{"id":12065,"date":"2022-05-16T18:17:55","date_gmt":"2022-05-16T16:17:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/mbuk\/?post_type=purple_issue&p=12065"},"modified":"2022-05-16T18:17:55","modified_gmt":"2022-05-16T16:17:55","slug":"santa-cruz-bronson-c-r","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/mbuk\/2022\/05\/16\/santa-cruz-bronson-c-r\/","title":{"rendered":"Santa cruz bronson C R"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
ENDURO<\/span><\/h6>\n\n
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<\/div>
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SPEC<\/span><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

\u00a34,999<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Frame <\/strong>\u2018C\u2019 carbon fibre, 150mm travel<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sizes <\/strong>XS, S, M*, L, XL<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fork <\/strong>RockShox Lyrik Select, 160mm travel<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shock <\/strong>Fox Float X Performance, 150mm travel<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Drivetrain <\/strong>SRAM NX Eagle with Truvativ Descendant cranks (1×12)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wheelset <\/strong>Race Face AR 30 rims on SRAM 716 (f) and 746 (r) hubs, Maxxis Minion DHF 3C MaxxGrip EXO 29×2.5in (f) and Minion DHR II 3C MaxxTerra EXO 650bx2.4in (r) tyres<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Brakes <\/strong>SRAM G2, 200mm rotors<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bar\/stem <\/strong>Burgtec, 800mm\/Burgtec Enduro MK3, 42.5mm<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Seatpost\/saddle <\/strong>SDG Tellis dropper, 150mm\/WTB Silverado Race<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Weight <\/strong>15.1kg (medium, without pedals)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

www.santacruzbicycles.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/section>\n\n

The latest Bronson <\/strong>uses mixed wheel sizes \u2013a 29in hoop up front and a 650b one at the rear. It\u2019s currently only available in Santa Cruz\u2019s \u2018CC\u2019 or \u2018C\u2019 (cheaper and roughly 250g heavier, as tested here) carbon fibre, which explains why the kit bolted to the R isn\u2019t as flash as on some of the cheaper alloy bikes on test.<\/p>\n\n

Two counter-rotating links drive the low-slung shock that pierces the seat tube, to produce 150mm of rear-wheel travel. A flip-chip in the rear shock mount lets you adjust the head angle by 0.2 degrees (64 degrees in the \u2018low\u2019 setting) and the BB height by 3mm (341mm, \u2018low\u2019), and alters the seat tube angle by 0.3 to 0.7 degrees, depending on frame size. Our medium bike had a 77-degree angle. To keep riders in the sweet spot between the wheels, the Bronson\u2019s rear-centre (effective chainstay length) grows as you go up through the sizes \u2013 on our medium it was 435mm.<\/p>\n\n

At just shy of \u00a35,000, the Santa Cruz is one of the priciest bikes on test. A lot of that\u2019s down to the carbon frame \u2013 as becomes clear when you glance at the spec sheet. While SRAM\u2019s NX Eagle gearing works fine, it\u2019s heavier, less refined and doesn\u2019t offer the same range as GX Eagle. The G2 brakes are decent enough, too, but feel a little undergunned. That\u2019s simply down to how fast the Bronson can be ridden, though. It\u2019s a similar story with the lighter EXO-casing Maxxis rubber. Switching to some stoppers with more grunt and tyres with a tougher casing (at least on the back) would make a big difference to the ride.<\/span><\/p>\n\n

The Fox Float X shock does a good job of helping the rear tyre to track the terrain and, coupled with the burly 160mm-travel RockShox Lyrik fork up front, helps to deliver a forgiving ride through rocky outcrops and root spreads, with both ends of the bike feeling plush but still well-supported. It carries speed well, too, although isn\u2019t as easy to ride flat-out on high-speed trails as the Marin, which also has 150mm of rear bounce. On these types of tracks, the Bronson just doesn\u2019t feel quite as stretched-out or stable.<\/span><\/p>\n\n

Get into tighter, more natural terrain, though, and this bike shines. It\u2019s agile and keen to be flicked from turn to turn, slotted down a technical chute or used to confidently pick your way down something slow and steep. <\/span>The Bronson climbs well enough, too, and is comfortable on big days in the hills. It\u2019s pricey, though, and doesn\u2019t feel as surefooted as some here.<\/p>\n\n

<\/p>\n

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\n \n <\/svg>\n \n <\/svg>\n \n <\/svg>\n \n <\/svg>\n \n <\/svg><\/div>\n <\/div>\n
<\/div>\n <\/div>\n

A couple of spec changes would unleash the Bronson\u2019s potential, but would push its price even higher<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

At just shy of \u00a35,000, the Santa Cruz is one of the priciest bikes on test<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":12443,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ub_ctt_via":"","purple_page_number":"152","purple_custom_meta_purple_page_number":"152","purple_seq_number":"1","purple_custom_meta_purple_seq_number":"1","purple_source_article":"article_152-1.xml","purple_custom_meta_purple_source_article":"article_152-1.xml","purple_source_issue":"June-2022","purple_custom_meta_purple_source_issue":"June-2022","purple_external_id":"June-2022-152-1","purple_custom_meta_purple_external_id":"June-2022-152-1","purple_issue_code":"|0000112137||","purple_custom_meta_purple_issue_code":"|0000112137||","purple_android_product":"com.im.mountainbikingukmagazine.408","purple_custom_meta_purple_android_product":"com.im.mountainbikingukmagazine.408","purple_ios_product":"com.im.mountainbikingukmagazine.408","purple_custom_meta_purple_ios_product":"com.im.mountainbikingukmagazine.408","purple_web_product":"","purple_custom_meta_purple_web_product":"","purple_publication_id":"0638d426-1edc-44c5-8614-70723dfc91b6","purple_migrated":"","kt_blocks_editor_width":"","apple_news_api_created_at":"2022-05-16T16:18:01Z","apple_news_article-theme":"","apple_news_api_id":"2afba1f2-3e3c-477c-be89-e5b508f979d9","apple_news_api_modified_at":"2022-05-16T16:18:02Z","apple_news_api_revision":"AAAAAAAAAAD\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/w==","apple_news_api_share_url":"https:\/\/apple.news\/AKvuh8j48R3y-ieW1CPl52Q","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_is_hidden":false,"apple_news_is_paid":true,"apple_news_is_preview":true,"apple_news_is_sponsored":false,"apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_article_theme":"","apple_news_sections":"[]"},"categories":[85],"tags":[13],"apple_news_notices":[],"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2022\/05\/MBK_408_supp_enduro.SB_20220408bpw028_preview.jpg","author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/mbuk\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"3","apple_news_title":""},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2022\/05\/MBK_408_supp_enduro.SB_20220408bpw028_preview.jpg",1600,1066,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2022\/05\/MBK_408_supp_enduro.SB_20220408bpw028_preview-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2022\/05\/MBK_408_supp_enduro.SB_20220408bpw028_preview-300x200.jpg",300,200,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2022\/05\/MBK_408_supp_enduro.SB_20220408bpw028_preview-768x512.jpg",768,512,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2022\/05\/MBK_408_supp_enduro.SB_20220408bpw028_preview-1024x682.jpg",800,533,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2022\/05\/MBK_408_supp_enduro.SB_20220408bpw028_preview-1536x1023.jpg",1536,1023,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2022\/05\/MBK_408_supp_enduro.SB_20220408bpw028_preview.jpg",1600,1066,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/mbuk\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"At just shy of \u00a35,000, the Santa Cruz is one of the priciest bikes on test","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/mbuk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12065"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/mbuk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/mbuk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/mbuk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/mbuk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12065"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/mbuk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12065\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12580,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/mbuk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12065\/revisions\/12580"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/mbuk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12443"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/mbuk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12065"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/mbuk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12065"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/mbuk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12065"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}