Juliana

Maverick Carbon CC X01 Eagle Mountain Bike

When it comes to shredding the trail, you've never been one to take no for an answer, and certainly don't appreciate people who question your abilities. In fact, you get a hefty degree of pleasure from ripping through technical, rowdy lines, and watching the faces of bystanders change from doubt to awe. You don't hesitate to tackle adverse situations on the trail, and constantly strive to challenge the edges of your comfort zone and push beyond it. You need a bike that can keep up with you on the trail, and with something like the Juliana Maverick Carbon CC X01 you'll be equipped with a berm-blasting machine built to conquer rides that push you so far that you're teetering on the line between pleasure and pain.

The Maverick is built to eat up obstacles with its 29-inch wagon wheels and deep, 140mm of VPP suspension. It utilizes Juliana's lower link VPP suspension design that we've seen previously in the Roubion and Strega, which is engineered to minimize big bumps while keeping things pedal-efficient. Unlike the upper-link driven design, you'll experience better support and higher levels of traction for all-mountain and gravity oriented disciplines. This model employs a RockShox Super Deluxe Ultimate rear shock that is dialed with an immense amount of tune-ability, so you can set things up exactly how you want it, optimizing small bump compliance for traction on the climbs, and eating up bounders and greasy roots on the race back to the bottom. First hand, we found that this lower link suspension excelled in the technical trails that challenged our sanity, gobbling up chatter, rock rolls, and drops that lead into hair-pin blind corners without hesitation. Despite its lofty 29-inch wheels, the Maverick retains a nimble, playful feel that's maneuverable through tight switchbacks, and capable of threading the needle when the trail calls for it.

We know we're not alone when we say our riding temperament changes from day to day, and we don't think our bike should limit that, which is why we're thankful that Juliana implements an integrated flip-chip to change the Maverick's geometry from one ride to another. All you need to do is grab a hex-wrench and in a flash you can slacken the head tube, and drop the bottom bracket for an extra planted feel when you're craving some lift-access rowdiness that challenges the sum of the bike's numbers. With the flip-chip in the lower position, the head tube is stretched out to a long-and-low 65.2-degrees (compared to 65.5 in high), and bottom bracket height lowers 4-millimeters to keep you lower to the ground and more stable when gravity takes over. In practice, this enables the Maverick to switch from a climb-conquering trail queen to an all-out enduro sled with the turn of a wrench. It's worth noting that the bike ships in the low setting, and will be ready to eat up steep, challenging terrain right out of the gates.

Juliana models the Maverick after its Santa Cruz sibling, the Hightower. As such, you'll find that the Maverick features the same carbon fiber layup and geometry as her brother. This particular Maverick benefits from the top-shelf Carbon CC layup, which drops weight as it uses a higher-end carbon in the manufacturing process, without sacrificing one bit of stiffness or strength. You can count on this lighter Carbon CC version to save anywhere from 250 to 280 grams over the lower-spec Carbon C model, so it's worth upgrading if you'd like a lighter build, especially when you want to soar up climbs to earn that sweet descent.