anyone tried one in real life yet?

Interested too, anyone?

And me.

Poss my next frame. Need to demo one.

RD, 2wheels were trying to convince my m8 that their new demo FS 29er (XC bike) was just the bike for him, I suspect it is a SL .. worth a call?
(he’s happy with his 26er HT though, so didn’t demo it)

Yep, 2 Wheels have a Superlight in ATM. Demo Tallboy LT on it’s way, too. I’m taking that one out.

Might don the hazard suit and pop in for a look then

Bump for the night shift, anyone thrown a leg over?

I always thought the Superlight was more suited to lightweight XC whippets. Now purely by the nature of tall 29er riders, myself included, we tend to be heavier riders, so i wonder if the Superlight 29er is a bit flexy, or has been designed with the larger lad in mind?

🙄

No help on the ride front, however….

The ad in the mag claims 13% more…. More what?…

Stiffness?

Flex?

Weight?

Leg room?

Fun? 😀

Wheel size

No idea why it’s called a superlight because that’s one thing it ain’t

How heavy is it?

I picked up a demo bike from Leisure Lakes Derby today. As has been said – not very light. It’s the base model kitted out in Deore. I’m only 5′ 7″ and 230lb – so chunky. Stand over height is fine, but the bike is flexi. Very very flexi. Even just pushing at it with my hands it flexi. Gentle pressure on the back wheel and the wheel steps out over an inch!!!

Riding it, there is significant toe overlap with the front wheel – I caught it a number of times. I didn’t think it was a quick or as composed as the Carbon Camber I demoed a week or two back. I did two laps of the trail at Sherwood Pines, and even on that trail I bottomed out both front and back suspension (and yes it was set up correctly) and you could really feel the frame flex, especially on the new bermed section alongside the downhill section.

Weight wise – I didn’t weight but can tomorrow. Santa Cruz says around 30.5lb without pedals.

cheers Big Steve, nice to hear a real world review

rOcKeTdOg – Member
cheers Big Steve, nice to hear a real world review

you will be saying next that a certain website just rehashed the SC press release and forgot the actual ride they did after a night in the free bar

Santa Cruz Superlight 29 – First Ride

😉

i couldn’t possibly comment

I think I’d like to hear what an averaged sized rider had to say about flex in the frame (and wheels) before making a judgement (oh and actually riding one).

Toe overlap on an mtb is really, really bad juju.

I don’t think size matters when if the bike flexes when you’re standing next to it and not even on it as mentioned above

, but the bike is flexi. Very very flexi. Even just pushing at it with my hands it flexi. Gentle pressure on the back wheel and the wheel steps out over an inch!!!

I don’t think size matters when if the bike flexes when you’re standing next to it and not even on it as mentioned above

My riding mate did look at it as well and he thought the same as me – a flexi frame/wheel set.

And I forgot to mention the colour – burnt orange – hmmmm – more coral pink!!!!

Toe overlap – with flat pedals or Clip in? It makes a big difference 2 maybe 3 inches depending on foot size!

Been out again and had another play on the local trails, before I had to hand it back, plus I got the bike on my stand.

The bike was a small and weighed in at 14.1kg with Shimano 520 pedals fitted. So 31lb in old money.

The toe overlap was about half an inch. I’m a size 45 and the pedals were clips. I reckon it probably wouldn’t be a problem with medium and up. The medium is around 1.2 inches longer according the Santa Cruz geometry sheets.

More playing today and the flex really is in the wheelset and not the frame. Both front and reat wheels flex, so when the frame is pushed sideways at the rear the front wheel flexes in the oposite direction making the frame appear to flex. On the stand and with the wheels dropped out there is no discernable flex.

My mate today rode behind me and he said that the wheelset flex was really noticable, especially on the quicker turns.

It climbs really well. I was much closer to my mate on the climbs than I normally. Rear suspension bob was minimal and only really noticible when really putting the power down or stood up.

It is quick. I managed to take over 5 minutes out of my ride today. The quickest is have been around this route is 1.5 hours on my Cotic Soul. So 5 minutes off and I wasn’t pushing hard. It’s difficult to compare the to Camber 29er as I rode that on different trails. The Camber did feel more composed and quicker, but I don’t have a direct comparison.

So for me the superlight isn’t my sort of bike. I will be buying Santa Cruz, but a 29er with a bit more suspension that more suits my style.
So overall I think it’s the wheelset that let the bike down. This was the base build, so hopefully the better builds will get stiffer wheels. I think it would make a huge difference.

The toe overlap was about half an inch. I’m a size 45 and the pedals were clips. I reckon it probably wouldn’t be a problem with medium and up. The medium is around 1.2 inches longer according the Santa Cruz geometry sheets

they probably assumed that people with big feet are taller and would go for a bigger bike.

Are the rear shocks standard across the range?

what is the wheelset?

how does your impression compare to the review?