First Look, First Ride: 2016 Rocky Mountain Maiden Carbon Downhill Bike

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Introducing the 2016 Rocky Mountain Maiden. She's much more than just a pretty face.

Nearly four years in the making. We traveled to British Columbia based Retallack Lodge to see if all that time added up to a great full carbon ride.

Though they are still used in some of minor pivot locations, the Maiden sees a departure from the bushings they like to use on some of their other bikes. BIG ball bearings serve as the replacement.

Thomas Vanderham was instrumental in the bike's development. World Cup speed and freerider amplitude make for one hell of a test rider.

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SQUISH! The four bar "Smoothlink" suspension system sees very little stiction while delivering 200mm of travel.

Of four complete build kits, the upper three use BOS suspension front and rear. Tooled adjustments throughout make the rider more aware of the damping changes they're making.

Speed fins! The integrated shock fender is an awesome detail.

An expanding collet system helps keep the rear end as stiff as possible. Maintenance requires a cassette tool and large allen keys, which should reduce the likelihood of stripped hardwear.

Remi Gauvin about to hit the gas aboard a prototype. The Maiden was designed to pedal quite well for a big bike, especially when run with 27.5-inch wheels.

Rocky Mountain's goal was to allow the bike to remain as active as possible under braking, with emphasis on the first 40% of travel.

A huge number of test mules were made and ridden before final numbers, pivot placement, and many of the finer details were made official.

The Maiden has 425mm chainstays, a 9.5mm bottom bracket drop, and a 63-degree head angle in the slackest/lowest position with 27.5-inch wheels.

Waka waka waka, going up in a choppa.

Wade Simmons fully stoked. Retallack delivered the goods in a big way, with nearly 6,500-feet of elevation and incredible trails descending from the top of Rico Peak.

Want to micro-adjust the head angle? Simply flip a chip in the lower shock mount to one of four positions.

26 or 27.5? It's your call. While complete bikes will come with the bigger wheels, those building from the frame up can install what they choose with minimal hassle. Note the rear dropout.

Frames include a headset spacer designed to give the bike a comparable stance and ride qualities regardless of the chosen wheel size. It's only installed when running 26-inch hoops.

Rocky's internal cable and brake routing method is super clean on this bike. It's also Shimano Di2 compatible with an internal battery port if you want to go full spaceship status.

Bolt-on fork bumpers double as internal cable entry ports.

Vanderham delivers.

Smooth but big. Following Vanderham (or at least attempting to) for a few days really opened our eyes to his precise but daring riding style. The man can ride a trail at race pace the first run down, and he has a keen eye for large bonus gaps and hot lines.

Rocky Mountain builds it, then Vanderham, Simmons, Gully and crew verify that it can perform.

Product Manager Ken Perras can hang with the best of them, and his component choices show a good understanding of what works well, even at the most affordable end of the spectrum.

Where does the Maiden fit in? Vanderham elaborates as we drop off Rico Peak.

The suspension strikes a good balance of compliance and support when it's needed.

Geoff Gulevich going huge.

The bike sees just 26mm (27.5-inch wheels) or 21mm (26-inch wheels) of chainstay growth through the travel.

A molded chainstay protector and downtube guard help protect the frame.

After nearly 25,000 vertical feet of testing, we can confirm that it's a damn fine all around downhill bike. It shines in the turns, jumps predictably, and isn't phased through the rough bits.

Visit www.bikes.com for complete details and build specs.

We'd like to extend a HUGE thanks to the guys at Retallack for the incredible trails and atmosphere. The place is heaven on earth for a seasoned rider. Cheers! Check out www.retallack.com for their menu of amazing adventures, and add it to your bucket list.

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It's finally here. After nearly four years of tweaking and tuning, Rocky Mountain couldn't wait to unveil their new Maiden downhill bike to the world. We traveled to the incredible Retallack Lodge in British Columbia, Canada to discuss development and testing, have a chat with Thomas Vanderham, and learn all about the bike's features. Of course we rode it too, and there may have even been a helicopter involved. Click play before diving into the details below.

Highlights

200mm (7.9-inches) front and rear travel
Full carbon frame, link, chainstay, and seatstay
Optimized for 26” or 27.5” wheels with Equalized geometry
Adjustable geometry with Ride-4 system
Four bar Smoothlink suspension
Pipelock collet axles lock into the frame for stiffness
Oversized Enduro MAX type bearings for longer bearing life and higher load capacity
Integrated frame protection: molded downtube guard, shock fender, chainstay protector, and bolt-in fork bumpers
Di2 electronics compatible with internal stealth battery port
Internal cable and brake routing
PressFit BB107 bottom bracket, drop-in IS42|52 headset, 12x157mm rear axle, ISCG-05 tabs

Geometry

In Action

Watch Thomas Vanderham turn the volume ALL the way up in this incredible riding video by Matt Miles and Anthill Films:

Build Kits and Pricing

The Maiden is available in four complete build kits, each of which are built around the same carbon frame. The decked out Unlimited build runs $10,499, race-ready World Cup model $6,999, Pro at $5,499, and Park at $4,499.