My Bullit is Dead

May 17, 2004
by Radek Burkat  
The year was 1999, and the freeride scene was finally 'ramping' up. I had a 21" Marin Nail Trail XC racer which I bought a couple years previously, and it served well on all those Moab adventures, 24 Hours of Adrenalin events, local trails and even one official XC race! It was the bike I cut my teeth on, sometimes literally, learning trials, street, racing and eventually riding all the trails on the Shore.
I remember the last weekend on that bike quite well.
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24 hours of Adrenaline
It started out with a Friday afternoon ride at the Wintergreen ski hill. I was the only guy without a dually and ended up breaking a bottom bracket. The next day we came back to the same place and I tried the drop again, but like the day before I rode out with that all too familiar scene of a rolling into the parking lot with a crank in hand. Third time is the charm, right? This time I snapped the handle bar, but did get a pretty cool photo and video.

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That was it. On Monday I stormed into Calgary Cycle, flipped through the frames on the wall like I was looking for an XL t-shirt on a Walmart clothing rack, took my selection to the counter and in the frustration of eating dirt the whole weekend, proceeded to spec out and pay for my new Santa Cruz Bullit bike. Sometimes you just have to stop beating yourself up, spend some money, and make yourself feel better, and if you get hassled about it by that special someone, tell them it's like buying a new pair of shoes.

I finally had a machine that would not let me down. Mavic rims, Profile hubs, Profile cranks, disc brakes, Boxxers. Quite the setup, and if you would of asked me a week before whether I would consider getting a bike like that I would of surely told you that it was something I did not need, and for sure could not afford. Next time you are are in that situation listen to the devil, or in my case I always hear Paul Stanley from Kiss singing "It ain't a crime to be good to yourself....lick it up!"

I am pretty sure I called in sick for the next two days and spent every minute riding at COP. Like every new bike anyone has ever bought, this was the best bike in the World. Suddenly all the drops seemed smaller, smoother, and I could go faster. Even skinny riding that should actually be better on a hardtail, was proportionally easier with the confidence of the bike.

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A few more sleeps to the awaited weekend and we were off for the first road trip. Golden. I had been riding Mount 7 on the Marin and as much fun that was, it was punishing. With my new pair of shoes I was sprinting down the mountain, hitting all the jumps, trying to go faster and bigger making the bike suck it all up.

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It wasn't all roses. Bikes can only make up for so much skill, after that you're on your own. The first DH race I ever raced in, I hit a crowd favorite section extra fast to get an amazing photo opportunity. The result:

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She got away on me another time and I ended up with this portrait.

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The summer rolled on and road trips to Nelson, Vancouver, and other destinations wore in my favorite companion for whom I'd readily break dates to be with. A lot of this early riding was pre-shuttle and though I remember bitchin' on long up hill and epic rides, these were accomplished simply by rising the seat, shift gears and riding on. Something that I just don't see doing looking over my shoulder at the V10 with a 48 tooth single front ring.

A particular favorite during Canadian winters was urban riding. While the mountain trails are under snow the only place to ride is the city.


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The Bullit was an amazing bunny hopping machine. You could pre load the rear end and spring out easily hopping up 3 feet, an amazing feat for a rear suspension bike. This quality made it very enjoyable and preferable to ride street, even if your mom was making you go to the store to buy milk or if you had to search and retrieve your derelict vehicle after a night of partying at the Ship.

As I got more into DH, I tried a few other bikes and the Bullit sat neglected every now and then. Not until a couple of years ago when Santa Cruz optioned Progressive Suspension for the rear shock, the Bullit suffered from a bad case of chain skip. I actually upgraded my Bullit's rear shock last summer and thought the difference was so amazing that at one of the Canada Cup races I put the V10 aside, cannibalized the chain guide, and raced a Bullit in the Pro category with good results.

Even in the last six months the Bullit has always been there for me. It is a bike that no matter what ride I'm going on I can bring. I'm not worried if I have to climb for a couple of hours to a trail head, ride an XC course, ride technical ladders, logs, hit drops, jumps, or just open it up on a section.
I always think back this one day ride which started with a 2 hour urban session on the way to the mountain, a full climb up the trails, an epic, demanding ride down, and back home in commuter mode for a full days of riding.

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The bike has been through hell. I'm not a small guy varying in weight from 250lbs to 285lbs depending on my breakfast size, and I've been beating on this bike frame for over 4 years. A couple of years ago I put a huge dent in the bottom tube trying to jump up on a train platform. For over 3 years I've been running a 7 inch monster T on the frame that used to call for a smaller fork. I crashed so hard one time that I snapped the crown off the monster T, but the bike kept on rolling. The bike was even stolen earlier this year, survived a month trapped in some crack head's basement, and was returned when it was spotted in a bike store.

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A few days ago my buddy Derek and I were riding Vedder Mountain in the Wack. Derek's other brand was broken so the trusty Bullit had to step in to complete the day. Being a hack, he yard-sale'd on open trail and unfortunately the fork stops were not in position causing a sizable dent in the frame. We didn't think much of it as the dent that I put in the frame years ago never bothered it.

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Like a loyal, dying horse, she held together for that last run, hitting some sizable drops and gaps which would of resulted in some serious injury if the fork came off.

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One of the gaps on Vedder

As we rolled to the safety of the parking lot, we noticed that the top tube was cracked right through and she was done.
An unfortunate ending to a great bike that provided over 4 years of the best biking memories and adventures. Always reliable and ready to ride.
Good luck in bike heaven little Bullit and I'll always think of you when I'm pedaling my V10 up hill.
RIP

If you are now hearing Kiss, go to www.santacruzmtb.com

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Author Info:
radek avatar

Member since Jan 1, 2000
218 articles

5 Comments
  • 1 0
 awesome article. i hope my bullit lasts as long and as well for me as it did for you Razz
  • 1 0
 I was stupidly contemplating letting my Bullit Go ... with tears in me eyes "... I'm keeping ya baby ..."
  • 1 0
 great article i've been debating wether to get a bullit or a 224 and this just made up my mind
  • 2 0
 Love my bullit. She's an old 2001 frame and ill never let her go!
  • 1 0
 Good writeup.!







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