Rocky Mountain launch the Maiden downhill bike

Rocky Mountain have released their new downhill bike today – after four years of development. The Maiden is their full carbon, World Cup dominating, bike park crushing, freeriding super bike.

The facts:

Intended use: Downhill

Travel: 200mm (F), 200mm (R)

Wheel size: 26”/27.5”

• Full carbon frame, link, chainstay, and seat stay
• Optimised for 26” or 27.5” wheels with equalised geometry
• Four bar Smoothlink suspension
• Pipelock collet axles lock into the frame for stiffness
• Oversized Enduro MAX type bearings for longer bearing life and higher load capacity
• Integrated frame protection: moulded downtube guard, shock fender, chainstay protector, and bolt-in fork bumpers
• Di2 electronics compatible with internal stealth battery port
• Internal cable and brake routing
• PressFit BB107 bottom bracket, drop-in IS42|52 headset, 157mm axle spacing, ISCG-05 tabs
• Sizing: S/M/L/XL

Goldilocks suspension

Rocky Mountain did a lot of testing for the right suspension curve during the Maiden’s development. To avoid the higher spring rates many four-bar linkages need to increase the resistance to bottoming out on the low rising rate, the Maiden has a 40% slope for the rate – not as steep as a virtual pivot point, and steeper than a regular four-bar. A Goldilocks option.

The 40% slope starts low enough for small-bump suppleness, ends high enough to avoid bottoming, has good rider support at sag, and allows the use of a lighter coil spring. Rocky also tuned the progression to rise at a near-constant rate for a more predictable response and more effective shock adjustments. The result is lively, supple suspension performance. It eats up chatter, pops off lips predictably, and reacts well when pushed aggressively.

The Maiden puts power to the ground efficiently, thanks to a high level of anti-squat (140% with 27.5 wheels or 100% with 26” wheels) and well- supported suspension. Chainstay growth is minimal (26mm with 27.5” wheels or 21mm with 26” wheels), and Rocky pushed that growth deeper into the travel to further improve small bump performance while achieving the axle trajectory that downhillers demand.

Braking Characteristics

Any good downhiller knows the key to speed is better braking. Rocky Mountain’s engineering team spent a lot of time improving traction and control under braking, because more efficient braking makes you faster. Their Autonomous Braking resists both compression and extension under braking—remaining active through the majority of rear wheel travel and allowing the bike to react to ground forces rather than braking forces – something that can plague many longer travel single pivot bikes.

The Maiden achieves its braking characteristics by balancing anti-rise (35%), caliper counter-rotation, and instantaneous inertial brake transfer values. The virtual swingarm begins far behind the bike, lengthens backwards through infinity as the bike compresses, and ends in front of the bike. This long virtual swingarm is the key to avoiding the “grip-slip” phenomenon displayed by other bikes, especially single pivot designs.

The effect is striking: there’s more travel available to soak up terrain under braking, there’s more traction, and there’s less hand-fatigue. Slow is smooth, smooth is fast.

Geometry

Thomas Vanderham’s personal settings were used to get the bike’s low centre of gravity, balanced reach, and aggressive geometry.

Adjustability & Adaptability

There are advantages to both 26” and 27.5” wheels in DH applications. Rocky Mountain opted to create the Equalized Wheel Concept. By using a headtube spacer in conjunction with a second rear axle position, this system allows riders to choose their wheel size while maintaining optimal BB height and fork trail.

The use of RIDE-4 allows for subtle track-to-track geometry changes in 1/4° headtube angle increments with minimal effect on your shock tune.

Ride-4 Adjustability

Our new RIDE-4 system uses a single chip insert to adjust the geometry on bikes that require more subtle changes. This allows for more precise adjustments and more isolated shock-tuning.

BOS Suspension

The BOS name has deep roots at the highest levels of racing. From the French domination of the World Cup circuit in the ‘90s, to the upper echelons of WRC and Dakar racing, they have a history of victory. Olivier Bossard’s iconic company re-entered the mountain bike market in 2012, and has emerged as a major player with elite-level suspension performance.

Rocky have worked with BOS on the Maiden for several reasons. Their open-bath dampers feel amazing, their tooled adjustments are effective, and their manufacturing is precise.

For full details on the Maiden, for models, pricing and availability – contact Adventure Brands or your local dealer