The Santa Cruz Syndicate team has been hittin’ the gravity circuit aboard full carbon fiber V10 downhill bikes for a while now, proving their World Cup performance.
Now, they’re offering the frame, complete with a carbon rear triangle co-developed with Enve, to you and I. Not only that, but they’re bumping to warranty to a full five years with lifetime warranty on the bearings and a crash replacement program. On a sub-7lb DH race frame.
What makes that even more impressive is that it’s not just the rear end that’s new. The front triangle has dropped 300g from the prior model, making the entire frameset a full two pounds lighter than the standard model!
Video, specs and more past the drop…
Santa Cruz spokesperson Will Ockleton said they looked at low stress areas and realized they had overbuilt it. So, they started removing weight where they could, but made it stiffer overall by revising the layup. The old frame could withstand being smashed around on rocks, trees and other things, which is nice and all, but they realized it was still overkill. Two spots that received particular attention were the seat tube struts (they’re now stiffer) and the linkage (it’s now a bit lighter and stiffer, but mainly it’s better looking).
Ockleton says the level of compaction they use in their tubes is what makes the frame so strong. We’ve covered this process here in great detail.
Available with green or red trim.
The frame gets co-molded aluminum bits to eliminate bonded on parts. Rear dropouts and brake tabs are molded as one piece with the rear triangle, and a direct mount rear derailleur hanger is included. It’ll run the new 157mm rear axle standard – which is actually a good thing. With a standard 150mm thru axle, the hubs endcaps are flush with a smooth internal face on the dropout. With 157, you basically have 3.5mm extended dropouts that slot into recessed guides on the frame. This makes it more like a thru axle on your forks, which lets the hub rest in little grooves that line up the axle with the holes on the frame. It’s a good thing, and most modern hubs should be able to simply swap in new end caps as soon as that wheel brand makes them available.
Big rubber bumpers keep the frame safe.
Note the new molded rubber protectors on the swingarm. They’re also present on the downtube for an integrated look that keeps the frame safe. Rear travel will adjust from 10″ down to 8.5″ to suit the terrain (or your current fork).
Like bullet points? Here’s the highlights, per Santa Cruz:
V10c CREDENTIALS – The Most Successful DH Bike of All Time:
- First carbon bike to win a DH world cup (Maribor 2010)
- 64 UCI World Cup Podiums
- 14 UCI World Cup Wins (Minnaar x 11, Peat x 3)
- 2 UCI World Cup Overall Titles (Peat 2006, Minnaar 2008)
- First Carbon bike to win an Elite DH World Championship (Leogang 2012)
- 2 Elite World Championship Golds (Peat 2009, Minnaar 2012)
- 1 Junior World Championship Gold (Bryceland 2008)
- 2 Elite World Championship Silvers (Peat 2008, Minnaar 2009)
- 2 Elite World Championship Bronzes (Rennie 2006, Minnaar 2010)
FRAME STATS – The Lightest and Strongest* Production DH Frame in the World:
- 6.97 lb (3.15 kg) M size with Rock Shox Vivid air
- 7.9 lb (3.6 kg) M size with Fox DHX RC4 shock with 9.5” x 3.0” steel coil
- 10” (25.4cm) to 8.5” (21.6cm) of adjustable travel
- New 157mm rear axle spacing – easier wheel installation.
- New molded rubber swingarm and downtube protectors.
- New integrated fork bumpers with cable guide.
- New carbon upper link – increased sti”ness.
- Forged aluminum lower link with recessed grease ports.
- Collet axle pivots – lock in place without pinch bolts.
- Direct mount rear derailleur hanger.
- Full carbon dropouts and disk mounts.
- Co-molded aluminium hardware on upper pivot and bottom bracket – no bonding.
- Race tested by Syndicate throughout 2012.
- Syndicate will race production frames in 2013.
- Internal production reference name is V10.5c
Of course, if you like a little extra junk in the trunk, you could always go with the V10 Fat Bike…
