Ride One: New Santa Cruz 5010 Has In-Frame Storage & Sporty New Haircut – Pinkbike

Alongside the Santa Cruz 5010, the ladies’s Juliana Furtado was additionally launched in the present day with virtually all the identical particulars: the construct kits are comparable, the primary variations being that the Juliana Furtado comes within the “Matte Aquamarine” colorway. , comes inventory with 760mm somewhat 800mm bars and is just accessible in sizes XS, S and M. Like the remainder of the Juliana vary, it’ll additionally include a shock tune aimed toward lighter riders, in comparison with its Santa Cruz counterpart. (Dimension is why I am on a Santa Cruz over a Juliana, as I experience an L-frame.)

Between the 5010 and the Furtado, there are three colours in complete: Matte Nickel, Gloss Pink and Matte Aquamarine.

Body particulars

The 5010 appears loads just like the earlier version, with the decrease hyperlink pushed VPP system that marks practically the whole Santa Cruz line. We additionally see the identical in-frame storage field that has appeared this yr to date on the brand new Megatower, Hightower and Nomad fashions, and has now made its option to the 5010. There’s loads of room for instruments to contained in the beneficiant storage compartment, and Santa Cruz contains two padded pockets – a device holder and a tube holder – to maintain the contents of the field quiet and safe. The field has a spring-loaded latch, which is usually a bit tough to function with gloves on, nevertheless it stays shut and has a water bottle holder on the lid.

The bike has the identical inner cable routing, body safety and UDH compatibility because the final model, though it comes with Santa Cruz’s personal model of the derailleur hanger. Chainstay size and seat tube angle fluctuate all through the scale vary, as does body stiffness to maintain the bike constant throughout the vary.

Increase spaced rear matches a most tire measurement of 27.5″ x 2.5″. The bike additionally matches post-mount 180mm rotors and has ISCG-05 tabs for a sequence information.

New to this version, there’s a small cutout on the body to look into the shock tunnel and test for sag. On the earlier model, the shock primarily disappears right into a mysterious gap, and it is onerous to see the O-ring, so it is good that Santa Cruz has integrated a little bit extra friendliness into the suspension setup this time round.

There may be additionally an aluminum model of the incoming body, though I have never seen it but, so it is unclear if it shares all the identical body particulars because the carbon one.

The essential particulars: clear routing and body safety.

The glove field was a pleasant addition to the Santa Cruz frames this yr, and the shock tunnel cutout makes the suspension setup rather less mysterious. Additionally – there’s a flip chip, however that requires an allen key and an appreciation for subtlety.

Geometry

As talked about earlier than, the largest change right here is the transfer to a 29er entrance wheel – a sensible transfer on Santa Cruz’s half, I feel, primarily based on the combined wheel sizing that is changing into commonplace for a lot of play bikes and versatile nowadays.

Like all bikes, this one slackened up entrance and gained a couple of millimeters of attain. The wheelbase has additionally elevated by round 15mm – in fact in tandem with the bigger entrance wheel.

For many who admire wonderful tuning, Santa Cruz incorporates a flip chip that permits for 3-4mm backside bracket top adjustment (relying on measurement) and 0.3 diploma head angle adjustment. , though the excessive place additionally has a barely larger leverage ratio.

Association of suspensions

In an effort to enhance the bike’s sensitivity on the high finish of its journey, Santa Cruz lowered the anti-squat by 16% at its peak, protecting it considerably decrease than the earlier model over the primary 100mm of journey. .

In any other case, the suspension platform stays the identical as on the earlier 5010, with a straight line for a leverage ratio curve, which implies the bike will speed up steadily because the suspension compresses.

The Juliana Furtado shares all the identical body particulars, however is aimed toward smaller, lighter riders.

Verification of specs

I haven’t got costs for the fashions but, so you will need to bear with me as I can not remark with a lot certainty on the worth of every half spec. Nonetheless, the bike I am testing comes with a GX AXS drivetrain, RockShox Tremendous Deluxe Choose+ shock, RockShox Pike Choose+ fork, and Santa Cruz Reserve 30 HD rims.

The construct equipment is strong for a mid-level construct, though it might be nice to see top-level suspension for what I count on this bike to price. That mentioned, nothing handicaps this bike. The Maxxis DHR II Exo combo is a really affordable tire spec for this bike, and the SRAM G2 brakes are greater than enough for a motorcycle on this class – though given the bike’s downhill potential and the truth that there may be solely a 40 gram distinction between the G2s and the codes. , it might be good to see a spec with extra highly effective brakes.

Journey impressions

Leaping on the 5010, I used to be instantly struck by the vitality the bike felt whereas pedaling. Whereas the geometry appears excellent for a cushty all-day journey rig and succesful downhiller, the bike is environment friendly and fast, which makes me wish to pedal tougher to get locations, nevertheless it appears to stability part of its velocity with a really cushioned really feel.

Uphill, the 5010 has a bit extra stability than a few of its light-weight path bike friends, with a slack head angle paired with a steep seat tube angle. The pedaling place is simply above the underside bracket – good and sporty. On technical and mild climbs, the bike is straightforward to position precisely the place it must be.

As soon as pointed downhill, the 5010 likes to have enjoyable. It is a lot sooner than most downhill-oriented bikes, nevertheless it’s very secure at excessive speeds. The principle trade-off I observed was that traction was a little bit tougher to get downhill than on bikes with extra Sensitivity – even with the anti-squat changes Santa Cruz made over the past model and the commonly pretty damped really feel of the suspension.

In some methods, the snug, aggressive geometry suggests it might be straightforward to over-commit to the gnar and go over the bike’s head. Though I did not expertise this when it comes to journey, I generally felt – as talked about earlier than – overcommitted when it got here to traction. I do not essentially assume that is a nasty factor; the truth is, it is fairly superior {that a} short-travel bike may get me snug sufficient to get sketchy. Briefly, it is a short-travel bike with a geometry that makes it a bit taller than the numbers recommend – one other level in favor of stronger brakes to associate with the knobby tires and all-around functionality. biking.

Taking into account that we’re nonetheless speaking a couple of 130mm bike, the 5010 feels wonderful in gnar-lite, playful trails that are not too technical however require a little bit of forgiveness, and the low heart of gravity and brief the rear finish makes it straightforward to tear round corners. Dealing with could be very, very straightforward, and general the bike does an amazing job of smoothing out the tough stuff with out sacrificing its vigorous, environment friendly character.