BIKERUMOR.com 2009 SEA OTTER CLASSIC COVERAGE: For 2010, Rocky Mountain Bicycles is using the Vertex 29 to give all of their 7005 aluminum Vertex frames updated technology and tubesets, including the flared round-to-rectangle seat tube design used on the Altitude 29 in the previous post for increased BB stiffness.
Other new features include:
- Direct-mount front derailleur
- Oversized tubing (all tubes are larger diameter than previous Vertex frames)
- Tapered 1.5″ to 1-1/8″ headtube
- Heavily shaped and butted top- and down tubes with wide, flat surfaces in high stress areas for better strength
- S-Bend seatstays to absorb some vibrations with flared round-to-square tube shapes for strength
- Larger, 30.9 diameter seatpost opening
- Shimano BB92 bottom bracket shell design
Hit ‘more’ for pics and details…
The seat tube goes from round at the top to rectangular at the bottom bracket.  The wider shape offers more weld contact area and a laterally stiffer BB area for better pedaling efficiency.
Another new feature on the Vertex 29 is use of Shimano’s BB92 system (Yay! Another standard!).  It’s a 92mm wide bottom bracket shell with press fit internal bearings.  The benefit is a larger diameter BB shell, allowing wider downtube and seat tube contact areas.  The chainstay spacing at the BB shell can also be wider, improving lateral stiffness.
The headtube uses a Zero Stack headset to keep the front end slightly lower.  The tapered design increases stiffness.
The dropouts were redesigned to have large, flat contact surfaces where the stays are welded to it.  Also of note are the mounts for pannier racks (above and below).  Rocky Mountain says many riders use these bikes for touring, so they’ve accommodated them with built-in rack functionality.
The wheels, like on the Altitude 29, are handbuilt using Shimano XT hubs/DT Swiss spokes/Stans ZTR 29er rims.  For the Vertex, they’ll roll on Continental Race King 2.2 tires.
Other details include:
- Three water bottle mounts
- Short chainstays
- Headtube can use normal 1-1/8″ steerer tubes with adapter
- Comes in five sizes: M, L, XL, XXL and 3XL
