Final summer season we bought a tease of Rock Machine’s adaptable Whizz idea mountain bike – a imaginative and prescient of a bulletproof aluminum shared bike AND eMTB platform that may be set at 140mm, 160mm, or 180mm of rear wheel journey, no matter wheel sizes you need, and with future-proof adjustable geometry. Whizz… one bike to rule all of them.
Rock Machine Whizz modular alloy all-mountain bike
The concept of a single bike to adapt throughout a number of journey disciplines isn’t precisely a brand new idea. Quite a few XC bikes have already got an extended journey TR path model, in addition to loads of enduro bikes with shorter, lighter all-mountain builds. In reality, Czech bikemaker Rock Machine’s new Whizz is constructed because the successor to their standard Blizzard household – already an inexpensive alloy vary of 120mm gentle path, 140mm all-mountain, and 160-170mm enduro bikes that share the identical basic design.
However this one takes adaptability to a subsequent stage – a extra progressive, extra succesful platform & extra adjustable platform designed to be ridden laborious for years to come back.
What Rock Machine actually does finest is construct inexpensive bikes which are enjoyable to journey and constructed to final.
140, 160, or 180mm and all of the adjustability
Their new short-link floating-pivot Whizz goals to up the enjoyable issue by bumping up journey over their Blizzard household – now to 140mm for path driving, 160mm for enduro, and 180mm as a park bike. As our driving will get extra aggressive, a do-it-all MTB platform has to get extra progressive and extra succesful to maintain up!
Three journey settings are interchangeable through 3 potential rear shock stroke lengths mounted in one in all three flip-chip positions on the higher shock mount contained in the cut up toptube – coil or air shocks. The open toptube additionally features a ahead mounting level (not so dissimilar to the current Canyon Torque:ON) that can be utilized for a instrument mount or another future bag or hydration accent.
Presumably, there’s extra suspension curve & geometry adjustability accessible by linkage tweaks, too. The decrease pivot mount on this prototype additionally contains one other flip-chip. Trendy lengthy, low & slack geometry carries by for every setting, with the longer forks slackening out the entrance finish a bit.
However there’s additionally a vastly outsized headtube to suit a headset that may be adjusted both for headtube angle or body Attain relying on rider want. One more reason for that huge headtube is structural… Rock Machine has designed a entrance rack that can connect with 4-bolts on the entrance of the bike or ebike and be capable to haul a crate of beer! And for when the bolts will not be it use, these bolts be hidden with an enormous ol’ head badge.
Out again a single one-piece rear triangle fits all journey and body sizes, whereas bolt-on dropouts permit Rock Machine to customise chainstay size as wanted, and likewise means they’ll create completely different dropouts to remain on prime of each altering requirements. This one doesn’t have a UDH mount for SRAM transmissions, however that clearly might be potential on the manufacturing bike.
And naturally with all that adjustability additionally comes all of the wheelsize choices too. Rock Machine says the Whizz is designed to accommodate 27.5″, mullet, or full 29er wheel combos relying on rider choice and driving fashion. No phrase precisely how the bike will adapt to that – completely different brief hyperlinks, extra flip-chip changes, or separate dropouts – however the choices might be there.
A number of final particulars… Rock Machine has constructed the Whizz to be sturdy, meaning huge user-serviceable bearings throughout all of the pivots, plus a threaded BB & ISCG mounts. It additionally means the bike might be arrange with exterior cable routing by modular mounts down the facet of the downtube, or there are standard inside routing ports if you happen to choose a extra tidy bike construct. Lastly, an built-in mount for a mid-body kickstand – it doesn’t actually add a lot weight apparently and might be useful while you’ve parked together with your SUV construct bike with a bunch of beers on the entrance rack.
One bike to rule all of them.
One of many driving elements of the Whizz venture was to make Rock Machine’s new bike a extra environment friendly platform too – each environmentally and from a manufacturing standpoint. That dramatically formed cut up prime tube is an enormous a part of that effectivity. Reimagined from Rock Machine’s Adrenaline DH bike within the early 2000s, the open/cut up prime tube helps decrease the bike’s heart of gravity, whereas additionally enhancing standover clearance. That final bit mixed with 200mm dropper posts signifies that extra riders can match on one bike. Paired with Attain adjustability within the headset, Rock Machine figures they’ll match extra riders on two sizes of the brand new Whizz than usually match on standard 3-size choices.
With that, Rock Machine should simply hydroform one single open toptube, only one headtube, and construct only one single rear triangle, that may all be shared throughout all body sizes of each bikes and ebikes, and in any respect journey ranges. There solely the seat & down tubes will differ, lowering waste.
Plus, one ebike too, a Whizz eMTB
The ebike model of the Whizz is coming a bit later than the pedal-powered one. Rock Machine hinted that a few of the tech that can propel this one ahead is official MY25 gear, so it can wait till no less than the tip of subsequent summer season for a extra official roll-out. Curiously of word, a German ebike motor maker requested to cover its identify & future battery capability from Rock Machine’s Eurobike sales space, which left Shimano compatibility proven. Rock Machine says they designed the modular eWhizz to have the ability to work with a number of ebike motor techniques so that they wouldn’t must be locked into one provider – a function fairly distinctive within the eMTB market.
And within the meantime earlier than that future motor & battery mannequin are prepared to check, Rock Machine is already out dialing in geometry, suspension & setup on the eWhizz ebike prototype with dummy ballast offering the identical weight & weight steadiness as the ultimate eMTB, simply utilizing bikepark uplifts till the motor is out there to check within the new ebike.
Rock Machine Whizz – Choices, potential pricing & availability
Technically the Rock Machine Whizz remains to be a prototype, although it’s within the practical ridable prototype stage – an enormous step up from the 3D-printed mock-up we noticed final summer season. And Rock Machine doesn’t formally do normal model-year bikes, so anticipating an actual availability date in outlets is guesswork. We’ve been informed the pedal-powered one is just about dialed in, and Rock Machine are engaged on industrializing the bike – meaning organising manufacturing for the ultimate hydroformed tube shaping and preparing for pattern bikes to iron out manufacturing kinks. My guess is meaning a Whizz could possibly be accessible as early as the center of 2024.
We’ll be preserving an eye fixed out for certain, and I’ll doubtless head to Rock Machine’s HQ and meeting manufacturing unit this fall to get a more in-depth look, and to provide some pre-production Whizz bikes a primary journey take a look at or two.
