Key points:

• Rocky Mountain releases new carbon downhill bike to replace Flatline
• Park focussed play bike
• Adjustable geometry frame
• Can take 26 or 27.5 inch wheels

Run to the hills, Rocky Mountain has re-entered the big bike market with its stunning Maiden downhill rig.

Does Rocky Mountain have a pedigree in downhill?

This is the first, new downhill bike we’ve seen from Rocky Mountain in a while. Its previous long travel offering, the Flatline, was first revealed at Interbike in 2007 and although it went through a few different iterations, it was in desperate need of an overhaul.

The Flatline was actually a successful race bike. In the capable hands of Sabrina Jonnier, the Maxxis Rocky Mountain team won eight World Cups and two overall World Cup titles. However, later in its life it transitioned into more of a bike park lap churner with a focus on all day comfort over a honed race feel.

It looks like the Rocky Mountain Maiden will be set to continue this trend as freeriders Thomas Vanderham and Geoff Gulevich were spotted on it at Rampage last year but it was only seen around a World Cup pit at  Leogang in June.

What’s new about the Maiden then?

Firstly is the introduction of a carbon frame, and it’s quite the looker. The frame was four years in development and can run either 27.5 or 26 inch wheels. Rocky Mountain has included a head tube spacer and two rear axle positions so the geometry is not overly affected by a wheel change.

The geometry is adjustable thanks to a RIDE-4 tuning chip that allows you to change your head angle by 1/4° increments.  The geometry was designed around Thomas Vanderham and you’re looking at a head angle of roughly 63.5°, a seat tube angle of  74.5° and a wheelbase of 1215 mm on a large frame.

>>> Click here for our complete guide to mountain bike geometry

A dedicated race bike, such as the new Specialized Demo, would be longer and slacker, making it better for straight line speed but perhaps less flickable. This is another sign of the Maiden’s bike park intentions.

So is that Fox suspension?

Actually, no. Rocky Mountain has decided to go with Bos suspension over the more popular Fox or Rockshox, we assume the photos are using Fox due to sponsorship issues. Olivier Bossard’s company re-entered the mountain bike market in 2012 and now has proven downhill success following Remi Thirion’s win at the Vallnord World Cup in 2013.

Rocky Mountain says it chose the Bos suspension due to its open bath dampers, tooled adjustments and precise manufacturing. We’ve tested Bos forks before and found them to deliver incredible performance… as soon as you get the set up correct.

The suspension will be mounted on a four bar suspension system which Rocky Mountain claims will provide a near constant rate of progression. Rocky Mountain reckons that a constant rate is more predictable and better for adjustment and fine-tuning, although having a ramped progression is generally considered to be superior nowadays.

What different builds are available

There are four different models to choose from. At the top of the range is the Rocky Mountain Maiden Unlimited  which is available as a full build ($10,499/£6,769) or a frame only ($3,999/£2,578). After this come the World Cup ($6,999/£4,512), Pro ($5,499/£3,545) and Park ($4,499/£2,900). They will all be available from late October

For more information click here.