An Elegant Racing Machine
By Jen Castle (Jr_Bullit)
Cyclists are a part of a unique group of athletes whose equipment is almost as important as the athlete in achieving the win. Downhill Mountain Bike Racing is at another level entirely, as the bike ridden has an enormous impact on riding style, speed and endurance.
Santa Cruz Bicycles upped the standard of racing equipment with its newest downhill frame, the VPP (Virtual Pivot Point) V10. Straight from the box the frame gives the impression of speed. With its elegant raked out design, your eyes caress the metal machine pausing only to note the superb craftsmanship.
Created from 6066 aluminum alloy, all the pivots run on sealed cartridge bearings, and it features fully replaceable dropouts, a floating rear brake and comes standard with the much admired 5th Element shock. As its name suggests, the V10 has ten inches of rear wheel travel. Your first impression when sitting on the bike is that its too soft, with its four inches of sag. It feels almost as if youre sinking into a nice fluffy chair rather than onto one of the smoothest machines out there. The V10 has a longer wheel base than you might expect, though once in the cockpit it certainly doesnt feel long.
In a parking lot the bike pedals like a hardtail. There is no bouncing or bobbing as you pedal around. Once on the trail youll be pleased to note that there is also no kickback to the pedals as you speed over chatter-bumps and obstacles on the path. You can stand up and hammer down a rock-filled or root-choked section and barely notice the bike working beneath you. The bike is amazingly quiet both when pedaling and when landing jumps and drops, and even on the hardest hits you feel like you landed on a cushion of air. Another thing to note is its stability at high-speeds. Theres very little flex in the rear wheel, which adds to the sensation that the wheel wants to stay on the ground. While the V10 is in no way a traditional free-ride bike, you can freely-ride it anywhere you choose. It is a pure race bike in every way and on all terrain.
A few important notes on building up your frame:
* Choose a front fork that fits the frame. On a medium sized V10 a Boxxer was as close to a perfect match as we could get. Any larger fork (such as the Stratos S7) seems to raked the front end out to much.
* If using an Isis standard setup, your options for a bottom bracket are limited. Also note that with a chain guide, the recommended 73x122mm-bottom bracket is an extremely tight fit once the cranks are on.
* While no one will ever argue with the amazing performance of the 5th Element rear shock, setting it up requires good technical skill, care and patience. Additionally, the beginning and ending compression adjusters are challenging to reach as they are housed far inside the frame.
* The cable routing system is one of the best out there. However, if you are not comfortable bleeding your own brakes, take it to your local bike shop for assistance. In order to place your cables in proper fashion, you need to disconnect the rear brake, route the cable, and re-bleed it.
From a spectators point of view, it looks like the bike is doing the majority of the work, while the rider is merely concentrating on his line. A good example of how well designed the V10 is: Jason Strother (known fondly on RideMonkey as Freak) let me try out his bike. Freak is nearly a foot taller than I am and roughly 70lbs heavier, needless to say his V10 is at least ten pounds heavier than my small Bullit, and a medium sized frame is generally a huge bike for me to attempt to ride. Not only was I able to hop on his bike and sprint away at a faster pace than I had set all afternoon on my bike, I dusted the Freak on a short uphill climb.
Santa Cruz has definitely raised the bar for downhill racing in terms of bike quality and craftsmanship. If ever you are in a position to possess one of these elegant beauties take it. If someone should ever kindly offer to let you test ride one take it, unless of course you are afraid to return to your own outdated ride.
By Jen Castle (Jr_Bullit)
Cyclists are a part of a unique group of athletes whose equipment is almost as important as the athlete in achieving the win. Downhill Mountain Bike Racing is at another level entirely, as the bike ridden has an enormous impact on riding style, speed and endurance.
Santa Cruz Bicycles upped the standard of racing equipment with its newest downhill frame, the VPP (Virtual Pivot Point) V10. Straight from the box the frame gives the impression of speed. With its elegant raked out design, your eyes caress the metal machine pausing only to note the superb craftsmanship.
Created from 6066 aluminum alloy, all the pivots run on sealed cartridge bearings, and it features fully replaceable dropouts, a floating rear brake and comes standard with the much admired 5th Element shock. As its name suggests, the V10 has ten inches of rear wheel travel. Your first impression when sitting on the bike is that its too soft, with its four inches of sag. It feels almost as if youre sinking into a nice fluffy chair rather than onto one of the smoothest machines out there. The V10 has a longer wheel base than you might expect, though once in the cockpit it certainly doesnt feel long.
In a parking lot the bike pedals like a hardtail. There is no bouncing or bobbing as you pedal around. Once on the trail youll be pleased to note that there is also no kickback to the pedals as you speed over chatter-bumps and obstacles on the path. You can stand up and hammer down a rock-filled or root-choked section and barely notice the bike working beneath you. The bike is amazingly quiet both when pedaling and when landing jumps and drops, and even on the hardest hits you feel like you landed on a cushion of air. Another thing to note is its stability at high-speeds. Theres very little flex in the rear wheel, which adds to the sensation that the wheel wants to stay on the ground. While the V10 is in no way a traditional free-ride bike, you can freely-ride it anywhere you choose. It is a pure race bike in every way and on all terrain.
A few important notes on building up your frame:
* Choose a front fork that fits the frame. On a medium sized V10 a Boxxer was as close to a perfect match as we could get. Any larger fork (such as the Stratos S7) seems to raked the front end out to much.
* If using an Isis standard setup, your options for a bottom bracket are limited. Also note that with a chain guide, the recommended 73x122mm-bottom bracket is an extremely tight fit once the cranks are on.
* While no one will ever argue with the amazing performance of the 5th Element rear shock, setting it up requires good technical skill, care and patience. Additionally, the beginning and ending compression adjusters are challenging to reach as they are housed far inside the frame.
* The cable routing system is one of the best out there. However, if you are not comfortable bleeding your own brakes, take it to your local bike shop for assistance. In order to place your cables in proper fashion, you need to disconnect the rear brake, route the cable, and re-bleed it.
From a spectators point of view, it looks like the bike is doing the majority of the work, while the rider is merely concentrating on his line. A good example of how well designed the V10 is: Jason Strother (known fondly on RideMonkey as Freak) let me try out his bike. Freak is nearly a foot taller than I am and roughly 70lbs heavier, needless to say his V10 is at least ten pounds heavier than my small Bullit, and a medium sized frame is generally a huge bike for me to attempt to ride. Not only was I able to hop on his bike and sprint away at a faster pace than I had set all afternoon on my bike, I dusted the Freak on a short uphill climb.
Santa Cruz has definitely raised the bar for downhill racing in terms of bike quality and craftsmanship. If ever you are in a position to possess one of these elegant beauties take it. If someone should ever kindly offer to let you test ride one take it, unless of course you are afraid to return to your own outdated ride.
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