show off your Santa Cruz

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show off your Santa Cruz
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flag newbermuda
O+
Posted: Jan 8, 2020 at 19:53 Quote
spaceofades wrote:
sosburn wrote:
Im a huge fan of the blue color way. not so much of the tan (interesting as those were both colors that the original nomad v4 was offered in...)

I was surprised by the RS shock on there, as i had just removed the RS shock that came stock on my bike and it was just not great at all. But i get it if you prefer Fox, i mean im using Fox anyways haha.

But yes demo one if you can, definitely my favorite of the new SCs, with the bronson being a close second. Megatower sux imo and im glad i returned mine while i still could.
another person unhappy with the mt. What was your issue with it? On paper everyone should love that cycle

I should have bolded "imo" cause i'm sure plenty of people love theirs.
I had been waiting to replace my original hightower frame for a while and as soon as the megatower was announced i ordered and paid for an XL frame without trying one. waited a couple weeks then headed to SC to try one out. climbed ok but even with the relatively steep STA it felt like a chore to climb, like much more than anything else id ridden. descended not great. tried both the H and L positions, a few different sag settings (25%, 30%, 35%) and just did not get along with it. gave it the benefit of the doubt, my frame arrived but i held off on building it. Demoed another one, this time on local trails, still just could not get along with it, so returned my frame a couple weeks after. Was bummed as i really wanted to like it and i obviously spent a hefty chunk on the CC frame but t'was not meant to be.
flag asmtb
O+
Posted: Jan 8, 2020 at 20:31 Quote
sosburn wrote:
spaceofades wrote:
sosburn wrote:
Im a huge fan of the blue color way. not so much of the tan (interesting as those were both colors that the original nomad v4 was offered in...)

I was surprised by the RS shock on there, as i had just removed the RS shock that came stock on my bike and it was just not great at all. But i get it if you prefer Fox, i mean im using Fox anyways haha.

But yes demo one if you can, definitely my favorite of the new SCs, with the bronson being a close second. Megatower sux imo and im glad i returned mine while i still could.
another person unhappy with the mt. What was your issue with it? On paper everyone should love that cycle

I should have bolded "imo" cause i'm sure plenty of people love theirs.
I had been waiting to replace my original hightower frame for a while and as soon as the megatower was announced i ordered and paid for an XL frame without trying one. waited a couple weeks then headed to SC to try one out. climbed ok but even with the relatively steep STA it felt like a chore to climb, like much more than anything else id ridden. descended not great. tried both the H and L positions, a few different sag settings (25%, 30%, 35%) and just did not get along with it. gave it the benefit of the doubt, my frame arrived but i held off on building it. Demoed another one, this time on local trails, still just could not get along with it, so returned my frame a couple weeks after. Was bummed as i really wanted to like it and i obviously spent a hefty chunk on the CC frame but t'was not meant to be.

I have had people demo the MT and love it, but felt it was too much bike for the local trails... I think the HT can do everything the MT.
flag seraph
Posted: Jan 9, 2020 at 9:07 Quote
I've been told by my coworker who demoed it that it felt sluggish compared to his Bronson and even his Nomad. He's getting a 2020 S-Works Enduro now.
flag christiaan
Posted: Jan 9, 2020 at 9:44 Quote
seraph wrote:
I've been told by my coworker who demoed it that it felt sluggish compared to his Bronson and even his Nomad. He's getting a 2020 S-Works Enduro now.

I put a push shock on my mt before riding it(waiting on tires)hopefully it will be good.

If I could only get the discount I get on SC on Specialized, I would love to try a 2020 s works enduro, but just so expensive
flag seraph
Posted: Jan 9, 2020 at 11:48 Quote
christiaan wrote:
seraph wrote:
I've been told by my coworker who demoed it that it felt sluggish compared to his Bronson and even his Nomad. He's getting a 2020 S-Works Enduro now.

I put a push shock on my mt before riding it(waiting on tires)hopefully it will be good.

If I could only get the discount I get on SC on Specialized, I would love to try a 2020 s works enduro, but just so expensive

My coworker PR'd each segment on his favorite trail when he test-rode the SW Enduro.
flag tgent
O+
Posted: Jan 9, 2020 at 11:53 Quote
I'm currently debating between the 2, haven't ridden the HT yet, but do have a few rides on the MT. I was thinking of going HT as well because the MT is overkill for so many trails, but given that the frames are basically the same weight, I don't see much of a downside to extra travel on the MT. Geo is nearly the same, weight nearly the same, I wouldn't mind a bit more travel...

asmtb wrote:
sosburn wrote:
spaceofades wrote:
another person unhappy with the mt. What was your issue with it? On paper everyone should love that cycle

I should have bolded "imo" cause i'm sure plenty of people love theirs.
I had been waiting to replace my original hightower frame for a while and as soon as the megatower was announced i ordered and paid for an XL frame without trying one. waited a couple weeks then headed to SC to try one out. climbed ok but even with the relatively steep STA it felt like a chore to climb, like much more than anything else id ridden. descended not great. tried both the H and L positions, a few different sag settings (25%, 30%, 35%) and just did not get along with it. gave it the benefit of the doubt, my frame arrived but i held off on building it. Demoed another one, this time on local trails, still just could not get along with it, so returned my frame a couple weeks after. Was bummed as i really wanted to like it and i obviously spent a hefty chunk on the CC frame but t'was not meant to be.

I have had people demo the MT and love it, but felt it was too much bike for the local trails... I think the HT can do everything the MT.
flag Austink
Posted: Jan 9, 2020 at 12:27 Quote
Here is my take on the mega. I have had one since may and been on a variety of terrain on it. It is by and large too much bike for most people. If you aren’t bombing down gnarly sustained (5 min ish +) downhills, it probably isn’t the right bike to get. It pedals decently but it is definitely a chore to get it to the top of the hills. There is no hiding it is a big bike. But when actually ridden in the terrain it is designed for, it absolutely rips. It feels hands down better than the n4 nomad I had prior. If you are looking to do general trail rides and don’t have access to big downhill it is going to be a let down. Or if the downhill you do have is smooth, a smaller bike will still probably be more fun.

But if you are someone who races enduro, has an annual pass to a park, or shuttles often it is a phenomenal bike. But I would recommend having a second bike to do general trail rides on. I just built up a tb4 and it blows the mega out of the water on more mellow terrain.

If you can only have one bike and don’t race or have a season pass, I think a hightower is the better choice.
flag newbermuda
O+
Posted: Jan 9, 2020 at 13:55 Quote
i think that is a big problem with a lot of bikes now, not just the megatower, wherein people are buying big enduro rigs that are designed to withstand whistler and the like, and theyre riding them at a trail center like “why does this suck, must be a shitty bike”

unfortunately for me, i do seek out the scariest stuff i can find and did so when trying the wreckoning and still wasnt for me. which goes to say its definitely not for everyone but i imagine if you spent enough time tinkering with it you could get a set up you liked.
flag jfostersafb
O+
Posted: Jan 9, 2020 at 14:17 Quote
sosburn wrote:
Im a huge fan of the blue color way. not so much of the tan (interesting as those were both colors that the original nomad v4 was offered in...)

I was surprised by the RS shock on there, as i had just removed the RS shock that came stock on my bike and it was just not great at all. But i get it if you prefer Fox, i mean im using Fox anyways haha.

But yes demo one if you can, definitely my favorite of the new SCs, with the bronson being a close second. Megatower sux imo and im glad i returned mine while i still could.

Curious, what didn’t you like about the MT?
flag newbermuda
O+
Posted: Jan 9, 2020 at 16:12 Quote
jfostersafb wrote:
sosburn wrote:
Im a huge fan of the blue color way. not so much of the tan (interesting as those were both colors that the original nomad v4 was offered in...)

I was surprised by the RS shock on there, as i had just removed the RS shock that came stock on my bike and it was just not great at all. But i get it if you prefer Fox, i mean im using Fox anyways haha.

But yes demo one if you can, definitely my favorite of the new SCs, with the bronson being a close second. Megatower sux imo and im glad i returned mine while i still could.

Curious, what didn’t you like about the MT?

just read the rest of the thread
flag jfostersafb
O+
Posted: Jan 11, 2020 at 9:50 Quote
sosburn wrote:
jfostersafb wrote:
sosburn wrote:
Im a huge fan of the blue color way. not so much of the tan (interesting as those were both colors that the original nomad v4 was offered in...)

I was surprised by the RS shock on there, as i had just removed the RS shock that came stock on my bike and it was just not great at all. But i get it if you prefer Fox, i mean im using Fox anyways haha.

But yes demo one if you can, definitely my favorite of the new SCs, with the bronson being a close second. Megatower sux imo and im glad i returned mine while i still could.

Curious, what didn’t you like about the MT?

just read the rest of the thread

Got it, I've always been curious about the MT but haven't ever felt right on a 29er. The Nomad interests me as most of my riding is point and shoot on aggressive terrain but I don't spend enough time lapping downhills. The majority of descents I hit are earned riding in Lake Tahoe so to me the Bronson is a very good compromise between descending capability while still climbing very efficiently.

As I know all of us do, I'm always looking ahead at my "next bike" and am curious about what that may be...
flag newbermuda
O+
Posted: Jan 11, 2020 at 10:29 Quote
Bronson is probably plenty of bike for Tahoe area, the one i used for a couple laps in downieville was super fun, but i imagine a nomad would be sick as well. The nomad climbs pretty well in my experience as well, so i dont think youd be far out of its element in the Tahoe area

props to you for being realistic about your riding though, and going for the bronson over the nomad
flag kawkaw
Posted: Jan 13, 2020 at 4:53 Quote
photo
photo

Kind of followed a similar path and built this Nomad alu frame with some new components (lyrik 2020) and mostly old components from a 26er trailbike. The Shiguras (Magura MT7+Shimano levers) are an awesome upgrade. need to upgrade the dropper as the random aliexpress one looks to be less than 150mmBeer

Overall I'm kind of still in wonderstruck mode on how well this bike descends on steep sections. Man what a bike, should have bought it a long time back.


p.s.
Just toying with some decals from ebay though. I think I should remove the yellow stuff and put a black one ?hehe I'm vain.


jfostersafb wrote:
Thanks! Well I didn’t plan on this build when I initially bought the bike lol. I hadn’t owned a mountain bike since early 2000 and was just getting back into it and figured that a entry-level build would be good enough for me. Over the first few months of riding it, I had some issues with the base components that it came with and slowly started upgrading and once that begin it was all over ???? After it was all said and done, the amount I put into it with recouping $ from selling off most of the stock components put me at around the same price as the top XX1 Bronson CC build but with a personalized look and arguably better build in my opinion. I also just didn’t realize how much better a bike can be with top level components...

Mountain
tgent wrote:
Awesome build, nice work! Just out of curiosity, why'd you start with an R build when it looks like you've replaced literally every single component?

jfostersafb wrote:
First time posting here on the forums. I'm definitely loving all of the various builds you guys are posting! Beautiful bikes!

This is my 2019 V3 Bronson. It started off as an R build and evolved into what you see here. I had a lot of fun with the build and really wanted to come up with something unique.

2019 Bronson V3
Sram XX1 gold complete groupset
Fox 36 Grip 2 Factory fork - VORSPRUNG upgrade
Fox DPX2 Factory rear shock
Reserve 30 with I9 Torch hubs
Hope Tech 3 V4 brakes
Hope stem
Hope headset
Hope seat clamp
Hope F20 flats (Crank Bros Mallet E now)
Ergon SM Pro Men saddle (Specialized Phenom for a time)
Raceface SixC bar
Wolftooth dropper lever
Fox Transfer Factory dropper
OneUp Components bashguard/Chain guide

Cushcore setup on the way...

Thanks for looking, cheers!
flag pommiebomber
O+
Posted: Jan 13, 2020 at 5:15 Quote
My 2019 Santa Cruz Bronson
Bloody love this weapon, perfect bike for me, does everything.
Just upgraded to the MegNeg rear air can and she is running sweet now

photo
photo
photo
flag bikefuturist
Posted: Jan 13, 2020 at 5:35 Quote
Enduro mag reviewed mega quite recently and it seems that the latest crop of 170/180 enduro bikes (spesh, pole etc) go beyond in plushness/dh-likeness compared to the mt.

I do some enduro races and park, mainly ride relatively low altitude trails with punchy climb and downs and seek rock gardens/rolls/drops. Not anything like whistler but I enjoy having mt as my only bike. Im sure i’d be equally fine on a hightower or even tallboi if i did only local trails, but i dont consider mt being anything excessive.

The tune is quite poppy, if you dont oversize it is agile, relatively good to pedal.

 


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