Santa Cruz Superlight… yay or nay?????

Ok, so i’ve always had a soft spot for a Superlight… and as my current single pivot Marin is now 11 years old and looking tatty, it could be time for a change! What concerns me is the low BB height. What are peoples experiences?? I’d be running 100mm forks & 175mm cranks. Will I be eternally p@~#ed off with pedal strike or are my concerns to be ignored in favour of the pleasure of running a Superlight??
Cheers in advance….

Got mine about 9months ago, absolutely love it. Went back on the old bike the other day and realised how good the Superlight is. I’ve got 120mm forks and is awesome. Not very much pedal strike in my opinion. Haven’t noticed the low BB.

Oh yay. I’m currently considering one too. I had a Commencal Super 4 which also had a low BB. Yes I whacked the pedals quite a lot, but that was a small price to pay. The replacement bike felt like riding a penny-farthing for quite a few rides!

Had one for couple of years no problem with pedal strike.Nice bike very cheap now the frames.Simple design.LBS built a white one up the other day looked great.

They do a 29er one now as well :O)

Love mine had it for 4 years – 115mm forks – no problems with pedal strikes, been out to the alps a couple of times with it with no real issues; I’m based in the lakes and it’s been tops for riding around here too.

Love mine.

Re pedal strike – try bit more shock pressure.

Think my decision may be made!..Cheers for the replies guys… you’re about to cost me a fortune!! 😀
(Although a relatively local shop has them in gangreen for £750… verrrry tempting!!)

Hell Yay…. Had mine around 2 1/2 years and i’m very happy with it. I keep looking for a new bike but can see anything that i’d want more than my SL!
Never had a problem with pedal strike or noticed the low BB in any other way (120mm Front end and 175 cranks).
Great bike that can be used for so much, and climbs like nothing else….

go get one, right now! (Thats my opinion anyway…lol, hope it helps)

Rob

Ok next question… how’s the float rl on it??.. is it worth upgrading to rp23?

I had one from 2002 to 2011, and then changed it for…..another Superlight.

So yay from me.

Ok next question… how’s the float rl on it??.. is it worth upgrading to rp23?

I wouldn’t bother as SC spec them with low compression/rebound tunes on there shocks or all single pivots, they climb very well sat in the saddle in the granny ring….as long as your not mashing it up hill you will be fine with the RL.

Leisure lakes have some Ano Gunmetal frames for £999.

SBrock, cheers for the advice. Yep have seen the leisure lakes offer, unfortunately they only have Large.. and i’ll be after a Medium.

Is it about £130 for the RP23 upgrade? Save your money and get a tune from Loco if it needs it…..£60 approx

Is it about £130 for the RP23 upgrade? Save your money and get a tune from Loco if it needs it…..£60 approx

I’m on my second. Great bike and no problem with pedal strike.

One other thing is the mud clearance is ace, especially for an american-oriented bouncy frame. Mrs J and I did Newnham 60 together recently, me on yeti asr with reba, she on superlight with maverick sc32 and both of us on same 2″ mud tyres: I had to stop a good half a dozen times to use a stick to unclog the yeti back to a point where the wheels and cranks would turn remotely freely. Her superlight just looked a bit dirty at the end. 😆

I tried a Superlight before my latest purchase. I had last ridden one many years ago when they were leagues ahead of the crowd. When I demo’ed one recently it was still nice, but didn’t climb anything like as well as the Giant Anthem I ended up getting. IMO not bad bikes but expensive, and IMO the Anthem is a much better bike.

I’ve got a Blur Classic and have been caught out a few times with the low BB & pedal strikes, however – nice quick bike, be even quicker if I lost this half a stone…

Im still riding my SL that I bought 12years ago and every time I ride I love it more. Ive had no real issues with the BB height and dont think the newer frames are that much different to the originals. My next FS will more than likely be another SL…

I had set my heart on a superlight too until I went to a demo day and tried it. Didn’t suit me in the end, I smacked the pedals off the ground quite a few times in the 40 minutes I had it at Glentress. Ended up getting a Giant Anthem (which I’m sure wouldn’t suit some people). Try before you buy if you can.

Stu.

FunkyDunc & u02sgb: must admit the anthem had occurred to me.. but one issue is a headtube that suits/fits my existing donor forks (non-tapered). (plus, there’s just something about a Superlight…. 😛 )

You can get a headset to fit 1 1/8 forks into a large headtube. But a whole, discounted Anthem is only a few hundred quid more than a Superlight frame.

Bit more prestige with Santa Cruz though!

I love mine, it is a hoot on the twisty rooty trails I tend to ride. I’ve had it about 4 years now, and it’s looking a bit tatty, and sometimes I start thinking about other bikes. But when I ride it I remember why I love it so much. It isn’t that light though, but climbs and handles great. I had the RP23 PUSH tuned after 18 months or so,mainly out of curiosity, and that was a great investment. Made it seem much smoother over fast repeated hits.

Oh very ay. Re pedal strikes – I got a bit of that when in Wiltshire (Ridgeway ruts) but when I went to a 170mm crank not 175mm it seemed to completely stop.

Very good for British conditions with the mud clearance, very low maintenance on the bearings, and with a 120mm fork it tackles anything that my low skillz could possibly want to do.

+1 for Superlight… still going strong 🙂

Still riding a 2001 – not found anything that I like enough to loosen my wallet. The new ones are stiffer and have much better mud clearance, look a bargain to me.

I think the only possible negative is that they aren’t really all that light by todays standards, but I don’t know how they compare for other frames in the price range. I’d have another without thinking about it.

Had mine about 3 years now, love it!
Been to the alps & pyrenees a few times, no real issues.
No pedal strikes as i’m not really a beginner.

http://www.pedalon.co.uk/acatalog/giant_anthem_x2.html

Thats a bargain at £1,600 !

I’ve had mine with 100m and 120mm forks. The 120 is the better option in my opinion. Go for it!

Classic do it all bike, light-ish, simple suspension layout (but VERY right)still very appealing. They do come up rather small though-I’m 5’6″ and ride a medium. Worth the extra for the Anodised finish too.

Thanks for all your replies… that anthem at £1600 is a steal!!.. but looking at frame only as it’s the only bit that hasn’t been replaced in the last 12 months! .. the voice in my head is still saying ‘Superlight’ .. think the bike shop may get a visit in the morning…

Definite Yay!

The SC superlight is a fantastically balanced little bike- I love mine! Bob isn’t an issue as some suggest- the basic shock is more than fine. Pedal strikes are also a non-issue. I would imagine that those who suggest otherwise could have taken more time to set up the shock (took me a week or two to dial in).

In my opinion the thing that really sets the SL apart is the geometry. There is no other way to describe it apart from perfectly balanced both up and down, on tight singletrack and on fast open rocky descents. I love to climb super steep rocky, rooty trails and have always been frustrated by other bikes- needless to say the SC delivers. The other advantages of a nice clean, simple suspension design were exactly what I was after.

As for disadvantages, I would say that the paint isn’t the best- it tends to look scratched a little easily but being completely biased about this bike it just means that I can look forward to a pimp respray in a year or so 😀

The only other bikes that came near to my demands were the Giant Anthem and Specialized Epic. I wasn’t such a fan of the suspension feel on the Epic and could never justify the cost. I loved how the Anthem pedalled on flat smooth surfaces but couldn’t get to grips with the geometry (think it must be the longer top tube). I never quite got the balance of climbing and descending I was looking for- ultimately the SL is just as fast but far, far more fun. I didn’t understand what reviewers meant by a ‘fun’ bike until riding the SL. Also the frame weight for the Anthem and SL are the same so don’t listen to anyone who tells you it is heavy!

You can see a picture of mine at the end of this thread (now upgraded to be more practical plus sub 22lbs)

Enjoy! 😀

Go for the SL if that’s your gut feeling, or you could get an Anthem X5 from pedalon for £800 and sell all the bits on it or make a second bike 🙂

Anyone smacking peddles on a SL probably needs to learn how to ride a bike.Its all about technique and not just trying to plough thru everyting.A slightly lower bb means the bike is super stable.