We first rode a Rocky Mountain Slayer sometime in the late 90s. Back then it was something of a novelty – a middling-burly 5in travel bike designed to be pedallable but capable of taking on some sturdy stuff. Which appears to be what we now think of as “all mountain”.

That first Slayer resembled a pumped-up Element, and shared that bike’s rocker arm and under-top-tube shock layout. The design persisted (with refinements) until 2006, when an all-new Slayer was launched. The new bike had 6in of travel and a design that owed more to the RMX than the Element. It was a very capable bike, but it was a bit more freeridey than the old one.

Which brings us to the 2007 Slayer SXC. It’s also a 6in travel bike, but the frame is a pound lighter than the existing Slayer thanks to a new suspension layout and carbon seatstays. The seatstay moulding is actually the same as that on the 2007 Element, but with different alloy fittings at the shock end.

Several models will be available – we rode the SXC70, kitted out with Race Face cranks/bar/stem/seatpost, X.0 transmission and Fox 36 TALAS forks. The 2007 TALAS has preset travel settings rather than a continuous adjustment, which makes on-the-fly changes a lot more practical.

The complete bike is somewhere around the 30lb mark, so the SXC is up against bikes like the Santa Cruz Nomad and Scott Ransom – Rocky has certainly achieved its goal of making the SXC an all-rounder. First impressions are that it’s certainly a worthy competitor – there’s nothing particularly revolutionary about the suspension design, but it works fine and the bike handles confidently. It’s a lot of fun, and to our eyes it looks a lot better than the burlier Slayer too.