Juliana

Joplin Carbon CC X01 Complete Mountain Bike - 2016

Though it shares a geometry and suspension with its twin sibling, the Santa Cruz Tallboy, the 2016 Juliana Joplin Carbon CC X01 Complete Mountain Bike features a few touch point tweaks to better suit smaller-framed riders. With 29er wheels, a snappy one-by drivetrain, and four inches of VPP travel, this bike boasts a responsive ride that tackles hills and rockets to the next rise faster than a pop song can climb the charts.

The 2016 Joplin's geometry is unabashedly XC, with a 70.2-degree head tube angle that falls just on the steep side of the spectrum for snappy, responsive, race-worthy handling. Its 17.4in chainstays might not be considered stubby by 2017's boundary-pushing standards, but they're by no means lengthy and serve to balance a sprightly ride feel with just enough tire clearance to keep the wheels turning when the trail turns muddy. A moderate reach pairs with an aggressive 72.4 seat tube angle that places you firmly over the pedals and ready to pounce out of corners and when the trail levels out.

While many brands employ a lower grade carbon for their highest tier of women-focused frames in comparison to men's offerings, Juliana's Carbon CC frames refreshingly share the same top-end material and construction method as their Santa Cruz CC counterparts. Regardless of whether the downtube says Santa Cruz or Juliana, all Carbon CC frames boast equal standards for lightweight, stiff responsiveness. For the Carbon CC frame designation, Juliana engineers use a higher modulus carbon than the standard Carbon C model, so less material is required to hit the same strength and stiffness numbers. Climbing and pure speed both benefit when there's less mass for your engine to propel, and the stiff chassis makes for more efficient power transfer.

The frame's two carbon triangles are built as whole pieces rather than glued together from disparate bits, a method that saves weight and increases structural integrity by allowing Santa Cruz to wrap carbon continuously through and around key junctures. This process reinforces the frame with less material while eliminating the artificial stress points that result from bonded construction methods. Finally, the carbon is also compacted from the inside and the outside for a more even finish that avoids any structural defects, excess material build-up, and resin pooling for even more weight savings.

The suspension consists of a Fox Float Factory shock enshrined in Juliana's VPP suspension. Since both links are hinged at either end, their relation to each other changes constantly throughout the suspension's travel, and the virtual point where they converge changes, too. During the first stages of travel, the top link sees the lion's share of rotation, and as you move beyond the sag point into later stages of travel, the lower link sees the most movement.

This suspension travel 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 lower link features a grease port for ease of maintenance, and all frame bearings enjoy a lifetime warranty.