Rocky Mountain brings new trail lightning

The Canadian luxury brand has given the Thunderbolt a carbon upgrade and has also introduced an interesting innovation to the main bearing. The RIDE-9 system is also new. These upgrades should not only make the bike lighter, but also more versatile.

The Thunderbolt, which was previously available as an aluminum bike, is now being launched as a full carbon bike. This means that both the main frame and the rear triangle are now made from this black fiber. The frame manufactured with SMOOTHWALL™ technology is immediately a milestone in frame construction. It uses a completely new main bearing called PIPELOCK™. The use of this new PIPELOCK™ main bearing allows Rocky Mountain to build a frame without conventional industrial bearings. This revolutionary bearing technology with integrated grease nipples at the most important points should make the frame stiffer, lighter and require less maintenance.

Rocky Mountain continues to rely on the SMOOTHLINK™ suspension system with 120 millimeters of travel for its "Thunderbolt MSL" trail bike. Another new feature on the Thunderbolt is the RIDE-9-SYSTEM, which has already proven itself on other models. This system allows the geometry to be adjusted in nine different ways, depending on the rider type and preference. The steering angle can be lowered from 68.4 to 67.2 degrees and the seat angle from a steep 75.3 to 73.7 degrees. This not only changes the riding characteristics, but also the suspension characteristics of the rear triangle.

In order to meet the requirements for maneuverability and responsiveness, Rocky Mountain has retained the 27.5-inch wheels, but has gone one step further. To enable the bike to accelerate faster out of corners, the frame is fitted with 422 millimeter short chainstays. The longer top tube in combination with a slightly shorter stem, on the other hand, provides more control and confidence when things get fast and hard. In addition, the Canadians achieve more freedom of movement on the Thunderbolt as they were able to position the shock closer to the top tube. was.

Prepared for anything
Rocky Mountain equips the top model of the Thunderbolt, the "799 MSL", with Shimano's XTR Di2. The frame is fully Di2-compatible and equipped with an integrated battery connection on the down tube. Furthermore, integrated cables for the gears, shock and dropper post keep the bike tidy. The Thunderbolt uses a 142-millimetre thru-axle on the rear wheel and the BB92 press-fit standard is used for the bottom bracket.

The main PIPELOCK™ pivot point and the BC2™ pivot points of the bellcrank are fitted with grease nipples to ensure quick and easy maintenance.