Rocky Mountain Altitude Powerplay A30 Alloy (2024) (CS)

Rocky Mountain is a premium Canadian mountain bike brand that specialises in producing mountain bikes.

They've designed some of the best electric mountain bikes in the industry.

The Altitude Powerplay Alloy 50 is an E-MTB made for riders who want to ride fast, steep and technical trails.

The Altitude Powerplay is a long-travel enduro E-MTB. It's powered by Canadian brand Dyname's 4th generation drive unit.

What is the Altitude Powerplay?

Rocky Mountain designed the Altitude Powerplay as a big-travel Enduro E-MTB.

The Altitude chassis delivers 160mm of rear wheel travel and it's paired to a 170mm travel fork. The perfect combination for tracking steep, raw and high-speed lines.

The Altitude Alloy 50 rolls on 29-inch wheels and is powered by Dyname 4.0. This thing generates a massive 108Nm of torque and 700 Watts of peak power. The motor is paired to a 720 Watt-hour battery.

But:

It's how it delivers this power that matters.

What makes the Powerplay different?

It's the power delivery.

It's so smooth and controlled. Especially considering how much torque it's capable of delivering.

An analogue torque sensor reads the pressure placed on the crank arm. Then it delivers just the right amount of power.

Plus, the instant movement of the torque arm means power kicks and shuts down instantly.

There's no delay or lag from the motor.

Both of these things mean:

You can ride the Altitude Powerplay (and Instinct Powerplay) exactly as you would ride your normal bike.

Soft pedalling up tight switchbacks becomes easy. Controlling your speed into jumps and drop-offs becomes easier. And pedalling out of corners more predictable.

Who is the Altitude Powerplay A50 for?

The Altitude Alloy 50 will suit the rider who wants a mid-spec, exceptional value build kit.

You want minimum spec performance-level components. These parts are 2nd/3rd tier. Plus, easily upgradeable should you need to.

Perhaps you're:

• Upgrading from an older E-MTB from a mainstream brand.
• Already riding a non-electric trail or enduro bike and want to upgrade to electric.
• Buying your first E-MTB and prefer something that's calm and stable handling.
  

Altitude Powerplay A50 Build

Suspension first.

A heavy-duty RockShox ZEB keeps the front tracking. ZEB uses massive 38mm tubing to stop unwanted flex and enhance handling.

This Select RC version of the ZEB has important adjustments such as air pressure, sag and low-speed compression.

The ZEB is paired to Fox's Float X Performance rear shock that helps put out 160mm of rear wheel travel.

Next, the drivetrain.

The Altitude A50 uses Shimano's XT and SLX-level components.

These are performance-level parts that are designed for cope with extreme conditions.

The A50 also uses Shimano Deore M6120 hydraulic disc brakes. These brakes use powerful 4-piston calipers to control speed.

Further, Rocky Mountain has spec'd these with Metal pads and not resin.

Metal pads enhance stopping power in wet, muddy and gritty conditions. They don't feel mushy under constant hard braking and load. And they don't lose power as heat builds up.

Lastly, the wheels.

WTB tubeless rims are laced to smooth rolling Shimano SLX hubs. The rear hub engages every 11.25-degrees. This is much faster than the typical 20-degrees.

Rocky Mountain hasn't cut corners on the tyres either.

The heavy-duty Maxxis Assegai front tyre is paired to the exceptional Maxxis Minion DHRII rear tyre.

It's quite possibly the best tyre combination for an E-MTB from Maxxis for cornering and traction under braking forces.

Both tyres use Maxxis' Double Down (DD) casing for extra sidewall support. And a triple rubber compound (3C) that uses a soft, medium and firm rubber.

The firm rubber is used as support under the tread for stability. The medium compound rubber is used on the centre tread. The soft on the side tread.