Bike Check: Danny MacAskill's Santa Cruz Trials Bike

The frame is made from the same CC UD carbon that you find on all Santa Cruz's but this one is not your average Nomad. The frame itself is crazy light, we didn't have any scales with us at The Malverns but trust me when I say this thing is super light. It's also really stiff and, in combination with the custom-made Santa Cruz carbon fork. It's in Danny's words: "like riding a block of wood when you're cruising down the street" but that's just how Danny likes it.


Next up on the 'custom just for Danny' vibe is the custom Santa Cruz carbon fork. These are fully carbon including the steerer and in Danny's words they are "bomb proof" and really don't flex at all. They run a 20mm bolt through axle and the brake mounts are designed to allow extra adjustment.



For brakes Danny is running Magura's MT7 disc brakes with Magura's 200mm discs. Danny runs Magura's standard brake pads too. However, all is not standard with Danny's MT7, he runs some 3D printed titanium levers which are totally smooth. This is so that if he does trap his fingers between the lever and the bar, which is something that you can't commonly do on a standard mountain bike but is all too regular of an occurrence when riding a trials bike. The levers also give Danny a little more power and provide him with a squarer feel to his brakes which he prefers.


Fork-mounted go-pro mounts just so Danny can get all the angles.



The only thing that is standard about Danny's frame is the 135mm 12mm axle.


Even more 'custom not for anyone else carbon' are Danny's wheels. They are a set of Santa Cruz Reserve 24" wheels. These are the exact same rim profile as the standard Reserve wheels just in 24" size. These are laced to the Industry 9 hubs via some DT Swiss double-butted spokes.


Wrapped around Danny's Reserve rims are a set of Continental Air King tyres which Danny developed with Continental a few years ago. These are running between 60 and 50psi. Danny is running a Rimpact insert in the rear wheel and he is running tubeless using Reserves Fillmore valves. Going tubeless is something Danny described as revolutionary for him. He has gone from hundreds of punctures a year to basically none. It has been a massive change for him.


Normally Danny runs 2 I9 Hydra hubs but as he is in the process of having some wheels built up he's got a Torch Hub in the rear wheel right now.


Of course, Danny's bike runs single speed set up from Trialtech with a 16-tooth rear single speed cog and Trialtech spacers keeping it in place. This is combined with at Inspired custom-made 22t chainring and bash-guard set up, mounted to a pair of Shimano XT cranks that are 170mm long. These are finished off with a set of Danny's Signature Crankbrothers Stamp pedals, these are the large platform.



Hiding behind that custom Inspired bash-guard is a KMC BMX chain.


So instead of a traditional chain tensioner, Danny is running this custom 3D printed titanium creation by French trails rider John Langlois.


Inspired provide Danny with his seat and seat post. Danny likes to keep a seat on his bike as it keeps it looking more like a traditional bike.


It's more Inspired parts when it comes to the cockpit with them providing Danny with their Team riser bar which has 75mm rise to the first shoulder, giving 101mm of rise to the centre of the end of the bar. These are 720mm wide and made of aluminium. The stem is a Trialtech 125mm long stem with 35 degrees of rise, all topped off with Danny's signature Lizard skin grips.


A massive thank you to Danny for taking the time to do this bike check when he was so busy at The Malverns Classic.