| Model: |
Rocky Mountain Slayer |
| Category: |
All Mountain Trail |
| Suspension: |
5 inches front; 4.75 inches rear |
| Ideal for: |
The Slayer fits Galbraith Mt. like Lycra. For seriously technical Galbraith riders, the Slayer is just what the name implies, the mountain bike equivalent of a Star Wars light saber, primarily because it puts Marzocchi's marvelous Z1 Freeride fork in the hands of trail riders. |
| Over all performance: |
The Slayer scores in every category. Its excellent rear end puts the power down with authority, its cross country-ish geometry makes it agile in twisty single track, and its Marzocchi front end absolutely devours the gravity feed. In fact, this bike is so good, it sold out for 2002. That's the big catch with the Slayer. And the same held true in 2002 for the less expensive version of the same bike, the Rocky Mountain Edge. It sold out in most sizes too. For 2003, Rocky has replaced the old bushings with sealed bearings at every pivot point for greater durability. |
| Front end: |
The front end on the top-of-the-line Slayer is the Marzocchi Z1 Freeride open oil bath/coil spring fork with five inches of travel and Marzocchi's very useful ECC feature, which allows you to both lock the fork and compress the legs to steepen the head tube angle, improving the bike's already decent climbing ability. This is currently our favorite 5 inch travel single crown fork. |
| Rear end: |
Rocky Mountain uses the term "3D Link" to describe the rear suspension design it uses on the Slayer, but actually it's a four bar design that feels similar to Kona's. It doesn't employ the Horst link (neither does Kona), but this is a good -- and proven -- rear end. The main drawback of this design is that it stiffens under braking. |
| Brakes: |
The Slayer comes stock with Shimano 's excellent 525 dual piston hydraulic disc brakes. |
| (The devil is in the) Details: |
The routing of the shifter and brake lines along the top of the top tube abrades the finish and prevents quickly mounting the bike on a work stand. |
| Durability: |
The 2001 model Slayer had some trouble with chain stay breakage (there was a recall), but the problem has been addressed by Rocky Mountain. This is one of the most durable trail bikes you can buy. |
| Geometry and sizing: |
With a 70.5 degree head tube angle and 17 inch chain stays, the Slayer's geometry is just a little slacker than the standard cross country bike, but also a little steeper than the standard downhill sled. Like the Goldilocks said of the Baby Bear's porridge, "it's just right." |
| Weight: |
30 pounds as pictured. |
| Reviewed: |
August 2002; updated November 2002 |
