The Rocky Mountain "Sherpa" is a discreet eye-catcher. The bike is kept simple in terms of color, while a Tibetan snow lion refines the look of the black matt painted carbon frame. The WTB scraper rims and the Manitou suspension fork also contribute to the design in terms of color. Rocky Mountain specifies a 2x10 drivetrain to suit its range of use. What's exciting here is that the 11-36T cassette is mounted on a standard 142 millimeter wide DT Swiss hub. Rocky Mountain deliberately dispenses with the new 148 millimeter wide rear hubs on the Sherpa and still manages to achieve a decent chainline. This means that there is still enough space between the chain and the 2.8 inch wide tire in the lightest gear. The reason for using 142 millimeter hubs is that spare parts are easier to find in the event of a defect than for the new 148 mm hubs. Rocky Mountain also relies on an aluminum rear triangle instead of carbon.

Detailed information on the specification can be found at the following link: www.ride.ch/rocky-mountain-sherpa

The aha moment
Considering the solid equipment, the Sherpa's weight of 13.4 kilograms is a good value. After all, 45 millimeter wide rims and 2.8 inch wide tires are also used, which add to the weight. Because of the tires, the question arises as to how the propulsion is outside of rough terrain. Before the test ride, the WTB Trailblazer tires are pumped up to 1.3 bar. This is rather on the upper limit when you consider that they can also be ridden at 1 bar.

It has been said several times that these tires roll well even at low air pressure. In fact, they do and you can make surprisingly easy progress even on gravel and asphalt roads. After a stretch on the road, we ride on a wide trail with soft to tough ground. Here, the medium-width tires roll easily over the surface, while on the same section, in direct comparison with 2.2-inch tires, it is significantly tougher. Even on sand or loose gravel, as can be found on gravel banks in rivers, the plus tires make better progress than narrower tires, with which you often slip sideways or cannot apply the power to the ground. The "magic" clearly lies in the low air pressure, which allows the voluminous tires to adapt perfectly to loose ground and therefore grip better.

We look forward to the ascent with excitement, as the slightly sluggish bike does not appear to be a mountain goat. But this is not part of the Rocky Mountain "Sherpa's" job. Without exaggerating, the bike surprises here too by climbing surprisingly well. It can also be pushed up the mountain quickly and accelerates well, but it's not nearly as much fun as a cross-country bike. The Sherpa tends to decelerate the race-driven character and so it is easy to stroll up the mountain - despite its 13.4 kilograms and wide, soft tires.

What the gravel bed ride has already brought to light is also positively noticeable on rooted climbs. They suddenly seem easier than with narrower tires, as the soft Trailblazer tires generate incredible grip. Suddenly, traction is no longer the limiting factor on steep climbs, but leg power is.

Good-natured handling thanks to tires
If you ride the Sherpa without the additional weight of the saddlebag and handlebar bag, you'll miss the dropper post that we've become so accustomed to on trail bikes. Of course, the bike can also be retrofitted for such purposes. But here in the test, we're riding with the saddle consistently up. Thanks to the additional "suspension travel" of the tires, the Sherpa behaves advantageously downhill. As a result, you suddenly forget that the saddle can't be raised and lowered at the touch of a button. However, this is not only due to the voluminous tires, but also to the soft suspension. Thanks to this, bumps are absorbed, cushioned and therefore not passed on to the hands.

Soft tires and a soft chassis? What may sound illogical makes perfect sense. The Manitou suspension elements work with low air pressure, specially adapted to the thick tires and the bike. This is important because the tires absorb shocks, but hardly any damping. That's why we ride the fork with more damping than usual.
To find out, we constantly let a little pressure out of the tires as well as the fork and shock during the test ride. The handling is actually better than before with a tighter suspension and fork setup. These respond very sensitively and harmonize perfectly with the tires. At just under 28 percent negative suspension travel and 22 percent on the shock absorber, the limit is reached so that the suspension is not constantly pushed to the limit. This means that the 120 millimetres of suspension travel at the front wheel and 95 at the rear wheel are perfectly utilized. The air pressure in the tires is now 1.1 bar.

With this set-up, the ride on heavily rooted trails feels surprisingly "relaxed". This gives the bike a secure riding feel without feeling like you're about to lose grip on the sometimes bare roots. Even in gravel corners, the 2.8-inch tires are characterized by an amazingly high level of lateral support. It is astonishing that the wide WTB tires, despite the low air pressure, never folded away during the test and its technical riding exploits. This is probably due to the 45 millimeter wide rims, which support the tires well from the side due to their width.When changing direction quickly, the inertia factor plays against agility. As a result, the Sherpa requires significantly more physical effort to nimbly throw it from one corner to the next. However, it should be noted that this bike was not designed specifically for this purpose. On the other hand, the Sherpa can be maneuvered very well through technically demanding terrain, such as switchbacks, at slow speeds.
Where the adventurer bike also shows its strengths is on fast descents. Here you can clearly feel that the engineers have attached great importance to smooth running so that the bike does not become unsteady and start to "swim", especially with luggage on the handlebars and saddle.

Conclusion: The Rocky Mountain "Sherpa" surprised us with its performance and was a lot of fun to ride. With the 27plus tires, it makes use of the advantages of a fat bike to a certain extent. However, its handling is clearly closer to that of a "normal" mountain bike. However, the Sherpa is in no way comparable to a crisp trail bike. On the other hand, it is comfortable and provides a safe riding experience, which makes it particularly interesting for less technically experienced bikers. Those who want to extend their multi-day tours into rough terrain should also enjoy the Sherpa. Because it aptly reflects Rocky Mountain's own term "overlanding".

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