Having just become the owner of a Mk2 SC Superlight frame, which I plan to build up for youngest_oab, inspire me with your old frame, new stuff Superlights….

(and will he die with 120mm forks?)

I had an old Sant Cruz, loved it. My first FS bike and I rode many many miles on it despite it being too small for me and the spring being too soft.

In some ways I still miss it despite every bike I’ve had since (apart from an Orange ST4) being better than it technically.

He will not die with 120mm forks – that’s what I ran at the end. Helps lift the bottom bracket a bit.

Yours is a 2005 model (bought March 2006).

Enjoy!

Cheers Crispin – headset is out, I will drop off one day this week 🙂

AndyD’s old Talas are going on the front….

Here’s my first one, in 2001

Frame cracked in 2007 and got a new one on the crash replacement scheme.

Still ride this albiet with a few tweaks and changes. Love it and it copes with any trail centre or natural ride I go on.

Not the fastest downhill and I’m too large to get it uphil quick, but I’ve got no desire to replace it just yet.

120mm forks did make a big difference in feel.

OK, so technically it’s a Santacruz Juliana but that’s just a re-badged Superlight so I’ll post a piccy of my girlfriend’s bike anyway. She’s picking up her new bike tomorrow but as of yesterday this was still in full time use. Pikes are normally run at 110mm but she ups them to 140mm for longer descents 🙂

last two pics are of mk3s? identifiable by the curvier rear swing arm, and the welds around the top tube. the mk4 (2011+) looks almost the same but the extra welds are gone.

mines the same frame as the first of the last two.

not got a recent pic of mine as its changed a bit but its a medium (i’m 5’7), and its running Fox RL 100 (100m forks), XTR shifters, rapid rise rear mech, and an XT front mech due to fitment for the swingarm + hope mono mini’s and a race face deus xc kit for drive chain etc (minus the seat post which i broke)

canopy – Member
last two pics are of mk3s? identifiable by the curvier rear swing arm, and the welds around the top tube. the mk4 (2011+) looks almost the same but the extra welds are gone.

I’d never even noticed that till you pointed it out – every day is a school day!

I miss mine. I broke it. I replaced it with another one. I broke that. Lovely bikes.

Not so much old school. 2011 model.

So far I’ve been nothing but impressed…. apart from the poxy mavic freehubs with their nylon inserts. Running 120mm at the front end.

^ That is just like my ST4 – broken, three times, still loved…

I do like the white ones 🙂

click for full size

Here’s my mk3 visitng Beacon Batch on the Mendips just over a month ago.

The frame dates as an ’07, but it was built frame up in 2010 by the previous owner.

Since this pic, got some better platforms and a new seat post as i broke this one, the next planned upgrade is a dropper.

Always liked the early Superlight

That’s probably the most accurate photo of mine. Turns out all the photos of my 2011 Superlight are out of date: it’s now got a dropper, new fork, new drivechain. In fact it’s a proper Trigger’s Broom: bought 2011 as a complete bike, the only stock parts are: frame, shock, cranks.

I’d never even noticed that till you pointed it out – every day is a school day!

on that subject..

so technically it’s a Santacruz Juliana but that’s just a re-badged Superlight

almost.. the geometry is tweaked to suit the ladies. shorter top tubes IIRC

I’d prefer any colour but white 😉

Riding around it looks like a sanitary towel, which is strangely coincidental given whats on top of it….

My first full sus, so i wanted something simple to maintain, which it certainly is. I cant really claim any great expertise in how it performs, other than to say its a lot more capable than i am.

canopy – Member
almost.. the geometry is tweaked to suit the ladies. shorter top tubes IIRC

Really? Everything I had read suggests that there is just a smaller frame option – not that it matters greatly as she picks up here new Furtado tomorrow.

**EDIT** I’m not saying you’re wrong as I’m no expert – I’m just surprised.

Lovely bike, although doesn’t get ridden since I was offered a SL 29er frame.
Might become my sons if I can rekindle his interest & drag him away from his iPad.
Might move it on to a good home.

Really? Everything I had read suggests that there is just a smaller frame option – not that it matters greatly as she picks up here new Furtado tomorrow.

**EDIT** I’m not saying you’re wrong as I’m no expert – I’m just surprised.

yes really 🙂 i remember reading it when i was researching superlights before i bought mine.

btw this page is awesome and the source of other comment i made above.

history of the superlight

found it- this relates to ’09 models with the older style rear trianle. note the mens version for the same year is already on the curvier one.

http://www.santacruzbikes.co.uk/site2009/bicycles_archive/julianasl06.html

Here’s a painfully obvious fact of nature: Girls are different than guys. They generally smell better than guys, know how to ask directions when lost, and are usually better at choosing colours than their hairier, less graceful male counterparts. They often have different needs in a bike too. The Juliana SL is a Superlight that has been tweeked to offer optimised tubing for lighter weight and smoother ride characteristics, shorter top-tubes, lower bottom brackets, slightly more relaxed geometries, and a range of sizes that shrink all the wya down to pixie-small. Juliana – perfect for half the population.
Benefits

The difference in torso length between men and women is a major factor in why the traditional bikes don’t fit women. The Santa Cruz “Juliana Bike” has adjusted the top tube length to fit a women’s shorter torso – alleviating the pain in your neck and optimally positioning you for pedalling efficiency and comfort.
Torso

To accomodate a womans shorter torso length, the geometry of the frame must be adjusted. Santa Cruz shortens the top tube length to fit women, resulting in comfort, performace and fit.
Legs

The crank arm, what the pedal attached to, had been designed by and for men. However, womens legs tend to be shorter, requiring a shorter crank for optimum pedalling efficiency. Santa Cruz implements the femmetry design by specifying the correct crank lengths.

I hated mine in the end. Never really gelled with it. It promised a lot but failed to deliver and as alluded to above…the BB was too low. Boing, boing, bash, boing.

Changed the forks from the original Bombers to Rebas, plugged an RP23 in the back, upgraded the wheels, messed about with the bars, brakes, shifters etc. No matter what I did, it always felt like someone else’s bike.

Got shot of it in the end. Hopefully the new owner liked it more than I did.

Having said that, I have never really got on with full suss bikes and have yet to sling my leg over one that really works for me. It may be telling that my favourite bike is rigid!

the BB was too low. Boing, boing, bash, boing.

tbh. not surprised, i was getting pedal strike with “normal” SL i’ve just moved to really low profile flats and two rides later, you’ve made me realise its helped a huge amount 🙂

My 2001 frame is hanging in the garage. Can’t bring myself to part with it even though all the bikes I’ve had since are more appropriate to the UK (especially in winter) and have more sensible geo. Loved that bike, once I could afford disks all round.

EDIT: Ooh, thanks for the history link. Didn’t realise mine was a ver. 1 I thought the disk mounts were a revision rather than add on. ANy ideas on straightening the gear hanger, as I bent it a bit and lost a gear, that was why it ended up on the wall.

sorry no had experience with mech hangers yet – i’ve seen mentions of straightening on google, so i’d google for a bit and see what comes up

ANy ideas on straightening the gear hanger, as I bent it a bit and lost a gear, that was why it ended up on the wall.

Buy an alignment tool, they’re about £20. Basically a big arm with a gage at one end, align that with the rim, spin it 180 an check it’s still lined up with the rim, use the long bar part to lever it straight as required, repeat at 90deg.

Matt – I’ve got a set of Marzochi ZE 120mm going if your old Fox’s don’t play ball…

Had a red mk2 which I used to run with Pace light carbon forks until I killed them on Cut Gate, fitted Rebas and used it as bait to draw my son back into biking, and in 2008 got an anodised mk3 with 130mm revs, which I used as a short travel trail bike, still ride it round my local woods where it’s perfect although I’m lucky enough to have a carbon Bronson for the Peaks now

the BB was too low. Boing, boing, bash, boing.

tbh. not surprised, i was getting pedal strike with “normal” SL i’ve just moved to really low profile flats and two rides later, you’ve made me realise its helped a huge amount

You’re doing it wrong, do you just ride into stuff on the road? 😆

[url=https://flic.kr/p/GSjZHS]Untitled[/url], on Flickr

I think mines a mk2? Huge improvement after fitting offset bushings and 120mm Reba’s. Feels like the perfect bike for my local woods but still more than capable with Wales/Peaks trips.

The MK1 Superlight had a fairy low rider weight limit if I remember. 90kg?

Built this mk 3 frame up recently!!

So tempted to get my 2002 SL up and running again. What’s the chances of servicing a 14 year old shock?

Not a SL, but a ’98 (I think) Heckler

Had 130mm ‘Zocchi AM2s on it, with a 5th Element Ti rear shock. It was an absolute hoot (but way too small for me really)

Some nice looking bikes there. Here’s mine. I sold it to someone on here. I really miss it.

I have a 1998 model that I ride sometimes when I fancy a reminisce and my eldest borrows it when we visit a trail centre, it used to ride really nice, but since getting a new bike with wide bars and this modern forward geometry thing 🙂 the heckler feels really odd the lad isn’t keen on it either.
It’s running 100mm Marzocchi Bomber Z1’s it has a 71degree head angle 620mm bars and, a 90mm stem.
First thing I think I need is a set of wider bars and a shorter stem , any suggestions on how wide and how short I should go ? Then I might try to slacken things of a bit more with some £25 off set bushes, they must be worth a try ?
Alternatively I might try for a cheap set of second hand 120mm forks if I can find a set with a plain non tapered steerer

No pics to hand of mine, a 2000 model in ano blue bought new and retired in 2013.

Originally fitted Pace RC 36 EVO 2 90mm forks and then some Fox RLC 100mm forks. I loved the bike, rode it in the UK and western Canada a lot and like some here, very unwilling to part with the frame which is now decorating a wall of my workshop.

Here’s mine a 2010 model – 3.1 according to the History of the Superlight website: http://nsmb.com/5172-the-history-of-the-superlight/. Gusset-less head tube and down tube and VP2 style bearing collets instead of the earlier pinch bolts. Later (last?) 26″ models sported a tapered head tube. Pedals are now Wellgo MAG1s flats.

I did have 100mm Rebas (which are now doing service on the hardtail) but I prefer the geometry and extra travel of the current 120mm Fox 32 RLT forks. To answer one of the OPs original questions the preferred fork length depends on whether you want something racier and lower with 100mm or something a little more relaxed with additional travel of the 120mm. I prefer the more relaxed 120mm forks for all day rides.

For anyone with an interest in the SC Superlight it might be worth having a look at a forum thread on MTBR titled ‘Superlight Love’ which has been going since 2004! A Google search for ‘Superlight Love’ will find it.

I bought mine from someone on here ( 2009 frame, white) in a motorway services car park somewhere a few years ago.
If it was you, thanks! I love it and still own it!!

Here’s mine

Ignore the pedals as I was having knee troubles at the time and was exprienting

Now with another STWer 🙂