First look at the 2020 Juliana Joplin with an added 10mm of travel, updated VPP suspension platform, slacker geo, adjustable dropouts and plenty of build options.
The Joplin is the women’s version of the Santa Cruz Tallboy. Built for long days in the saddle with 29in wheels, a sleek lightweight frame, adjustable chainstay length, 120mm VPP® lower link rear travel, 130mm fork and the option to run up to 2.6in tyres.
For 2020 we see an added 10mm of travel front and rear, the frame is 2° slacker, and it is now available in size XS.
Another big change for the 2020 Juliana Joplin is the new VPP suspension platform. As seen on the Maverick, mounting the shock lower in the frame offers benefits such as increasing standover height and improving the centre of gravity.
The new linkage has a flip-chip so you can set the Joplin to Hi or Lo. Juliana suggest Lo for riding steeper trails, although it only makes a minor change to the head angle, taking it from 65.7° in Hi to 65.5° in Lo.
There’s now an axle flip-chip to alter the chainstay length by 10mm. The longer setting for a more stable ride at speed, and the shorter one presumably being more playful. The axle chip also allows you to run up to 29 x 2.6in tyres.
Joplin A Build Options 
Joplin C Build Options 
Joplin CC Build Options 
New geo!
Pricing
There are three models in the 2020 Joplin range, each with two build options. Pricing is the same as the Tallboy for equivalent models (whoop!):
- AL D – £2,899
- AL R – £3,299
- C R – £4,199
- C S – £4,999
- CC X01 – £6,199
- CC X01 Reserve – £7,299
New headbadge 
10mm more travel 
Women’s specific saddle 
770mm bars 
Juliana grips 
Space for two bottle cages
Juliana Joplin – First Ride Impressions
My first impressions of this bike were taken in MTB Slettestrand, Denmark, a coastal region with dry, often sandy trails that are a perfect for an XC bike but have a surprising amount of technical features for an area you’d probably refer to as flat.
I rode a medium, the largest available size in the Joplin range, and the fit was spot on for me at 5ft 7in. It’s actually one of the most comfortable bikes I’ve sat on this year in terms of reach, with no need to consider a different stem length or spend time shuffling the saddle along the rails to get the perfect fit. Unlike the gloss-finish Tallboy, the Joplin has a silk look (it’s not quite matte), coordinated grips and matchy matchy fork decals.
Climbing seems effortless, and I can say that confidently as I’ve done a lot of it in a short timeframe, and I’ve done a huge variety of climbs too. Long, gradual ascents with padded mossy ground, steep switchbacks, roots, even some rather deep sand. We rode greasy woodland, fields, and we went completely off piste and pedalled through heaps of twigs, pine cones and overgrown grass. Throughout all of that, I felt planted and had great traction. This bike is made for taking you to far away places with ease.
I did find it much easier than normal to remain seated when climbing. I often find I need to stand up for extra power on steep sections, especially when I’m tired, but there was no bobbing about or having to awkwardly shift my weight – if I just committed to getting up something, I made it every time.
When you’re done climbing, the Joplin really comes to life. The VPP suspension keeps you pinned to the ground when you need it, making pumping speed out of the trail easy. Once you’re going, there’s hardly any rolling resistance and you can pick up even more speed.
I only tried the Joplin flip-chip in the Lo setting, and one thing that really stood out was how nimble the bike was in steep and/or loamy switchbacks. It didn’t feel like an XC bike when I was weaving down a tight trail with ease.
If you’re looking for an adventure bike that can comfortable take you as far as you can be bothered riding, without giving you much need to really think about what you’re doing, this could be the one for you. It climbs so efficiently you can go further than planned, it’s fast yet stable on the way down, poppy and playful on technical sections and it can carry you off drops without making you regret it on landing. If I owned this bike, I’d probably resent how hard it is to clean around the shock, but having lived on it for four days, even I’m surprised I don’t have anything else to complain about.
For more tech info check out the Santa Cruz Tallboy first look.
Disclosure
Travel & accommodation for this trip were covered by Santa Cruz
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