Santa Cruz Bicycles

V10 Carbon v6 27.5 S Mountain Bike – 2019

Contrary to popular belief, 27.5 isn't dead. With the masses ogling over lofty wagon wheels, you might be mistaken, but with Santa Cruz hitting back with another year of ultimate downhill power on the V10 Carbon 27.5 S Mountain Bike , you can rest assured that the nimble and ready wheel size is still relevant and rowdy as ever for taking on the steepest, gnarliest terrain, and balking at the boulders that have other bikes hiking back to the top to find the easier route down. With the launch of the new 29in V10, those of us here at Competitive who still covet the nimble, playful feel of a 27.5 bike were a little worried, but engineers at Santa Cruz kept our best interests in mind, and designed the 27.5 version of the hellhound that is the V10 with nearly identical geometry to its 29er big brother, so the ride feel stays steady, capable, and ready for the most elite levels of DH racing as proven by the Syndicate Team.

While the newest iteration of the 27.5 V10 is a completely new bike from its predecessors, it continues the Santa Cruz tradition of bombproof carbon frames with superior stiffness and ride quality. While it keeps the same 27.5 platform that we saw in years past, the new bike features longer reach than before, and fully modern downhill geometry, along with two different geometry adjustment points. A flip-chip at the lower shock link changes between High and Low geometry positions, offering up either a 63.7-degree or 63.3-degree head tube angle, and a 14.02in or 13.82in bottom bracket height, respectively. A second flip chip in the rear axle alters the chainstay length by 10mm, giving you the option to lengthen the chainstays and wheelbase for added high-speed stability, or to optimize front and rear balance for your height and riding style. Together these geometry flip-chips let you tune your bike to suit different courses, whether they are steep, hand-built and wild trails, or wide-open and fast.

In addition to the geometry changes, Santa Cruz was able to lower the suspension leverage rate in order to improve rear shock performance, thanks to the two seasons of extensive testing with the Syndicate racers. They also improved the frame's internal cable routing, incorporating their proven internal molded tubes that keep things clean-looking and easy to work on, and adding internal derailleur cable routing on the swingarm to protect the housing from chain damage. Protective bits are improved as well. A new ribbed chainstay protector drastically reduces chain slap noise. There's a fender for the rear shock to protect it from debris spun up by the rear tire, as well as a bottom bracket and lower down tube guard to protect the area from rocks and other impacts. Our favorite piece is the protective bumper on the upper down tube, which shields your frame from any damage caused by the tailgate when shuttling.

Santa Cruz completes this particular V10 with a slew of downhill-grade components that are picked to make the most of your ride, without eating into your bank account too hard. It uses SRAM's proven GX DH 7-speed drivetrain and Code R brakes to handle acceleration and stopping on a dime. FOX's mid-line suspension delivers top-notch traction in hideously steep and rowdy terrain, with the bombproof, rock gobbling DHX2 coil shock in the back, and trustworthy FOX 40 in the front with near invincible 40mm stanchions for deliberate tracking in rough conditions. The wheelset consists of reliable Novatec hubs for snappy engagement, laced up neatly to burly e*thirteen LG1+ rims, paired with grippy Maxxis  High Roller downhill tires to round out the setup. And to make sure your steed is race-ready out of the box, Santa Cruz includes an e*thirteen chainguide to keep you firmly locked into rowdy and loose terrain.