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Is Something Afoot at Santa Cruz? Another Carbon Fiber 29er.

Written by Douglas McDonald
19 Comments
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Is this real? Or maybe it’s a  Santa Cruz joke? Are they teasing us, or could it be a cynical marketing ploy? Either way I am hooked and desperate to find out more! This is just taken from the Santa Cruz site, a carbon fiber 29er hardtail mountain bike which appears to weigh in at a bit over 20lbs.

More pictures and words from Santa Cruz after the break.

“Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition…

Yes, carbon fiber. Yes, hardtail. Yes, 29? wheels. Regular ol’ bottom bracket shell, regular weight ol’ tubes in regular ol’ tires, rise bars, nice parts, twenty pounds, nine ounces. No, not a joke. No, we’re not gonna say anything more right now. Available sometime after the cherry blossoms fall from the tree. Stay tuned. Merry Happy etcetera. We’re shutting the doors here in a few hours and nobody will be around to answer any questions until AFTER THE NEW YEAR.”

 
Douglas McDonald
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balayeur
balayeur
13 years ago

wow hotness

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Kovas
Kovas
13 years ago

Part of me agrees with with balayer – straight up hotness.

But part of me says, “Yaaaaaawn… Whatever… Another all-carbon 29er hard-tail.” Am I alone here?
… No offense to Santa Cruz, they make some great rigs, but they’re not exactly pushing the envelope with this one… more like jumping on the ‘ol bandwagon. Niner, Specialized, Cannondale, Trek, Scott, Orbea – You name it, every big player in the biz seems to be carving some curvy molds and squeezing out a few carbon 29ers hoping to take a bite of the current market share. And they all brag about their weight… It’s carbon folks! It’s SUPPOSED to be light!

Seems like more 29er hard-tail innovation is coming from the small shops (i.e. NAHBS exhibitors), then the big boys with full R&D departments. C’mon Santa Cruz… how about carbon soft-tail, VPP “lite” or something that would make me open my eyes…. and my wallet.

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Conor
Conor
13 years ago

^^^^ Agree…

It also helps to put on $2,000 hoops – this is a great bike, I’m sure, but how many people are buying $8,000 rigs??? The $3,000 market is where I’d like to see more options.

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Dscarbs
Dscarbs
13 years ago

Schweet! 20 lbs! Sign me up! Wonder what the durability will be like.

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Adam
Adam
13 years ago

Beautiful and plain sexy frame. But definitely way too expensive. And I still enjoy my 26″ wheels. I haven’t been converted yet.

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mr.banana
mr.banana
13 years ago

put some stans ztr races on there and it would be lighter and about a 1k cheaper.
you don’t have to spend 8k to have a sweet and light 29er….just do some homework.
i have a 29er hardtail that weighs 21.5 lbs and cost me under 3k to build. not that hard.

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b3
b3
13 years ago

Santa Cruz…a day late and a dollar short…again!
How the once mighty have fallen.

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monkeysex
monkeysex
13 years ago

not as light as the specialized at 18.5 lbs stock

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Professore
Professore
13 years ago

I agree with Kovas. I’m disappointed with Santa Cruz going this direction. A Chameleon style 29er is what I was hoping for or a soft-tail like the Spearfish / Dos Niner… not another carbon hardtail.

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Zen Turtle
Zen Turtle
13 years ago

Full Sus XC is dead and SC knows this.
Probably not pushing the envelope on this one but a necessary step to stay competitive in this segment and cover the gap in their portfolio.

Having said that the lines look sweet, simple and clean, I just want one.

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Carlito
Carlito
13 years ago

Full suspension xc is dead?!? I need some of what u r smoking.

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Steve
Steve
13 years ago

Full Sus XC is dead? That is a crock.

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Chris
Chris
13 years ago

Either my friends are way behind the curve or way ahead of it, most people I know are dumping their 29er’s in favor of AM/Trail hard tails with 26″ wheels (69º head angles). Building up bikes that have the same characteristics of their DJ bikes but for trail riding (Chameleon already fits this category). Even Lee McCormick is trying to go in this direction… http://www.leelikesbikes.com/experiment-stumpjumper-ht-evo-r.html

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Jason Lombard
Jason Lombard
13 years ago

I read some of these comments and it appears to me that some folks are saying “If you ride something different than I ride, or on terrain that isn’t like what I ride, you’re wrong.”

I ride a dually XC rig. I’m a recent convert to 29’ers. Most of the guys that I ride with are still riding high-end hardtails (some 26, some 29) and would be the exact target market for this bike. Side note: almost all if not all of them have second and third rigs in the garage—full sus XC bikes or trail bikes.

Not all of us live near Whistler or Tahoe. Not all of us live in Colorado. As such, there are different strokes for different folks. A bike like this is not only viable, but will be highly sought after in some circles. Not yours? Move along then.

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Mike Hall
Mike Hall
13 years ago

Well said Jason, well said.

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