Decathlon designed waves previously this calendar year when their cost-effective Rockrider mountain bikes turned up on the expert cross-country race circuit. So when the UCI MTB XCO Entire world Cup rolled into our yard at Nové Město, we popped around to the Rockrider Team pit to get a closer seem at Stephane Tempier’s carbon race bikes – both equally the 900 hardtail & 900S FC whole-suspension… and some prototype gear!
Decathlon’s Environment Cup Rockrider XC bikes
We have been amazed when we 1st spotted the news that French large box sporting items retailer Decathlon was sponsoring a Globe Cup XC mountain bike group with their funds Rockrider bike line-up. So we took a closer glimpse and recognized the manufacturer experienced redeveloped a inventory carbon & alloy bicycle into an all-carbon flex pivot bicycle.
But we preferred to know even extra, so we got in touch with the Decathlon growth workforce instantly for an in-depth interview on exactly where they are headed in the Bikerumor Podcast #58 earlier this thirty day period!
Rockrider Racing Team XC 900S FC entire-suspension
We acquired a good seem at the details of the new 120mm travel total-carbon single pivot with carbon linkage-pushed shock back in February.
But only now do we seriously see the formal name of this pre-production cross-region prototype – the Rockrider XC 900S FC – with the S telling that it’s got rear Suspension and the FC that it is Full Carbon.
As we suspected, the carbon entrance triangle is unchanged from the alloy-rear bikes you can obtain in Decathlon’s huge box stores now. But from that primary pivot again, the a single-piece UD carbon rear conclude is all-new, including a seatstay flex zone to do away with the will need for a pivot previously mentioned the dropout.
Rockrider Racing Staff bikes have been all established up with Manitou air suspension. A Manitou Mara distant shock handles the 120mm of rear wheel journey, paired to a 120mm Manitou R7 Pro fork up front with typical Reverse Arch style and design.
Stephane Tempier races on a carbon-railed Fizik Antares As opposed to Evo R1 Adaptive saddle with all-black 3D-printed padding.
Stopping is dealt with by a new set of personalized painted-to-match TRP Slate Evo disc brakes, the lowest priced and lightest to get TRP’s most current complete braking procedure EVOlution.
Alternatively of the stock one-piece stainless rotors, the Rockrider Racing Team works by using the two-piece TRP TR-33 rotors with alloy 6-bolt carriers for improved warmth dissipation and laser-slash cleaning slots.
Rockrider Racing Workforce XC 900 hardtail
The XC 900 is a funds hardtail you can by now purchase these days for just 1900€ entire, but it is still a capable-enough race bike – at the very least for the additional tame World Cup XC classes.
Construct kit on the hardtails is really significantly the exact on the comprehensive-suspension bikes, whilst it does search like the workforce may perhaps operate the R7 Pro forks in a shorter 100 or 110mm travel place.
Cockpit is the similar with carbon bars from ProTaper and gentle alloy LYTI stems from French element maker Dulight. And each are built up with the light-weight BikeYoke Divine SL dropper seatpost and Triggy remote.
The similar TRP Slate Evo brakes and TR-33 rotors.
The bikes are all on Mavic Crossmax carbon wheels, wrapped with prototype Hutchinson Racing Lab enhancement tires. Almost all of the Rockrider Racing Workforce bikes experienced this low-profile tread setup for the dry Nove Mesto program. The pattern seems to be the exact as the extended-functioning Skeleton, but the knobs may be a little bit reshaped or at minimum have a decrease profile for quicker-rolling.
