Santa Cruz Bicycles

V10 Carbon 27.5 X01 Mountain Bike

Though the World Cup circuit is rife with 29er downhill bikes, many riders and racers prefer the quick-turning, flickable feel of the V10 Carbon 27.5. This nimble and ready steed is still very relevant for taking on the steepest, gnarliest terrain you can find, and is a perfect weapon for showcasing your style on the biggest bike park booters, or carving fresh lines during a freeride trip to the desert. Thankfully, Santa Cruz kept our best interests in mind when designing the latest 27.5 version of the V10, giving it 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.