ROCKY MOUNTAIN INSTINCT ALLOY 30 2022 (GOLD/RED)

The new 2022 Rocky Mountain Instinct Alloy 30 (or A30 for short) is Rocky’s mid-range trail bike. Everything about it - the geometry, how it rides and feels - speaks of confidence and versatility. It’s the most balanced bike in the range.

KEY FEATURES

• Designed For: Trail Riding
• Front Travel: 150mm
• Rear Travel: 140mm
• Wheel Size: 29” (S, M, L, XL) and 27.5” (XS, S)

UPGRADES OVER INSTINCT ALLOY 10

• Smoother RockShox 35 Gold RL front suspension
• Powerful Shimano M4120 4-piston hydraulic disc brakes
• Shimano Deore 12-speed shifter and rear derailleur
• Shimano Deore 12-speed crankset
• WTB ST i30 TCS rims
• Maxxis Minion DHF and DHR II tyres with thicker sidewall
• Very comfortable Ergon GE1 EVO grips

WHO IS IT FOR?

Severely overused in the bike industry, but in spite of that, the best word I can use to describe the Instinct is versatile.

Yes, it’s that good.

So, here are the types of riders who should seriously be considering the latest Instinct:

• You’re currently riding a beat-up hardtail. You love mountain biking but riding the hardtail is too uncomfortable.

• You ride a lot at Lysterfield Park or Red Hill on your tired and worn out dual-suspension mountain bike.

• You’re already riding an entry-point dually and need an upgrade.

• You want a dual-suspension mountain bike that can climb efficiently and that’s comfortable and confident descending technical singletrack.

THE CHAMELEON

Even though the Instinct Alloy 30 is an excellent mid-range build, over time I’m sure riders will upgrade components to take the bike to the next level.

And unless you want a carbon frame, there’s plenty of capacity and reason to just upgrade parts. That’s how much you’ll love this thing.

But:

The Instinct is so much more than this.

You see, the Instinct’s geometry (the way the bike physically feels under you) can be altered in 9 different positions.

This is called Ride 9.

Riders can totally nerd out on Ride 9, but on the flip-side, if you like to set and forget then that’s fine too.

Example:

Your new Rocky Mountain Instinct A10’s Ride 9 is positioned in Neutral or Position 5.

But you’re getting better - faster and smoother. Or you’re starting to do bigger jumps and ride technical lines.

At this point most of our customers would buy another bike. Because what the bike is lacking is called stability.

But you can tune your new Instinct to be more stable.

Change the Ride 9 chip-position to Position 1 (the most stable), 2, 3 or 4 and any of these will be more stable than 5.

And it takes 5 minutes.

A NEW FRAME

The usual high-end features that we’d expect from the premium brand are all present on the Instinct A30 build.

Internal cable routing with large ports makes changing cables a breeze.

A new waved chainstay protector helps keep the new Instinct quiet and smooth. So all you’re focussed on is the trail.

Extra downtube protection protects the paint when loading onto tailgate pads.

And premium Enduro Max bearings at all pivot locations ensure the rear shock isn’t struggling to absorb impacts.

FORM Alloy(™) is the manufacturing method behind their alloy frames.

But what does this mean?

Simply, Rocky does not cut corners with aluminium manufacturing.

Their FORM Alloy(™) tubing has been engineered to deliver the best stiffness to weight ratio.

Material has been removed where it’s unnecessary and when you look at the frame in person, the cross-section of each tube varies drastically to best suit the load demand on that area.

Rocky has also focussed on a concept called Frame Tune.

Every frame size gets its own specific tune. The logic being that a person riding a S frame is going to be lighter than a rider on a L or XL.

Taking the Frame Tune concept further, Rocky Mountain has also used 2 different size shocks. XS and S frames are equipped with a 45mm stroke rear shock while M, L and XL frames get a longer 52.5mm stroke.

No one else does this.

Smart.

Lastly, Rocky has ensured short seat tube lengths across all sizes. This allows a longer-travel dropper post to be used.

In the past, a 125mm dropper post was used on large frames. Now it’s 170mm. This means better clearance for your sensitive area and better bike mobility under you.