Yep, there’s been a lot of conjecture about what Santa Cruz might come out with next – especially as they seem keen on making things out of carbon. So the next big carbon thing looked like it might be the V10 – especially given the new Nomad, and the sheer (and surprising) strength and rigidity of the Blur models released last year.
So there’s going to be a new carbon V10. As Santa Cruz Mike says below, don’t expect to see them in the shops this summer, the team has literally just got hold of samples to ride.
It’s certainly far more ‘love it or hate it’ slim than the old V10. Opinion in the office is divided, though I (Chipps) reckon it looks great. A view that I share with Mr Peat…
Mike says:
“there have been rumors floating around for a while now about a carbon v-10 downhill bike, and the level of speculation has run the gamut from badly photoshopped alloy v-10s with carbon weave laid on the image to some very astute guesswork. none of the rumor-mongering or speculation was created by us, since we have been really busy spitting out other bikes and haven’t had the time nor the organizational chops to pull together a subversive, anti-marketing, marketing campaign.
anyway, there IS a new carbon v-10 in the works. the syndicate is in lousa, portugal right now testing the bike, and will be throwing it into the crucible of race competition at the lisboa downtown event, followed by what is shaping up to be a ripper of a world cup season. aside from greg minnaar squeezing in a few rides in california before heading to portugal, this testing is the first time any of the syndicate riders have swung a leg over the new bike. it’s also the first time the engineers have had anything other than some test lab samples to play with.
…it is a very different bike than the v-10 preceding it. in addition to the carbon front triangle, the bike now uses a driver 8 swingarm, can be adjusted between 8.5 and 10 inches of travel, and has an adjustable head angle independent of the travel adjustment… remember! this is a work in progress
regarding public availability? yes, one day. don’t expect to see any of the new bikes before interbike though. similarly, pricing and color options are still being worked on. as they say in the car commercials – “specifications subject to change without notice.””
He didn’t have time for punctuation, nor capitalisation. Sorry.
More gallery shots below for you.
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That is a lovely looking bike. Hate to think what it would cost though. Surprised it hasn’t got an air shock, yet!
It does,
If the SC ‘Carbon Premium’ remains the same compared to other models that have both carbon and ali versions, it’d be around £3700. I suppose it also depends if it retains that back end or not?
The seat tube area is underbuilt to withstand the odd saddle landing.its not going to hold up once the shock goes through its travel.. great for winning on but to sell it underbuilt in that area (of carbon) for joe public is asking for lotsa warranty replacements.
sort it out now before its too late (only if you plan on putting it into production in that state)
to believe carbon construction has come on enough in leaps and bounds to enable something of that size and girth to be put into production is putting the blinkers on. lets hope this design/material in the v10 is only used for winning important races on and nothing else.
martinxyz, good to have a comment from someone who knows more about frame design than the bods at santa cruz – i’ll steer well clear now…
can you really tell a lot about a frames construction from the external size/shape of tubes?
£3700 you say? that sounds cheap!
Can i really tell a lot about a frames construction from the external size/shape of tubes?
no.
but the amount of frames i have guessed as being fractured or cracked before even having a proper look at them (and surely enough, finding them fekked) gives me an idea that unless the build of that seat tube mast is some kind of new and improved construction internally with some new materials never used before.. then i would guess that,like i said,one bad landing on the seat will have its wicked way with it.it probably wouldnt take too much either. if you or santacruz dont agree on that then you need to wake up.
however, santa cruz probably know too well that its got its limits in this area. (please dont tell me you recon its tough as old boots in this area,santacruz)
the arguement could be that every frame has its limits but in a frame like this,designed for one of the hardest hitting forms of mtbing,you might expect this seat tube/top tube size and design style to only crop up on lighter useage frames.
my main moan is if it goes out to joe public in this build. i dont like seeing the same thing repeated like the stuff ive seen over the past ten years or so.if it looked weak, i would have a look and more often than not, it would be shafted. this is not some engineer burping what should and shouldnt be happening in a frame,pjt.. its from someone that see`s what happens at the end of the chain before they hit the bin.
Looking good. Things will change though as it gets developed for release to the public. Nice to see rear travel adjustment, wonder if that will stay?
Looking forward to the final versions.
martinxyz
I reckon in a saddle landing that hard my balls would break before the carbon fibre
And I have balls of steel 😉
@martinxyz
I’ve seen the testing that they did on the carbon Nomad. The bike is set up in a jig, with a steel bar in place of a rear shock to represent a fully bottomed out shock at the end of its travel and solid wheel axles in place of wheels to remove any cushioning from the tyres.
A solid steel bar is inserted in place of a seatpost, with a solid steel top plate instead of a saddle. So this recreates a bike that has already fully bottomed out – shock, wheels, saddle – any form of cushioning. They then drop a big weight onto the saddle from a vertical rail a little like a guillotine. This recreates you, somehow landing onto the saddle after your bike has fully bottomed out (usually you’d be on it as it bottoms, but this assumes you were delayed in the air and arrive onto the bike in time for it to hit full bottom-out) without the benefit of shock, seatpost, saddle, tyres or wheels to take any of the force.
The weight they use took me both arms to slide up the rails to shoulder height. This is then repeated, higher and higher until something breaks. Usually it’s the shock bolts – and if you replace those, then eventually the carbon link might go. But they do this until something breaks – and the bike they reference is whatever their most indestructible bike is at the time.
If that frame, and that seat mast, has passed those tests, then I’d be happy landing on it from any height. As iain1775 points out; you’d probably pop something before the frame gave out.
amazing man better than finite element analysis,,, in todays litigation society you cant afford to put out substandard stuff , and with the negative press and viral comments on t’internet you can be sure those guys have done their homework
sounds good stuff chipps. theres so many frames over the past decade i`d love to see on that test bench. infact, a lot of frames made today!
so is the construction night and day compared to something from ,say,four years ago? not saying that sarcastically, just a serious question. :O) (thank fek for smileys eh)
the alu chainstay with the vpp logo on it.. how come its so wavey looking? is that a white strip of rubber wrapped around it with the logo put on after, or is the alu rippled?
Chipps- martinxyz was pointing out that the V10 looks underbuilt/not strong enough… on the other hand the carbon nomad which you have seen being tested looks tough enough for its intended purpose, whereas the new carbon V10 looks less strong around the seat tube area using presumably the same technology they are using for their current nomad, and the v10 will be put through supposedly higher stresses than the nomad… just a thought.
ahh good point,cullen.The design of the carbon nomad in that area is a bit tougher looking. I`d even jump off a wall balls first onto the seat with no qualms.. but not the v10! nomad looks sensible in this pic.. http://reviews.mtbr.com/blog/hot-news-santa-cruz-carbon-nomad/