Competitive Cyclist

SANTA CRUZ DRIVER 8

Rock Shox reminds us that "the World is Not Flat." They are right. Some of us are lucky enough to live in God's country -- country with mountains. bike parks, and endless epic trails -- you know the dream. For those of us with the cohones to ride that terrain to its fullest, but might not have the dough to shell out for multiple bikes and countless lift tickets, it'd be great to have that veritable Swiss Army knife-of-bikes -- one that can not only bomb anything, but climb it as well, and not leave you wishing for a couple more inches of travel or another gear. The Santa Cruz Driver 8 answers the call serving as your one stop downhill, stunt, park bike or even a burly all-mountain machine.

A simple glance will tell you that it's built with abuse in mind -- a OnePointFive headtube, interrupted seat tube, 12x150mm Maxle thru axle, 83mm bottom bracket, eight glorious inches of VPP travel and ISCG-05 tabs. But there's more to it than that. Santa Cruz has addressed every last detail down to a small mud flap on the rear swingarm to help keep grit and grime away from your shock body. They designed it to have seven inches of up-and-down adjustability on an interrupted seat tube bike. Because of the angle of the seat tube, it replicates the position of a Nomad at it's highest, and at it's lowest it replicates the position of a V-10. Great for climbing, great for bombing.

For those wanting to build it as more of a burly all-mountain steed, its ISCG-05 tabs make mounting Truvativ HammerSchmidt a snap. HammerSchmidt would enable the rider to use the equivalent of a 22 or 24 tooth small chainring for long grinding climbs. Explore to your heart's content! Consider yourself excuse-free -- no more, "Man, if I had just a couple more inches of travel, I would have smoked that!" or, "If I had a granny gear I could have hung on that climb." With the Driver 8 you can have it all. And with a careful selected component spec, it could build up in the low-to-mid 30 pound range.

The Driver 8 features the newest generation of VPP technology. The rear swingarm is attached to the frame with two links -- the VPP lower link, which swings on eight angular contact bearings, and a molded carbon upper, which uses four massive radial contact sealed cartridge bearings -- and oversized 15mm pivots with locking axle-pins. Like all Santa Cruz bikes, the bearings have a lifetime warranty. All of this makes for a bike that is extremely laterally stiff, nor will the pivots creak or loosen. The lower link has easily-serviceable grease ports for easy maintenance (grease gun and grease included). It also gets a set of lip seals and labyrinth washers to combat the ingress of dirt, ensuring your suspension will stay smooth for a long while. While it comes stock with a Rock Shox Vivid Coil Shock, the shock of the Syndicate, a $162 upcharge nets the new Fox DHX RC4. It has 2.7" tire clearance and accepts rotors up to 203mm, so the world is your oyster.

The Santa Cruz Driver 8 frame is powder coated in your choice of Black, Lime, Liquid Blue, Red, White, or Yellow. Or for an additional $300, you can have the frame anodized in Orange. It requires a 30.9 seat post. It has ISCG-05 tabs to make mounting a chainguide or HammerSchmidt a snap, and an 83mm bottom bracket and 150 rear spacing ensures an optimal chainline. The frame weight, with a Rock Shox Vivid Coil shock, is, according to Santa Cruz, 10.5lbs (4.763kg). The frame has a two year warranty against manufacturing defects, while the bearings are guaranteed for life.

US Santa Cruz dealers are prohibited from shipping Santa Cruz bicycles outside of the United States.

We expect the Santa Cruz Driver 8 to be available in July.

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2010 Santa Cruz Driver 8 Pricing