You dont want to buy one of their bikes that has been ridden a lot - the trick is to find one thats barely used!
Modern Slayer versus 2014 E29
Theres plusses and minuses with buying a newish bike. Heres a downside. The Fox factory X2 is squelching - sounds to me like oil in the air can. I dont think that Ive broken it - probably just a faulty seal or something. My first ride on the bike was the first time that shock was ridden but obviously no warranty - Suspension Werx is fixing it now but Im sure itll be $150+
Aside, new Slayer from Rocky is pending - curious to see it - Ive heard that some photos have been put online and then deleted pretty quickly - mixed reviews on the aesthetics of the bike and I understand that there may be a 29r option. WIll be cool. The teaser video is wicked. Gotta love Rockys videos!
I've seen pics. Looks like a great bike but the pricing is knocking close to Santa Cruz / Yeti levels which is going to take it out of the game for many.
Kind of sad if it's going to be a big change from the current Slayer, I'll probably ride mine as long as possible in that case.
PB has photos of it up at CWorx.
Hearing from people who have ridden it is great - but a different beast from our bikes. Looks longer than our bikes to me, especially rear end. More travel. 180 for 27.5 or 170 for 29r. Photo shows coil shock.
I bet that they’re making it more of a park/Fr bike. My Slayer is much more of a trail bike than I expected - which is great and I sold my E29 as a result- but a TON of overlap with Altitudes and even Instincts. I bet that they’re repositioning it further from those. I ride mine in second steepest so if the new bike is slacker and longer, that’s not what I’m after. Our Slayers are not well positioned within the Rocky lineup - want a fast Enduro and you’re buying an Instinct BC. Want a versatile and playful Enduro you’re probably buying an Altitude. Slayer is supposed to be the pedaly DH bike and maybe it’s that, but It’s also a fun trail bike. I’m still shocked how well it climbs. I’m way faster up No quarter on it than on my E29. Instinct BC was probably the beater choice for me but man I’m loving the Slayer and I have zero regrets
Treated it to a One Up headtube kit and pump, and full Ride Wrap including fork. I love that bike. New one certainly doesn’t look as sexy - and I bet it’s less peddaly
I am looking forward to seeing what the aluminum version of the new Slayer29er looks like.
Lots of vids and ride impressions of the new Slayer on YouTube. Seems awesome - slacker and lower - possibly less peddaly (not clear to me). Comments are that its more plush due to the harshness at the top of the stroke being dialed out (as I suspected)...not sure if that makes it less of a trail bike than the outgoing bike (which I find is a great trail bike). One comment was the 29r might be a race machine now - it will be interesting to see if the racers pick it over the Instincts.....
Since I ride mine in second steepest position I dont think that this lower and slacker Slayer would suit me better than my 2018 - makes sense that they wanted to differentiate it from Instinct BCs moreso than before..... All the reviews I have seen so car were very favorable...
Yeah reviews are positive for sure, aesthetically I definitely like the older bike more. Would be cool to try one with a coil shock for sure. Also some athletes are running dual crown DH forks on them (Forbes and Carson Storch in the promo vid) - probably a super fun park bike that way in the slackest setting.
Yes I see this bike as more of a park bike than the last. Id be interested in knowing which is the better overall bike on a round trip like ItM/LOTS. Im sure the newer bike descends a bit better (look at it) but I suspect that its climbing performance is much lower. The new bike seems up a fair bit on weight too.
All all of that makes sense because I see the last Slayer and the Altitude as competing a fair bit, separated mostly by travel, and even the Instinct in the mix too. Makes sense to me to differentiate the Slayer moreso from those two than in the past gen.
Better choice in bike for me would have been an 18 Instinct BC over the Slayer I bought, but I still wanted a Slayer because, well, its a bad ass bike that will still work for me. I suspect that if I was choosing between 2020 bikes that Slayer wouldnt be in the mix given how important pedaling is to me (50%!)
Last edited by: Ddean on Aug. 22, 2019, 12:10 p.m., edited 1 time in total.
New Slayer check a lot of boxes for me. I already have a solid trail bike. And with Fiver style races finally happening in the FV. I am looking for a bigger travel 29er, one I can pedal up. And tear down the trails without betting the crap out of my trail bike. Seeing bikes speced with a coil makes me very happy. The Slayer and Reign SX are tops on my must ride lists.
I suspect that an Instinct BC will be faster than a 29r Slayer if that matters to you, but Im just guessing. Im still shocked at what a great peddler the 18 Slayer is but I tell you that my E29 (2014 Sworks) was a significantly faster bike than the Slayer - its not even close - shocking difference really. Theres a reason the entire Rocky team rides Instincts. Instinct is a wicked Fiver bike IMO.
There was a video some time ago of Remi and TV trying out Instinct vs. Altitude on timed runs to see which is faster. They found something like a 3% speed advantage for the Instinct, but that might be a bit overestimated because the riders got faster with each lap and they did the Instinct last. Somehow i doubt that the Slayer is so much slower than the Altitude.
Last edited by: Timer on Aug. 22, 2019, 2:29 p.m., edited 1 time in total.
Posted by: Ddean
Yes I see this bike as more of a park bike than the last. Id be interested in knowing which is the better overall bike on a round trip like ItM/LOTS. Im sure the newer bike descends a bit better (look at it) but I suspect that its climbing performance is much lower. The new bike seems up a fair bit on weight too.
All all of that makes sense because I see the last Slayer and the Altitude as competing a fair bit, separated mostly by travel, and even the Instinct in the mix too. Makes sense to me to differentiate the Slayer moreso from those two than in the past gen.
Better choice in bike for me would have been an 18 Instinct BC over the Slayer I bought, but I still wanted a Slayer because, well, its a bad ass bike that will still work for me. I suspect that if I was choosing between 2020 bikes that Slayer wouldnt be in the mix given how important pedaling is to me (50%!)
I'd think ITM/LOTS would kinda suck on a new Slayer versus old Slayer, Instinct etc. Climb would be a chore and the descent is mellow enough you wouldn't really benefit from the new Slayer's travel and geo. Last time I rode it I ran into (aka was passed on the climb) by the Rocky EWS team + Miranda - Jesse (injury) and they were on their EWS Instincts. Crazy how fit those athletes are too.
Posted by: grambo
Posted by: Ddean
Yes I see this bike as more of a park bike than the last. Id be interested in knowing which is the better overall bike on a round trip like ItM/LOTS. Im sure the newer bike descends a bit better (look at it) but I suspect that its climbing performance is much lower. The new bike seems up a fair bit on weight too.
All all of that makes sense because I see the last Slayer and the Altitude as competing a fair bit, separated mostly by travel, and even the Instinct in the mix too. Makes sense to me to differentiate the Slayer moreso from those two than in the past gen.
Better choice in bike for me would have been an 18 Instinct BC over the Slayer I bought, but I still wanted a Slayer because, well, its a bad ass bike that will still work for me. I suspect that if I was choosing between 2020 bikes that Slayer wouldnt be in the mix given how important pedaling is to me (50%!)
I'd think ITM/LOTS would kinda suck on a new Slayer versus old Slayer, Instinct etc. Climb would be a chore and the descent is mellow enough you wouldn't really benefit from the new Slayer's travel and geo. Last time I rode it I ran into (aka was passed on the climb) by the Rocky EWS team + Miranda - Jesse (injury) and they were on their EWS Instincts. Crazy how fit those athletes are too.
I guess we will see the weapon of choice for them next year. They may swap back and forth depending on the course. And with the more modern GEO , that does help with the overall handling. I tried a 2019 Spartan 29er , it impressed the hell out of me. My current bike is a 150/120mm 29er and the Spartan was nicer to climb with truthfully.
Posted by: DemonMike
I guess we will see the weapon of choice for them next year. They may swap back and forth depending on the course. And with the more modern GEO , that does help with the overall handling. I tried a 2019 Spartan 29er , it impressed the hell out of me. My current bike is a 150/120mm 29er and the Spartan was nicer to climb with truthfully.
They'll be on the NEW Instinct...which won't be out until next summer.
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