Santa Cruz Bicycles has heard the cry and went back to the drawing board to create lower priced carbon fiber frames on three of their most popular models.
“We’re well aware that bikes have been going up in price the last few years,” says Joe Graney, who headed-up the project at Santa Cruz. “So we made it a priority to get the radness of our carbon technology to “trickle down” within reach of more riders.”
For 2015, the Bronson, 5010 and Tallboy will be available with two different frames. The original frames become the premium, retaining the best carbon fibers in their layup and staying as light as possible. The new ones, which will be available in “R” and “S” builds, use a lower grade carbon to bring the cost down.
“Working with our exclusive manufacturing partner, we used the same proprietary processes to create lower cost carbon frames that retained the same legendary strength and stiffness Santa Cruz are known for,” Graney said. “We achieved this by using a different grade of carbon material that results in a minimal weight gain of approximately 250-280 grams (0.6 lbs)!”
The new frames will simply be called Carbon (ex. Bronson Carbon) and the premium frames will get the Carbon C designation. They’ll be available on XT/XO1 builds and up.
NEW COCKPIT PARTS
The new Santa Cruz carbon handlebars mark the brand’s first foray into their own cockpit parts. What started as a project to make downhill bars quickly became more:
“It’s been impossible to keep our engineers away from bars,” admits Rob Roskopp, owner of Santa Cruz Bicycles. “Having mastered complex projects such as the carbon V10 swingarm, it was inevitable we started looking at where carbon know-how could improve other areas of our products. The key thing for me was that if it was going to carry the Santa Cruz name then everything had to be designed, tested and made by us to the same high standards as our bicycles.”
The riser bars were originally meant to be a DH product, so they’re strong, but when they achieved weights that are impressive even for trail bikes, they expanded to make a couple sizes and added flat bars. They’ll be spec’d on Carbon C builds with XT/XO1 and up…and initially that’s the only way you’ll be able to get them.
To go with the bars, they created the Palmdale grips, a single lock-on they say has the staying power of a dual clamp. Beyond the wide clamp band, the inside shell narrows slightly for the last 38mm, squeezing onto the end of the handlebar to further prevent twisting.
The outside ends have an extra 8mm of rubber with a slight flare, helping keep your hands on board and protecting against inevitable run ins with trees. The grip length is a healthy 125mm plus lock on section, giving you plenty of room, yet it has a slim diameter. It’ll get spec on complete bikes first, followed by aftermarket availability in a smattering of colors.
