Hey Guys Thought I would share my thoughts after my first ride on 2019 Rocky Mountain Altitude powerplay Carbon 70. My thoughts may change a bit and will update anything significant. Some background.. had the Levo last 3 years and have about 2000km on it. All rides on singletrack and some bikepark. Previous MTB was a Giant Trance 1 clockwork that I had for a couple years. So all up about 6 years semi serious MTBing, my first love is surfing and MTB when the waves are no good. In the last 12 months Ive tested Norco Sight VLT (Top spec) and Trec Powerfly (top spec).
In my opinion RM Altitude PP is the best kept eMTB secret out there.
Motor / Drivetrain Noise
I have the new 2020 slide installed instead of the guide cog and the ONLY noise you hear from this bike is some minor chain noise. The motor is completely silent. Much quieter than every othe eMTB I have tried and definitely much quieter than Levo.
Motor Power and Delivery
Hmmm this is a hard one. I like the Levo running on a bit after your peddle stroke so you can bounce over obstacles without peddle strike. This is mostly a good thing except when it runs on when you dont want it to. The RM is totally precise and only applies power when you do and stops the instant you do. There is zero lag at the start (instant power) or at the end. It will take me a little while to get used to having to push a little harder before bumping over big obstacles vs the Levo that runs on.
The 25kph is completely seamless and is by far the best implementation of the motor cut out of any eMTB that Ive ridden. The Levo was very surgey at 25kph, The RM is totally seamless and you do not notice the motor cutting in or out during the 25kph restriction. Zero drag over 25kph.
Power OMG the power is incredible at 100% in fact way too much. Any kind of incline and the bike will just loop out with all the torque. The Brose is about 90nm and the Dyname 3 in the RM is about 108nm and boy do you feel it. I had to drop maximum "turbo" down to 80% half way through a hill climb as its just too much power, 80% is still too high. I never thought I would ever say that! How the F could you ride a flyon at 150nm???
Battery usage / Range
The short ride I did was just to bed in brakes, setup sag, compression, rebound etc. This ride was 15km and only 300m of climbing. I used less than 20% of the battery (630w)!!!! Best I got out of the Levo (460w) was 35km and 800m of climbing draining battery down to 3%. If I use the figures from my RM ride, I could potentially get 75km and 1500m of climbing. Thats probably a bit overrated and time will tell when I get a chance for some longer rides but again WOW!
Handling / Geometry / Sizing
Again winner here is RM due to real MTB geometry straight of their clockwork Altitude bike. Overall super playful and popppy and light feeling. Downside is the super short chainstay means climbing is more challenging than the Levo.
Clearance / Peddle Strike
RM much better than the Levo. I changed down to 160mm crank arms on the Levo and still would have more peddle strike than I had on the ride with the RM.
Suspension
Not fair to compare this as the RM (Fox 36 Elite and Fox Factory DPX2) is much higher spec than the Levo I had.
Climbing
Levo wins due to power delivery and chainstay.
Descending
RM due to above suspension and geometry
Brakes
This was another standout for me the difference between SRAM Guide and XT 4 pot is night and day. Wow nearly went over the bars a few times.
Tyres
I had the Schwable Current eddy Rear 2.8 and MM 2.8 front. I miss the traction. The Maxxis 2.5 are OK but I will go back to 2.6 MM / Current Eddy asap.
Annoyances
A Rattle I cant find, maybe cables...
RM eMotion App limitations. Specialized is the gold standard for app and motor control.
Instant Power Cutoff will need to get used to this.
RM has No low power bluetooth Garmin connection so I cant have a clean cockpit with just my Garmin 530 displaying the ebike fields
IWoc yeah.. dont really rate this remote and apparently does not like getting wet.
Firmware updates? or lack thereof for the RM vs the Levo. That is one Specialized strengths.
In my opinion RM Altitude PP is the best kept eMTB secret out there.
Motor / Drivetrain Noise
I have the new 2020 slide installed instead of the guide cog and the ONLY noise you hear from this bike is some minor chain noise. The motor is completely silent. Much quieter than every othe eMTB I have tried and definitely much quieter than Levo.
Motor Power and Delivery
Hmmm this is a hard one. I like the Levo running on a bit after your peddle stroke so you can bounce over obstacles without peddle strike. This is mostly a good thing except when it runs on when you dont want it to. The RM is totally precise and only applies power when you do and stops the instant you do. There is zero lag at the start (instant power) or at the end. It will take me a little while to get used to having to push a little harder before bumping over big obstacles vs the Levo that runs on.
The 25kph is completely seamless and is by far the best implementation of the motor cut out of any eMTB that Ive ridden. The Levo was very surgey at 25kph, The RM is totally seamless and you do not notice the motor cutting in or out during the 25kph restriction. Zero drag over 25kph.
Power OMG the power is incredible at 100% in fact way too much. Any kind of incline and the bike will just loop out with all the torque. The Brose is about 90nm and the Dyname 3 in the RM is about 108nm and boy do you feel it. I had to drop maximum "turbo" down to 80% half way through a hill climb as its just too much power, 80% is still too high. I never thought I would ever say that! How the F could you ride a flyon at 150nm???
Battery usage / Range
The short ride I did was just to bed in brakes, setup sag, compression, rebound etc. This ride was 15km and only 300m of climbing. I used less than 20% of the battery (630w)!!!! Best I got out of the Levo (460w) was 35km and 800m of climbing draining battery down to 3%. If I use the figures from my RM ride, I could potentially get 75km and 1500m of climbing. Thats probably a bit overrated and time will tell when I get a chance for some longer rides but again WOW!
Handling / Geometry / Sizing
Again winner here is RM due to real MTB geometry straight of their clockwork Altitude bike. Overall super playful and popppy and light feeling. Downside is the super short chainstay means climbing is more challenging than the Levo.
Clearance / Peddle Strike
RM much better than the Levo. I changed down to 160mm crank arms on the Levo and still would have more peddle strike than I had on the ride with the RM.
Suspension
Not fair to compare this as the RM (Fox 36 Elite and Fox Factory DPX2) is much higher spec than the Levo I had.
Climbing
Levo wins due to power delivery and chainstay.
Descending
RM due to above suspension and geometry
Brakes
This was another standout for me the difference between SRAM Guide and XT 4 pot is night and day. Wow nearly went over the bars a few times.
Tyres
I had the Schwable Current eddy Rear 2.8 and MM 2.8 front. I miss the traction. The Maxxis 2.5 are OK but I will go back to 2.6 MM / Current Eddy asap.
Annoyances
A Rattle I cant find, maybe cables...
RM eMotion App limitations. Specialized is the gold standard for app and motor control.
Instant Power Cutoff will need to get used to this.
RM has No low power bluetooth Garmin connection so I cant have a clean cockpit with just my Garmin 530 displaying the ebike fields
IWoc yeah.. dont really rate this remote and apparently does not like getting wet.
Firmware updates? or lack thereof for the RM vs the Levo. That is one Specialized strengths.
