Goodbye VPP, hello Horst – Santa Cruz breaks from tradition with new Vala eMTB

The new Santa Cruz Vala eMTB marks a significant departure from its range, ditching its signature VPP (virtual pivot point) linkage in favour of a 4-bar linkage to provide 150mm of rear wheel travel.

The shift in suspension linkage is all to do with packaging.

The new bike uses Bosch’s updated full-power Performance Line CX motor (which has brought a raft of new electric mountain bikes to market).

Fitting this into a frame that offered the ride characteristics and geometry the brand wanted meant Santa Cruz had to do away with its VPP links.

The Vala is built for rough and ready trail riding, with 150mm suspension at the back and 160mm travel forks.

Mullet (MX) wheels boost handling, while a 600Wh battery is said to blend range with weight distribution. Geometry and suspension progression chips are added.

Repackaging the frame

Virtually every other full-suspension Santa Cruz uses its VPP linkage whereby two counter-rotating links low in the frame drive the shock.

However, the Bosch motor doesn’t easily sit with this lower linkage design, as the pivot would have to bolt through the motor body – not something that’s going to work very well…

In order to fit the motor, Santa Cruz has shifted to a more ‘traditional’ 4-bar Horst linkage on the Vala, enabling the motor to fit, while also ensuring it could use the geometry it wanted.

This shift has also enabled Santa Cruz to fit proper long-drop dropper posts into the frame.

Neat chassis details

As you’d expect, the frame is carbon, with the brand offering builds with both its cheaper ‘C’ level carbon, and the higher-modulus, lighter and more expensive ‘CC’ carbon.

The frames have all the usual Santa Cruz accoutrements, including simple-to-service large bearings.

These require just a 5mm hex key to do a bolt check, with collet axles designed to resist them ever coming loose.

The link is bridged to boost stiffness and protect the shock from side loads. The captive flip-chip hardware means bits won’t fall on the floor when you adjust it, and replaceable thread inserts so you don’t write off your frame if you’re a bit ham-fisted.

And, there’s plenty of protection and bolted tool storage under the top-tube.

Numbers matter

The kinematics of a bike is what, in theory, determines how it should ride.

The three graphs commonly seen cover anti-squat, anti-ride and leverage.

Anti-squat determines how much pedal forces stiffen up suspension – you want some, as this resists pedal bob, but too much can lead to a harsh and bumpy ride.

The Vala has moderately low levels of anti-squat, in keeping with what Santa Cruz is doing across its range.

With a motor to help on the climbs, a little more pedal bob, but potentially quite a bit more grip is a compromise worth making.

At the sag point, the anti-squat is just above 100 per cent, so the suspension should be stable, while still allowing the rear wheel to track the ground.

It falls below 100 per cent later in the stroke, so bigger hits shouldn’t result in too much pedal kickback.

Anti-rise refers to how much the rear suspension squats under braking. Too much will make the rear suspension stiffen and the wheel skip over the ground, rather than allowing the tyre to stay in contact – handy for slowing you down.

You want some, though, to help counteract the natural forward shift of your weight under braking.

The figures are low on the Vala, and rise, slightly, through the bike’s travel, but remains well under 100 per cent throughout. As such, the Vala should provide excellent braking performance.

Leverage curves refer to the amount of rear wheel travel provided by each unit of shock stroke used.

When it comes to leverage curves, Santa Cruz hasn’t changes much compared to its current bikes.

However, the shift to a 4-bar linkage has enabled longer stroke shocks to be fitted. This means that the leverage ratios have decreased, though.

Santa Cruz say this gives better better damping quality and more consistency on long descents, as more of the shock stroke’s travel is used for any given rear wheel movement.

There’s also a progression chip fitted at the base of the shock.

This gives the bike more or less progression over the range of its travel.

The less progressive setting will give a perkier, stiffer initial part of the suspension stroke, with slightly improved pedalling performance.

The more progressive setting will be softer and more supple in the early part of the travel, giving more grip and comfort.

The Vala will offer 26 per cent or 29 per cent progression.

Fine figures

The geometry flip-chip offers two options – Hi and Lo.

They alter the head and seat tube angles by 0.3 degrees and the bottom bracket height by 4mm – the Hi setting being steeper and taller.

There’s also a roughly 3mm change in reach, with the Hi offering a slightly longer position on the bike.

In the Lo setting, a large has a 477mm reach, 63.9 degree head angle and a 77.2 degree seat tube angle – these are all in keeping with modern trends for a bike of this ilk.

Santa Cruz has maintained its offering of size specific chainstay lengths, ranging from 440mm to 451mm in the Lo setting, across the Small to XXL size range.

Santa Cruz motor and battery specs

The Vala is built around the new Bosch Performance Line CX motor.

It’s a full-power motor, offering 85Nm of torque and 600W of peak power. The unit has a claimed weight of 2.8kg – almost identical to the Shimano EP801 motor.

The motor has four standard modes, which can be customised in an app, with the on-bar mode controller being wireless. There’s a top-tube display to show battery range and mode.

This is paired with a 600Wh battery, stowed in the downtube, and fixed in place. This helps keep weight down, and should contribute to a quieter bike.

600Wh is said to be as much as most riders need, and helps keep the overall weight of the battery lower in the frame when compared to the 800Wh batteries that extend all the way to the top of the downtube.

If more range is needed, then Bosch’s 250Wh PowerMore range extender can be fitted.

Santa Cruz Vala CC X0 AXS RSV initial ride impressions

Senior technical editor Alex Evans was hand-delivered a brand new Vala ahead of the launch. He managed to do two rides on the bike on his home trails in Scotland’s Tweed Valley before the embargo lifted, and his initial ride impressions are below.

Hopping onto the Vala for the first time reveals a comfortably balanced ride feel – with little adjustment, I felt at home.

There’s an unbiased seated riding position. The steep seat tube angle places your hips comfortably over the bottom bracket but doesn’t transfer too much of your weight into your hands on flatter blasts along fire roads.

The new Horst-link suspension feels smooth and supple. It offers plenty of geometry-stabilising progression (even in the lowest 26 per cent flip chip position) to preserve your riding position and resist excessive sag when gradients really steepen.

Comfort, control and composure are all well within your grasp, which really doubles down on the bike’s familiar feel.

The new Bosch Performance Line CX motor’s power, torque, and assistance mapping felt identical to the previous model, which is no bad thing given the brand’s class-leading position.

However, the freewheel rattle when descending on rough terrain has been totally eliminated. Combine that with the finned chain slap protection, and the Vala is eerily quiet downhill.

Suspension performance is excellent, absorbing small stutter bumps and large compressions with absolute conviction. To boot, the rear end’s Fox Float X shock and Fox 38 GRIP X2 fork felt incredibly well matched.

Its balanced feel comes into play when descending – sitting neutrally in the bike's centre makes overweighting either end less likely.

Control is delivered directly into the palms of your hands – you don’t have to work hard to keep the Vala on track.

Alex is going to be spending more time on the Vala over the coming weeks so keep tuned for a full review soon.

Santa Cruz Vala models and pricing

Five models will be offered in the Vala, with the top two featuring its higher-spec CC carbon.

All bikes feature Fox Float X shocks, and all bar the base ‘R’ model have Fox 38 forks.

Schwalbe’s new Radial Casing Magic Mary tyres feature on all models, too.

We’ll add US pricing as soon as we have it.