Santa Cruz Bicycles

Superlight Mountain Bike Frame - 26in

It seems every year that a new suspension design or six hits the market, but there's something to be said for the simplicity, durability, and low weight of a single-pivot dual-suspension platform like you'll find on the Santa Cruz Superlight Mountain Bike Frame. No fancy linkages or mechanisms at work here, just a rock-solid design and excellent geometry as the foundation for your next cross-country trail rig.

By employing the process of hydroforming to create its distinct, ground-clearance-affording shape, Santa Cruz eliminated any excess weight to keep the Superlight, well super light, but strength is important, too. With big wheels especially, stiffness is paramount, which is why you'll find that the rear triangle has an asymmetric shape. This prevents flex and ensures suspension motion is directed to the rear shock and not into flexing the frame, which would otherwise cause it to flex or shutter around switchbacks or across rock gardens.

The Superlight relies on SC's proven suspension pivot location. It's placed slightly above and forward of the middle chainring, to offer responsive pedaling when seated. One drawback of single pivot designs has always been out-of-the-saddle sprinting, because the suspension will compress under rider loads — losing energy to moving parts. Luckily, shock technology has mitigated that drawback. The Fox FLOAT CTD Evolution rear shock on this Superlight has three distinct damping settings. Climb, Trail, and Descend settings (hence, CTD) are easily switchable via the lever on the top of the shock, and allow you quickly and easily adjust the shock to suit the terrain you plan to tackle. If you’re going to sprint up a fire road, for example, the Climb setting will essentially lock out the rear shock — but remain compliant over water bars or sharp edge bumps. The Trail setting provides a more active motion to assist with traction when traversing punchy, root-laden hills or flowy sections of trail. And the Descend setting offers unrestricted motion for technical downhill sections that would otherwise bobble you about.

The Santa Cruz Superlight Mountain Bike Frame is currently available in the color Gloss White only and in the sizes Medium, Large, and X-Large.