UPDATED: Now with more photos!
You knew it was coming. The writing was on the wall. Santa Cruz has been beefing up its line of bikes made out of the magic black fibers for some time now, and it was only a matter of time before they took on the ultimate carbon fiber challenge: a carbon V1o. Santa Cruz wasn’t the first company to introduce a Carbon mountain bike frame, but arguably they were waiting for the time that they could introduce a product to the market that they could be proud of. One that would stand up to the criticism’s of the public that carbon doesn’t belong on a mountain bike, that it isn’t strong enough, and that there is no reason for it.
The Blur LTc was the first bike from the big SC to throw roost in the face of doubters. That was soon followed by the Tallboy carbon 29r, and most recently the carbon Nomad (covered here, weighed here) which all build up to the coup de grace, the first carbon down hill offering out of Santa Cruz.
Full build pictured after the break with geometry, shock rates, and more! (UPDATE: All photos above shown full size below)
Now the new V10.4 is much more than just a carbon copy (pun definitely intended) of the current v10.3. Nearly everything has been revised, with new geometry, adjustable travel and even adjustable head angle via different headset cups available from Santa Cruz. The rear of the bike is still aluminum utilizing the swing arm from the new Driver 8, while the front end gets a complete carbon makeover.
Features:
- 9.5 x 3.0 Shock
- Adjustable Travel and Geometry
- Collet Pivot Axle System
- Double Sealed Lower Link Bearings
- Hidden Greaseports
- 150/12 Maxle Rear End
- 83mm BB Shell
- 1.5 HT
- Fully Carbon Integrated ISCG05 Tabs That are Taco Approved
Warranty:
- LIFETIME Crash Replacement Program
- 2 Year Design Defect/Manufacturing Guarantee
Here you can see the new VPP lower link that will accomplish adjustable travel with a flippable oval shock mounting bolt that will adjust travel from the original 10 down to 8.5. Also visible is the collet pivot axle system (the silver rings around the shock bolt hardware) along with the hidden grease fittings for the axle pivots.
A flippable shock mount (silver) will reside in the adjustment slot to keep things set where you want them.
ISCG tabs in carbon? Yep, the new v10.4 sports fully integrated ISCG inserts in the carbon body that are what Santa Cruz refers to as “Taco Approved!”
All the photos are below, but first an uncapitalized word from Michael Ferrentino of Santa Cruz Bicycles:
folks,
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.
instead, we kept things tightly sealed for as long as we could, then let dirt magazine’s favorite welshman have the scoop.
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.
we’ve attached the specs and geo for the new bike, along with a basic crib sheet of the differences. 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. most of the details contained in the crib sheet are pretty solid, but please understand that this is a work in progress, and that there is always the possibility that some of this info will be different by the time the bike is available to the public.
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.”
Shock rates and geometry charts at bottom of post. Now, photos!
The top- and downtubes take full advantage of the straight 1.5″ headtube, creating a strong enough front end for dual crown forks and massive abuse.
Inset headset keeps stack height low.
It’s likely the V10 carbon will get some serious underbelly protection in the form of Aramid fibers co-molded into the bottom of the downtube, just like the Nomad-c. And we’d be surprised if it didn’t come with a carbon/composite bash plate.
