Richie's Ride

WHAT: 2005 Rocky Mountain RMX R3 HOW MUCH: $4,600 WHERE: www.bikes.com

Rocky Mountain Bicycles is synonomous with freeride for good reason. Its pro team—including superstars Richie Schley, Wade Simmons and Thomas Vanderham—has single-handedly changed mountain biking’s image. And while the squad evolves the sport, Rocky Mountain is morphing its machines to withstand the abuse.

The RMX R3 is a direct result of the team’s feedback. It sports 8-inches of plush travel, full needle and cartridge bearings, Fox’s top-end DHX 5.0 shock and hand-welded Easton 7005 RAD DH tubing. For a trouble-free chainline, Rocky uses an oversized, 150-millimeter-spaced rear axle and 83-millimeter bottom bracket shell. And the deep blue powder-coat paint is applied by hand.

Components include Shimano Saint drivetrain and brakes, Marzocchi 888R fork, Easton EA70 bar/seatpost and Mavic EX 729 rims. The bike is similar to the RMX that the pros ride, except the team runs Marzocchi’s more-expensive, compression-damping-equipped 888RC fork and a chainguide instead of the Saint double chainrings and front derailleur.

Riding almost the same machine as Richie Schley, however, isn’t always a good thing. It was humbling to realize that big-mountain freeriding depends on more than just the bike. But Rocky Mountain’s intentions became clear within minutes aboard the R3. Considering the bike’s long travel, the 14.25-inch-high bottom bracket and its 44.8-inch wheelbase (on an 18-inch bike) it was fairly manageable in tight terrain and the slacked-out, 66.75-degree head angle kept handling cool and collected in the gnarliest of steeps.

During a full-year thrash test, the R3 saved our asses from cart wheeling at least a dozen times. In several tricky, panicky situations, all it took was leaning back and letting off the brakes; the plush suspension carried the bike safely over cased jumps, poorly judged drops and reckless rock gardens. The linkage wasn’t overly flexy in corners and the suspension remained completely active during hard braking. Only on big drops to flat ground did the fork bottom out, voicing its objections with a metal-to-metal clack.

All things considered, it seems a single ring and chainguide would’ve been more appropriate on this bike. The double-chainring setup provided nice security on hilly terrain, but the 22-tooth granny ring is so small, the rider positioning so upright, and the fork so plush, that the bike bogged down on everything steeper than a moderate grade. The Pro-Pedal equipped Fox shock combined with the Thrust Link pedaled surprisingly well, but, even so, climbing on a 47-pound bike is not fun, no matter how well it pedals.

Blasting downhill, though, all complaints dissolved. When the landing isn’t visible until well after takeoff, where many bikes are too big to maneuver, the R3 performed exceptionally well. Shelling out $4,600 may not make you ride like Richie, but it sure helps.