Rocky Mountain Interbike 2007
Rocky Mountain’s Flatline is designed to be quite versatile. Offering 7.3″ to 8.5″ rear travel, and room for a single or dual crown fork. The weight is low slung to help it rail corners. The Flatline is so versatile, it replaces not only the RMX, but the Switch as well.
The Flatline uses what Rocky calls their LC2R (Low Center Counter Rotating) suspension. The features of LC2R they have listed are
- Linear rising rate tuned for freeride and downhill racing. Suspension is inherent to the linkage.
- Counter rotating link along with the kinked down tube allows for a low and center position of the shock absorber in the frame.
- Double row angular contact bearings
- Triangulated swingarm to maximize suspension strength
- Tuglinks to increase smoothness
Their goal with the frame was to allow multiple shock and geometry options for different riding styles. By bending the top tube, they were able to create a lower overall center of gravity and increase clearance. There is also an optional floating disc brake option available.
The Flatline Pro (pictured at the bottom) that I rode was quite interesting. Setup is key, and I don’t think it was setup very well for me at the outdoor demo. They took the time to ask me what my weight was and all that fun stuff but regardless, the bike bobbed under pedaling, the fork wasn’t setup right (only used 3″-4″ of travel all the way down), and the tires had too much air in them. I’d like to try one under different circumstances, but it wasn’t very impressive in the state I rode it in. Laterally the bike was stiff and felt very solid.
2008 Rocky Mountain Flatline (click to enlarge)
The weight was definitely low, but the overall pre-production weight of the medium Flatline 3 above was ~46lbs. The headangle was slack (64 degrees they said). The Saint brakes felt perfect and definitely helps in controlling the bike well. Set up properly, the bike should be better but I didn’t find it very confidence inspiring in the way that it was handled to me. The Flatline is meant to be one of those catch-all type bikes where it can meet a lot of riding scenario’s based on the shock you put on it. It’s got 3 shock holes to mount a number of different rear shocks.
An 8.5″ shock in the front hole produces 7.3″ setup for a 65 degree head angle. A 9.5″ shock in the front hole sets up for a 64 degree head angle. The only problem with this is you’d have to have extra shocks laying around to utilize all the options. The nice thing is it’s very modular so finding that perfect setup for everyone with this frame shouldn’t be too hard with all the possibilities. Claimed frame production weight is 11.5lbs.
2008 Rocky Mountain Flatline linkage detail (click to enlarge)
Flatline 2
2008 Rocky Mountain Flatline 2 (click to enlarge)
Flatline 1
2008 Rocky Mountain Flatline 1 (click to enlarge)
Flatline Pro
2008 Rocky Mountain Flatline Pro (click to enlarge)
Slayer SS 396
2008 Slayer SS 396 (click to enlarge)
Be sure to check the gallery for more detailed shots of the Rocky Mountain bikes.
[Rocky Mountain Interbike 2007 Gallery] [Rocky Mountain Website]
