Rocky Mountain Bicycle Company 2000 Turbo

Price Paid:  $2400.00 at The Bike Shop

Bike Setup:
Stock except for a Selle Italia Flite Gel seat and added some Look P296 pedals.

Summary:
As an elite mountain bike racer, I decided I needed to supplement my training with some road riding. This is the first road bike that I've owned and I got it mainly because my mountain bike is also a Rocky Mountain. The bike is very light for its price range and the components range from good to excellent (the stand out being the Ouazo Pro full carbon fork). This bike climbs very well and is stiff without being uncomfortably so. So far I have put over 4000km on it and several road races and everything has held up extremely well despite pretty poor maintanence on my part. Overall this is an excellent bike and is very durable and easy to ride.

Strengths:
Great frame and fork, nice stability. Tracks well when climbing.

Weaknesses:
Would be nice to have Flight Deck components. Not a huge fan of Ritchey components but they have held up well. Doesn't come with pedals (although I understand that is common for road bikes.

Similar Products Used:
None

Price Paid:  $900.00 at Peninsula Cycles

Favorite Ride:
Mount Baker

Bike Setup:
Full D/A 9spd, ITM Millenium bar/stem, RaceFace SL headset, Time pedals, Thomson SB post, Turbomatic 3, Ksyriums or Dura-Ace/Open Pro wheels with Axial Pro tires.

Summary:
It was very disappointing to crack the original frame in such a short time. I am 6' and 168 lbs, race cat 1/2, but I am not really a sprinter and I consider myself to be pretty easy on equipment. This is my first foray into owning materials other than steel on a road frame and it has been less than successful. I appreciate the light weight and the ride isn't too much different from steel, but durability appears to be a cause for concern.

I ended up taking a 56 cm frame on warranty because Rocky's 58 was going to be too big. I have had to go to a longer stem (13 cm) and overall I am less than happy with my fit. My reach is about the same but the combination of a slightly slacker headtube on the 56 and the longer stem gives rise to a "floppy" front end at low speeds (ie. on very steep climbs). I am seriously contemplating a (gasp!) Trek OCLV and selling the Rocky. Mostly because the 58 Trek fits me very well.

The ideal person for a scandium frame, IMO: a small rider (say frame size 54 or less) who is easy on equipment and doesn't mind the potential for premature frame failure.

Strengths:
This review is for the Rocky Mountain Turbo Scandium frame, which is not listed on the site. I initially bought a 2000 model Turbo Sc frame with Reynolds Ouzo Pro carbon fork on a bit of a deal.

Strengths - very light frame at 2.5 lbs for a 57 cm. Ride quality. It's not as rigid as Easton Ultralite, giving a slightly more forgiving ride. Nice paint which seems very durable.

Weaknesses:
Weaknesses - well, my frame cracked after 2600 km of racing and training. Crack formed at the weld of the chainstay bridge and right chainstay, and propagated around the chainstay. The warranty was handled in a reasonable time frame, but unfortunately Rocky changed the sizing for 2001, and neither the 56 or 58 fit me as well as the 57 from 2000.

Similar Products Used:
Custom Marinoni Foco, Marinoni EL/OS, Marinoni SLX (owned). Trek OCLV, Rocky Mtn Turbo w/ Easton Ultralite, Cannondale Caad4 (test ridden).