Santa Cruz Bicycles

Bronson 2.0 Carbon CC X01 Complete Mountain Bike - 2016

Sporting progressive geometry updates that improve its aggressive stance, the Santa Cruz Bronson 2.0 Carbon CC X01 Complete Mountain Bike is more confident than ever when you're ripping descents at blistering speed. Following the trajectory towards bikes that are slacker, lower, and longer, the Bronson 2.0 relaxes its head tube angle to 66 degrees, lengthens the top tube by 20-25mm, slightly drops the bottom bracket, and shortens the chainstays. These modern geometry tweaks create a bike that's astoundingly capable when you're harnessing gravity into a blur of white-knuckle fun. Add in the exceptional stiffness of a 148mm Boost thru-axle in the rear for a bike that holds a precise line through the rowdiest terrain you can throw its way.

Retaining 150mm of travel, the Bronson 2.0 provides a well-balanced ride on everything from the forested singletrack found in the Appalachians to the high-plateau riding of the American Southwest. The big story with the Bronson 2.0 is the VPP3 suspension, which improves upon VPP's already legendary capabilities by slightly revising the location of its linkages. The new box-section upper linkage is mounted along the top tube for increased stiffness while the lower linkage is cleanly tucked away to prevent damage from rock strikes and flinging trail debris. Combined with the included Float X Factory rear shock, you'll reap the benefits of increased small-bump sensitivity, which allows you to power over speed-robbing roots and rocks with impressive traction. The suspension's ramp-up arc is more linear than before, meaning it won't blow through travel as quickly when you're hitting bigger drops or wallow during sudden acceleration on steep climbs and out-of-saddle sprints.

The Bronson 2.0 Carbon CC X01 benefits from Santa Cruz's exceptionally lightweight CC-level carbon frame, which shaves 280 grams off the C-level carbon employed on lower-spec builds. Proving that weight savings don't have to sacrifice strength, CC-level carbon is just as strong and stiff as the heavier C-level carbon. Ultimately, this equates to uncompromising stiffness needed for quick acceleration, durability for riders thrashing their bikes on a regular basis, and significant weight savings for conserving precious energy during long climbs and racing scenarios.

This mouth-drooling build gives you everything you need to rip for years to come, including a terrain-gobbling 150mm Pike RCT3 fork, X01 1x11 drivetrain for laser-sharp shifts, and Easton ARC 27 wheels wrapped in Maxxis Minion DHR2 tires. Another upgrade for this year, the 150mm Reverb Stealth dropper (medium to extra-large frames) gives taller riders more drop when they're lowering the saddle on descents.