The 2010 Santa Cruz Juliana aluminium 100mm travel full-suspension cross-country racer has received a subtle makeover -- slackened head tube angle, new pivot axles, new top and down tubes -- while staying true to the original design.
The US$3,274 (as pictured) model, with a mix of Shimano SLX, XT and SRAM X-9, a Fox F100R fork (100mm/4 inches of travel) with Fox Float R rear shock, tips the scales just below 25 pounds without pedals.
According to Joe Graney, engineering director at Santa Cruz Bicycles, the new Superlight, Juliana and Heckler frames got some frame upgrades.
"We're just rolling the changes in," he told BikeRadar. "It's not really part of a bigger model year changeover."
For 2010, the Juliana has new top tube and down tubes, which are designed to eliminate the gusseting at the headtube.
"We changed the pivot axles to use our collet pivot axles (used on all the new VPP frames), instead of using pinch bolts to hold the pivot axle in place," Graney added. "They still use angular contact bearings, 15mm pivot axles, and have aluminium labyrinth seal covers. Fewer parts, stiffer system."
The head tube angle on the Juliana was slackened by one degree, influenced by the updated Blur XC.
"We loved the slackness of the Blur XC so much we made a running change to these models," Graney explained. "It's okay to run 120mm forks on the Juliana, both structurally and handling wise, making it more of an all-arounder/enduro racing type bike than just a pure 100mm XC racing bike.
"In fact, we like it so much with the longer fork that all of our complete bike packages (we also offer a la carte part picking options to build your own) come with 120mm forks," he added. "Shock options now include the Fox RP23 Boost Valve."
Our 2010 Santa Cruz Juliana:
- Fork: Fox F100R 100mm/4 inches travel
- Shock: Fox Float R
- Headset: Cane Creek S-3
- Stem: Easton EA-70 w/ 31.8mm clamp
- Handlebars: Easton Monkey Lite XC carbon low riser
- Shifters: SRAM X-9 trigger
- Brakes: Avid Elixir CR hydraulic w/ 160mm rotors
- Grips: Lizard Skin Charger
- Seatpost: Thomson Elite - 30.9mm diameter
- Saddle: WTB Silverado Team
- Wheels: DT Swiss XR 4.2d rims laced to DT 340 hubs
- Tyres: Kenda John Tomac signature Small Block Eight 26x2.10 folding
- Cassette: SRAM PG980 11-34-tooth 9spd
- Crankset: Shimano SLX 175mm x 44/32/22-tooth triple
- Derailleurs: Shimano XT front/SRAM X-9 rear long cage
- Chain: KMC X-9 SL
- Weight: 24.44 lbs without pedals (Size Medium)
Two new kit options for the racer crowd now include the SRAM X-O SL and Shimano XTR SL kits which come stock with DT Swiss carbon rims, Formula R1 brakes and other trickery. Depending on the kit and fork chosen, the bikes can be built as light as 22.2 lbs without pedals. Complete Julianas start at US$1,699.
Look for a complete review of the 2010 Santa Cruz Juliana on BikeRadar in the coming months. If our tester's maiden voyage at Saratoga Gap recently was any indication of what's to come, Graney and his team will have much more to celebrate in 2010.
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