Product news: Santa Cruz has fundamentally revised the 2019 Bronson & 5010. The Santa Cruz Nomad already got a completely new look last year. Now they are following suit with the Bronson and the 5010 and have adapted the geometry to today's standard. The Santa Cruz Bronson comes with 160mm travel at the front and 150mm at the rear. The Santa Cruz 5010 with 130mm at the front and rear. As with the Nomad, the newly revised VPP rear triangle works at the rear.
The new Santa Cruz Bronson 2019 now fits into the design language of the Nomad, has a significantly lower center of gravity thanks to the rearranged rocker links and, thanks to the revised geometry and 160 mm of travel at the front, moves further in the direction of enduro. The Santa Cruz will be available in aluminum and carbon versions. The Santa Cruz Nomad should remain the all-rounder of the Americans despite more travel, just with a little extra reserves. The price of the Nomad will range between €3.899 and €9.999. The Bronson will also be available in five sizes from XS to XL.
Thanks to the revised rear end, 27,5 and 27,5+ inch wheels and up to 2.8 wide tires can now be used. The Bronson is very reminiscent of the Nomad. But if you take a closer look, it becomes clear that the long aluminum rocker link runs much closer to the seat tube and is also milled out. Unlike before, the shock no longer sits parallel to the top tube and is attached to it, but is now located directly above the bottom bracket. This is articulated by a small deflection rocker, which is connected to the one-piece carbon rear triangle. A second, longer rocker arm sits parallel to the seat tube and is attached to the rear triangle and top tube.
The look also differs greatly from the predecessor. In the 2019 model, corners and edges now dominate. When it comes to colors, Santa Cruz has two to choose from – subtle gray and relatively light blue.
Santa Cruz Bronson: Amenities
As is typical for Santa Cruz, the new Bronson will also be available in numerous different versions: In addition to two complete versions made of aluminum (€3.899 to €4.899), Santa Cruz divides the carbon bikes into C models from €4.699 to €6.699 and CC models from €7.399 to €9.999 as usual €30 to €37. Four of the nine complete bikes come standard with the very light and elegant Santa Cruz Reserve 2,6 carbon wheels. Santa Cruz also offers every variant of the new Bronson with wide Reserve 1.999 rims and 3.499″ wide Plus tires from Maxxis on request. If you lose track of all the complete variants, you can build a Santa Cruz Bronson individually thanks to the available frame sets made of aluminum (€XNUMX) or CC carbon (€XNUMX).
Santa Cruz Bronson: Geometry
A lot has changed in terms of geometry compared to the previous model. More reach, a shorter seat tube, a slacker steering angle and a steeper seat angle: This is the geometry recipe for success that numerous manufacturers are currently using. Santa Cruz makes no exception with the new Bronson. The reach has grown by 15 mm in length for every frame size and the seat tubes are now significantly shorter - a sensible adjustment in times of variable seat posts with a large adjustment range. The geometry of the new Bronson can be easily adjusted using a small flip chip on the damper linkage: Depending on the position, the steering and seat angles become slacker or steeper by 0,3°, the length of the reach and chainstays also varies by a few millimeters.
Santa Cruz 5010
As mentioned above, the former Santa Cruz Solo has also been revised - it is now called 5010 and the geometry and also the spring travel have been adapted to today's standard. The potent trail bike now has 130mm at the front and rear. The current VPP rear triangle has also been adopted in this model.
Equipment
AL, C, CC, frameset, plus variants: the new 5010 Santa Cruz 2019 will be available in a variety of different configurations. The cleverly designed rear triangle offers space for tires with a width of up to 2,8″, which is why the new 5010 will be available in addition to every regular version as a Plus version with wide rims and 2,6″ tires from Maxxis. In addition to three complete bikes made of aluminum (€3.199 to €4.699), Santa Cruz divides the carbon versions in the usual manner into C and CC, with the latter being based on a lighter but also more expensive carbon frame.
The three C-Bikes cost between €4.499 and €6.399, with the cheapest CC version of the Santa Cruz 7.099 5010 starting at €2019. The three most expensive variants of the noble trail bike cost between €8.299 and €9.699 – including Santa Cruz Reserve carbon wheels. Those who prefer to build a Santa Cruz 5010 individually also have the option of doing so thanks to two frame sets made of aluminum (€1.999) or CC carbon (€3.099).
Geometrie
Santa Cruz also offers the new 5010 in five sizes from XS to XL and thus covers a very wide spectrum. Compared to the predecessor, the steering angle has become flatter and the seat angle steeper - the change of almost 1° should ensure better uphill characteristics and more stability at high speeds. The 425 mm short chain stays have remained the same as for the predecessor – this is intended to underline the playful character of the trail bike.
The geometry can also be adjusted via a flip chip on the rocker link: In the high setting, the steering and seat angles are each 0,3° steeper, the reach increases by a few millimeters and the bottom bracket climbs 4 mm higher. Since the new Santa Cruz 5010 is compatible with tires up to 2,8″ wide thanks to plenty of tire clearance (and is also optionally available as a version with Plus tires), the flip chip also offers the possibility of measuring the influence of the larger tires on the geometry compensate. On our test bike in size L, a 66,2° slack head angle and a reach of 457 mm meet a 74,9° steep and 430 mm short seat tube.