Santa Cruz Announces The New V-10!

At the 2017 World Cup season opener in Lourdes, Loris Vergier, Luca Shaw, and Greg Minnaar qualified 1, 3, and 6 aboard the ‘controversy machine’—a V10 with a new swingarm rolling on 29-inch wheels.

The clouds broke open before the top qualifiers, soaking the track, and the question of technological supremacy would have to wait…for five weeks, when Greg Minnaar climbed to the top step at Ft. William for the seventh time.

The arms race was on.

Over the next winter, using what we learned during the 2017 race season, we set about designing an entirely new V10—longer reach, better shock rate, and better frame and cable protection. All three frame sizes (and Reserve carbon DH wheels) were designed and manufactured in time for a week of testing before the Ft. William World Cup in 2018. Greg crashed in those sessions, breaking his arm, and effectively ending his season. A few days later, Luca qualified first and Loris third on the new bike. Loris put down a scorcher in the finals that only fellow Frenchman Amaury Pierron could top, but Luca flatted high on course and had to cruise down.

The new school had arrived, and they had new wheels.  

Testing continued throughout the 2018 season, usually in the form of link sets designed to tweak the shock rate or make minor alterations in geometry. We had the big variables figured out, but fine-tuning the suspension under the Syndicate during World Cup season guaranteed regular, high-level feedback and lots of high-stakes puzzling. The result is perhaps the most refined suspension performance available outside of a World Cup pit.

That brings us to now—kind of.

Pairing 29-inch wheels with 215mm of travel makes a juggernaut of a race bike, but racing isn’t everything. Depending on the type of trails or riding style you’re into, breaking out the biggest artillery might not be ideal. Rider height also looms large when deciding which wheel size is optimal and a lot of people may opt for smaller wheels.

So we decided to make a 27.5 V10, too.

No compromises, no gimmicks, no shortcuts—it was designed in parallel to the 29er V10 as an original suspension platform and chassis. The 27.5 bike comes in Small, Medium, and Large, while the 29 comes in Medium, Large, and XL. Make your choice according to your size or riding style, and you’ll be the recipient of every bit of work and puzzling that’s gone into the Syndicate’s race bikes.

The most successful bike in downhill history shows no signs of slowing down.

More details for the realest puzzlers:

• Adjustable chainstay length to optimize front/rear balance
• Lower leverage rate for optimal shock performance
• Internal derailleur cable routing on swingarm to protect housing from chain damage
• Looking for some aftermarket DH wheels? Check out the new Reserve Carbon DH 29 Wheels
• Want an email when V10s are available at retailers? Sign up here.

Santa Cruz V-10 650B Geometry

Santa Cruz V-10 29r Geometry

Santa Cruz V-10 Builds

Learn more on new The Santa Cruz V-10 here.

BRYCELAND SMASHES FIELD IN WINDHAM AND GRABS WORLD CUP LEAD WITH OVER 1000 POINTS!

Josh “Ratboy” Bryceland stormed to the top of the podium once again at UCI Downhill World Cup #6 in Windham (USA) on Saturday, August 9.
His winning margin of 1.581 seconds was a country mile on such a short course. The result marks his third podium and second win of the season, now placing him squarely in the lead overall with 1007 points. 

“I'm still in awe that I'm leading the World Cup,” said Bryceland. “I could hear the crowd from the bottom cheering for Gwinny in the finals, so I knew he had had a good run. I put that out of my head and took a few deep breaths, and then gave it everything I had.”

Teammate Greg Minnaar, the reigning World Champion who was recovering from knee surgery earlier in the year, finished in eleventh to consolidate his sixth place in the overall rankings. 

“I was refining my bike settings during the week and I felt like I had it dialed in for the qualifier, but I missed getting up to speed in practice.“ explained Greg. “Finishing 11th isn't acceptable to me” he added, suggesting the best is still to come from the South African this season.

Steve Peat was the first to congratulate Josh as he crossed the line, visibly ecstatic at the continued rise of his protégée.

“Ratboy rules!” exclaimed Peaty. “It was another great event at Windham, and my bike was rad. I'm just gutted to be leaving without a decent result, but this place has always had mixed emotions for me over the years!”

The Syndicate are now amped for the final round of the World Cup in Méribel (FRA) set for August 21-23.  Will Ratboy be able to retain his lead and take his first World Cup title?  The whole mountain biking World will be tuning in live to find out!!

Windham Results: 
1st  JOSH BRYCELAND (GBR)    2:24:332 
2nd  AARON GWIN (USA)             2:25:913  
3rd  TROY BROSNAN (AUS)         2:26:455 
11th  GREG MINNAAR (RSA)        2:28.540 
43rd STEVE PEAT (GBR)              2:33.488

Santa Cruz Syndicate Through 2015 And Beyond

Santa Cruz Bicycles keep the Syndicate family rolling together through 2015, and beyond...

Reigning DH World Champion, Greg Minnaar has signed with the Syndicate for a further 3 years, as has continually rising Rat Star, Josh Bryceland. Meanwhile, Steve Peat, the man for whom the media are running out of legend-themed superlatives, has now signed for a further 5 years.

"With the 2013 World Championships being held in my home town, this year will be the biggest of my life" declares Minnaar "we've spent years refining both the bike and the team dynamic, and I couldn't imagine going into this season with any better setup".

"This year's gonna be banging," said Bryceland, who is currently out training in California. He then added something about "loving it", "getting rad" and "being focused"... we think.

Bryceland's early mentor, Peaty, remains similarly enthusiastic, even after so many years.

"I love racing as much now as I did when I first started," says Steve. "For me, there was never any question about sticking with Santa Cruz for the rest of my professional racing career... so long as they'd have me!"

"Steve is one of a kind in the industry right now," replied Rob Roskopp, team owner. "His 20 years of racing and product development experience is invaluable, and I want to keep that knowledge here within the team."

In addition to downhill races, the Syndicate also looks set to compete in a select number of Enduro World Series rounds in 2013.

"I'm eager to see how the whole Enduro World Series format develops," says Roskopp. "Given all the scandals in cycling recently, I think everyone in downhill can feel proud of what they've built... all in spite of the poor direction our sport's had from the top. The Enduro World Series gives gravity racing a fresh opportunity to develop a self-sustaining model, free from the sort of illogical constraints the World Cup faced. So for that reason, Santa Cruz will be an Official Supporter of the series."

The Syndicate is also proud to announce they'll be working with all their World Championship winning partners once again for 2013.

The squad's first official outing of the year is in March, when they head to Spain for the annual pre-season test session with Fox Racing Shox. All riders will be on the new production V10c frames, the exact same models as those available to the public.

Racing kicks off in April with the traditional DH season opener at Sea Otter (USA) on April 21st. The first round of the Enduro World Series takes place on May 19th in Punta Ala (ITA) whilst the Syndicate's World Cup campaign proper starts on June 9th in Fort William (GBR).

The Syndicate retains the indomitable Kathy Sessler as team (& team party) manager, with tech support from Doug Hatfield, Jason Marsh and the occasional cameo.

"We do our best to build a sense of stability and family within the Syndicate," concludes Roskopp. "Maintaining long-term relationships with the right athletes, personalities and crew is key to that. It creates something greater than the sum of its parts, and that's what delivers consistent performance over time... which I think our track record proves."

The New Limited Edition Steve Peat LG1+ Downhill Guide

Petaluma, California, October 29 , 2012 – The New Limited Edition Steve Peat LG1+ Downhill Guide is in stock in shops and distributor warehouses worldwide right now. The guide has specific Steve Peat collaborative graphics and production has been limited to a numbered lot of 350 pieces for 2012-2013.

Included in the 350 units are (5) guides that Steve Peat himself signed at his 20th World Championship Race in Leogang, Austria. These have been randomly mixed in with normal shipments everywhere in the world.

The New Limited Edition Steve Peat LG1+ Downhill Guide has been priced at a suggested MSRP of $164.95USD, and is currently available. Contact your local shop or distributor to get one for yourself! 

E*thirteen and the Hive design and manufacture class-leading wheels, pedals, cranksets, chainrings, bottom brackets, drivetrain protection, and chain retention products for discerning cyclists worldwide.