2021 Rocky Mountain

Instinct Carbon 70

When it came time to ride my hometown trails, I was able to really see how the Instinct stacked up. I’m not one to use clichés, but as I descended the rocky, technical landscape of the Red Hill Special Recreation Management Area near Carbondale, Colorado, all I could think was “Has the trail gotten easier?” The tread, in fact, was more blown out than usual, and ruts were worn deeper around the rocks. The trail hadn’t become easier; the 140 mm travel Instinct just made it feel easier. “This is what they mean by ‘trail-tamer,’” I thought.

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If you’ve been following the mag over the years you’ll know that Rocky Mountain’s are a definite favourite amongst our staff here at [R]evo. The reason that we’ve been such big fans of the brand for such a long time comes down to a simple fact; they’re bikes kick arse! Trail performance, speed, technology, reliability and frame aesthetics – Rocky always manage to tick every box and each year their ‘new’ bikes come out with a few little unique details […]

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The Rocky Mountain Instinct C70 is one of the hottest bikes of the year. The look and feel of the carbon frame are truly awesome and once you hit the trail, the bike reveals great potential. Unfortunately, this is held back by the spec, which robs the Instinct of its chance of securing the coveted Best in Test title in our big mountain bike group test.

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A must-have rig for all-day adventures

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I was excited to test Rocky Mountain Bicycle’s new Instinct Carbon 70 model, as it sits squarely in my favorite category of suspension travel. It’s not a sloppy, big-travel brawler, nor is it a wrist-slamming short-travel whip. With 140 millimeters of rear-wheel travel, the new Instinct strikes some perfect middle ground, providing just the right amount of squish to scoot one around smoothly and precisely. Adding to the bike’s versatility is the highly adjustable RIDE-9 system, which allows riders to quickly fine-tune their geometry and rear suspension with a pair of Allen keys. With nine configurations to choose from, the range of geometry helps make the bike more suitable to a broad spectrum of terrain and riding conditions. Even in the slackest setting, the Instinct climbs extremely well, thanks to a reasonably forward seated position. The leverage curve of the rear suspension is ultra-supple off the top, but it ramps up quickly to keep the bike manageable during out-of-the-saddle bursts of pedaling. The adjustable chainstay length of 437 millimeters or 448 millimeters should add to the Instinct’s versatility, but I opted to keep the bike in the 437-millimeter mode for the duration of my testing period, as it already felt long and stable enough for my taste.

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