Sana Cruz bikes are they really that good?

Hey there, they are on every bloody magazine and every social network, whether it’s facebook, instagram or random forums.
Are they really that good? Or are they just very fashionable bikes?
Or is it that because they are silly money everyone wants one?

Its just that vpp is really that good!

😉

I got rid of my SC and am sticking with my Intense.

Is it because people keep starting threads about them?

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/why-are-there-so-many-santa-cruz-bikes-about-at-the-moment

I test rode a Carbon Bronson and it left me a feeling a bit “meh”. Much prefer the Burner I bought in the end. I think it was just the VPP I wasn’t used to.
Santacruz bikes look nice though.

Well built, well designed, reliable, robust, easy to maintain, great support & warranty and look fantastic. There’s a reason why they are popular and the frames are expensive. You get what you pay for.

That’s what made them popular back when they were just a niche bike. Now they’re mainstream, and are still just as good.

That’s not to say there aren’t some fantastic bikes for half the price though.

Noting though that in my opinion all brand new bikes are way over priced. The same with a brand new car. Let depreciation kick in and you have an amazing bike for sensible money.

This chap seems to like ’em.

and most of what deadkenny said.

I thought they were expensive because the appear to give loads away that have to be funded by the rest of us who have to pay for them.

Personally I find them too short so not for me.

Danny Macaskill rates them highly and to be fair he does give them some serious stick.
I like cause there so shiny, but realistically they would be wasted on me and therefore I stick to the old horses for courses rule.

Great marketing is the thing, they’re not massively better than most other bikes. I’ve got one and it’s been really reliable & fun, which is all its about really

Mines the bollox and its retro 26″

Nice bikes but it is only with the new Nomad that they have started making them long and slack. Certainly most folk riding really steep stuff run anglesets on them (including Santacruz’s owner, so the story goes).

Reliable, fun and enjoying mine. I still have my 2010 Zesty but tbh I prefer riding the Bonson.

hype IMHO

A bike can only ride as good as it’s frame geometry allows and most of them have been pretty woeful. Any I’ve ridden felt too high and too short, rode much like a Lapierre to me. Nothing special, quite terrible in some instances.

Of course that’s totally subjective, my opinion might be different if I’d accidentally spent £5000 on one. Finish on some of the frames I sold was nothing to write home about either.

The new Nomad looks to be on the money geometry wise though.

As always all this is just opinion. Try before you buy is the best advice to decide if a bike is for you

“Reliable” is an interesting word. Everyone I can think of that I’ve met with a recent model moans like **** about the pivots being shit, and I’ve seen one pivot eat a frame. Threading straight into carbonz? I’ll pass thanks

One of they’re carbon frames I noticed flex in bk end even though they said that tgeyre rear triangles are stiff enough.

Put it this way, if your gonna spunk £2500 on a frame, SC would be up there on list ,,, shirley!? Perhaps not but if you get on with vpp and like carbon which I personally think is a great material for producing mtb frames out of for several reasons, designed around geo, suss design and inherent carbon super powers of taking the sting out of bad vibes and not to mention pedal to wheel transfer of energy but again geo has to be right for the job and rider.

And yet “everyone I can think of” has never had a pivot eat their frame or really have issues with the pivots beyond the standard of having to do the bearings from time to time (which are under lifetime warranty and to be honest is the same with bucket loads of other brands. I’ve had mine done once out of 3 years ownership).

If you go by “I know this guy” statistics, I can think of plenty of other well known brands that seem to be no end of trouble.

They’re all pretty average/crap apart from the Nomad. Great geo and sizing on that bike. If it had a different suspension system I would be on one for sure.

I cant’t understand the vpp haters as all other designs are pretty dull feeling in comparison.

Vpps need to be ragged the shit out of to get full benefit from the suss design ime.

The paint on mine was utterly diabolical. Every time I tightened a bolt the paint would flake off.

Not too keen on “ragging the shit” out of a bike that’s trying to chuck me over the bars.
Maybe Santacruz bikes, rather than being Skill Compensators require Special Skillz to ride them…

I have to agree with chickenman above I am on my fourth SC bike and i have gone over the bars on all of them, useless things

Nice to hear from the spesh salesman again! 🙄
They are good, but they are far too expensive here in the uk. In the us, the prices are more comparable with other good brands.

Sounds like poor shock set up and/or shit skills if people are going over the bars. Same applies to most bikes. I know from experience, and the bike itself has never been at fault, Santa Cruz or not.

They’re all pretty average/crap apart from the Nomad. Great geo and sizing on that bike. If it had a different suspension system I would be on one for sure.

But you started a thread specifically to say you thought the Solo looked like a fun all rounder for the UK?

I hated the Blur XC I rode years ago, and I hate the uk pricing structure – making them a boutique brand on price alone! They look good though.

Blur LTc owner, best bike I had ridden when I got it and thats a long list.
On the geometry – on paper some of the head angles are steep but on the trail it doesn’t feel like it, it’s possible for a bike to feel different to the static measurements of it.
On VPP, it’s very different to a lot of things, I went back to basics when I got mine to re learn how to jump it as the back end feels glued to the floor. It took me a couple of days round rotorua to get the hang of it. On rough trail though the glued to the floor means it feels stable, solid and in control everywhere.
There are a few little things that keep impressing me like sticking with threaded BB’s, the frame stiffness and not changing everything every year.
My next bike will probably be another santa cruz.

I’ve had so much fun on almost all the Santas I’ve had over the years (and all bought second hand of course).

Loved the Superlight, even though it was an 04/05 frame. Far more capable then a pure XC bike should be.

The Blur XCc, which I have only recently sold, rode like a race horse but the harder I pushed it, the tougher it got. Its new owner called it a ‘crotchrocket’ (!)

The Blur LT2 I had for a couple of years, and it was a real ‘steady Eddy’, just totally stable and unphased whatever the terrain – a real confidence inspiring bike that handled everything.

Only the Nickel fell a bit short of expectations. It looked the biz and was lovely and quick, but for reasons I still can’t fathom (though rider error certainly comes into it)it managed to throw me OTB more than any other bike I have ridden. It promised but couldn’t deliver (or maybe that was me!).

So that’s my Santa Cruz history so far. Beautifully built and mega reliable IMO, and normally totally involving to ride………and right now I’m building up a Blur TR frame with 650b wheels, so we’ll have to see where that takes me.

But you started a thread specifically to say you thought the Solo looked like a fun all rounder for the UK?

Wasn’t me.

It’s such a shame that they bought the VPP patent all those years ago and seem to be stuck with it. If they sacked it off and put a well engineered 4-bar/Horst link or a Weagle single pivot on that Nomad it would probably be the 160mm 650b bike. Well that or a Slash anyway.

It’s such a shame that they bought the VPP patent all those years ago and seem to be stuck with it. If they sacked it off and put a well engineered 4-bar/Horst

In your opinion, many other people disagree with you. If you don’t like VPP there are many other choices available.

SC are weirdly over expensive here. Buy from the US IMO.

hora – Member
SC are weirdly over expensive here. Buy from the US IMO.

Checked it recently?
Bronson Carbon in XT Spec from the US is $6399, allowing $100 for postage and insurance the following is the calculation for what the bike will cost imported to the UK.

Total customs value: £4062.34

Import duty: £609.35

VAT: £934.34

Total import duty & VAT due: £1543.69

Total landed cost: £5606.03 at USD/GBP exchange rate of 1.6

UK RRP is £5699, so a massive saving of £96.

I forgot some people can’t frame build.

I’d get a alu 5010 frame – shop around. USA – you can get better than RRP last time I looked. For instance a quick glance (its 4.50am). A 5010 @ 1, 650 $. How much landed if you do it right?

Or just buy here secondhand off all the gear-types..

Personally I wouldnt bother. Euro bikes galore now and great value. SC fill the ££ market end. Imagine buying a new carbon full suss frame and selling it after a year 😯

http://www.dutycalculator.com/new-import-duty-and-tax-calculation/saved_calculations/view_details/189486574/
1375, next time you can look it up 🙂 but a UK bike shop could also discount that if they wanted to to clear stock so not really sure what it proves. RRP on the frame is $1950 so with the same $100 postage it comes out at 1615 UK, so again just over 100 saving if you can get it sent for that.
The pricing is about spot on when compared to the US don’t you think?

I forgot some people can’t frame build.

Yes you could save a lot of money by building your own frame – that is what you meant wasn’t it?

So buy a YT/Commencal etc then. Leave the latest SC to the have silly money crowd.

right glad that’s cleared up then, probably best stop shouting that the UK pricing is “weirdly over expensive” then.

It aint **** cheap is it. I wonder what US wholesale is. It’ll be the same price sold to distributors who then have to buy container space themselves ontop to get the best price landed

Cheap and Value are 2 different things though, you point was that you should by from the US as they are much more expensive in the UK, which it turns out they are not, now they are more expensive than 2 companies offering direct sales.

It’s widely known that they are not selling at the cheap end of the market, it’s their choice. Plenty of people seem to think they are worth the extra though.

I love my 2010 Blur LTc.

Best bike I’ve ever had. I ride things I never would before too. Not sure how but it makes my balls bigger.

coolhandluke – Member 
I love my 2010 Blur LTc.

Best bike I’ve ever had. I ride things I never would before too. Not sure how but it makes my balls bigger.

It could be your saddle angle wants adjusting?

I had a Heckler which I didn’t get on with, finding it a bit flexy when cornering hard etc. Nice apart from that, so no, conclusive proof that they really aren’t THAT good.