{"id":12972,"date":"2021-03-09T08:05:38","date_gmt":"2021-03-09T08:05:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/otesports1.wpengine.com\/?p=12972"},"modified":"2021-03-09T16:38:44","modified_gmt":"2021-03-09T16:38:44","slug":"2021-rocky-mountain-instinct-first-impressions-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/otesports.com\/2021-rocky-mountain-instinct-first-impressions-review\/","title":{"rendered":"2021 Rocky Mountain Instinct First Impressions Review"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"A<\/a>
Our test pilot, A.J., testing the new 2021 Rocky Mountain Instinct out on a slickrock roller at the Guacamole trails. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The brand new 2021 Rocky Mountain Instinct is here and available for rent in Southern Utah! Read on for more 2021 Instinct photos, bike details and our full 2021 Rocky Mountain Instinct first impressions review.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rocky Mountain was kind enough to send us the new 2021 Instinct all-mountain trail bike a few weeks before the March 9th<\/sup> official announcement. The new Instinct is a 140mm-travel, do-it-all 29er trail bike designed for, \u201cepic rides and wide-open singletrack.” We took advantage of our early access to get familiar with the bike on a variety of local Southern Utah rides. We also did an action\/bike glamor photo shoot at the Guacamole trails with our friend, A.J. He\u2019s a Southern Utah\/Zion mountain bike and canyoneering guide and a great choice for our Instinct first ride report. We hope you find this 2021 Rocky Mountain Instinct first impressions review fun and useful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Smiling<\/a>
Our friend A.J., a local mtb and canyoneering guide, posing with the new 2021 Rocky Mountain Instinct with the cliffs of Zion National Park in the background. A.J. can now add “Action Sports Model” to his resume. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Rocky Mountain Instinct 29er has been an important part of our rental fleet for a few years. The alloy version has been our standard price-point rental bike at just $50 a day. It\u2019s a comfortable and easy ride for pretty much everyone and there\u2019s almost no trail it isn\u2019t at home on. We\u2019re excited for this update \u2013 especially after spending some time riding the new Instinct. As with the previous model, the 2021 Rocky Mountain Instinct is going to be a solid cornerstone for our rental fleet and a great mountain bike for nearly any kind of trail Southern Utah has to offer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Non-drive<\/a>
A non-drive side view of the 2021 Rocky Mountain Instinct’s 140mm-travel 4-bar, Smoothlink suspension system. Note the 10mm adjuster at the axle. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

For the past few years, updates to the Instinct have been incremental \u2013 more refinements to the platform than a new bike. The 2021 Rocky Mountain Instinct is a brand new bike. It has a longer, 150mm fork, aggressive all-mountain geometry and size-specific suspension tune and wheels. The reach and wheelbase are both about an inch longer than the old Instinct, the head tube angle is almost half a degree slacker (65.7\u00b0 in the neutral position) and at 76.7\u00b0, the seat tube angle is over two degrees steeper! The overall package is more in keeping with the old Instinct BC 29er enduro bike than the more trail-focused Instinct. If you want an even longer, more stable bike, there\u2019s a new, flippable chainstay adapter that offers 10mm of wheelbase adjustment (see photo, above). And of course, the new Instinct has Rocky\u2019s RIDE-9 geometry refinement system on the shock mount.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Rocky Mountain’s RIDE-9 system on the 2021 Instinct offers nine different suspension\/geometry positions with over a degree of head angle adjustment and 5mm of bb drop adjustment.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Part of the strategy for the 2021 Instinct was to merge and simplify Rocky\u2019s mountain bike lineup. They already did that with the 2021 Altitude all-mountain enduro bike<\/a>, eliminating the longer-travel Instinct BC 29er, bumping the Altitude\u2019s wheel size to 29 on larger frames and lengthening the travel and geometry to make it an enduro-focused race rig. With the 2021 Instinct, Rocky\u2019s goal was to merge the 27.5 Thunderbolt and 29-inch Instinct into one, more versatile, all-mountain trail bike. Like the Altitude, the new Instinct has two wheel sizes \u2013 27.5 for extra small, 27.5 or 29 for small, and 29 for medium to XL. With 140mm of rear wheel travel, a 150mm fork and aggressive trail geometry, the 2021 Instinct combines the best of the old Instinct, Instinct BC Edition and the Thunderbolt. Rocky calls the new Instinct their, \u201cmost versatile platform.\u201d We think they nailed it. We found the 2021 Instinct to be an exceptionally balanced all-mountain bike that excels at pretty much everything.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A<\/a>
A.J. on a punchy, technical uphill. Everyone agrees the new Instinct loves to climb. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

We had the new Instinct for a few weeks before launch and a bunch of shop staff got to ride it. The main impression everyone had is it\u2019s an extremely composed bike that loves to pedal. No matter what you do, it feels smooth, planted and confident. Quentin, OTE HU\u2019s owner, called it a, \u201cmore refined version of every Rocky I’ve ridden.” Our shop manager, Zach, said it felt, \u201cspry,\u201d and, \u201clike the Instinct BC but lighter and punchier.\u201d Eddie, one of our shop wrenches, loves technical climbs and said the Instinct cruised right up everything he pointed it at. Our test pilot and action model for this article, A.J., also commented on how well it pedals. He usually rides a 27.5 enduro bike and called the 2021 Instinct, \u201cvery playful, even with the 29-inch wheel. It rolls over everything like a 29er is supposed to.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A<\/a>
Steep technical descents and drops? No problem for the 2021 Rocky Mountain Instinct!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Even though Rocky differentiates the new Instinct as \u201cstarkly different\u201d from the longer-travel, slacker Altitude, we all agreed the Instinct felt limitless. Quentin said it\u2019s really, \u201cone bike that can do everything.\u201d And A.J. said he would, \u201chappily roll Flying Monkey, our most difficult downhill, on the Instinct.\u201d To be fair, Flying Monkey is probably more gnar than most people would want to tackle with the Instinct. But that\u2019s a pretty high bar to set. The fact that he would even mention it says a lot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Black<\/a>
With 140mm of travel in the back and a stout, 150mm Fox 36 fork up front, the new Rocky Mountain Instinct has enough travel for nearly any kind of riding. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

It often feels like we\u2019re repeating ourselves when describing mountain bikes, these days. They\u2019re all longer, slacker and more versatile. That\u2019s just a fact. The current crop of mountain bikes is ridiculously good. That said, we were all surprised how comfortable we were on the 2021 Instinct and how confident, solid and eager it felt. The longer and harder we rode it, the happier it was. None of us ever felt like we got in over our head on the Instinct. In Zach\u2019s words, \u201cit gobbled everything up and always felt super composed.\u201d It\u2019s going to be a perfect Southern Utah single-bike quiver. However, as we always say \u2013 don\u2019t take our word for it. Come rent the new Instinct and make up your own mind about whether it\u2019s the most versatile mountain bike ever.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A<\/a>
Steep downhill or technical uphill, the 2021 Rocky Mountain Instinct gobbles it all up and asks for more. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Thanks for reading our 2021 Rocky Mountain Instinct first impressions review. The 2021 Rocky Mountain Instinct is available for rent, now. Our Instinct C50 rental bikes have a carbon fiber frame, Shimano XT\/SLX 12-speed drivetrain, Shimano XT disc brakes, a Fox Float 36 fork and Fox Float DPS rear shock. Keep your eyes open for a detailed 2021 Rocky Mountain Instinct bike page with more photos, full specs, and pricing. It will up in the next few days. Call (435.635.5455) to reserve your 2021 Rocky Mountain Instinct mountain bike rental, now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A<\/a>
Looking perfectly at home in the Southern Utah desert, the 2021 Rocky Mountain Instinct is a real-deal do-it-all trail bike. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"A<\/a>
Our large 2021 Rocky Mountain Instinct C50 carbon 29er all-mountain trail bike. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Rocky Mountain was kind enough to send us the new 2021 Instinct all-mountain trail bike a few weeks before the official announcement. We took advantage of this opportunity to get familiar with the bike on a variety of local rides. We also took it out to the Guacamole trails with our friend A.J. for an action\/glamor photo shoot. Read on for our 2021 Rocky Mountain Instinct first impressions review.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":12988,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[1267,1855,611,1431,609,1854,1433],"yst_prominent_words":[1640,141,148,745,228,539,744,1122],"acf":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/otesports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/PJ_29A2584_1200-OTE.jpg","yoast_head":"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\n