Dirt magazine has been given exclusive access to Santa Cruz’s testing session for their all–new Carbon V10.4 downhill frame. Steve Jones is our man on the ground, and here is what he had to tell us:

Photos:Gary Perkin/SantaCruzBicycles.

6th May. Lousa, Portugal. 8.30am

The entire Santa Cruz Syndicate team are here in Portugal to begin testing on the new carbon V10 bikes. Company owner/founder Rob Roskopp is here, Chief Engineer Joe Graney, Product Manager Josh Kissner. Yup the full Syndicate…Team Manager Kathy Sessler, spanner men Doug Hadfield, Rick Clarkson, Peaty, Minnaar and Bryceland, photo man Gary Perkin, and Sram BlackBox manager John Cancellier. Not only that but Cedric Gracia is providing his inimitable presence. It’s only breakfast time but the place is buzzing. It’s no wonder really, the bikes look amazing.

Up ahead is Lousa downhill track on which they have been conducting the first testing. That’s after a few hectic days. Rick and Doug have been building the bikes flat out and they are now one day into riding. First thoughts from Steve Peat, “It looks amazing and it’s awesome. For sure I will be riding it at Maribor. Didn’t know how they could make the V10 better than it was but this is my new race bike for sure.”

Greg Minnaar is equally upbeat. “It’s a bit longer than the bike I rode last year, it’s definitely different, it outperforms on physical tests, subtle but different. More than anything it’s been the whole process. The bike has been in the pipeline for two years, the first carbon XC that was such a nice change from aluminium, then the Blur LT which was also amazing. They’ve brought V10 out after a lot of testing. I’ve ridden all those shorter travel bikes, so knowing the process it is what I expected and it’s definitely an improvement.”

And Bryceland, he’s just got up. “Carbon. It has been tricky knowing whether to use 8.5″ travel or the 10″ setting. Top and bottom of this track are quite different. Top section is rad with short setting, but the bottom is faster so you are more tired, I couldn’t get that part as fast as with the longer setting. Then swapped around then I couldn’t get top section quite right, but bottom was way quicker. Been timing and I am now on the longer setting.”

After massive anticipation the new downhill bike looks very much on its way to full production. I asked Rob Roskopp how long they had been waiting to get ridden. “Made up medium first and got lab testing done in March. We had to do away with any doubts, they are well over–built. Greg rode in Santa Cruz last week.”

V10 CARBON
Visually it’s very different, loads lower than previous. Sleeker and no doubt faster. The weight difference is obviously up there on the list of changes.

TRAVEL
It can be swapped between 8.5″ and 10″ and a range of settings and geometry. Headtube in 10″ setting can go between 64 and 66 degrees and IN half degree increments. IN THE 8.5″ setting 63 and 65 degrees. It’s a full degree slacker. But you can do whatever you want.

“The front triangle has 125mm headtube with 1.5″, about the same as last year’s custom frames for the Syndicate. The team have very unique set ups, each thought they were on frames totally different but really they were the same. Production wise large is longer. Reach and stack is what people discuss mostly – about 20mm longer on large than it was, and the medium is longer as well” says Joe Graney

ADJUSTABILITY
Why with adjustability? “People have difficulty knowing the advantage of a ten–inch bike. Different people have different preferences depending on where they ride. You need the adjustability of adjustable travel.”

Bottom bracket has stayed the same between last years. 14.75″ in long travel, and in 8.5″ mode its 14″

LINKS
Top link. BMC (bulk moulding compound) carbon link. The previous had a foam centre, this process is now the same on other bikes. Directional material inside. Solid carbon link now.
Lower link. Bearing is now housed inside lower link. Rubber lip seal, double seal bearing and larger diameter axle. Same style as all VPP bikes now.

SHOCK RATE
Tweaked shock rate slightly, now running 9.5″ x 3.0″ shock, which was what they were racing on aluminium bikes last year. Things might change on testing but they will be pretty invisible. Major difference is that in the 8.5″ setting it now feels like there’s not as much suppleness on the beginning of the stroke compared to the longer bike.

WEIGHT
900g less than what they raced on last year. Production weights to be determined.

STANDOVER
Standover way lower. “Way the hell down”.

MATERIAL
Half inch of carbon up front. “We couldn’t break it in test lab. Casing a jump? Forget it, the jump will break first!”

SWINGARM
The swingarm is identical to the Driver 8. Maxle rear end. The crucial point is that it’s made of aluminium.

Santa Cruz are keen to point out that this is not an official bike launch as such. Joe Graney continues the story before we head off up the hill. “We’ve still got some way to go. It’s not signed off yet. If it was all done the guys would just go and be racing it. That’s why we are all here to work through things and get some quality testing done. Everyone seems pretty stoked though even after just a day.”

This is an important bike for Santa Cruz. It comes at a key time when a few other companies have been lowering the weight. It’s crazy how many new bikes have been coming out of Santa Cruz recently. Just before we head onto hill I grabbed Roskopp again and asked him how the riders were feeling. “Changing direction appears to be different, it’s quicker. The bike is more predictable at the front end. The guys have been commenting on how much easier it feels to be manualling through sections, changing lines quickly. Stiffness and weight. Some of the guys said I was like a kid in a candy shop when they first arrived. We’ve launched a lot of stuff in last six weeks, but it is great to be here going through performance stuff with the riders.”

Finally how come the move to carbon? “We are all impatient and want to improve stuff. The learning curve in carbon has become extremely quick. Carbon wheels, weight and stiffness improvements. I’m all into performance. I can’t see myself riding aluminium again. But I’m lucky and can choose, the carbon is just that much better.”

OK, more later on the day’s testing. Check out full spec sheet to follow.

Steven Jones

Feast your eyes on the new Santa Cruz Nickel and Butcher trail bikes.

The APP bikes get a shock rate similar to the VPP bikes, but in a more affordable, linkage-driven single pivot design. Check out the design and prototyping videos below with original prototypes dating back to 2005 and insight from the engineers during the R&D process.

Photos and Videos Courtesy of Santa Cruz Bicycles

NICKEL: $1350 with Fox Float R (complete bike pricing expected to start under $2k)
- Available June 15, 2010
- 125mm travel
- Patented APP suspension with angular contact bearings at the main pivot
- Hydroformed aluminum tubing
- Tapered head tube
- Cable routing for dropper seat posts
- 2 waterbottle mount locations

BUTCHER: $1350 with Monarch 3.3 (complete bike pricing expected to start under $2k)
- Available June 15, 2010
- 150mm travel
- Patented APP suspension with angular contact bearings at the main pivot
- Hydroformed aluminum tubing
- Tapered head tube
- ISCG05 tabs
- Cable routing for dropper seat posts
- Bottle opener on the derailleur hanger

Geometry descriptions from Santa Cruz
“Nickel – XC-ish tt and chainstay lengths, but more relaxed head angle than generally considered in xc world. 68-degree HA with 509mm axle-to-crown fork. We have no other bike that directly compares to this, so it’ll be one of those bikes that people will have to swing a leg over to understand. It’s a mighty good all-round trail bike.”

Nickel Geometry based on 509mm axle-to-crown fork
SIZE: S, M, L, XL
TOPTUBE: 21.8, 23.0, 24.0, 25.0
SEAT TUBE: 16.1, 17.0, 19.0, 20.5
HEAD TUBE Length: 3.9, 4.3, 4.7, 5.5
HEAD TUBE Angle: 68-degrees, all sizes
SEAT TUBE Angle: 72.5-degrees, all sizes
BB HEIGHT: 13.6, all sizes
WHEELBASE 42.2, 43.4, 44.4, 45.5
CHAINSTAY: 16.7, all sizes
STANDOVER: 28.1, 28.3, 29.0, 29.6

“Butcher – Heckler with a degree slacker head angle and way more awesome overall bump compliance. people r gonna dig the shit out of it.”

Butcher Geometry based on 529mm axle-to-crown fork
SIZE: S, M, L, XL
TOPTUBE: 21.5, 22.5, 23.5, 24. 5
SEAT TUBE: 16.1, 17, 19, 20.05
HEAD TUBE Length: 3.9, 4.3, 4.7, 5.5
HEAD TUBE Angle 67.5-degrees all sizes
SEAT TUBE Angle: 72-degrees, all sizes
BB HEIGHT: 13.8, all sizes
WHEELBASE: 42.5, 43.5, 44.5, 45.6
CHAINSTAY: 17.1, all sizes
STANDOVER: 28.2, 28.4, 28.9, 29.6

The Syndicate Bikes – handbuilt one-offs, using bits of both frames, but Nickel rear ends. Basically slacker head angle than Nickel (which is 68 degrees with a 509mm axle to crown fork, lower bottom bracket. It would probably be very easy to make something very similar by going with a shorter rear shock.

The Story of Santa Cruz APP, Design

The Story of Santa Cruz APP, Prototyping

125mm Nickel

150mm Butcher

About those new bikes. All will be revealed by next Monday sometime, but some of the guesses out in the internets are getting close. Others, well, not so much. In the interests of playing along, we can say that these next two bikes won’t be made out of carbon. Nor will they be hardtails. They will have tapered head tubes:

Check out the EDGE carbon rims…

other carbon nomad pics…

CG on the Nomad-C and Lopes on his Mojo with a little ripper!

Some magazine pics from a random forum…

Despite the date, this is no joke: Santa Cruz will offer their Nomad all-mountain bike in carbon fibre from this summer.

The last revision to the Nomad came less than two years ago and focused almost solely on the bike’s suspension design. That bike went on to garner acclaim from the industry as well as scoring an excellent 4.5/5 stars on BikeRadar.

The mk2 bike will remain in the line but Santa Cruz will add a new version, the Nomad-c, that takes all they have learned building the new Blur XC, LT and Tallboy in carbon.

Carbon fibre frame

The new carbon chassis chops a whopping 1.25lb off the weight of the aluminium model, while at the same time, according to Santa Cruz, increasing strength and stiffness by large margins. Keep in mind, the aluminium Nomad isn’t exactly a porker and has proven its strength for the past year-and-a-half. Early production Nomad-c frames are weighing in at a claimed 6.1lb with RockShox Monarch 3.3 shock.

“Before anyone calls foul about using a light shock like a Monarch for a hard hitting bike like the Nomad, add a third of a pound for a Fox DHX air or just over a pound for a DHX RC4 coil,” said Michael Ferrentino, the brand’s marketing manager. “Then go compare …”

VPP suspension

The suspension on the Nomad-c is the same found on the aluminium Nomad. It features Santa Cruz’s latest generation Virtual Pivot Point design with 160mm of travel. VPP is defined by a pair of counter-rotating links that offer a falling to rising shock rate, along with instant centre migration traits that minimise chain growth and maintain lively pedalling with a designed-in degree of anti-squat.

The shock rate allows for plush, compliant suspension behaviour in the early part of travel, letting the shock react quickly to trail debris and smaller impacts. Then, as the shock rate flips to a rising rate later in the travel, it offers progression to resist bottom-out near the end of the stroke.

Santa Cruz pay special attention to the hardware they use within their VPP suspension system. The lower link is aluminium and equipped with a pair of grease ports to ease maintenance. The upper link is moulded carbon fibre. The pivot axles are 15mm diameter aluminium rods that thread into the frame on one side, with locking collet heads on the other. This allows them to tighten down and correctly preload the angular contact pivot bearings.

By threading into one side of the frame and then locking into the other, the pivot hardware plays an important part in maintaining the stiffness produced by the carbon front and rear ends. The axles are designed to allow for easy removal for service and there isn’t a need to remove the cranks or disassemble the bike around the pivot hardware.

Frame construction

Santa Cruz say that by laying up and curing the entire front triangle as a single piece, instead of assembling or bonding pieces together during the process, less material can be used to achieve the same end. Suspension pivots, disc mounts and ISCG05 tabs are all moulded into the frame in this process.

“We overbuilt things in critical areas,” said Ferrentino. The underside of the down tube features five layers of uni-directional fibre, two of Aramid fibre and one layer of 3k weave. This is all in an effort to ward off all things sharp and pointy. The chainstays have extra layers of material for the same purpose.

The one-piece layup and moulding allows the use of continuous fibres throughout the frame, which is said to allow the structure to more widely distribute loads and absorb impact energy. A proprietary manufacturing process allows Santa Cruz to precisely control both the outside and inside frame shape while compacting the laminate layers, which in turn results in superior stiffness and strength while eliminating excess material.

“We don’t have any fancy acronyms for this, but it is unique – nobody else is making carbon fibre mountain bikes this way at this time,” said Ferrentino. “And, while we don’t have the selling power of a carefully focus-grouped nickname behind the process, the results are pretty enough that we are proud to show off what the insides of our frames look like. You’d be surprised what you might find inside some of the other frames out there.”

Details, and stuff

Alongside the carbon fibre makeover, the VPP suspension and solid pivot hardware, Santa Cruz have added an impact absorbent protection strip underneath the down tube and along the drive side chain- and seatstays. There’s a metal plate to protect from chainsuck and you’ll find cable stops for telescopic seatposts integrated into the frame.

An ISCG05 chainguide mount is moulded into the bottom bracket area during layup, as are the disc brake tabs and dropouts. Up front, there’s a 1.5in head tube since Santa Cruz believe this bike can take more abuse than most tapered-steerer forks are intended to see. “You can have it any colour you want, so long as it’s white with black decals or a matt carbon colour with gold pinstripey decals,” said Ferrentino.

The Nomad-c will be available for delivery from mid-June, in all the usual build options per the Santa Cruz website. A Nomad-c page is still in the works. Prices start at US$2,499 for a frame and Monarch 3.3 shock (approx £1,650 – direct currency conversion).