Rocky Mountain

This is a first for Vital as we review a full-suspension e-MTB aimed at kids - the Rocky Mountain Reaper Powerplay 26. We won't be surprised if a bulk of your response to this bike is something along the lines of "Don't make kids soft by giving them a motor! Make them earn their laps." That's how we generally feel too, but we wanted to A) test this bike and B) see if our pint-sized punters would shun regular mountain bikes altogether after motorized assistance to the top of the hill. At the time of this review, Rocky Mountain has recently gone through corporate restructuring and their future...

In March, Rocky Mountain pulled back the veil on their latest Instinct trail bike. After a few years of sharing frames with its more capable big brother, the Altitude, the Instinct regained its independence with a dedicated and revised chassis. Complete with internal storage, a grip of geometry adjustments, and a proven suspension layout, Rocky aimed to give riders the do-it-all trail bike that could adapt to any terrain or rider preference. We spent the past four months finding out what's on offer with each Instinct adaptation and where this aggressive trail bike shines or leaves more to be...