Much like their shorter travel 5010 & Furtado siblings, the new Santa Cruz Bronson and sister Juliana Roubion also get updated for even more fun out on the trail. They share several of the same updates with bigger tires, longer & slacker geometry, and flip chip adjustable suspension. But the Bronson & Roubion also get an all-new VPP shock layout inspired by the Strega for more all-mountain rally, bleeding into enduro capability.
Santa Cruz Bronson & Juliana Roubion 150mm AM bikes
The 150mm of rear wheel travel has made the Bronson/Roubion a pair of stable all-mountain bikes that still pedal well, but can be just as easily tasked with some proper gravity fueled enduro riding.
Again with a short link VPP design, Santa Cruz is able to build these two bikes to be stiff and predictable through the roughest terrain. Like their trail siblings the new Bronson & Roubion get updated rear triangles with dual seattube struts to make the rear even stiffer.
So what all is new in the latest Bronson & Roubion?
The biggest difference in the new bikes is a revised VPP layout that now drives the shock with the lower-link through a seattube tunnel, giving a more “linearly-progressive” leverage ratio. Inspired by the women’s-only 170mm Strega, the result is a confidence-inspiring, more supportive feel through the travel.
Paired with the new shock position (and a new shock cover), the bikes also get the same flip chip at the lower shock mount (as with the new trail bikes) to give riders geometry & ride height adjustability. That helps equalize the effects of going with plus sized tires since these new bikes can now fit up to 2.8″ rubber, or just lets riders tune the ride feel.
Rear travel stays at 150mm, but now the new Bronson & Roubion get paired with a bit more travel up front – all bikes spec’ed with 160mm forks. That pairs with slacker headtubes, down 0.6° or 0.9°, depending on the high or low flip chip position to 65.1° in Low or 65.4° in High vs. the previous generation’s 66° head angle.
Looking deeper at revised geometry, the new bikes get an extra 15mm of reach across all sizes. Seattubes also get 1° steeper, and shortened by 25mm to add more room for longer dropper posts. And the bikes all get an extra 10-30mm of increased standover clearance.
Like the trail bikes, these new all-mountain/enduro bikes shake up size offerings. The more unisex Bronson imports the smallest size to offer a five size range (XS-XL), while the women’s Roubion now only comes in three (XS-M).
Tech Details
Tech specs are almost identical to the trail bikes. They stick with a 73mm threaded BB, get ISCG05 tabs, Boost spacing, 200mm front/180mm rear rotors, include internal & guided cable routing, a bolt on downtube shuttle guard, and feature a single set of bottle bosses inside the main triangle.
The Bronson & Roubion are available in three frame materials – premium CC carbon, standard C carbon, and AL Aluminum – again with lifetime warranties.
Complete Bike Specs & Pricing
Again no shortage of build options available from Santa Cruz. Pick from standard 27.5 x 2.3″ trail tires or the almost 27.5+ 2.6″ tires that offer most of the volume of plus-size, without the squirm.
Alloy frames are available for $2000, or top CC carbon for $3300 to give you the freedom to build.
Aluminum bike complete builds start at $3500 for an R-build kit. Standard C carbon completes ratchet that up to $4400, again with the R-build kit.
Looking for a premium spec, hop on over to the CC carbon complete bikes. Starting at $7000 you can get a Bronson or Roubion CC with X01 Eagle and alloy wheels. Then, the sky is the limit with carbon-wheeled Reserve builds with either XX1 Eagle for $9500 or new XTR for $9900.
