Great review of an unusual bike! Mine just came in after waiting 7 months! Thanks!!

I was originally hunting for Ripley AF but the shop happen to have one more left Element A30, decided to pull the trigger on it, loving it.

Great timing for this video so thanks for posting. I love my 2022 C70 but have been trying to decide where it belongs since my enduro is being repaired suddenly. Our trails in Texas are punchy both up and down and this bike seems to work perfectly for that but definitely won't find it in a bike park.

I went from a Scott spark with a Fox 34 Fork (down countried). The Element is not only faster in almost all trails, but I don’t feel like I’m going to die on big tech features or drops. The bike is a unicorn.

Love this bike. Super light, threw on some burlier tires and is just awesome.

This bike sounds like my bike from 2019. Whyte 120C RS V3. Even though this new bike has 0.5 slacker HA and 1 degree steeper STA the rest of the bike sounds extremely similar. Living with the bike for 3 years I can tell that it's a great bike for most things. It's a downhillers XC bike so to say. If you live in a flatter pedally place but want to be able to do the bigger features and more demanding trails with confidence this bike is great.

I have a ‘20 Whyte S-120 with very similar geometry and suspension setup but with a 120 Fox 34 SC. Whyte was only in US for one year, so I never see them. Makes it hard to know how it would compare to the Element. May have to throw my leg over one to find out. Thanks for the review.

The mountain bike trends have lead many people into purchasing bikes that are clearly over-biked for the vast majority of local trails - I jumped on the big travel boat myself thinking the big bike has me covered for everything, later realizing it really worked best for small sections (15%) of most trails - Continuing to be the perfect trend follower (thank you KZfaq) I’m riding the Revel Ranger w/130mm Pike and now have the perfect bike for 85% of the trail with a bike that’s lighter and faster (thank you Strava) all the way around - I’m guessing the Rocky Mountain Element has nailed the perfect bike for the next several years - excellent review as always

This was one of the bikes I was looking at when shopping for a new bike last year, great bike and perfect for my location. Ended up with a similar bike in the Optic with a bit more travel and setup a bit poppier with the SDDH than the Element. Great review yet again.

Great reviews on here as always! I'm very curious about RM bikes! I been on a V1 Ripmo for a few years now and would love to get a backup bike. RM might be it! Element goes uphill faster than the Ripmo? Is that correct? That's a bold statement! The Ripmo is a Rocket ship uphill! Maybe that's due to less travel/weight? Although the Ripmo is something else! Is this Element the Alloy or Carbon version in the review? How would the Element compare to the Instinct? Thanks!

Love the videos you helped me find the perfect mountain bike

This year I,'m going full suspension ,riding mtb since late 80s.Ordered a Rocky Mountain alloy 30...I hope it shares the same ride qualities...I know Alloy 30 is a heavier bike more travel..Anyway good videos you guys make very informative...You should review Alloy 30...

Spot on Review! I would agree with most everything that was said and add my experience with my Element. My one word review would be "Zippy". It just responds so well to pumping corners and berms! I sold my Ripley because the Rocky did everything better, in just about every way, with exception of jumps. Element is very firm, but has so much traction on the Steep loose climbs and corners. I felt the Element was more active on the really steep climbs than the Ripley. I am running mine in the position 3 (neutral) which gives it a 65.5 degree HTA. When things get really steep on the climbs, I feel the length but also feel it provides incredible traction. This bike likes to jump, but as a 200 pound rider, my Rallon is a far better tool for that. I have a C50 in a size large. Stock weight prior to pedals or any changes was 28.04 pounds. I added wheels, XT 2 pots, Wolftooth Dropper, XR4 front tire and a Handlebar. Not sure what the weight is now, as I am not a weight weenie. The bike is a good choice for Endurance races. It did better on the El Doce course than I did. Spot on review Connor and Zach, love your Shop and Channel!

I have a C70 on the way and a Ripmo AF that I just got a month ago. Will be interesting how similar (or not) they feel from a the perspective of rider technique and input. Hopefully with these two bikes in the stable I'll have a bike to cover pretty much any terrain! Great review!

Coming from a V2 Ripmo, I agree that the Element is almost as good as the Ripmo going down, but it climbs WAY better. However, I disagree with the playfulness comment. My Element feels even more lively than my Ripmo, especially on flattish trails where the Ripmo felt dead. Burlier tires went a long way in making the Element a more confident descender too. Best bike ever.

A couple of folks have asked about Element vs. Trail 429. I'll preface what I'm about to say with the caveat I'm a shit rider compared to BE, but I've got time on both, soooo... Trail 429 feels sportier under power, and the suspension platform doesn't give up as quickly as the Element's does when you stop spinning and start mashing. The Pivot gets into a corner a little snappier, the Rocky feels more stable through the corner. Both bikes allow you to adjust your line as needed. I ride Mediums in both bikes, and unlike the XL, I felt the cockpit for the Element was more compact than the 429's in the saddle, and they felt pretty similar, reach-wise, out of the saddle. BE's thing about endurance riding was what juuuust tipped me to choose the Element over the 429, as it has more stable geo, as well as the ability to run two full-size bottles in the frame. And because I'm so mediocre on the downhills, I appreciate the Element's geo is more aggressive, keeping me calmer when I drop into rough sections of the trail.

Thanks for the review. I'm loving the trend of tweener bikes that hold their own uphill and down, they're good for us old fat guys that still want to play. I think you meant to compare the Element to the Trance 29 as that bike is way closer in travel numbers to the Element? The Trance X 29 is 150/135 with almost identical wheelbase and almost as slack steering. I ride a Trance X 29 because of your review and love it, it would be interesting to see you put this Element up head to head against the Trance X 29, Occam, and Ripmo (and Esker Rowl too, but I know you guys don't sell them), just to see hard numbers uphill and down. Cheers!

does it make sense to take an "enduro" bike geometry, in a short travel option with lightweight components? Yep I think especially with the way UIC races are becoming much more technical and chundary with more elevation, the difference between XC and Trail I think now is just $$$ associated to more carbon and more titatium lol

This bike is amazing. I was lucky enough to grab one early on and have been riding it for about a year now. It's a straight up Lycra wearing race winning beast that you can ride at the bike park the next day. I came from a twitchy 100mm XC race bike to the Element and I PRd all my climbs and downhills. If the bike is a little too down country for you you can always swap in a $35.00 120mm air damper to steepen the head tube angle.

Comparison to the ripmo is super interesting. The ripmo is my first long travel bike after years on shorter travel bikes. The plushness is addicting but weight means I don't really want to ride the bike unless I'm seeking out super rough trails. I've always found the suspension to be the limit of these shorter travel bikes. I really like the tunability of the x2 and fox 38. I'm putting some faster rolling tires on the ripmo and listen it up a bit and see how it fares

I do agree with you, the Element feels a LOT like a Ripmo in terms of riding position. My main bike is a Ripmo and I demoed an Element, the Element's riding position felt almost identical to the Ripmo, and on that same note so did the Altitude. As for riding, once I realized that you can't lean on a Rekon front like you can an Assegai haha it basically ride like a really nice trail bike, that pedals incredibly efficiently. Very stable and confident on the downhill, though strangely was not poppy as you said, it also resembles the Ripmo in that aspect of not being super poppy. Which struck me as odd since its big brother the Altitude is extremely poppy and playful.

I'd love to see you compare the Element with Banshee Phantom V3/V3. 2 and maybe even throw in a Pivot Trail 429 (even though that one is carbon frame only)

Great review, unfortunately finding these in c50 is incredibly difficult. When are the mid level build going to become available?

Good Review. I built up a new element this year. After being on Pivot's and Revel's for the last several years, it felt a little different to be back on horst link. How would you compare this bike against the Trance you reviewed in the spring?

Thanks for the review. The Rocky seems a lot like the Alchemy Arktos ST (which is sort of a small brand Ibis - I understand ex-Ibis guys started Alchemy). The Arktos would be a great review. Maybe you could review it in all of its iterations (with the conversion kits) to see if it actually works. Cheers.

Could you review the commencal meta tr 29? Or any commencal bike? Love the vids.

Man, great video, I really like your channel, quick silly question, if you HAVE to take either the element or the Spur to a bike park which would be ??

How does this stand up against the Ripley AF?

Check out the all new ARC8 Essential, or ARC8 evolve fs. Like your content. 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

Which bike is better: Ibis Exie (non-usa deore build $5k) vs. Rocky Mountain Element (C50 build $5k)??? No xc racing, but will be doing marathons and 100 milers. Ride mostly 'blue' trails, fair amount of green as well, just a touch of black. My weight is 120lbs.

I picked up this bike to turn into a XC race bike, I'm hoping to get it around 26lbs. I live and race in Denver Co, we can get a wide range of XC courses. I've been racing a XL Lynskey Live Wire Ti bike. Being 6'6" tall this frame was long enough to fit me, also turning 60 this year and wanted a full suspension bike to take the edge off.

Great review. Very Accurate description. You didn’t mention the Ride-4 which is a sweet feature. Had mine since Dec 2021. I also have a V2 Rimpo. The Element has much faster Strava times than the Rimpo on most of my green, blue and black trails here in PA. That said, the Rimpo is a way easier, safer and a faster bike if you ride mostly gnar on the downs and hit big drops. Rocky Mountain lists the Element as a Cross County bike. Curious. If you put a Fox 34 120mm fork on the Element, how do you think it would compare to traditional XC Race Bikes? Lux, Oiz, Spark..ect.

What a great review, thanks! Any idea of bike weight (with pedals)? Thanks.

I just bought two of these, one for the GF and myself...a big part of my rational was that the Element can be had in aluminum/Deore spec, meaning I got both our bikes (AL 30, on sale) for the same price as what I was going to spend on a single entry level carbon bike for myself. ***I'd actually love if reviewers could mention whether the lower end specs on these bikes have any serious compromises that would change their perception of the bike relative to its similarly priced competitors...or does this rig make a ton of sense at 25lbs in full carbon but way less sense at 32lbs with an entry level fork?? My other thinking about the element was that it has almost all of the positive sides of an xc bike - lighter weight, increased efficiency, better match for the trails we ride (not being over biked) - but while also giving some extra confidence/capability on the rough downhills and in the occasional "oh shit where are we" moments...I'm hard pressed to really call the extra downhill capability much of a "tradeoff" but maybe that just means its a good fit for what we're looking for.

Is the rough granite stuff at Alta? AF? Looks fun

Want it!

This bike looks so cool!!!

Considering this for stage races like Swiss Epic next year. Good stage racer?

I would be OK with the Element being even slacker---say 77* STA and 64* HTA. I want a lightweight, efficient pedaling and climbing , fast rolling, almost XC-ish bike, but I also want a fast stable descender. While I love the climbs, I love the descents also. The Element and Canyon Spectral 125, which also has very slack geo for a short travel bike, are some of the best bikes currently made. I've been hoping that Ibis will update the carbon Ripley soon with slacker geo. One of my biggest complaints about the current crop of Downcountry bikes is that they just aren't long and slack enough. A size large mountain bike needs at least a 1230mm wheelbase and an even longer 1240+mm wheelbase would be just fine with me.

Good Review! Where are you riding? The scenery is awesome!

Great review! Curious what area of the country you're riding in?

Curious how this element would compare to a ripely af? Love your content!

Element vs Instinct for my 16yr old son, he’s 6’2-6’3 and currently running cross country so pretty fit. Live outside Durango, 3hrs or so from Moab. Thanks for any info

Stellar review especially considering the stem isn’t straight 😮

Trek Top Fuel with a 130mm fork is the closest to the Element IMO

Your comparison with the ripmo prompted a question for me. With the enduro bikes you just reviewed that feature better climbing and these slacker, more capable short travel bikes out there(spur, element), do you think the all mountain trail category is becoming redundant?

Can you guys test the Rocky Mountain slayer only rocky full sus you haven’t done

How tall are you, just trying to gauge sizing. I have an XL Megatower now but I was wondering if I could squeeze on to a size large Element?

Would you compare it to the Specialized Epic Evo?

Am I hearing creaking during the climb (2:30 ish). What’s your experience with pressed-in BB’s?

all good

Any pedal strikes with the somewhat low bottom bracket?

I would love to know how this compares to a Pivot 429

How does the element compare to the carbon Ripley as far as climbing and descending??

In terms of climbing efficiency, how does the Element compare to the Instinct?

so which Rm would you ride everyday Instinct or this.. ie which is more of quiver killer ?

How do you think this compares to Ibis Ripley?

How would you compare it to the Pivot 429 or the new Yeti SB120?

No mention of the Norco Optic? Surely you’ve seen that geo 😀.

What tire pressure do you normally ride with?

What would be one or two of the poppiest, playful bikes in this category?

Did you record this with a new cam. The picture jerks a little bit. Like stop and go

How does it compare to the new giant trance?

What would you think about an Element super light built with a 34 stepcast 120mm upfront?

What XCis similar bike would you go wtih for plushier ride and what setup? (especially if you enjoy technical uphill but want safetey on downhill)

Thumbs up on the into alone 😅

Curious if this is similar to an exie

How does the Element compare to the v4 Ripley?

What if…you change the shock out to. New Float X?

Would you take this bike or the spur if you also have a bigger bike? Does your opinion change if you live somewhere else?

So it rides like how you would ride a super slack super long hardtail. This is why it's hardtail riders love hardtails but you are exchanging rear grip for more fun and being able to pump better and being able to jump way better but it's just as capable but you need to be on your A game.

So there is a bike called the Ripley, that is the ibis you should be comparing the element to

What is the weight on the XL 90?

Connor, does the Element's existence creep enough into Rocky Mountain Instinct territory as to make Instinct redundant? Does Element "provide enough bike for enough riders" to make a bike between itself and Altitude unnecessary? Don't get me wrong, I LOVE my Instinct, but your comments about Element punching way above its weight makes for an interesting discussion.

There's an argument to be made that these short travel bikes don't need to be so slack, as the geometry ends up being more capable than the suspension. You also lose that nimble feeling which makes these bikes more fun climbing or on twisty, slower terrain. I'll always find the bottom of the suspension on my Ranger long before the geometry makes me feel unstable. It's also good to have that different geo feel to remind me that I'm not on my 170mm bike and probably should use the brakes a bit more while descending.

dude im literally eating Tate's Bake Shop Salted Caramel Choco Chip cookies haha unreal

Nice bike but going to hold out for the Tallboy gen 5. I believe the TB5 is right around the corner.

Are you on an XL?

What trails is he riding in this?

Comparison to the tallboy?

Need an element vs spur comparison

😎

Dang! I wish I hadn’t watched this. Now I feel like I need to demo it, which usually leads to a purchase. Anyone interested in a large Evil Following V2?

Should have been compared to the Norco Optic, same angles and almost the same amount of suspension

What the heck happened between BE guys & the Ripley? You compare this bike to the Ripmo with no mention. And you say the new 5010 climbs better than Ripley on technical! A 27.5 rear! Head scratching!!

Staaaaaahp… don’t make me regret not getting one

Bike of the year?

Gotta be the first to comment now ey, publish 1 minute ago!

It's definitely NOT an xc bike, it kinda pedals like trash. Maybe my expectations were too high but I would rather pedal my ripley af against a c70 build all day. It doesn't have the pep I expect from a bike of this travel. I will say, the geo is legitimately amazing though. Reach, and body position are incredibly well sorted, and descending is a blast! I would rather ride an altitude though haha. Oh regarding pedaling position, I slammed the hell out of the saddle and it was a great climbing position traction wise.

geometry doesn't seem much more radical than a Tallboy, Optic or a Spur. There have been bikes like this for a while.