Santa Cruz Bicycles

Bronson Carbon CC X01 Complete Mountain Bike - 2015

The Santa Cruz Bronson has been dominating trails and enduro podiums the world over since its relatively recent debut just last season. The alloy version rocks, but the Carbon CC version is not only light enough to soar, it's tough, stiff, and responsive enough to be a truly all-mountain performer. Problem is, going carbon usually means going expensive. For those who drool for a top-notch 1x drivetrain version of the carbon Bronson, but can't stomach a five-figure price, The 2015 Santa Cruz Bronson Carbon CC X01 Complete Mountain Bike is here to meet your needs, and then some.

At the heart of the Bronson is a highly refined VPP suspension platform that's been optimized for its 27.5-inch wheels. It's a suspension platform that's widely beloved among riders for its blend of pedaling efficiency and trail-erasing smoothness. VPP employs two aluminum counter-rotating links to achieve this balance. The upper link provides most of the rotation as the bike compresses into the sag point — or about 15-20% of the way into the travel. This yields a vertical wheel path, which you'll notice in the form of a firm feel during acceleration and small-bump compliance. As the bike compresses deeper into the suspension, the lower-link activates, moving the axle path rearward. The rearward axle path enables the rear wheel to travel out of the way of impacts, also lengthening the wheelbase and increasing stability. Holding it all together is the same collet-style pivot hardware that's become standard for Santa Cruz's suspension bikes. This means that your pivots stay tight and are easily serviceable at home if ever necessary.

Santa Cruz's industry-leading carbon fiber construction is on display here, as well. For 2015, almost all of Santa Cruz's carbon frames are available in a more economical version that uses a lower grade of carbon, requiring more of it and thus making for a slightly heavier frame than the high-end CC frame. Both offer tremendous capability, but the CC frame that the X01 build uses is the lighter, stiffer, superior product. Both the front and rear triangles are constructed as a whole, rather than bonding them together from sub-assemblies. Not only does this save weight, but it also means that the Bronson is as strong as possible. This is because the fibers remain uninterrupted by seams. In fact, if you were to cut the Bronson in half, you'd find that the inside of the tubes have the same perfectly smooth finish as the outside. This is a result of a construction technique that maximizes the compaction of the layers. The benefit is that it's lighter, because any excess epoxy is squeezed from the frame prior to curing. Accordingly, Santa Cruz finds that this provides the ideal degree of compaction, further enhancing frame strength.

The Bronson's X01 build lays perfectly at the intersection of near-pro levels of performance, while still catering to the non-pro-sponsorship-budget crowd. You get a SRAM 1x11 drivetrain (X01 shifters, X1 rear derailleur), which means a simple, light, and beautifully-shifting system. Shimano's excellent XT brakeset is a favorite for its excellent modulation and low maintenance. Santa Cruz's own 35mm-clamp carbon bar is used, held up by a Race Face Turbine stem, while out back, a RockShox Stealth Reverb seatpost holds you up on a WTB Volt Team saddle. RockShox also brings a Pike RCT3 Solo Air 150mm suspension fork to the game, and FOX throws in its Climb-, Trail-, and Descend-mode CTD rear shock with Kashima coating. You'll be rolling around on tubeless-ready Maxxis tires hugging WTB Asym i23 rims laced to DT Swiss 350 hubs front and rear, so you'll have a wheelset that's as tough and ready for any trail as you are.

The 2015 Santa Cruz Bronson Carbon X01 Complete Mountain Bike comes in four sizes, from Small to X-Large, and in two colors: Dark Green/lime green and Satin Black/magenta.