Juliana

Furtado Carbon Mountain Bike Frame-2014

As the flagship frame of Juliana Bicycles, the Juliana Furtado inherits the legacy of the first mountain bike spec'd specifically for women. This doesn't mean it's a "girl" frame, though — a fact illustrated by Juliana's epithet for it: The Monarch of the Mountain. Not king, not queen, but the gender-neutral monarch. In fact, a fair number of the taller guys around Competitive's office have expressed regret that Juliana caps their sizes at Large because they like the combination of Santa Cruz tech with Juliana's distinctly striking color choices.

Any cyclist can appreciate a paint job designed to pop without being overbearing, but this frame isn't built for any cyclist; it's built for a racer. In an age that has come to treat women's cycling with growing respect, the quality of what's underneath is what really matters, not the aesthetics. It's also the real reason why so many of us at Competitive — male and female — have a crush on the Furtado. It has the same geometry, materials, suspension, and proven pedigree of one of Santa Cruz's "boy" bikes, the 5010 — a pedigree that doesn't back down.

Now let's address the elephant in the room: This is a 2014 frame, and the 2015 models are already available. We agree that the new frames are looking sharp, but they do make one sacrifice compared to the 2014s. To put the ride quality of Juliana frames in more cyclists' hands for the new year, Juliana opted for a slightly heavier carbon fiber. This brings the price down, but it also adds a bit of weight. The 2014 frames don't suffer from this penalty, so if you're a cyclist looking to maximize every possible advantage, it's definitely the vintage for you.

The front triangle is laid up and cured as a single piece, decreasing the amount of carbon by eliminating the need for overlapping joints and extra layers of reinforcing material. It also allows for fibers to extend across joints and into multiple tubes. This effectively distributes load more efficiently while also absorbing impact better. For those keeping score at home, that's a lighter, more durable frame that also offers a more comfortable ride with no rider weight limit. The mounting points on the Furtado are also integrated during the process, so the brake tabs, pivot mounts, and shock mounts all enjoy increased impact resistance.

The Furtado uses Juliana's Virtual Pivot Point (VPP) suspension. VPP is a dual-link suspension model whose links move independently of each other for a suspension that basically moves the rear axle in different ways during different stages of travel. (We write "basically" because this is an over-simplification of how VPP works, but it conveys the general idea well enough.) During the first stages of travel, the top link sees the lion's share of rotation; as you move beyond the sag point into later stages of travel, the lower link sees the most movement. This effectively adjusts the pedaling platform over the course of travel to stay as close as possible to the sweet spot between pedal-stalling, anti-squat feedback and the loss of chain tension that results from too much pro-squat.

The short links used in VPP are made of carbon (upper) and aluminum (lower). The lower link features a grease port for ease of maintenance, and all frame bearings enjoy a lifetime warranty, so they're equal to the abuse of a cyclist as demanding as the frame's namesake.

The Furtado is spec'd with FOX's Float CTD adjust Kashima, which marries 125 millimeters of travel to FOX's Climb Trail Descend system so you can adjust travel on the fly for efficient climbing, plush descending, and everything in between.

The 2014 Juliana Furtado Carbon Mountain Bike Frame is available in two sizes, Small and Large, in the color Roarange.