Tylers V10 Review

What began as a want and then turned into a need, was me needing to build up a new bike. There is never anything wrong with my previous bikes, I am just a person that requires changes when it comes to my bikes. Simple really, well for me that is-try explaining it to a friend or better yet, a significant other that may not share all your views.

So last fall I began my quest to find a worthy frame and the proper parts to hang off it-this is the tale of how it unfolded and the end results.After returning from Interbike last fall I had a short list of bikes that I wanted to buy ASAP. My list was simple I wanted to build up either a Santa Cruz V-10 or a Cove Shocker. I contacted both companies in regards to availabilty and pricing from shops. Once I had that bit of knowledge in my hands my decision was made for me, I would be buying a shiny new Santa Cruz V-10-Poor me! Ha ha ha!

Ok everyone that knows me, knows that I have the ability to really take my sweet ass time to get things done-including my bike build. This doesn't mean I'm lazy, it means things get done right. That and since I was spending my own money (like the rest of you out there have too) it was gonna take time to build up a whole bike, one part at a time.

So the initial stages to any build is to get your key items in hand and think out the whole build as to what you want on your bike. From there it's time to start gathering those parts and building up your newest dream bike. I say newest cause a lot of us have a few dream bikes a week.

I had my frame on order and began to pick the parts that I'd be strapping on it and the orders began to show up one by one. Let me remind you that the time line for this build was about 5 months long from frame arriving to me out on the trails with it-yes that is forever, but I'm from Alberta and you get used to no bikes in the winter time.

The first piece to arrive was my FSA Orbit Xtreme Pro Headset. The bearings are top shelf and the construction is high quality through out. I chose this headset because it's light and hella strong.


Since a fork is the next huge investment next to a frame in a build up, I decided to go another route (by not buying a stock/off the shelf unit) and building a sort of Frankin Fork out of the parts I wanted in a fork. This is where I was able to do some bartering in order to get the parts needed to build up a great fork at the least expense. I traded my old fork to a local shop rat in exchange for his Boxxer Race equipped with a Mojo Cartridge. Since the fork still looked like a Boxxer Race, I couldn't have that and went in search of a set of World Cup Lowers with the new Maxle clamping system. Now I had the fork that I wanted to run.

My bar and stem of choice were coming from Chromag and I was going with the direct mount Box stem and the Fubar OS Flat bar. Now of all the parts I put on this bike, the bar has gathered the most attention. Go back 15 years and we all had flat bars and you saw that one guy with a riser bar-your thoughts were WTF is that? Well the responses were very much the same to seeing a Flat Bar on a DH rig today. Well with all the drop crowns and rise bars out there to "fix" height issues, companies were introducing flat crown to further "rectify" the troubles faced by riders wanting a lower front end. Well crowns are a lot more expensive then bars and honestly if you are not looking directly at it, you'd never know that the Fubar OS wasn't a riser. Chromag is all about making products that fit a "need" in the market place and doing it right.


Next to show up was the SDG Bel Air I-beam seat and post. This little company has brought us a new option to the standard post and rail clamping system with the advent of their I-beam technology. Simple, strong and light defies the SDG set ups.


Now it was time to throw a sick wheel set on this rig. Since the big color seemed to be white wheels, I too began looking for a set of white hoops. In my search I came across the Sun Wheels Eight Tracks in POLISHED SILVER=SICK! So they were now on their way. I decided that as far a rubber was concerned I should stick with what I knew and really liked running. Maxxis Minion front and rear tires in a nice soft compound would be what keeps me in touch with terra firma.

I chose to run a SRAM 990 cassette (11-34T) cause well its red! SRAM X.0 rear derailleur (so silent) and X.0 shifter pod would be in charge of the gear changes. I ran a Shimano Saint set up in the past and was very happy with it, the move to SRAM was to see what it had to offer. And the offerings are great too-so happy with the performance in the shifting duties. In order to make the shifting happen I needed a set of cranks that I could rely on and a guide to keep the chain in place in the rough stuff. Eric and Sadie at Deity components are one of the coolest couples in the bike industry and running thier crankset and 36T sprocket was a choice I made based on supporting your friends and knowing that you'd be running parts that are gonna last.


Now that the bike was capable of going forward, changing gears and running things over, it was time to put some stoppers on it to finish the build off. The brakes were the one item that I never sourced out as I had kept my brakes from my last bike. I am a huge fan of my Magura Louise FR brakes and their stopping power. There are lots of great hydraulic systems out there, but I have been running the same brakes for a few seasons on my own bikes and I love the lever feel, the modulation and the power they have to stop my carcass in those "Oh Sh*t!" moments. So on they went with the help of a Boxxer specific brake adaptor and a new set of grips to clean up the cockpit of the V-10.


So as you've already seen in the pictures, this V-10 got a crazy sticker job applied to it. And yes it's only on one side for a reason, to give it a truely unique look that is inspired from liking stickers too much, liking clean looking bikes and wishing that you could get sick decal kits for popular frames. In motorcross you can get crazy sick sticker kits for almost any bike, but in our industry, the demand just isn't there. So you need to create your own unique look or leave it stock. On the first weekend up at Silver Star I was told by another rider that "that's the nicest, ugly bike I've ever seen!" I take that as a compliment.


Here's a look at the final built up of the V-10 and all the parts that over the course of about 5 months found their way into the build up. It was a slow project but so fun to do.

Frame size	Medium Santa Cruz V-10
Rear Shock	Fox DHX 5.0 Coil • 8.75”x2.8” stroke • 450 Ti spring
Fork	2005 8" RockShox BoXXer Race • Mojo Boxcart Internals • 2006 Boxxer WC lowers • Maxle
Headset	FSA Orbit Xtreme Pro Headset
Crankarms	Deity 4130, 170 mm in Grey
Chain Guide	Fracture Components
Chainring	Deity 36T Sprocket
Bottom Bracket	Deity 48T splined
Pedals	Old School Shimano DX Pedals
Chain	SRAM PC-99
Cassette	SRAM PG-970
Rear Derailleur	SRAM X.0
Shifter Cable/Housing	Stock
Shifter Pod	SRAM X.0
Handlebar	Chromag Fubar OS Flat Bar
Stem	Chromag Box direct mount stem
Grips	Lizard Skin Lock Ons
Brakes	Magura Louise FR with 203mm front and 180 rear rotors
Front Wheel	Sun/Ringle Eight Track 20mm TA -Polished Silver
Rear Wheel	Sun/Ringle Eight Track 150X12mm TA -Polished Silver
Tires	Maxxis Minion Front and Rear 2.5
Tubes	Maxxis FR tubes / Presta valve
Saddle	SDG Bel-Air I-Beam
Seatpost	SDG I-Beam (30.0)

Thanks to SDG, Santa Cruz, Deity, Sun/Ringle, Magura, Chromag, FSA, SRAM and Maxxis for all the help in getting the parts I wanted for my build up.

Happy Trails and good luck to everyone doing up their own builds this winter!

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