Up next in 10
Andi received one of the first 2021 Santa Cruz eMTB's to test ahead of launch and watching this review we think be might be in love. The 2021 Santa Cruz Bullit shares its name with an old alloy model that was popular with freeiders back in the day, the new bike couldn't be more different. It features a carbon frame, Shimano EP8 motor, 630Wh battery, and mullet wheels.
For 2021 Santa Cruz has resurrected the Bullit name and while it follows the same versatile big travel recipe its grandfather was, this new Bullit is totally… er… new.
The elephant in the room is the motor hanging from the new Bullit’s frame and hulking great downtube that houses a 630Wh battery. Just like the Heckler, Santa Cruz has taken an old name and built an eMTB from it, but like the Heckler, it’s a new platform, new material and new wheel size.
The carbon fibre frame is a Santa Cruz CC weave meaning a top of the line construction manufactured to keep weight to a minimum and strength to a maximum. Of course, this frame is designed around the same VPP suspension platform as the rest of the Santa Cruz range featuring a low shock position, but the Bullit’s frame has been adapted to fix an EP8 motor and 630Wh battery. Even the smallest medium-sized frame can hide the Shimano BT8036 battery inside and still have room for a bottle cage. What’s more, the battery is easy to remove and swap too....
The rest of this members only review can be found here..
https://singletrackworld.com/charged/2020/11/17/review-santa-cruz-bullit-emtb/
More details about the bike, spec and geometry can be found here...
https://singletrackworld.com/charged/2020/11/17/time-to-bite-the-bullit-2021-santa-cruz-bullit-is-a-carbon-emtb/
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0:07
so good
0:08
[Music]
0:10
hey everyone andy sykes here and i've
0:12
just ridden to the top of a local
0:14
downhill
0:15
because i'm testing this beast
0:41
[Music]
0:48
[Music]
0:53
[Music]
1:00
alex here and i want to show you this
1:01
the brand new santa cruz bullet a whole
1:04
new bike for 2021 but not a new name
1:07
if you catch your mind back to the
1:08
previous bullet you'll remember an
1:09
aluminium bike
1:10
with a single pivot suspension platform
1:12
and 26 inch wheels
1:14
the new bullet well it couldn't really
1:16
be any more different could it
1:18
for starters this is an e-bike with a
1:20
shimano
1:21
epa motor to get the most of that motor
1:24
santa cruz have integrated a 630 watt
1:26
hour battery
1:27
and the frame is now carbon fiber the
1:30
front and rear triangles are connected
1:32
together with a
1:33
much more modern suspension platform too
1:35
using the same
1:36
vpp design as we find on the mega tower
1:39
and of course
1:40
it's a mullet or a santa cruz like to
1:41
call it it's an mx design
1:44
29 inch wheel on the front and a 27.5
1:47
inch wheel on the rear
1:48
now santa cruz haven't provided all the
1:50
details yet it's still pretty top secret
1:52
so i'm not entirely sure what different
1:55
models what different builds there are
1:57
and i don't even know how much this
1:58
costs however
2:00
looking at this spec i don't imagine
2:02
you're going to get much change from 10
2:03
000 pounds
2:05
this bike that i've been riding comes
2:06
with a fox 38 fork on there
2:09
and that's the factory fork with kashima
2:11
coating one of the best forks i have
2:14
used
2:14
all year great for big hits and really
2:17
good on the supple small stuff
2:19
too that provides a ml of travel to the
2:22
front of the bullet
2:23
while the rear also gets 170 ml of
2:26
travel
2:26
but via a rockshox super deluxe coil
2:29
rear shock
2:30
again incredible rear shock now i don't
2:33
get to use coal shocks that often
2:35
but after riding this on the bullet i'm
2:37
really open to trying it on
2:39
the rest of my bikes that i've been
2:40
testing too the front and rear
2:42
suspension
2:44
worked together extremely well super
2:46
supple over the small stuff
2:48
enough to soak up the big stuff no big
2:50
bottom out
2:51
basically there isn't anything on my
2:53
local trails that this thing cannot
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[Music]
3:02
handle
3:05
[Music]
3:14
[Music]
3:16
wow
3:18
so this is the 2021 santa cruz bullet
3:21
it's not the first time the bullet names
3:23
been used
3:24
in fact i used to have one of the last
3:27
generation bullets when i used to live
3:29
in china
3:30
and there was a single pivot aluminium
3:32
bike
3:33
oh it was 27 point no 26 inch wheels
3:36
maybe i can't remember actually
3:38
this is a carbon fiber e-bike and it has
3:42
a mullet set up so 29 on the front 27.5
3:46
on the rear
3:48
this is where it gets muddy going to
3:49
make sure i don't get the camera covered
3:51
so yeah this mullet mic
3:56
rubbish anyway i don't have mud on the
3:58
camera
3:59
let's go down so yeah it's a mullet
4:03
here we go this way 27.5 on the rear
4:06
29er on the front
4:08
high carbon 5 frame has a shimano epa
4:12
motor
4:14
and a 631 hour battery
4:17
so it's all modern all new
4:21
and it's no longer a single pivot
4:22
obviously it's a vpp
4:26
now we're set to cruise asked me to test
4:28
this bike
4:29
we only had the option of a medium or an
4:31
extra large
4:32
and i went for a medium because
4:35
i tend to find shorter e-bikes a little
4:39
bit more fun
4:40
now to be honest when i got on this
4:42
originally
4:44
i did feel it was a bit tiny i'm getting
4:46
used to it now
4:48
it's nice and fun puffy and flowy
4:52
plenty of travel for these rocks
4:55
so this is the pimp spout bike
4:59
i've got the factory 38 on the front
5:02
i've got a coil super deluxe on the rear
5:05
and i've got
5:06
factory consumer coach transfer wrapper
5:10
supposed to get a tram 12 speed eagle
5:13
drive train
5:14
with an emc slipper amtv specific
5:20
all right so you're riding up your
5:22
favorite trail this is a trail that
5:24
we would normally ride down which we are
5:25
going to ride down in a second
5:27
your riding ride it's a bit muddy today
5:29
so you get into this rusty section
5:34
you can spin out you run out of momentum
5:37
luckily the center cruise bullet has
5:40
the shimano ep8 motor and what that
5:42
means is
5:43
it has the intelligent walk mode that
5:46
works regardless of what gear you're in
5:47
at the back so
5:49
whack it down into walk mode
5:52
get that seat out of the way hit the
5:54
button and away she goes
5:56
now the difference between this and the
5:59
e8000 motor the original shimano e-bike
6:01
motor
6:02
is that walk mode only work if you
6:05
change
6:06
gear so if you're climbing a hill and
6:09
you're in an easy gear
6:11
and you need walk mode on an e8000 you
6:14
actually have to get off the bike and
6:15
drop the gears
6:16
with the epa you don't need to do that
6:19
it works regardless of what gear you're
6:21
in
6:22
so which is just waits way more sense
6:26
right now we're at the top we're going
6:28
to put in trail
6:30
and we head down the trail so in trail
6:33
mode
6:34
and we're going to enjoy this muddy
6:37
descent let's do it
6:39
so this trail is great fun and it's got
6:42
some nice twisty corners in it
6:44
and it it's a great test for
6:48
a mullet bike like the bullet
6:52
if i could ride properly that is oh yes
6:56
so much fun around the corners
7:03
oh yes so much fun
7:07
and you've done it again i've stopped
7:08
you know why i stopped
7:10
because it's so much fun i'm gonna do it
7:11
again
7:14
so i hope you enjoyed that riding
7:15
footage as much as i did actually riding
7:17
the bullet
7:18
now one thing i've not gone into is the
7:20
geometry and as i said
7:22
in my riding footage i'm on a size
7:24
medium bike and the reason being
7:26
santa cruz only had medium and extra
7:28
large and also i
7:29
tend to prefer a shorter e-bike you know
7:32
that extra weight and the huge amount of
7:34
travel this bike has to offer
7:35
i can get away with a shorter more
7:37
playful bike and not really give up any
7:39
high-end speed when it really gets rocky
7:42
and fast
7:43
so this medium-sized frame has a reach
7:45
of 450 millimeters
7:47
and in fact it's the smallest frame in
7:49
the bullet range
7:51
santa cruz will do medium large extra
7:53
large and double
7:54
x l and that double xl bike has a reach
7:57
of 515 millimeters
7:59
now the good thing about santa cruz
8:01
bikes not just the bullet but also the
8:03
rest of the santa cruz ranges
8:05
the seat tube length is quite short and
8:07
on the medium this on this medium bike
8:09
it's only 405 millimeters and what that
8:12
means is
8:13
if you don't tend to ride a medium if
8:15
you tend to ride a smaller bike
8:17
you may still be able to get on this
8:19
also it means that you're able to easily
8:21
size
8:22
up as well so in theory i could ride a
8:25
double xl bike with 515 mil reach
8:28
because that stand over and the seat
8:30
tube length is quite short
8:31
i would never want to ride a bike that
8:33
long but in theory i could
8:35
so although there isn't a small there
8:36
probably is a sensor cruise bullet out
8:38
there that suits you
8:40
now over the past few weeks i've been
8:43
riding this bike and it has been
8:44
absolutely amazing it's been trouble
8:46
free and it's been an
8:48
absolute joy to ride one thing that i
8:50
love about this bike and a lot of
8:52
mullet e-bikes is the ability to switch
8:54
direction
8:55
really fast and without even thinking
8:58
it's almost like the bike knows where it
9:00
needs to go
9:01
that big 29-inch wheel gives you tons of
9:03
traction and roll-over ability if that's
9:05
such a word
9:06
whereas that smaller 27.5 inch wheel
9:09
really keeps the back end low and is
9:11
able to flip the bike from side to side
9:13
as you go around corners
9:14
and as you can see in this footage i'm
9:16
having no trouble getting this
9:18
heavyweight
9:18
around the tight corners even though
9:20
it's a ml travel bike
9:22
with a massive 631 hour battery
9:26
one thing that i did notice and i have
9:28
noticed on other
9:29
shimano epa powered bikes is the noise
9:32
now
9:32
sensor crews have done a really good job
9:34
of keeping the scent the
9:36
bullet very very quiet they've got a lot
9:38
of nice rubber armor on the chainstays
9:40
to stop any chain slap
9:42
and the bike itself has no rattles or
9:44
creaks
9:45
but the epa does rattle and that is
9:48
something that i found
9:49
across all epa bikes i've tried so far
9:52
some commenters really don't like it and
9:55
it really bugs them
9:56
myself it doesn't really bother me i
9:58
mean it is a shame that's such a nice
10:00
exquisite looking bike and something
10:01
that handles so well does it have a bit
10:03
does have a bit of a rattle to it
10:05
but it doesn't really detract away from
10:07
how much fun this bike
10:08
actually is
10:12
as i've already mentioned the mullet
10:13
design and the shorter reach
10:15
really helped me to flip the bike around
10:18
corners but with 170 ml of travel and
10:20
that coil shock on the rear
10:22
it really loves to eat up really massive
10:25
rock strikes and rooty terrain
10:27
and i have no qualms that this bike will
10:30
do pretty much
10:31
anything you throw at it here in the uk
10:34
and even further afield too
10:36
it is like the previous bullet it's like
10:38
a an enduro rider's free ride bike
10:40
it will get uphill because of that 85
10:42
newton meter motor
10:44
and it will absolutely smash it down
10:46
doesn't matter if you're going
10:47
for straight out super fast kom strava
10:50
times or if you're
10:51
weaving your way through trees the
10:53
mullet design on this and that
10:55
excellent travel it just eats everything
10:58
up it's such a great fun
11:00
bike so
11:03
i mean i've had this bike for about
11:04
three or four weeks now and overall as
11:07
i've said i've had no issues whatsoever
11:09
except the seat post cable routing now
11:14
because this is a medium sized bike and
11:16
it would be tend to be
11:17
for someone who is shorter than i am the
11:20
cable routing on this bike was a little
11:22
bit on the short side so
11:23
i did have a bit of an issue lifting the
11:25
seat post and pulling the cable through
11:28
from the dropper lever not a major issue
11:30
but just something to keep
11:31
in mind if you do need to make sure that
11:34
your seat post is at the right height
11:36
don't do it as you're entering your
11:38
first ride
11:39
make sure you do it the night before
11:41
rookie mistake i know but it meant i had
11:43
to come home
11:43
and re-cable this baby so i could get
11:46
the seat at the right height
11:47
anyway once it's been done it hasn't
11:49
caused me an issue whatsoever
11:52
i've had no issues with the gear change
11:54
i've had no issues with heel
11:56
rub but one thing i am a little bit
11:58
interested in not concerned so much but
12:00
a little bit interested
12:01
is this button here like the power
12:03
button for the ep8 motor system
12:05
is quite low down it's below the coil
12:08
shock and just on top of the motor
12:10
and that's a bit of a as a ledge where
12:12
mud and
12:13
grime can collect i mean the good thing
12:16
about this is i've not really had an
12:18
issue where
12:19
too much mud and dirt has sat on there
12:21
and because of the shape of the frame
12:23
the dirt and the water tends to roll off
12:25
pretty easily but i do wonder
12:27
what a full winter of riding would do to
12:29
that button
12:30
in that position now speaking of mud
12:33
clearance and grime
12:34
there's a lot going on here not only the
12:37
vpp but that chain device that keeps the
12:39
chain
12:40
on the ep8 motor now shimano have
12:43
improved this since the previous
12:44
generation
12:45
on the e8000 but if you're going to be
12:47
riding in muddy and claggy conditions
12:49
you are going to get mud in every
12:52
conceivable crevice
12:54
make sure you clean around the chain
12:56
guide make sure you clean around the
12:57
pivots
12:58
there's so many nooks and crannies for
13:00
mud and dirt to stick to
13:02
i'm not too concerned when it comes to
13:04
longevity santa cruz
13:06
has a really good lifetime warranty on
13:08
the frame and a very good life
13:09
warranty on the bearings too so i'm not
13:11
really worried about that
13:12
but just keeping this beauty of a bike
13:14
clean you do need to
13:16
make ensure you get all the dirt and
13:17
grime from around there
13:20
now one last thing i want to talk about
13:22
is that coil shock i've already
13:23
mentioned
13:24
how much i enjoyed it but one thing i
13:26
haven't mentioned is the fact that it
13:27
comes with a lockout lever on it
13:29
and i've not really never needed to
13:31
touch it i mean after all this is an
13:33
e-bike i've got 85 newton meters of
13:35
torque and a boost button if i need to
13:37
get uphill
13:37
so what if it bobs around a little bit
13:39
i've not touched the climb button but if
13:41
you do want more efficient climbing
13:43
there is that lever there if you need it
13:45
overall
13:46
i've really enjoyed the sense of cruise
13:49
bullet
13:50
to be honest i wish it was in my price
13:52
range because i would love to own one of
13:54
these and that color is stunning
13:56
if the color doesn't do for you this
13:58
gloss lavender that is a matte copper
14:00
finish too
14:01
another option you could go for too is
14:03
the new heckler now the heckler has been
14:05
updated to include an
14:07
mx version so like this it's a mullet
14:09
and it now comes with the epa
14:11
motor so if the bullet is too much bike
14:13
for you but you still fancy santa cruz
14:15
emtb
14:16
check out those new hecklers i hope you
14:18
enjoyed this video
14:19
i hope i've answered all your questions
14:21
about the new 2021 santa cruz bullet
14:23
if i haven't please feel free to go into
14:25
the comment section below and ask away
14:27
and i'll do my best to answer those
14:28
questions for you
14:29
if you enjoyed this video give me a
14:30
thumbs up and don't forget to hit the
14:32
subscribe button see you all soon bye
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