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2003
Rocky Mountain Switch First impressions msrp CAN$4099 US$2799 Cam McRae |
I have to come clean here: I am not the most discerning bike tester. I ride with guys who can tell you when the rebound damping in their fork is a little fast or the spring rate isn't bang on. I'm not one of those people. I get on a bike and I like it or I don't but I can't always tell you why. Real pros might say that the head angle is too steep, or the leverage ratio or progressiveness of the rear suspension isn't what it should be. I wish that was me, but it isn't.
| For me the acid test is how the bike performs under me on terrain I know well. I don't tinker with my front and rear suspension endlessly so I get it perfectly tweaked - I swing a leg over and ride. If it goes well the bike gets the credit - if not I get the blame. I am tempted to fake it occasionally but you'll see through it and I'll feel like a used car salesman praising a lemon. |
 Photo Stefan Merhcant |
Now that I have confessed my sins let me tell you about the '03 Rocky Switch. There are two models in the catalogue this year and they share the same frame and basic layout. The LTD sports a Manitou Sherman Breakout with a 20mm hex axle and the new1.5" steerer tube. The Switch for the masses, which we are testing, also has the Sherman but without the through axle. The LTD gets a RaceFace stem and bar instead of FSA goods, and an XT rear derailleur but other than that the bikes are fairly similar.
I got a chance to ride the LTD on the Flying Monkey Trail near Virgin Utah during the Redbull Rampage and what first struck me was that this is a solid little mofo of a bike. I had to concentrate on what I was doing because the trail drops down the side of a mesa and there are spots where a miscue could literally mean a 200-foot fall. The bike did its job and I lived to type another day. It was a fun ride but not long enough to really tell me much about the bike.
| Before Christmas Johnny Rockall of RMB dropped
off the basic Switch and I rode it for the first time three days before
Santa arrived. We shuttled up and rode C-Buster on Seymour and then climbed
back to the Old Buck parking lot. On the way down I once again had the
impression of a burly little Pitbull of a bike that could wrestle any
terrain into submission. The back end tracks amazingly well and is very
stiff laterally. If you do the old tire kicker's test and grab the rear
wheel and the saddle and yank back and forth the only movement is from
the Shimano Deore Hub, which is already loose after 3 rides (I have had
horrendous luck with keeping Shimano XT disc hubs adjusted). |
 A Pitbull of a bike |
I was dusting my buddies on all the steep short climbs on the way back up to Old Buck. I was amazed that I was getting to the top of some of these pitches - in fact, the Switch climbs better in these situations than my hardtail. Of course I mumbled something about doing more squats but, in truth, my ass hasn't seen a gym in years. The next chapter of the ride was more clandestine and we took an über steep trail that began in the snow. This was where the Sherman really shined. The stiffness of the larger 1.5" steerer tube can be felt almost immediately and, even without the through axle, the Sherman Breakout is an exceptionally stiff fork. I am also currently testing a dual crown Sherman Slider that travels 6" like the breakout and has a through axle and while the Slider is clearly stiffer I couldn't tell you if it's the single crown or the 20mm axle that makes the difference. In spite of that, the 1.5 version with a regular QR axle is vastly stiffer and more responsive than any other single crown I have ridden before. There was one occasion, at the abrupt bottom of an exposed rock line, when I would have been happier with 7" of travel but otherwise the fork was very comfortable on this gnarly trail.
Photo Stefan Merchant
The one question mark for me about 1.5" forks is whether the stanchions can stand up to the abuse freeriders deliver. If you talk to a Whistler bike park patroller, they will tell you that many of the worst crashes they have attended were the result of snapped stanchions on single crown forks. I personally saw more than one rider seriously messed up by such a failure. The issue is so serious to Marzocchi USA that they sent their product manager to speak to lawyers up here in Canada. Most of the failures I heard about were Marzocchis but because most of the forks in the park are Bombers it's hard to know if this reflects a failure rate that is higher than other brands. It seems to me that the 1.5 does little to increase the strength of the stanchions but Manitou may have addressed this. The only way to find out is to wait and see.
| The Switch feels like a full suspension BMX with 26" wheels. There is something lively, playful and solid about the whole package that separates it from your average freeride bike. With 6" in the rear you still have great feel for the trail but enough plushness to get you out of trouble in the gnarl and on larger drops. This bike would be a blast on Whistler or your local singletrack but it's such a good climber that it would also be happy under a fit rider for an all-day epic. |
 This is not a coke can but it's about the same size |
Now that you know the truth about me as a bike tester you can take all this with a grain of salt. I have enlisted the scientific mind of Stefan Merchant for the remainder of the test so he'll give you the technical goods when he has had his way with the bike.
