Rocky Mountain’s pro rider Andreas Hestler (red shirt) just rolled in from a practice lap on this prototype Element 29er as I walked up, so I got the scoop straight from him.
The Element 29er will be a 2012 model, have 100mm rear travel frame with tapered headtube and a Shimano E-Type front derailleur, which allows them to run a wide BB92 bottom bracket. Uses their Smooth Link suspension design, but not their StraightUp Geometry because it’s an XC bike that won’t need as much sag (SU geo puts the seat tube at a steeper angle so that when you sit on it it sags to a normal angle for aggressive pedaling…check our review of the Altitude 29er for more info).
Make the jump for more features and pics…
The end product is likely to be trimmed down a bit more for production, this is still a prototype to dial in the handling.
Internal cable routing for the shifters, rear brake hose runs along the non-driveside of the downtube (see top pic).
142×12 rear axle.
Carbon rocker link.
The Element 29er should be dialed in and polished for Interbike, and truthfully, I’m pretty excited to throw a leg over it.
