You are looking at a 1994 Rocky Mountain Blizzard, and it is one of the strangest bikes ever sold by a mainstream bike company.
I've already posted about my '94 Blizzard, but I picked up this one recently - as a parts bike - and it occurred to me that it was a bizarre bike. But in order to explain why, we'll need to go back in time a bit.
The pace of technological advance in late 80's MTB components was relentless; Shimano went from 6 speed click shifting in 1986, to 7 speed Rapidfire and Hyperglide just three years later, and an 8 speed group with low profile cranks in 1992.
There were complaints about the switch to Rapidfire, as it lacked the friction mode that the tumbshifters had, but they fell on deaf ears. The switch to low profile cranks was less contentious; making the BB spindle smaller, and therefore lighter, was pretty hard to argue against.
And by 1994, Rock Shox had adjustable damping in its Mag21 model. It only featured 63mm of travel, but it was the foundation of fork technology that we see today. There was no going back to rigid.
So, with all this technology that had trickled down to entry-level bikes by 1994, why was none of it on the 1994 Blizzard?
The pace of technological advance in late 80's MTB components was relentless; Shimano went from 6 speed click shifting in 1986, to 7 speed Rapidfire and Hyperglide just three years later, and an 8 speed group with low profile cranks in 1992.
There were complaints about the switch to Rapidfire, as it lacked the friction mode that the tumbshifters had, but they fell on deaf ears. The switch to low profile cranks was less contentious; making the BB spindle smaller, and therefore lighter, was pretty hard to argue against.
And by 1994, Rock Shox had adjustable damping in its Mag21 model. It only featured 63mm of travel, but it was the foundation of fork technology that we see today. There was no going back to rigid.
So, with all this technology that had trickled down to entry-level bikes by 1994, why was none of it on the 1994 Blizzard?
The Blizzard was a special bike in Rocky's lineup. It wasn't at the top of the line, but it got good parts. Like in 1991 when it was equipped with a Syncros group. And the '94 is extra special bike as some were welded up by the legend Chris Dekerf. So it is a head-scratcher when you consider what a throwback it was.
Firstly, it was designed for a rigid fork, with an axle-to-crown measurement of 390mm. Suspension forks at the time were 420mm. Bikes below the Blizzard in the '94 lineup had suspension, so it wasn't a matter of them deciding the Blizzard was the suspension cut-off in their lineup.
Secondly it was equipped with the RaceFace I-Beam crank, which was using a 122mm bottom bracket. The year before, Shimano introduced the XTR group, which used the 'low profile' crank with a 110 or even 107mm BB. It looks like the Blizzard was the cut-off for RaceFace cranks in the lineup, but other bikes had the newer low profile style. The Edge, one step above the Blizzard, also ran the old style RaceFace cranks, so it does seem plausible that it was a matter of supply.
Also the I-Beam was equipped on the Thin Air and Equipe in 1996, well into the low profile era, so I don't know what was going on there.
By far the strangest item on the '94 Blizzard was the 7 speed Shimano XT thumbshifters. Based on the catalogs, Rocky hadn't put thumbshifters on any of their bikes since 1989. Plus, the bike came with an 8 speed cassette, so you either had to run them in friction mode, or try to get the 'ghost click' to work.
Firstly, it was designed for a rigid fork, with an axle-to-crown measurement of 390mm. Suspension forks at the time were 420mm. Bikes below the Blizzard in the '94 lineup had suspension, so it wasn't a matter of them deciding the Blizzard was the suspension cut-off in their lineup.
Secondly it was equipped with the RaceFace I-Beam crank, which was using a 122mm bottom bracket. The year before, Shimano introduced the XTR group, which used the 'low profile' crank with a 110 or even 107mm BB. It looks like the Blizzard was the cut-off for RaceFace cranks in the lineup, but other bikes had the newer low profile style. The Edge, one step above the Blizzard, also ran the old style RaceFace cranks, so it does seem plausible that it was a matter of supply.
Also the I-Beam was equipped on the Thin Air and Equipe in 1996, well into the low profile era, so I don't know what was going on there.
By far the strangest item on the '94 Blizzard was the 7 speed Shimano XT thumbshifters. Based on the catalogs, Rocky hadn't put thumbshifters on any of their bikes since 1989. Plus, the bike came with an 8 speed cassette, so you either had to run them in friction mode, or try to get the 'ghost click' to work.
I tried to set mine up this way, but I was never happy with it.
Anyway, what we have here in the 1994 Blizzard, is one the most carefully curated riding experiences that you'll ever see from a big company. This is Bridgestone-level part picking. This is full on retro grouch.
"Those rapidfire shifters? Too complex. Too many moving parts. And that fancy Rock Shox? No way, too many points of failure there. We need this bike to be the most reliable, most epic ride capable bike possible."
It's a special bike, and if you have the means, I highly recommend picking one up.
Anyway, what we have here in the 1994 Blizzard, is one the most carefully curated riding experiences that you'll ever see from a big company. This is Bridgestone-level part picking. This is full on retro grouch.
"Those rapidfire shifters? Too complex. Too many moving parts. And that fancy Rock Shox? No way, too many points of failure there. We need this bike to be the most reliable, most epic ride capable bike possible."
It's a special bike, and if you have the means, I highly recommend picking one up.