Rocky Mountain announces two new bikes, the Reaper for little rippers, and the Growler for plus-size hardtail action.
Kid-size fun
The Reaper is based on Rocky Mountain's Thunderbolt and Altitude bikes, but scaled down for groms. Two versions are offered, both with 120mm and 130mm travel front and rear, one with 26in wheels, the other with 24in hoops. Rocky Mountain made the Reaper able to accept either wheel size so the bike can adapt as your little ripper gets bigger, or be handed down to a younger sibling or friend.
The Reaper 26 comes with 26in WTB wheels, RockShox Reba RL fork, Monarch Debonair R shock, Shimano discs, and SRAM NX 1x11 drivetrain.
The smaller Reaper 24 has the same 120/130mm front and rear travel, but with a lower standover thanks to 24in WTB wheels. The components are trail worthy: Rockshox Recon Silver fork, Monarch R shock, Shimano hydro discs, Shimano Deore 1x10 gearing, and Maxxis rubber.
Rocky Mountain Reaper specs
- Convertible between 24in and 26in wheels
- Travel: 120mm front, 130mm rear
- Ride-9 geometry and suspension adjustability
- ABC pivots
- Form alloy frame
- BC2 pivots with grease ports
- Reaper 26: US$2,299, UK and Australian pricing not available
- Reaper 24: US$1,799, UK and Australian pricing not available
Two plus-size tire sizes for Growler
Rocky Mountain was one of the first brands experimenting with 27.5 bikes and wheels with their Sherpa. Since then, their iconic Pipeline name resurfaced with plus-size rubber and now there's a new hardtail, the Growler.
The Growler features plus size tires working with modern trail bike geometry. Together, Rocky Mountain's aim is to create hardtails with increased traction, a greater margin of error, and intuitive handling all while keeping the ride lively.
- GT Pantera plus size comeback
- Surly Karate Monkey plus size update
- Tested: When do plus size tires make sense
It's interesting to see Rocky Mountain speccing 26 wheels and tires on the two smallest sizes. The 26 size was first adopted by the tire-size curious Surly, with their rowdy Instigator 2.0 refresh, and then brought a bit more mainstream by Jamis. WTB is on board producing rims and tires for the size.
Rocky Mountain Growler specs
- Three Growler models: 750, 740 and 730
- XX-Small and X-Small use 26 x 3.0in wheels and tires
- Small – X-Large use 27.5 x 3.0in wheels and tires
- RMB 6061 alloy
- 120mm front suspension
- 1x drivetrains
- Growler 750: US$1,699, UK and Australian pricing not available
- Growler 740: US$1,249, UK and Australian pricing not available
- Growler 750: US$899, UK and Australian pricing not available