Do not fear the Rocky-branded dropper post, which appears to be an X-Fusion Manic.

Stiffness is a facet I usually think of as making a bike more responsive. On my first few rides, though, I would push into the Rocky expecting at least a little bit of spring, but there’s so little give in the stays that there’s no movement to spring back from. We call it "responsiveness" because we expect the bike to, well, respond. But in the case of using the frame's flex as preload, riding the Growler was like talking to a wall.



As I’ve hinted at already, the Growler 50 is not a light-feeling hardtail. But powering uphill is encouraged by the frame’s rigidity, and it often inspired me to stand up and sprint. It doesn’t feel any more unwieldy than a full-suspension bike with similar geometry, which is to say that it handles technical climbs just fine. Once the fork is sagged, you’re dealing a head angle in the range of 66 degrees, after all. It’s plenty precise, but not telepathic, probably because it takes more attention to keep a hardtail on line. Grip under power was never much of an issue, though, thanks to that big Trail Boss and the low pressures it permits, and the 75-degree seat tube angle put me in a position from which I could comfortably keep control over both ends of the bike.