Hi guys,

I’ve decided to move from my 200mm DH bike to a new Bronson. Before I looked into the details of the bike I thought (for whatever reason) that it was around the 160/170mm travel mark, but have just seen that it’s 150mm instead.

Can anyone out there that’s used a Bronson (or similar) bike give me an idea of what 150mm will be like compared to my DH bike – I’m basically after a bike that can still eat up all the DH stuff i’m riding, but can also pedal with as well..

All the videos and times i’ve seen Bronsons in action they’ve looked like beasts, so I guess i’m just surprised it isn’t packing a little more than 150 up front! I would definitely go for a Nomad instead if I could afford it!

Cheers,
Matt

Also – here’s the link for my Specialized Status that’s currently for sale over on pinkbike, just in case anyone is interested 😆

Mat,

Youl be surprised just how far you can push a Bronson, I’ve just built a new one & popped 36rc2’s on and a ccdb air cs & compared to the last Bronson it’s a totally different feel.

Go for it you’ll be pleased you did.

Cheers Mark

Great, cheers Mark!

more demos than you can shake a very big stick at
http://www.santacruzbicycles.co.uk/demo-dates/

I would defo go for the CCDBcs air option it feels like a much bigger bike than with a ctd.
Also you might want to look an angle set / works headset as it ain’t the slickest of trail bikes.
Love mine though.

Cheers, i’ll definitely look into the cane creek upgrade. I’m looking to finance it from Stif Cycles though, does anyone know if the ‘Bike Builder’ that Santa Cruz have on their site refers to their dealers as well? Or if you can finance direct from Santa Cruz UK…?

They’re awesome bikes and very capable. I only have the standard CTD Kashima shock on mine and have done plenty of DH focused uplift stuff in the UK and Europe and it never ceases to amaze me . You only need to watch Neil Donoghue ride one to see what they are capable of. They really are the perfect bike for all occasions although I occasionally think that a Tallboy plus Nomad could be the way to do it…!

My personal view is there are bikes with similar travel but feel more suitable to dh/rougher stuff. The bronson felt ‘limited’ to me, great for some stuff but I’m not convinced it’s the best for what you have described.

Have you thought about the Nomad? It’s a bit beefier than the Bronson and pedals well too! I run mine with fox 36 180mm for uplift days and the Alps but just about to buy some fox 36 160’s for longer rides. Not sure where you’re based, but Pedal and Spoke in Surrey are very good for custom SC.

You might want to look around to the other bike shops who build up Bronsons to your exact spec they are cheaper IMHO. That’s how I did mine and I could spec everything. Ask for quotes, you actually save money as you don’t then need to swap out bars or stems later

Plenty of other bikes about that are much more suited to riding DH stuff and winching back up.

TBH I think you will be disappointed if you got a bronson as a replacement for a DH bike.

YT capra, Specialized enduro and the new Giant Reign are all better choices IMO.

You want a Kona process 153 descends like a dh bike, super beefy rear end still pedals good too

I love mine use it for all sorts, uplifts, trail centers, enduro etc

You’ll miss that ability to point and shoot and look way down the trail, but you’ll no doubt be able to kick out of stuff faster and on overall runs not be a lot slower. I have a 170/180 reign and still wouldn’t want to be without my 200mm dh bike for the fun uplift stuff.

I’ve noticed second hand Bronsons seem to be selling for much more reasonable prices now.

I watch the second hand market like a hawk 😀

Go try a Pivot Mach 6 too!

If you want something that can descend like a downhill bike then the Bronson isn’t the best of the ~6″ bikes – it’s shorter and steeper than most. A Banshee Rune (160mm) with big forks (170-180mm) will pedal pretty well and slaughter a Bronson downhill – I ride the Spitfire which is the 140mm version (160mm forks) and it pedals like an efficient shorter travel bike whilst eating up the rough like a longer travel machine – a bigger gnarlier feeling bike than the Bronson, which is much more of a very nice trail bike than a modern ‘enduro’ race thing.

With a 180mm fork on the front, in the slackest setting a Rune will have the same head angle as your Status and a similar wheelbase, just with a slightly higher BB. Capra, Enduro, Reign all other good choices (or a Liteville 601 apart from the cost). Whatever you get, a good shock is critical – CCDBA is amazing.

Buy a bike for what you will actually ride, not what you elude to riding. What riding will you actually be doing?

150mm bike to me, the enduro race bikes sit in an odd place . They’re basically compromised in every way.

They dont pedal/pump/fun in an engaging way like a shorter travel bike, they aren’t fun in the im going to relentlessly destroy everything in my path and not give a $%£^ what im hitting DH bike sort of way.

If you’re going to do xc/trail riding and do DH riding, get another bike in addition to your DH bike. Best decision I made.

Plenty of other bikes about that are much more suited to riding DH stuff and winching back up.

TBH I think you will be disappointed if you got a bronson as a replacement for a DH bike.

YT capra, Specialized enduro and the new Giant Reign are all better choices IMO.

Cheers for the advice. It’s not so much that I want the Bronson to replace my DH bike, i’m looking to get a bike that I can pedal out on long rides, but can also still ride the DH stuff as hard and fast as my Status. I’ll definitely look into the others though! I’m sure i’d go for the Nomad though if I could afford it!

If you’re going to do xc/trail riding and do DH riding, get another bike in addition to your DH bike. Best decision I made.

This would definitely be the ideal situation! At the moment I can’t really afford two bikes though, and from what i’ve read/seen the Bronson would be an ideal “go between”…

i’m looking to get a bike that I can pedal out on long rides, but can also still ride the DH stuff as hard and fast as my Status

doesn’t exist mate. It’s not just the travel that makes the difference, how do other crucial factors like the wheelbase compare?

Banshee rune has to be in there too to check out.

Capra or a Rune would be perfect.

but can also still ride the DH stuff as hard and fast as my Status

This is why you will be disappointed if you get a Bronson. Too steep, too short and not enough travel.

Nothing is going to match a DH bike when it gets rough, but the bikes I mentioned are some that will get closer.

Do you want to compromise the climbing and flat bits for something that will get a bit close to a DH bike on the downs, or do you want something that climbs well, is good on the flatter less technical stuff, but is further away from DH bike?

You can’t have it both ways.

matttomlinson – Member

I’m sure i’d go for the Nomad though if I could afford it!

The Capra and Rune are the bikes you want to look at, close as you’ll get to Nomad on sane money. Capra is fantastic value.

Just looked at the numbers for the Nomad and Rune and if you build both as 160mm fork 27.5 bikes then they’re very similar – the Rune is slightly slacker, slightly longer and slightly higher of bottom bracket. Arguably better suspension design – more active through the rough (less anti-squat deeper in the travel) but still a very good pedaller.

And you can adjust the geometry for to suit less gnarly stuff better (super low BBs = massive annoyance if you want to go fast on trails that require more pedalling!)

Hello Mattomlinson

-check out my just posted Santa Cruz Nomad frame, i have in the classifieds, a real bargain 🙂
-at a fraction of the cost of a Bronson…

My mate was struggling at the back on his today …..
Too much travel . Not enough miles 😀

I’m looking to finance it from Stif Cycles though, does anyone know if the ‘Bike Builder’ that Santa Cruz have on their site refers to their dealers as well? Or if you can finance direct from Santa Cruz UK…?

I think Stif are the importer(?) so should be able to tell you if it’s an option.

try a Nukeproof Mega AM, sounds like Everything you need and waaay cheaper than the SC 🙂

Just got a email from Stif saying there’s been a price drop of up to £500 across the SC range.

I was reading the Dirt Top 100 and saw they rated the Kona Process 153 DL very highly indeed. It’s too much travel for my sort of riding but might be more your cup of tea.

linky

My friend tested a Bronson C a couple of times and I rode my Scott Genius LT (180mm) to give a fair comparison. Usually I cruise behind him despite us having the same bike.. He was a lot faster on the Bronson and it was his first time on it.

I am tempted by the Nomad. I would definately consider a Bronson or Nomad if I were you.