On July 27th, Rocky Mountain Underground (RMU) held a launch event for their first-ever MTB, the Nighttrain. Suspension guru Dave Weagle, who designed the Nighttrain’s Orion linkage, was on hand to talk about the bike’s development. Between Weagle and some of RMU’s product development and marketing staff, we heard how the brand’s first bike came to be.
The conversation wasn’t too technical, focusing partly on RMU’s foray into the MTB realm, but I picked up some interesting info about the Nighttrain and what else is coming. First up, there are more bikes on the way! They specifically mentioned 140mm and 160mm travel bikes and an eMTB are already in the works.
The most interesting thing I heard from Weagle himself was that the Orion linkage was developed as a platform (which now looks significantly different than the Orion suspension system introduced on Esker mountain bikes), so RMU can create multiple bike models around it. For a small company, this makes things far less expensive than developing each bike entirely on its own. Weagle told me if the Nighttrain was its own project, it may not even feature the dual idler, dual chain design! Of course this configuration works very well with the mid-pivot layout, but creating a linkage that could be adapted to several different bikes was the main priority. Weagle mentioned this linkage should jive particularly well with RMU’s incoming eMTB.
It was also pretty interesting to hear Weagle say the dual idler design is “not a feature, but a solution.” He felt it was the most efficient way to get the main chain positioned where he wanted, but he certainly didn’t try to convince anyone that it was the best design for all MTBs. RMU’s staff and riders who’ve been on the bike lauded its chainless feel, and it’s already produced a good race result: Jesse Melamed rode the Nighttrain to a 2nd place finish in the Canadian Open Enduro the day before the launch event!
Bikerumor covered the Nighttrain when it was officially announced, but we only saw the enduro build. RMU had Nighttrains with the DH build spec on display at Crankworx. Notable components include a 190mm travel DH fork and a 7-speed drivetrain.
One small feature we may see added to the Nighttrain is some kind of bump stops for those running DH forks – It was suggested by an RMU test rider during the Q&A and noted by Weagle. Other suggestions included a flip-chip to accommodate MX wheels, and in-frame storage. Time will tell if we see these features on a 2nd generation Nighttrain or RMU’s other incoming bikes.
