Juliana

Strega Carbon CC X01 Eagle Mountain Bike - Women's - 2019

Tame those tricky lines, hit bigger drops, and ride at speeds you didn't think were possible on the Strega Carbon CC X01 Eagle Complete Mountain Bike from Juliana. Its gravity-inspired shock configuration improves small bump compliance and big hits alike letting you fly downhill at eye-watering speeds, send it on those big bike park lines, as well as pedaling up into the high country for those memorable descents that you'll continuously daydream about. Strega is the Italian word for witch, and with its aggressive geometry, super plush suspension, and phenomenal Carbon CC frame, you'll be spellbound with the progression of your riding.

The Strega shares its DNA with the Santa Cruz Nomad and as such, it's a longer travel bike that has few peers in the women's market. Juliana knows there are plenty of aggressive riding ladies that desire a hard-hitting mountain bike and that's exactly what it delivers. It sports 170 millimeters of bump gobbling VPP travel, providing the discerning female rider with the proper tools to up their skills and speed in the park, on enduro stages, and epic days on technical terrain. You'll quickly appreciate that your equipment won't be holding you back on those lift access rides, repeated shuttle runs, or self-propelled adventures deep into high-alpine terrain.

One of the first features that catch your eye with the Strega is its reconfigured VPP suspension, driven by a lower-link mounted shock that's radically different from the Roubion, Furtado, and Joplin. This shock location takes cues directly from the Santa Cruz V10, renowned on the professional downhill circuit for its numerous World Cup victories and ridden by the fastest athletes on earth. On the Strega, the lower shock placement makes it suppler off the top with better small bump compliance so it tracks smoothly across steep and rugged terrain, much like a dedicated downhill bike. Another thing of note is that Juliana employs a custom shock tune on the RockShox Super Deluxe RCT that's designed for the lighter builds of female riders, allowing it to react better and not be overly harsh like shock tunes built for heavier riders.

Looking at the geometry numbers, the Strega provides aggressive trail confidence with its 65-degree head tube angle in its higher geometry setting making it one of the slackest women's specific bikes that we know of. Just a few short years ago, that head tube angle was relegated to lift-access and shuttle lap gravity sleds that's sole purpose was going downhill. However, more and more aggressive riders are seeking long-travel bikes that can actually pedal uphill too, and the engineers at Juliana designed it with a pedal-friendly 74.5-degree seat tube angle, again in its high geometry setting. This combines with the 500% gear range from its XO1 12-speed drivetrain to provide the means to power up steep punchy climbs as well as settling in on a fire road climb where the fun begins up top. The low-slung frame improves standover heights (as low as 27.7 inches on the XS frame) for shorter riders and allows for longer dropper post further boosting confidence on hairy double black diamond trails.

Juliana also engineered the Strega with a flip-chip at the linkage that changes the bike's geometry from that all-mountain 65-degree head tube angle we spoke of above, to an almost downhill-dedicated 64.6 degrees, as well as lowering the bottom bracket and slightly lengthen the wheelbase for greater composure at white-knuckle speeds. We wouldn't hesitate to enter a DH race when the machine is set up in this configuration. Another thoughtful detail that’s afforded by the reconfigured VPP setup includes a special fender that defends the shock from kicked up rocks and flying mud from the trail below. Juliana's obsession to detail didn't end there, and it gave the Strega a custom shuttle guard, so that beautiful Carbon CC frame and cerulean paint don't get damaged while banging around on truck tailgate pads.

Speaking of the Carbon CC frame, the Strega Carbon CC XO1 shaves a significant deal of weight from the Carbon C frame. Juliana achieves this by using a lighter and more expensive carbon lay-up, all without sacrificing one bit of strength or stiffness you've come to expect from Juliana carbon frames. You can expect about a half-pound savings over the C-grade carbon, which is a significant amount of weight loss no matter what discipline of bike you're talking about.