# Another SPOT Rocker SS Review



## RojoRacing53 (Jul 23, 2013)

Taking SS where SS dare not go. The most common quotes from other riders had been "wow sick belt" and "you're going to drop in on that". I have one MTB at a time, it happens to be the Rocker right now and I force it to fit into everything from XC to Enduro. Does it make for a great substitute for a 6" FS bike? hell no, but if I can get down the trail and have fun it's still better than a day on the fire roads. Also the steeper the trail going down the less it matters that you only have one gear.

It's been about 5 years since I've ridden a SS or HT for that matter so 5 mins into my first ride I thought I had made a huge mistake picking this machine. My local trails can be crazy rough because the land manager lets in cows during the winter to destroy the deep clay trails and then removes the cows as soon as the rain stops so they never stamp down the damage. The 29er 2.25 tires made the bike feel like I was on a road bike running 23c tires, it was terrible. After 2 hours my fingers were in so much pain from gripping my bars I just wanted the ride to end. The other thing was the climbing in my area is tough if not impossible for most riders even with 11 and 12 speeds so it was unfortunately just as hard to clean the climbs as I remembered.

So I went home looked over the bike, pulled out the tape measure and thought, lets put on bigger tires so I can drop thr PSI a little. I got some Maxxis 2.4's and took the bike out to the much smoother trails of Santa Cruz. That ride was much better with the climbing not being as steep(even got to run a taller gear) and the DH's being much more "engaging". I forgot how much hard big drops hit on a HT so I lost both my bottles during the day because I was still using my side loader cages from my FS bike. There is plenty of XC trails in SC but since it was my first ride with my freinds in like 3 years they took it upon themselves to take me down all the steepest fresh cut trails on the nine side in an attempt to find something I couldn't ride. Mission accomplished when they eventually brought me to the entrance of a trail called JAWS where I looked over and said um no thank you sir. After a great day of no dying I looked over the bike and thought, I wonder if I could fit 29er 2.6 tires on here. Ordered them up and sure enough 2.6 fit perfect with enough clearance for light mud or moderate frame flex.

Since then I've down 4-5 rides on the bigger tires and I'm absolutely loving the bike. I don't buy and ride enough different bikes to really get into the frame numbers, I ride what I got to the best of my ability and if I feel limited I remind myself that the road bike party videos did this **** on road bikes so I just need to be a better rider. Thankfully the bike has just been amazing on the DH for me, much better than what I would have expected from a XC bike. I still have a long way to go with my confidence getting air and my brake stand trials skills on the rock climbs and tight switchbacks are still lacking but I feel I'm already better on this bike than I ever was on my FS bike.

The belt drive has also been trouble-free and combined with Onyx hubs, the bike is as quite going up and it is coming down sans brake noise of course. I've been running my tension around 50-55 and I can say the adjusters are very easy to use because I change my rear cog-like every other ride. I can confirm that on the LRG frameset you can only use 26-28-30 cogs on the stock belt. You'll need a longer or shorter belt to leave that range but for the average rider, I think those are a safe starting range. I haven't needed to use any of the mentioned belt lube but I haven't really run in super dry and dusty condition yet. I did get a tiny little squeak yesterday that sound like a mouse every other pedal stroke but a splash of water from my bottle on the belt fixed it straight away. The only things I've changed from the Stock 6 star build are the larger tires, carbon/Onyx built wheels, Super chunk ESI grips and because I wanted stronger brakes I went with XT 4pot brakes on 160mm rotors. The AXS dropper post has been pretty good but if I had to be critical it is a bit slow to go down and come back up compared to my old FOX DOSS. I'm only at 150lbs and it have to get pretty close to dead center over the post with my weight to get it to go down. I may eventually try dropping the pressure in the post but I'm not sure if I want to sacrifice any of the return speed. If you are coming from sram brakes the XT's will feel way oversensitive, especially in those technical areas requiring finesse. But if you want full power with minimal pull at the lever they are a solid choice. I recommend anyone converting from one brand of brakes to the other to give yourself a solid 6-10 rides to pass judgment.

If you want a SS and you want it to be carbon I don't really see any better options out there.

Here's a quick walkaround of the bike on my second ride
OOPS I forgot it's on FB and not my Youtube channel, I'll fix it later. Here's a video of it on my Moto to hold you over.









Here's was my first time to some new trails this past weekend. As anyone who has uploaded a ride knows, the video doesn't do the trail's steepness any justice.


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## 2:01 (May 10, 2010)

Nice review. And Super Nice bike.

But cmon man, risers w bar ends 🤣😜 They’re probably nice on those steep climbs.


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## G-Choro (Jul 30, 2010)

RojoRacing53 said:


> If you want a SS and you want it to be carbon I don't really see any better options out there.


Nice. Thanks for the review!

Why does your bike look black w/ orange, and not black w/ red? Camera, or did you paint/wrap it?


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## RojoRacing53 (Jul 23, 2013)

2:01 said:


> Nice review. And Super Nice bike.
> 
> But cmon man, risers w bar ends ?? They're probably nice on those steep climbs.


If you knew me personally you'd make fun of me twice as hard for them but also understand my madness has a method. let us just say I ride in rather unique conditions on the SS that few seldom find themselves in. I do regularly come across 10-20 min climbs that are at the limit of what I can do and it takes every little advantage to make it without walking. Plus when you roll up to the enduro spot with bar ends I get looks equally entertaining as when I roll up to a road race on a recumbent. Misconceptions are a great form of entertainment for me.

I honestly thought I'd remove them after a few weeks of not using them, but I just use them so damn much it would suck to not have them.


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## RojoRacing53 (Jul 23, 2013)

G-Choro said:


> Nice. Thanks for the review!
> 
> Why does your bike look black w/ orange, and not black w/ red? Camera, or did you paint/wrap it?


It is actually my own orange wrap job which came out better than expected. Sadly I couldn't get any help from spot to replace the labels I ended up covering up so it's partially debranded as a result.


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## G-Choro (Jul 30, 2010)

My Rocker frame came today! Matte black. I did not realize that it does not come with a headset. D'oh. Be at least another week, maybe two before I can get it built up. 

Weight with axle was 3.55 lbs for a size large.


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## ghood (Dec 26, 2011)

I've gotten in about 50 miles so far and loving it. I love the way it climbs. I'm coming off of a 2012 el mariachi SS and this does everything much better. I was skeptical of the stock tires but have been very pleasantly surprised by them. That said I will probably switch to a bit wider ikon/rekon and or ardent race when these wear out. The dropper is very snappy and crisp. The brakes are clearly not as powerful as the 4 piston shimanos I have on my squish bike but it remains to be seen if I stick with them as I start doing longer faster and steeper descending as the snow melts out. They are fine so far. The belt is silent so far. Today I got it muddy and snowy for the first time and there was none of the gritty feel and sound that a chain would have had. Overall I am very pleased with it but the longer gnarlier dustier steeper faster rides of summer are a ways off. We shall see.


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## RojoRacing53 (Jul 23, 2013)

G-Choro said:


> My Rocker frame came today! Matte black. I did not realize that it does not come with a headset. D'oh. Be at least another week, maybe two before I can get it built up.
> 
> Weight with axle was 3.55 lbs for a size large.


Did you ask them if it was supposed to not have a headset already installed? There have been a few quality control issues on the assembly side that I'm aware of so I wouldn't put it past them to have forgotten to put it in before shipping. I would think a frameset would include a headset, seat post clamp, rear axel, and derailer hanger.


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## G-Choro (Jul 30, 2010)

RojoRacing53 said:


> Did you ask them if it was supposed to not have a headset already installed? There have been a few quality control issues on the assembly side that I'm aware of so I wouldn't put it past them to have forgotten to put it in before shipping. I would think a frameset would include a headset, seat post clamp, rear axel, and derailer hanger.


Good question. I just called. Spot informed me that the frame doesn't come with a headset. Again, strange. Every other frame I have purchased had the headset included. Oh, well. I have one on the way.

Note: it does come with both single speed and geared dropouts, zip ties, touch-up paint, stickers (!), and a little storage pouch (not sure what I'll use it for)


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## RojoRacing53 (Jul 23, 2013)

G-Choro said:


> Good question. I just called. Spot informed me that the frame doesn't come with a headset. Again, strange. Every other frame I have purchased had the headset included. Oh, well. I have one on the way.
> 
> Note: it does come with both single speed and geared dropouts, zip ties, touch-up paint, stickers (!), and a little storage pouch (not sure what I'll use it for)


the pouch is just needless swag. Check the frame where the right side SS dropout screw would touch the frame. Make sure they didn't forget to glue in the metal insert so the adjuster screw touches the insert and not a hole in the carbon. They said mine must have fallen out but upon closer inspection I saw no signs of glue or anything ever being installed there from the factory, just clean bare carbon.


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## G-Choro (Jul 30, 2010)

RojoRacing53 said:


> the pouch is just needless swag. Check the frame where the right side SS dropout screw would touch the frame. Make sure they didn't forget to glue in the metal insert so the adjuster screw touches the insert and not a hole in the carbon. They said mine must have fallen out but upon closer inspection I saw no signs of glue or anything ever being installed there from the factory, just clean bare carbon.


Do you have a picture of this? If I'm looking at what I think you are describing, the tension screw on the drive side bottoms out against the rear of the chainstay, on a flat carbon section. I don't see a metal insert. But I also don't see a hole.


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## RojoRacing53 (Jul 23, 2013)

G-Choro said:


> Do you have a picture of this? If I'm looking at what I think you are describing, the tension screw on the drive side bottoms out against the rear of the chainstay, on a flat carbon section. I don't see a metal insert. But I also don't see a hole.


The metal insert drops into the hole, then set with epoxy in and painted so it won't necessarily look like a metal insert. The fact you don't see a 1/8" hole there is a good sign that the insert is there.


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## RojoRacing53 (Jul 23, 2013)

Here is what it looks like without the insert. Sad thing is most riders wouldn't think this hole is a problem until their frame was ruined.


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## G-Choro (Jul 30, 2010)

RojoRacing53 said:


> The metal insert drops into the hole, then set with epoxy in and painted so it won't necessarily look like a metal insert. The fact you don't see a 1/8" hole there is a good sign that the insert is there.


Thanks - for this and the picture. Looks like I'm good. I'll fully disassemble just to be sure.


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## ghood (Dec 26, 2011)

Mud? Belt don't care!


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## ghood (Dec 26, 2011)

Don’t over tighten the bolts on the rear dropouts. They are aluminum and will strip. Don’t ask me how I know.


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## SpartyinWI (Jun 24, 2016)

ghood said:


> View attachment 1922395
> 
> I've gotten in about 50 miles so far and loving it. I love the way it climbs. I'm coming off of a 2012 el mariachi SS and this does everything much better. I was skeptical of the stock tires but have been very pleasantly surprised by them. That said I will probably switch to a bit wider ikon/rekon and or ardent race when these wear out. The dropper is very snappy and crisp. The brakes are clearly not as powerful as the 4 piston shimanos I have on my squish bike but it remains to be seen if I stick with them as I start doing longer faster and steeper descending as the snow melts out. They are fine so far. The belt is silent so far. Today I got it muddy and snowy for the first time and there was none of the gritty feel and sound that a chain would have had. Overall I am very pleased with it but the longer gnarlier dustier steeper faster rides of summer are a ways off. We shall see.


Nice bike. Question - how do you like the 29er narrow rims and tires? I am very close to purchasing the geared 4-star but these wheels are making me hesitant. Forget it and go for it? I have flowy Midwest trails, but a fair amount of rock chatter. Thx.


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## RojoRacing53 (Jul 23, 2013)

SpartyinWI said:


> Nice bike. Question - how do you like the 29er narrow rims and tires? I am very close to purchasing the geared 4-star but these wheels are making me hesitant. Forget it and go for it? I have flowy Midwest trails, but a fair amount of rock chatter. Thx.


I can't say enough about the positive feeling I got with the 2.6 tires over the stock 2.25. With that said my rims are 30m ID and not 23mm ID like your 4 star build. I personally wouldn't touch stans wheels with a 10' pole after I've turned several of them into wet noodles without ever denting a single one. Their XC stuff just doesn't hold up to my enduro style of riding, but I know of many more people who love stans so, statistically, you could be one of them.

I will say that you'll have a more compliant feel over the rocks with the alloy stan with 2.2 tires than I did with the 2.2 on carbon hoops. I say go for it, and worst case you have some spare wheels when you upgrade to some wider and lighter ones later.


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## ghood (Dec 26, 2011)

I was hesitant about the narrow wheels and small tires as well. I have run 2.5 minion/aggressor on my squish bike and 2.4 ikon/rekon on my old SS. This wheel/tire combo has really surprised me with how grippy and stable it feels though. I’m going to keep the wheels for at least this season. And I’m going to keep these stock tires on too, until they wear out. I’ll replace them with some slightly larger volume tires-probably ikon/rekon. 
I guess for me it’s definitely not a reason to not buy the bike. It’s a lightweight go-fast bike through and through. You can replace stuff down the line. I think I may have to replace the brakes with 4 piston shimanos. But I’m gonna ride these brakes some more and maybe try metallic pads first.


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## SpartyinWI (Jun 24, 2016)

ghood said:


> I was hesitant about the narrow wheels and small tires as well. I have run 2.5 minion/aggressor on my squish bike and 2.4 ikon/rekon on my old SS. This wheel/tire combo has really surprised me with how grippy and stable it feels though. I'm going to keep the wheels for at least this season. And I'm going to keep these stock tires on too, until they wear out. I'll replace them with some slightly larger volume tires-probably ikon/rekon.
> I guess for me it's definitely not a reason to not buy the bike. It's a lightweight go-fast bike through and through. You can replace stuff down the line. I think I may have to replace the brakes with 4 piston shimanos. But I'm gonna ride these brakes some more and maybe try metallic pads first.


Good stuff. Thanks. What kind of trails?


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## ghood (Dec 26, 2011)

Mostly non technical forest singletrack with big climbs and descents. Some high speed chunk / rooty sections. A lot of older hiking trials that can be steep. I measure my rides in feet climbed rather than distance. Typical SS ride is 2000-3000 vert over about 2 hrs. We don’t have any super technical stuff here.

I do beat on wheels pretty good in the rooty / rocky sections I hit at high speed. I ruined a rear rim last summer in a rocky section on my Spearfish. That said, I weigh about 140 lbs so I’m not that hard on gear.


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## SpartyinWI (Jun 24, 2016)

Price of Rocker went up $400 today. Ouch!! That's what I get for waiting around.


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## RojoRacing53 (Jul 23, 2013)

One month update.

I love the bike even more than I did after the first week. My confidence going DH and while navigating rock gardens has never been higher. Even though my bike weighs in at 24.0lbs I'm now starting to eclipse climbing KOM times in my area that have held for over 6 years. It took me a few weeks to get my core and triceps strength on par with my legs but now that they are, I feel much more balanced attacking the short steep sections in my 10 min climbs. My speed on this bike is surprising considering when those segment times were originally set a few friends and I were in top XC racing form. Before getting the rocker I was struggling for months with motivation to do more than 1 ride a week so I'm still building my fitness right now. 

My only complaint so far is that the belt isn't always as silent as it can be. Now that the rain has stopped and hero dirt is a memory I get surprisingly little mileage out of a clean belt before it'll start squeaking again. I'm trying the recommended CRC silicone spray which works for a single ride but not always for 2 rides. The problem I have with the belt squeaking is that it's not like normal chain noise, it's more on par with that super annoying creaking BB sound. So far it's only a minor annoyance and I'm still working out how to mitigate it so I'll report back after a few more months with a long-term review.

I've got my first 2 XC races starting next week so I'm sure it's going to feel like a kick in the nuts trying to racing in the Pro class while in the wrong gear the whole time


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## Ogre (Feb 17, 2005)

SpartyinWI said:


> Price of Rocker went up $400 today. Ouch!! That's what I get for waiting around.


FfffffffffffffffffiretrUCK

That is all.

🔥💰


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## G-Choro (Jul 30, 2010)

Here it is! I went frame-only route and chain instead of belt. Finished today and took it out for a quick spin. So far it's a blast. I need to work on the SID a bit more. It was a little harsh.

If the paint doesn't look quite right it's because I put a RideWrap tailored kit on it. It is supposed to be matte, but it's really not the same sheen as the paint. Oh well.

Final weight is 20.45 lbs. A lot lighter than my Krampus.

Build is:

Spot Rocker L
Sid Ultimate Race Day 120mm w/ remote lock-out
XX1 DUB cranks
34t Woolftooth drop stop
18t Endless cog
Nextie i30, DT 240 Exp, CX-Rays
Vittoria Barzo/Mezcal
Magura MT8 brakes 180/160
Enve 50mm alloy stem
OneUp 800mm bar / 20mm rise
Niner RDO seatpost. Had the post, but will be putting a dropper on it.
Fizik Gobi 00 saddle
Odi Dread Lock grips

I don't know how to take pictures. I think it looks better in person!


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## ghood (Dec 26, 2011)

I've got about 400 miles on mine. Overall I'm very pleased with it. My home trails are big continuous climbs and descents on fairly smooth fire roads and singletrack. The stock tires are the biggest pleasant surprise. I've always been a disciple of big ass knobby tires - like Minions. However, these little schwalbes on tiny rims are tenaciously grippy even on loose over hard pack. I'm sticking with xc race type tires on this bike. 
The geo is right on for me. Standing, stomping, and grunting out steep climbs is almost a pleasure. It's so light and responsive, when I ride my Spearfish now it feels like I'm dragging a dead body behind me!
I accidentally stripped one of the tension bolts on the dropouts. They are aluminum which seems like a bad idea to me so beware. Spot sent me all new bolts and the accompanying hardware though so excellent customer service. I asked if they offered steel ones. Nope. So I bought a torque wrench. 
The belt has made some noise in dusty conditions. We've had very little dust this season so far but even so it has started making a swishing sound that sounds like a prelude to a squeak. I bought the recommended silicone spray and that makes it utterly silent again. Stay tuned as July and August get really dusty here. I'm prepared to convert to chain if it's at all annoying. 
the fork isby far the best I've ever had. I've grown up riding Rebas.


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## aan (Jul 30, 2011)

ghood said:


> I've got about 400 miles on mine. Overall I'm very pleased with it. My home trails are big continuous climbs and descents on fairly smooth fire roads and singletrack. The stock tires are the biggest pleasant surprise. I've always been a disciple of big ass knobby tires - like Minions. However, these little schwalbes on tiny rims are tenaciously grippy even on loose over hard pack. I'm sticking with xc race type tires on this bike.
> The geo is right on for me. Standing, stomping, and grunting out steep climbs is almost a pleasure. It's so light and responsive, when I ride my Spearfish now it feels like I'm dragging a dead body behind me!
> I accidentally stripped one of the tension bolts on the dropouts. They are aluminum which seems like a bad idea to me so beware. Spot sent me all new bolts and the accompanying hardware though so excellent customer service. I asked if they offered steel ones. Nope. So I bought a torque wrench.
> The belt has made some noise in dusty conditions. We've had very little dust this season so far but even so it has started making a swishing sound that sounds like a prelude to a squeak. I bought the recommended silicone spray and that makes it utterly silent again. Stay tuned as July and August get really dusty here. I'm prepared to convert to chain if it's at all annoying.
> ...


is that a size M? i noticed that is the only frame size they have that is essentially a straight line along the top tube and seatstay, looks awesome! wondering how you are liking the ride and how it fits you? I am about 5'10" and struggling to choose!


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## ghood (Dec 26, 2011)

aan said:


> is that a size M? i noticed that is the only frame size they have that is essentially a straight line along the top tube and seatstay, looks awesome! wondering how you are liking the ride and how it fits you? I am about 5'10" and struggling to choose!


It is a medium. I'm 5'8" and it fits me very well. I'm running it bone stock. I've got about 700 miles on it now and I'm still loving it. I have dented the rear rim but it's holding air and staying true so I'm just rolling with it. I destroyed a back tire but like the schwalbes so much I got another Ralph. If this one rips open I'll go with something a little more robust. I also destroyed a pair of pedals. The belt is totally silent and I never do anything to it. I haven't even been hosing the mud/dust off it lately. It is just working.


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## Dh2biker (Jun 1, 2021)

aan said:


> is that a size M? i noticed that is the only frame size they have that is essentially a straight line along the top tube and seatstay, looks awesome! wondering how you are liking the ride and how it fits you? I am about 5'10" and struggling to choose!


I'm 5'10" as well and have been on the medium since January. I don't regret it at all. The seated position felt a little short at first compared to my other bike (which is a large Ibis), but after about 10 minutes it felt normal and I haven't thought about it since. And like you said, it looks awesome.


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## aan (Jul 30, 2011)

Dh2biker said:


> I'm 5'10" as well and have been on the medium since January. I don't regret it at all. The seated position felt a little short at first compared to my other bike (which is a large Ibis), but after about 10 minutes it felt normal and I haven't thought about it since. And like you said, it looks awesome.


awesome thanks for the input. I am going to pull the trigger on a Medium!


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## justriddinalog (Sep 8, 2020)

RojoRacing53 said:


> Here is what it looks like without the insert. Sad thing is most riders wouldn't think this hole is a problem until their frame was ruined.
> View attachment 1922659


Thanks for sharing this. I checked mine and was happy to find a painted plug.


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## MudFoots (Apr 11, 2021)

I am very surprised to find so many Rocker SS riders!!! I got mine in Feb 21. This is my first MTB (not first SS) and I have a bit of an issue learning to manual. It feels like the bike is just too stable to bring up. Any tips?


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## Bondseye (Sep 30, 2008)

RojoRacing53 said:


> It is actually my own orange wrap job which came out better than expected. Sadly I couldn't get any help from spot to replace the labels I ended up covering up so it's partially debranded as a result.


Nice looking bike. Would love to know more about what you used to wrap your frame orange.


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