery as it slides into the frame.

2. The knock block things on the downtube take some getting use to, as you can't turn the wheel heaps such as when picking up the bike to turn it around such as at a trailhead. On the upside, there is no risk of crossing up the bars in a crash and ripping cables or hoses. Reminds me of how it feels to ride with a double crown.

3. Chainstays set on +10mm to give 447mm is just about perfect for a Medium frame. I enjoyed the stability of the 452mm chainstays on the Banshee, and 447 is still stable but without being too much of a limousine.

4. Bottom bracket seems quite low. Currently running on Neutral flip chip setting (out of 4 settings, there are 2 more which are slacker) giving a 355mm bb height, which is about as low as I would want to go even with the 165mm cranks. Had a couple of light strikes in areas where the Banshee with Coil had no issues with its 340mm bb height. This may be due to the Altitude suspension being more active and/or less midstroke support from the air shock.

5. Going to a new frame reminded me how much it sucked to have short head tubes. Nothing some 35mm rise bars didn't fix, but I'm going to have to bring out the hacksaw to get rid of some spacers above the stem.

6. The mid-high pivot, idler pulley and power pulley make for a completely chain slap-free experience. It was eerie how quiet it was when not pedaling.

With the mid-high pivot the back wheel feels sublime over rough trails; I'd say even more so than the Titan with a coil shock and Ochain. Can't wait to tinker with the shock settings and volume spacers. The Rocky recommended settings were pretty much spot on as a starting point.

7. The motor operating sound is very quiet, whereby the drivetrain noise appears to be from the chain itself. Tested this by turning off the motor completely and pedaling under meat power only.

8. Can be ridden without a battery installed; save 3.625Kg. There is noticeable resistance but should be OK for shuttle days. Keen to try this some time so long as there aren't any pedally sections.

9. Motor Power is more than I could ever want. 108Nm/700W and it was a handful keeping the front wheel from lifting when winching up 25% grades. I don't understand the obsession by companies like DJI who are pushing 1000W+.

When riding with mates on non ebikes I just had it on Eco/25% assistance most of the time and was nice, like riding with a slight tailwind. On 70% it was enough to give mates a push up the hill.

1,250m of climbing later and there was still 54% battery remaining, so it sure does go far when not hammering the power... I'd be happy with a 500Wh battery option to save 1kg or so.

Loving the fact there is little to no overrun; it feels super natural and you don't get the unnerving push of extra speed once you've already stopped pedaling into a corner or jump.

10. This is not a light bike at 25.3Kg fully built, and it will take some re-learning of brake points and how much force I need to push it around corners. Many laughs as I straightlined over several rocks and sections which usually require a bit more finesse.

 

[yuley95]

It looks great in all black. I’m actually not a fan of the RM e-bike design generally but this one looks great and sounds like it gives you everything you need. Nice one

 

[teK--]

It looks great in all black. I’m actually not a fan of the RM e-bike design generally but this one looks great and sounds like it gives you everything you need. Nice one

Thanks mate!

It looks all black from a distance, but majority of the frame is actually dark brown, with a rainbow coloured glitter all through the gloss clear coat which only becomes apparent when up close.

I didn't even realise this until after I brought it home!