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Santa Cruz Reviews and News
Are Plus tires and bikes still a thing?
Paul Andrews October 19, 2018Plus tires and bikes were billed as offering better handling and traction at low psi. But now many riders seem to be moving away from this wider world.
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Day tripping on a Santa Cruz Bronson
Mtbr July 19, 2018Take a trip with Josh Bryceland on his new Santa Cruz Bronson, down in the woods near the town where he was born.
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Santa Cruz 5010 V3 first look
Francis Cebedo July 03, 2018Now in its latest iteration, still with 130mm of rear travel and 27.5 wheels, it’s ready to re-enter the Trail Bike category once again as riders increasingly want to do more fun and aggressive descents.
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Santa Cruz Bronson V3 first look
Francis Cebedo July 03, 2018How did they improve the Bronson V3? The answer is suspension, geometry, tire size and details.
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Video: Santa Cruz Bronson V3 with Josh Bryceland
Francis Cebedo July 03, 2018Contrary to sixties belief, we don’t all live in yellow submarines. Some folk live on canal boats instead. Take a trip with Josh Bryceland on his new Bronson on his home trails.
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Time to tip your trail builder
Jason Sumner June 25, 2018Downed trees just don’t magically disappear in the spring, critical trail armor doesn’t fall off the armor tree, and drainage mitigation isn’t an act of God.
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Video: Why my Santa Cruz Nomad climbs like crap
Mtbr May 24, 2018Bikes like the Nomad have a massive sweet spot with climbing prowess and descending abilities. But one can target it as well to descend very, very well.
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Danny MacAskill’s custom Santa Cruz trials bike
Mtbr April 04, 2018The in-house composites lab at Santa Cruz was initially set up for their Reserve wheels program, but then it got put to use building one very special bike.
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Santa Cruz Bronson damaged by ax up for sale
Francis Cebedo March 27, 2018We don’t know the whole story but this caught our attention today. A mountain biker from Central New Jersey put his bike up for sale, a beautiful green carbon fiber Santa Cruz Bronson.
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Santa Cruz Blur first ride review
Jason Sumner March 20, 2018After a three-year hiatus, the bike that arguably put Santa Cruz on the map is back. Meet the new Blur, a 29-inch wheeled full carbon XC speed machine with 100mm of VPP suspension.
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2018 Santa Cruz Highball first ride review
Jason Sumner March 20, 2018New low-angle stays designed to work in tandem with a bridgeless seatstay design to help absorb trail chatter.
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Back on Trail California Wildfire fundraiser update
Francis Cebedo February 14, 2018An amazing $73,000 has been raised so far, but there is still a long way to go for this great cause.
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Santa Cruz creates special Hightowers for CA wildfire aid
Francis Cebedo February 01, 2018Santa Cruz Bicycles, industry partners launch ‘Back on Trail’ campaign, custom bikes to fund reconstruction of trails lost to California wildfires
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Mtbr’s Most Read Posts In 2017
Jason Sumner January 10, 2018As we push headlong into 2018, it’s fun to look back on the year that was. Here’s a rundown of the 20 most viewed Mtbr posts from 2017.
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Best of 2017: Jason’s Top Gear Picks
Jason Sumner December 28, 2017Here’s another Best Gear of 2017 list, this time from Mtbr features editor Jason Sumner. Let us know what you think of his selections in the comments section.
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Win a Santa Cruz bike of your choice for MBOSC trail projects
Mtbr November 13, 2017One lucky donor will ride away with a new $9,500 Santa Cruz bicycle in the Mountain Bikers of Santa Cruz’s (MBOSC) “Ante Up for Trails” campaign.
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Santa Cruz Aluminum Nomad Review
Saris Mercanti October 04, 2017Always dreamed of owning a Nomad but couldn’t afford the price of admission? Santa Cruz recently dropped an alloy version and complete builds start at just $3,600. Here’s how it stacks up against its carbon counterpart.
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Danny MacAskill smashes wheels to prove point
Jason Sumner October 02, 2017Santa Cruz Reserve wheels can now be bought separately for any boost-compatible 27.5 or 29er bike. To celebrate, the California-based company had a little video making fun with Danny MacAskill.
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Santa Cruz Bicycles Mother Lode Epic race report
Mtbr August 28, 2017Two days before the eclipse, the inaugural Santa Cruz Bicycles Mother Lode Epic was held on trails just outside of Sacramento, California. The event brought to life a new format of cross country racing
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Bike Check: Trevor’s “Proud Mary” Santa Cruz Hightower
Arts Cyclery July 25, 2017Art’s Cyclery’s marketing and community outreach boss shows off his enduro race ready ride.
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Santa Cruz Hightower LT first ride review
Francis Cebedo July 06, 2017Launched last year, the original Hightower was the epitome of versatility. The new 150mm LT 29er is more focused and has no plus tire option.
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First Impressions: Santa Cruz’s all new Nomad
Saris Mercanti June 01, 2017For the fourth generation of the Nomad, Santa Cruz bikes has upped the ante by increasing rear travel to 170mm, lengthening the reach, and completely re-configuring the rear suspension.
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First Impressions: Santa Cruz’s new Reserve Carbon wheels
Saris Mercanti June 01, 2017The new Santa Cruz Reserve wheels use an array of unique concepts to help address some of the major failings of carbon wheels today.
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Santa Cruz Syndicate moving to 29er V10 DH bike
Saris Mercanti April 26, 2017No, it’s not April 1st. The Santa Cruz Syndicate will be hitting the World Cup this season on V10 29ers.
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Spy shot leaks of new Santa Cruz Nomad 4
Saris Mercanti April 06, 2017V10 style linkage may hold the key to even better suspension performance.
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Dream Build: Santa Cruz Hightower with all the trimmings
Jason Sumner April 04, 2017This Santa Cruz Hightower with dreamy component spec is admittedly a little over the top. But when you live and ride in a place like Crested Butte, your bike should be worth more than your car.
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Finding the edge: Big Sandy race report
Clint Claassen March 28, 2017Piloting a new Santa Cruz Tallboy 3, the author goes from a sure-thing podium placing to wondering what could have been. These are the things you learn when pushing up against the mental edge.
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Santa Cruz/SRAM Team custom painted Hightowers
Saris Mercanti March 24, 2017This beautiful trio of custom Santa Cruz bikes would be equally at home on the trail or in an art gallery.
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2017 Santa Cruz Chameleon first look
Francis Cebedo March 15, 2017Still aluminum and more versatile than ever, the new Santa Cruz Chameleon is here with plus tire compatibility, configurable dropouts, and very modern geometry.
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2018 Santa Cruz Chameleon 27.5+ spy photos
Francis Cebedo March 11, 2017This new Chameleon from Santa Cruz has been spotted in several Santa Cruz dealers. It not only looks promising but the the rumored pricing is attractive as well.
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Project Alloy trail bike
Saris Mercanti March 05, 2017For the same money, should you go for a carbon frame with a budget build kit or an alloy frame with a higher end spec?
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Luca Shaw and Loris Vergier join Santa Cruz Syndicate
Saris Mercanti January 10, 2017This might just be the best team announcement video ever. Click through to see what we mean.
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Mtbr’s top 10 most read articles in 2016
Saris Mercanti January 07, 2017What are Mtbr readers most interested in? If we use the top 10 most read articles of 2016 as a barometer, it’s reviews, reviews, and more reviews. Plus a smattering of interviews and product roundups.
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Mtbr Best of 2016 Awards: Plus Bike
Jason Sumner January 06, 2017What makes the Santa Cruz Hightower great? For starters, it’s not just a plus bike; it’s a trail ripping, do-it-all singletrack slayer that can be set up with 27.5+ wheels and a 150mm fork or 29er hoops and 140mm of front end squish. Click through to find out more.
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Santa Cruz Bronson, 5010 and Tallboy 3 alloy bike weights
Saris Mercanti July 26, 2016Santa Cruz recently launched alloy versions of their three most popular bikes. We stopped by their HQ in order to get some real world weights.
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Santa Cruz brings back aluminum, kills single pivot models
Saris Mercanti July 12, 2016Santa Cruz bikes just got more affordable with the introduction of three all-new alloy bikes.
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The most exciting new XC bikes of 2016 (so far)
Saris Mercanti July 07, 2016In recent years, cross country race courses have become more technical. To help give their athletes a competitive edge, a number of brands are launching bikes that are more capable of tackling technical terrain. Check out the most versatile new XC bikes released this year.
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Gallery: Excitebike inspired Santa Cruz Bronson
Saris Mercanti May 23, 2016If you loved the 8-bit video game era, then you’re going to love this custom graphics kit.
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Win any Santa Cruz bike, help build Santa Cruz trails
Mtbr May 17, 2016Yes, you heard that right – a complete Santa Cruz steed of your choosing is up for the winning. That’s ANY bike, any color, any build!
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Santa Cruz Tallboy 3 29er first ride review
Saris Mercanti April 29, 2016The original Tallboy was a classic. After seven years without any major geometry revisions, Santa Cruz just introduced an all new model. Here’s our thoughts after the first shake down run.
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Santa Cruz Tallboy 3, now 27.5+ and 29er compatible
Saris Mercanti April 26, 2016Santa Cruz was one of the first brands to figure out the whole 29er thing with the original Tallboy. Since then, the model has been a staple of it’s line up, but it’s been long overdue for an update. Head past the break to see what changes SCB made to the all new Tallboy 3.
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Santa Cruz, Chris King partner on limited edition dream bike
Saris Mercanti April 13, 2016Chris King marks its 40th anniversary with this beautiful $8999 limited edition bike designed in conjunction with Santa Cruz.
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Santa Cruz Hightower
Francis Cebedo February 01, 2016From the ashes of the Tallboy LT, the new Santa Cruz Hightower has risen. This is a 135mm trail bike that is incredibly agile and capable. It is sold in either 29er or Plus form as it reveals a bike with a massive sweet spot.
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Best new mountain bikes of 2015
Saris Mercanti January 12, 2016The Mtbr staff has ridden everything from electric assist fat bikes to ultra light cross-country whippets this past year. But which ones made our Best of 2015 list?
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Review: Santa Cruz 5010
Dillon Caldwell December 03, 2015For the adventurous all-mountain rider who would rather pedal than shuttle, you’d be hard pressed to find a better bike than the Santa Cruz 5010. Find out why in our full review.
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Santa Cruz Bronson Review
Francis Cebedo December 01, 2015Santa Cruz enters the 650b/27.5 wheel size party with the introduction of the 150mm travel Santa Cruz Bronson all mountain bike. While not the first, this product introduction is very significant.
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Santa Cruz 5010
Francis Cebedo December 01, 2015The 5010 is slacker now with a 67 degree head angle and updated with a longer top tube and steeper seat tube. It’s way more playful now too with 150mm dropper post capability.
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2015 Holiday Gift Guide: For the all enduro all the time adrenaline junkie
Jason Sumner November 27, 2015Enduro (both the race format, and the idea in general) has had a significant influence on bike, gear, and apparel design. Here is a round-up of great “enduro” gift ideas that will keep the adrenaline junkie in your life riding (or racing) fast and safe.
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First Look: 2016 Santa Cruz Bronson
Francis Cebedo September 12, 2015Slacker head angle, longer top tube, shorter chainstays are some of the updates to this newest Bronson.
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First Look: Juliana Roubion and Furtado
Saris Mercanti September 11, 2015The changes are subtle but they are extensive. All are designed to expand the sweet spot of these two bikes to deeper into the fun zone and the shredding realm.
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