Tester 1: Vernon Felton
Years Riding: 22
Test Locale: Bellingham, WA
I main rode the Element MSL in trying sessions in favor of our Bible of Bike Tests and was at once floored by how fast it accelerates. Ridden back-to-back with other top-tier trail bikes, there’s nix comparison: The Element rips. Pedaling efficiency is jaw-dropping and while I’d express the Element’s suspension feel (even as running 25 percent sag) as stiffen, the bike still scales rocky climbs with traction to standby.
The Element truthfully shines, however, as conditions search out nasty. The bike has an extraordinarily group feel to it—both by blazing speeds and in slow-speed military exercises. The full-carbon frame is too excellently stiff, making in favor of a bike so as to corners like it’s on rails, even in the rockiest of hairpin turns. When you breed your XC bike on the North Shore, this is the beast so as to pokes its head on show of the birth channel.
It’s winter as I compose this check, and western Washington’s singletrack is filthy in a thick coat of earth phlegm. It’s the while of time as I normally take it down a notch and ride the “safe” trails. Every while I climb on the train the Element MSL, however, I get myself tackling the truthfully evil routes—and grinning. Don’t search out me wicked: This is nix all-mountain bike. It requires a skillful employee by the controls and the suspension is nowhere so as to forgiving. Likewise, nearby are a a small number of excellent trail bikes on show nearby with more pliant rear trimmings. The Element, however, is lone of the preeminent trail bikes to assert under your arse as you’ve deceased and gotten manually in finished your head.
Tester 2: Brice Minnigh
Years Riding: 22
Test Locale: Southern California
We’ve been singing the praises of the wobbly Mountain Element 70 MSL in favor of several months at this moment, and, gone a different extensive rotation through our line-up of test riders, it’s safe to say we’re all still singing from the same tune order. And the chorus continues to be: “This is an XC bike with giant balls.”
Given Rocky’s reputation in favor of building burly bikes, this probably shouldn’t arrive as a interrupt. After all, the Element is a cross-country beast designed and perfected with Vancouver’s North Shore trails in mind. So it stands to dispute so as to it would cleave to up soundly to the rigors of comparable terrain in nearby Bellingham, Washington.
But how would it act on other landscapes, such as the typically dry and dusty trails of Southern California, or the physically demanding ups and downs around Bend, Oregon? On all accounts, we were blown away by the versatility and playfulness of this bike, which has struck a sublime synthesis concerning the climbing performance of an XC rig and the descending capabilities of an all-mountain device. The 69.5-degree head tilt keeps the front closing stages astoundingly well-trained on climbs, while still inspiring confidence on terrifying descents. And its creatively stiff carbon front triangle absolutely begs to be thrown into tense corners.
We’ve ridden the Element on the spectrum of Southern California trails, from the rocky burl of Chiquita and dignified Canyon to the fast-and-flowy San Juan trail. We’ve even raced it in the Super D by Fontana. And it continually seems to be genuine in its element.
Rocky’s Two Cents
We’re ecstatic to hear so as to the Bike mag testers echo how we feel on the subject of the Element MSL. When we hard on show to design the bike, we had condescending goals. We desirable to pressurize somebody into a bike so as to Geoff Kabush possibly will hurry and win on, and so as to would be able to be prosper on our gnarly district trails daytime in and daytime on show. Geoff has proven it’s a winner and the Bike mag crew assert evidently position the bike through the wringer.
—D’Arcy O’Connor, BASc.
R&D MTB Design Manager
(http://www.bikemag.com)
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