Rocky Mountain Soul 10 (2023)

If you’re someone who wants to get into mountain biking and don’t want to invest anymore than $1,000 then Rocky Mountain Soul 10 must be on your shortlist.

In this preview, I’ll go through exactly why the Soul is such a great platform for mountain biking.

WHAT IS THE SOUL 10?

First, some context.

A lot of mountain bikes you see on the shelves aren’t designed for mountain bike trails. They are designed for tame bike paths. Plus, their handling and geometry are not…modern.

I’ll explain more about this later.

For recreational bikes, most brands tend to focus on marketing and less on product fit. As a result, a large proportion of hardtail mountain bikes haven’t changed a lot over the last 10 years.

So, enter Rocky Mountain.

These guys don’t follow the herd. If they see a better way to do things, they do it - not follow what other brands do.

And that’s what they did with the Soul 10.

The Soul is a modern mountain bike that we would comfortably recommend for use on entry level mountain bike trails.

In fact, not only that. The Soul will (safely) teach you the fundamentals of mountain biking (cornering, small jumps, body position etc.) and *help you build confidence in the process.

WHO SHOULD BUY THE SOUL?

The Soul is designed for those riders who want to begin riding entry level mountain bike trails, and more importantly, progress into riding more technical trail features (such as small jumps, drops, rock gardens and berms) with confidence.

I can’t emphasize this enough.

The Soul will give you confidence because (at under $1,000) it’s the most stable bike in our range.

MOST IMPORTANT: GEOMETRY

Now, if you ignore everything else I’ve written, this is the most important section related to this bike.

The word geometry is so important because it determines how the bike reacts on the trail. Is it stable and confident or is it twitchy and nervous? Does it handle well at low speed or high speed?

I’ll answer a lot of these questions next while keeping this as simple as I can (because it can turn real nerdy, real fast).

Starting at the front of the bike.

You’ll see two lines that intersect creating an angle. This is called the head tube angle.

If the number go up (more than 66 degrees) the steering becomes faster (and twitchier). Ideally new riders should stick to the 66-67 degree range.

If the number go down (less than 66 degrees) the steering becomes slow and sluggish - but more stable at crazy high speeds. This is why bikes designed for extreme mountain biking will have head tube angles of 61, 62, 63 degrees.

Comparing this to some of the bikes we have in our range:

Giant’s Talon range of mountain bikes have a head tube angle of 68.5 degrees. So, 2.5 degrees steeper -** which is massive** (in fact, 0.5 degrees is considered a big change)..

GT’s Avalanche range sits at 67.5 degrees which isn’t as stable as the Rocky, but it’s still more stable than the Giant.

This means:

The handlebars aren’t going to deflect when the front tyre hits a tree root or rock; the front area remains calm and composed.

Don’t misunderstand me though:

The Giant will be perfectly fine on rail trails and bike paths. It’s when mountain biking or riding on unstable surfaces (such as Lysterfield Park or Plenty Gorge) that the Rocky will shine.

Although this is very surface level, it highlights the one of the most significant differences in a modern mountain bike like the Soul 10.

SOUL 10 BUILD KIT

A massive amount of recreational mountain bikes will have a 100mm travel fork. Again, going against herd mentality, they’ve chosen a 120mm travel suspension fork.

The reason why this is such a big deal is because more suspension equals more stable handling and more suspension makes the front end of the bike feel plusher and more forgiving.

When I say more forgiving what I mean is this:

When you’re mountain biking, a single trail will have multiple line choices; several ways you can ride up or down it.

If you ride down this trail and pick the wrong line over some tree roots or rocks, that extra suspension is going to “absorb” any surprise impacts and keep you rolling forwards.

A bike that has less suspension will push you onto another line and cause you to lose balance where the probability of falling off the bike becomes higher.

Lastly, the blue dial you see above either locks the suspension (makes it rigid) or unlocks the suspension (making it soft). Rigid is great for riding on smoother roads and bike paths where suspension isn’t required; it also makes the Soul easier to pedal.

Next:

The gears any bike comes built with are a critical component.

microSHIFT is a brand that so many brands are starting to use. It’s very reliable, easy to tune and, most importantly, robust. It’s also better than the equivalent Shimano - something I never thought I’d say.

Rocky intends the Soul 10 to see some off-road use. So microSHIFT’s Advent family components have been used on this build.

Advent is robust enough for mountain biking and more importantly, provides the gear-range that is necessary for mountain biking.

The gearing setup used on the Soul is called a 1x (pronounced 1-by). That’s because it’s 1 front gear paired to 9 back gears; a 1-by-9.

Bikes that have a single front gear are extremely popular for mountain biking.

Because there’s significantly less moving parts (no front derailleur, front gear shifter or gear cable) and more useable gears.

All this means is more simplicity and a cleaner looking bike.

I touched on the range before. The gear range is important because it’s what allows you to climb easily and not run out of gears.

And the Advent family delivers here too; Shimano doesn’t supply the range required for 9 speed bikes.

Shimano hydraulic disc brakes are the best recreational-level hydraulic disc brakes available.

They have a really smooth feel. Plus for smaller hands and riders, the brake lever can be adjusted so that it sits closer to the bar giving way more control to the rider.

Unlike mechanical or caliper brakes, hydraulic disc brakes require less maintenance because there are no cables that need to be re-tensioned, lubricated and replaced.

Hydro brakes also improve safety by delivering more stopping power and a smoother, more controlled slow down in speed.