Review: 2021 Juliana Furtado CC XO1

Juliana offers the Furtado in three sizes and four builds, starting at $4,099 USD for the R kit with the Carbon C frame, and going up to $8099 for the XO1 build featured here with the lighter Carbon CC frame and Reserve carbon wheels. Its Santa Cruz counterpart that shares the same frame, the 5010, is offered in the same four builds, but with additional large and XL sizes for each.

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Construction and Features


The Furtado is available in both the high-grade carbon frame known as the “CC” and the regular "C" carbon. Unlike the previous generation, an aluminum version of the bike is not currently available.

The frame fits up to a 27.5" x 2.6" tire and has well thought out protection including a downtube protector, a fender that keeps mud away from the shock, and a ribbed chainstay protector. The new Furtado is the first Juliana that uses SRAM's universal derailleur hanger, which means that all shops, even ones that aren't Santa Cruz dealers, should be able to help you out if your derailleur collides with a rock or other derailleur hanger-destroying obstacle out on the trail.

Compared to other Santa Cruz models with the lower-link suspension, the Furtado frame has a larger shock tunnel. More room around the rear shock makes it slightly easier to see your sag on your rear shock when you're setting up the bike and it also means that the Furtado is compatible with coil shocks.

Other details include internally-molded tubes to make cable routing easier, a threaded bottom bracket, and ISCG-05 tabs for mounting a chain guide or bash guard. The original owner receives free replacement pivot bearings for life and a lifetime frame warranty.

Geometry & Sizing


The Furtado uses the same frame as the Santa Cruz 5010 but with women's specific grips and saddle, a shock tune for lighter riders, and different graphics. While Juliana is a brand for women, they believe the geometry on Santa Cruz Bicycles is the best fit for all riders and don't see any need to change the geometry for women. You can learn more about the brand's philosophy and why they choose to use the same frame with different branding in Episode 28 of the Pinkbike Podcast, where we chat about women's bikes with three guests, including Juliana Brand Manager Kelli Emmett.

As you may have expected, the new Furtado is longer, lower, and slacker. The medium Furtado V2 had a 67° headtube angle and a 425mm reach, while the medium V3 version that I was riding has a 65.4° head tube angle and a 447mm reach. The wheelbase on the size medium is 50mm longer at 1191mmm, while the seat tube angle has gone from 74° to 77°.

You can change the geometry on the Furtado between two settings using the flip chip on the link where the shock mounts. In the Low setting, the head tube angle is 0.3-degrees slacker, the bottom bracket is 4mm lower, and the reach is 3mm shorter.

New for the Furtado and Juliana are proportional chainstay lengths, which means that shorter riders on smaller frames will now have shorter chainstays. The rear swingarms on all models are the same and the different chainstay lengths are achieved by moving the pivots and shock mount in the front triangle to effectively shorten the rear center on different sizes. The XS and small Furtados get 424mm chainstays while the medium gets 427mm chainstays.

Suspension Design


Santa Cruz like to keep their suspension numbers close to their chest, but you can get some insight into how the lower link driven VPP suspension layout that the Furtado now uses works in Dan Roberts' analysis of the Megatower.

The main difference between the kinematics of the new Furtado compared to the previous generation is the shape of the leverage ratio curve. Previously it had a slight hump in the curve where the leverage ratio increased before decreasing. On the new model, that curve is now a diagonal line without any sudden dips or dives. That should mean that the suspension ramps up smoothly through its travel, with a consistent feel from beginning to end.

With a wider shock tunnel, the new Furtado is compatible with a coil shock. Since it has a rising rate linkage, Juliana says it will work better with a coil than most bikes in this travel range, but you should keep in mind that on a shorter-travel platform, you'll need a pretty firm spring to keep from bottoming out too much with a coil, as you don't have the advantage of an air spring's ramp-up.

Climbing


The Furtado is quite capable of tackling whatever climb you put in front of it, whether that's a technical bit of singletrack or a loose fire road. The pedalling platform feels more stable than that of the longer-travelled, bigger-wheeled Maverick and I didn't feel the need to reach down and lock out the rear shock on long, smooth slogs to the trailhead.

However, while the Furtado feels efficient, it isn't the snappiest or quickest feeling on the climbs. On the Juliana website, it says that the Furtado is "designed for XC & Trail", but on the climbs, it definitely leans more towards the trail bike side of the spectrum. At 29.6lb (13.43 kg), the Furtado is a fair bit heftier than most XC bikes and it wouldn't be my first choice if I were to head out on the race course.

For all-day pedals, however, the seated position is comfortable and well-suited to silly-long days in the saddle. It's easy to wind up around tight corners and through tricky sections and, when you get tired, the Furtado's incredible traction on technical climbs is extremely forgiving of poor line choices. Even when I would slow right down to a crawl ahead of a technical section and be milliseconds from putting a foot down, I would often surprise myself by somehow clawing my way up the climb. It might not be a race bike on the climbs, but it's still very enjoyable.

Descending


On the descents, the Furtado shines. As expected, with its 27.5" wheels and short rear end, the Furtado was playful and I found myself looking for little doubles and sneaky lines off to the side of the trail more than usual. Less suspension to absorb trail feedback coupled with how easy it was to get the bike in the air meant that I frequently found myself scanning for ways to jump over rough sections instead of smashing right through them like I usually tend to.

What really surprised me was the Furtado's composure on the steep trails I encountered in Golden, BC. The geometry on the Furtado is fantastic and makes it feel like you're on a longer-travel bike than you actually are. Under heavy braking, the Furtado kept its cool and the suspension stayed supple, so it didn't feel out of its element on the steep, loose trails on Mount 7 and I was able to stay under control. It was also really easy to switch directions quickly and made me feel like Bryn Atkinson on the corners. The Furtado does a lot with its 130mm of rear travel and the suspension feels balanced and composed.

Back home in Squamish, I appreciated that balanced feeling as well and found it really easy to creep down steep rock rolls and pick my way through trails where a 130mm bike wouldn't be expected to shine. On higher speed sections of trail, there's definitely less stability than on a longer-travelled bike and there are some features that are just better-suited to having a bit more travel, but I do feel like Juliana positions the bike appropriately when they call it the "do-it-all" bike. I don't believe there's any such thing as a perfect all-rounder, but for most places, the Furtado is going to be a pretty darn good one-bike choice.

How does it compare?


The SB140 and the Juliana Furtado are both orange, they're both trail bikes, they've both got 27.5" wheels, and they're both made by US-brands, but that's where the similarities end.

Both bikes are confident climbers and have stable pedalling platforms, but they don't feel the same when you put the power down on the pedals. The SB140 feels a bit snappier than the Furtado on fire road climbs and during smooth pedalling, but the Furtado wins on outright traction in technical singletrack. That could also have something to do with how much easier it is to pick your lines on the Furtado since the reach and chainstays are both shorter. The Furtado feels like a much more nimble bike and for something like the Impossible Climb, it would be my preferred choice.

On the descents, the Furtado feels more balanced and the suspension feels more active under braking, making it easier to creep down steep trails under control. While both bikes are easy to get into the air and play around on, the Furtado is quicker to take off the ground. For harsher landings and all out speed, however, the Yeti would be my choice as it's much more stable through high-speed sections of trail and has a bit of extra cush on the landings in addition to the stability of the longer wheelbase.

For bike park days and shuttles, I'd choose the SB140 over the Furtado, but for all-day adventure rides when you're not entirely sure what you're going to encounter on the climbs or the descents, the Furtado would be my pick.

Technical Report


RockShox Reverb dropper post: I love how much easier it is to press the lever on the new Reverb and how quick action the post is. It wasn't flawless, though; I did have some issues with the Reverb where an o-ring got pushed down when I tried to use the bleed valve. I was able to get it repaired at Fluid Function in town and they assured me that the issue would be under warranty.

SRAM G2 RSC brakes: The SRAM G2 RSC brakes held up to some heavy braking in Golden and in the Revelstoke Mountain Resort bike park. The rotors were purple by the time I sent the Furtado back to Juliana, but I never felt like they didn't have enough power to slow me down. I also like the adjustability of the reach and the pad contact.

SRAM 10-52 tooth cassette: I both like and dislike the new 52t cassette. It's nice to have that extra gear when you're tired and just want to spin up a climb, but the gap is so big between first and second that it really does feel like you're skipping a gear. I also sometimes felt like I wasn't working that much less when I resorted to the 52t, I was working just as hard as I would with a 50t, but going slower.

Pinkbike's Take

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Reviews and Tech Reviews Trail Bikes Juliana Juliana Furtado