Fans and connoisseurs of the old school quickly get wet hands or reflexively watery eyes at the name Altitude: even at the beginning of the mountain bike boom, the Altitude was an object of desire, the yellow-red color scheme on the steel frame with a steeply sloping top tube had a uniquely high have-want charisma. And Rocky Mountain has continued to work on this appeal. The last major revision of the Altitude took place in 2013 - now the next generation is on the way.

The Altitude Carbon 90, Carbon 70 and Carbon 50 models are rolling into Switzerland. 27.5" wheels are on board these bolides, which are fitted with 2.5" Maxxis Minions at the front and 2.4" at the rear. If you want to use Plus tires on the new Altitude, you can do so with the 26" Plus format. The engineers have worked on the efficiency of the suspension, the Altitude should offer even better "anti-squat" values. The rear suspension takes on Metric shocks, offers 150 millimeters of travel and the front frame triangle offers plenty of space for a water bottle. At the front, Fox 36 forks provide 160 millimetres of shock absorption.

Variable geometry

With the Ride 9 system, the Altitude also offers the option of adjusting the geometry. For example, the steering angle can be varied between 65 and 66.1 degrees, while the seat angle varies between 74 and 75.1 degrees depending on the position of the two toothed chip inserts. In terms of geometry, Rocky Mountain has lengthened the front triangle and kept the rear triangle short, while the bottom bracket sits lower than on the 2013 Altitude.

Wade Simmons, a Rocky Mountain veteran and freerider from day one, says of the new bike: "The Altitude has always been my true all-rounder, from the technical climbs on the North Shore to steep slopes in the Italian Alps. The new one improves everything I love about this bike - it's smoother, stiffer, lower, narrower, quieter and gets all the little details right. Just like that old freerider, the Altitude gets better with age!"

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