New Santa Cruz Stigmata is rowdier than ever and says no to internally routed cockpits

Santa Cruz has updated its Stigmata gravel bike, with a new, more progressive geometry borrowed from its mountain bike range.

That means a slacker head tube with a 69.5-degree angle across the full S to XXL size range, down from the previous bike’s 71 to 72 degrees.

Reach has increased by a substantial 30mm over the previous model too, with Santa Cruz speccing shorter 70mm-long stems to compensate. That has led to an increase in wheelbase, up from the previous bike’s 1,009mm to 1,053mm, to between 1,043mm and 1,130mm across the size range.

The higher fork crown allows the rigid fork to be swapped out for a suspension model. — The higher fork crown enables the rigid fork to be swapped out for a suspension model.

Another change is a shorter head tube paired to a rigid fork with a higher crown, so that it can be swapped out for a 40mm-travel suspension fork without affecting the geometry. That will be music to the ears of some of our off-road riding colleagues.

All of this is designed to make the Stigmata more capable off-road.

There’s clearance for 50mm tyres on 700c gravel wheels, up from 45mm. The frame is compatible with a 27.2mm dropper post and uses the Universal Derailleur Hanger for compatibility and easier spares.

No internal cabling for easier maintenance. — There's no internal cabling for easier maintenance.

Santa Cruz says it has stuck to external cables for the cockpit so the bike can take a standard IS tapered headset. That means there's no tricky routing to deal with when it comes time for a replacement.

Likewise, there’s a threaded bottom bracket shell in the CC carbon fibre frame. Santa Cruz’s bottom line is the Stigmata is “easy to work on, easy to find parts for, built to last”.

Santa Cruz Stigmata geometry

Size	Reach	Stack	Head tube angle	Head tube length	Seat tube angle	Seat tube length	Rear centre	Front centre	BB height	BB drop	Wheelbase	Top tube length	Stand-over
S	390	564	69.5	105	74	455	430	625	278.5	78	1,043	552	728
M	405	576	69.5	120	74	485	430	645	280.5	76	1,063	570	753
L	420	600	69.5	145	74	515	430	668	280.5	76	1,087	592	778
XL	435	612	69.5	160	74	545	430	688	282.5	74	1,108	610	804
XXL	450	631	69.5	180	74	575	430	710	282.5	74	1,130	631	830

All lengths in mm and angles in degrees

Santa Cruz Stigmata: who’s it for?

Santa Cruz says that 2x isn't dead for gravel bikes. — Santa Cruz says 2x isn't dead for gravel bikes.

Santa Cruz points out that gravel riding has diversified, with everything from all-road riding and gravel racing through bikepacking to quasi-MTB being tackled on gravel bikes.

The brand's aim was to make the new Stigmata a bike that can be configured for the whole spectrum of uses. Showing its gravel racing palmares, Keegan Swenson won Unbound 2023 on the new Stigmata.

The standard build kits include both 1x and 2x iterations and there’s a suspension fork/dropper post option.

Cubbyhole adds extra storage in the down tube. — The cubbyhole adds extra storage in the down tube.

There’s a new cubbyhole in the Stigmata’s down tube for your bits and pieces, a waterproof or survival rations. Extra mounts are limited to those for mudguards and three bottle cages, with Santa Cruz saying it has aimed to keep the look of the frame clean and boss-free.

Santa Cruz Stigmata build options and prices

Santa Cruz will offer the new Stigmata with five build kit options. All have SRAM 12-speed groupsets, starting off with the latest Apex 1 mechanical, with 1x and 2x Rival AXS and Force AXS as higher-spec options.

The Force AXS 1x RSV build has a Rockshox Rudy Ultimate 40mm-travel fork and Rockshox Reverb AXS XPLR 75mm-travel dropper post; all the other builds get a standard rigid fork and seatpost. There’s one colour on offer: 'brick red'.