The Santa Cruz Syndicate racers, mechanics, and engineers recently spent three successful days doing early season testing of their new Fox Shox and Shimano components in San Romolo, Italy. The testing took place on the long downhill racetrack with a five-man Fox crew on hand to gather information for suspension testing using state of the art data acquisition equipment. Their ability to translate each rider’s input into measured improvements in speed and control had Santa Cruz Bikes engineer Joe Graney impressed.
Read on to view more rider impressions and pictures
“We were getting everyone up to speed on the new full carbon frame, Fox suspension, and Shimano components. With the frame being much lighter than the previous version we had to dial the suspension in because of less un-sprung weight. I’ve also been riding the new XTR brakes for some time now and can’t get over how impressive they are, particularly with modulation. Feedback from all the racers was what I was expecting, a new milestone in performance.” – Rob Roskopp
“We have had three awesome days testing and training in Italy. It was great to catch up with all my crew after a few down months throughout the winter and I was happy to get out on the Santa Cruz V-10 and trash it in the test situation. Fox is a company that I have watched over the years. They obviously have great product because the fast guys are using it and winning races now and again on it. And Shimano needs no introduction. It’s a no brainer that they have great products and I am looking forward to working with them at the races! We came up with some great set ups and I am now looking forward to the season. Now it’s our turn to give it a thrash on our V-10’s, 2012 should be fun!” – Steve Peat
“The Fox and Shimano Saint equipped bikes ran silky smooth during our test camp in San Romolo. The riders really liked the responsiveness and quality of the product. We are ready to go racing!!” – Doug Hatfield
Via Santa Cruz Bikes
