The new V10 29er will be available to buy in February 2019 after two years of development by Syndicate team riders Luca Shaw, Greg Minnaar and Loris Vergier.
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The all-new bike comes in two wheel size options — 29er and 27.5-inch — with each frame featuring its own suspension kinematics and geometry.
The 29er V10 first exploded into the public eye at round one of the 2017 UCI MTB DH World Cup in Lourdes, France, taking the rest of the field by surprise and leaving other brands scrambling to produce their own 29er-wheeled DH bikes.
Longer, lower and slacker
Find out how the new V10 came to life
Updated with the latest geometry figures, the new 29er comes in three sizes (from medium to extra-large) with high and low bottom bracket height settings and two chainstay length options.
The medium and large bikes share chainstay lengths at 445mm (short) and 455mm (long), and the extra-large gets 450mm (short) and 460mm (long) chainstays.
Although the new 27.5-inch bike drops several size options (the outgoing V10 can be bought in sizes S to XXL), the new one only has small to large options but receives longer reach numbers across all sizes, and an increase in wheelbase length thanks to front centre and chainstay growth.
Santa Cruz decided to keep the 650b variant of the bike to offer more choice to consumers – they claim that people looking for a smaller bike will be better suited to the 27.5-wheeler and riders looking for a bigger bike should consider the 29er option.
Both bikes share a 63.3- or 63.7-degree head angle depending on whether the bike is set in its high or low geometry position. Reach figures have grown from 410mm for the small 650b bike to 492mm for the largest 29er V10.
V10 29 geometry
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V10 275 geometry
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Race ready off-the-shelf
Santa Cruz has been busy developing the brand-new chassis with feedback from its top racers, so it comes as no surprise that the bike’s ready to tackle even the gnarliest of descents right out of the box.
The two models, named DH XO1 and DH S, have the same components across wheel sizes.
The top-of-the-range model comes equipped with Fox Factory suspension front and back, SRAM X01 groupset, RaceFace ARC HD 30 rims wrapped in Greg Minnaar’s signature Maxxis Assegai DH tyres. SRAM’s Code RSC brakes are fitted with 200mm rotors and there's a mix of Ergon, Burgtec and Santa Cruz finishing kit.
The lower-spec DH S gets a mix of SRAM’s GX DH, Descendant and RaceFace parts with Fox Performance suspension and the same RaceFace wheels and DT Swiss hubs as the top-spec bikes.
The frame-only option comes equipped with Fox’s DHX2 Factory SLS coil shock and all 29- and 27.5-inch bikes have 215mm of travel.
V10CC DH X01 29/27.5 specs
- Frame: Carbon V10 CC 215mm Travel VPP
- Shock: Fox DHX2 Factory SLS Coil
- Fork: Fox 49/40 Factory 203mm
- Derailleur: SRAM X01 DH 7-speed
- Chainguide: E.13 LG1+
- Shifter: SRAM X01 DH
- Brakes: SRAM Code RSC
- Crankset: RaceFace SIXC, 36t
- Cassette: SRAM X01 DH 7-speed
- Handlebar: Santa Cruz AM carbon
- Stem: Santa Cruz direct mount
- Saddle: Ergon SMD2 Pro Ti
- Tyres: Maxxis Assegai 29X2.5 MaxxGRIP 3C
- Hubs: DT Swiss 350
- Rims: RaceFace ARC HD 30
V10 DH S 29/27.5 specs
- Frame: Carbon V10 CC 215mm Travel VPP
- Shock: Fox DHX2 Performance Elite coil
- Fork: Fox 49/40 Performance Elite 203mm
- Derailleur: SRAM GX DH 7-speed
- Chainguide: E.13 LG1+
- Shifter: SRAM GX 7-speed
- Brakes: SRAM Code R
- Crankset: SRAM Descendant DH, 36t
- Cassette: SRAM PG-720 DH
- Handlebar: Burgtec RideWide DH alloy bar
- Stem: Santa Cruz direct mount
- Saddle: Ergon SMD20 Comp
- Tyres: Maxxis Assegai 29X2.5 MaxxGRIP 3C
- Hubs: DT Swiss 350
- Rims: RaceFace ARC HD 30
Inbuilt details
The new bike has a spattering of neat details such as internal derailleur cable routing to help protect the housing from chain damage, replaceable frame protectors on the down tube, and chain slap noise reduction protectors on the chainstay.
There’s also an inbuilt mudguard to protect the shock and integrated fork bumpers.
Reserving the best until last
Remember the rims Danny MacAskill tried to trash by riding down a set of set of steps without a tyre? Well, now Santa Cruz has made a DH-version of the famous and virtually indestructible Reserve wheels.
Full wheelsets will be built onto Chris King hubs and retail for £2,499 / $2,499. The rim-only option is going to cost £630 / $649 per rim.
Santa Cruz V10 and Reserve DH wheels pricing and availability
The top-of-the-line X01 full bike build will set you back the princely sum of £7,999 / $8,199 / AU$12,899, the S Build, which uses slightly lower spec components is priced at £5,999 / $5,999 / AU$9,999. The frame only option retails for £3,599 / $3,699 / AU$5,999.
The 29er model and Reserve wheels will be available in February 2019, with the 27.5-inch bike arriving in April.
