It also means that the suspension remains ultra plush to keep your wheels tracking on the ground giving you the greatest control regardless if you're climbing a technical section at slow speed or railing a rough, rooty descent at scenery-blurring velocity. So how do the bikes actually ride? With the renowned VPP suspension your precious pedal power is applied to moving you forward with no wallowing or pedal bob. Using only the finest materials and manufacturing standards, Santa Cruz is at the pinnacle of technology, value and riding enjoyment.įrom XC rockets to full-on downhill monsters to freeride rippers, Santa Cruz full-suspension rides feature their Virtual Pivot Point suspension design (VPP) that provides up to 100% pedal-power efficiency by balancing chain-pulling forces with rider-induced bob to eliminate unwanted compression without limiting bump absorption. With the moderate build spec of this model it all adds up to a bike that is a little heavy in comparison to its rivals.Based in the riding mecca of Santa Cruz, California, Santa Cruz Bicycles meticulously designs and develops some of the best-riding, most-fun bicycles money can buy. The main issue we had with the Nickel is that it is just a little bit too heavy, at 7.37lbs for the frame and shock it is a good pound over the benchmark for a bike of this travel. It is a Santa Cruz… Build quality is top notch and the suspension does a good job of being sensitive to small bumps yet never blowing through its travel. Strong, stiff and ready for anything the Nickel turns beautifully and inspires confidence when you are pushing hard through sections that would unsettle more flighty 120mm travel bikes. Traction in this setting was plentiful, helping to conquer some very trying climbs. Climbing smooth trails in this setting felt pretty good too.įor rocky bone shaking descents we opened the shock up which allowed it to swallow up an impressive amount of punishment. We found after a fair bit of trial and error that our favourite setting for the Nickel was with the shock set just a little soft and then we ran it on the light Pro Pedal setting, this seem to bring the best from the bike making it fire through turns and hold its composure through flowing rooty singletrack. Diving into turns and hammering through rough sections is what the Nickel enjoys and it nails fast semi technical descents with a combination surefootedness and enthusiasm. Once flowing the bike starts to come to life, encouraging you to ride harder. On swoopy singletrack, the Crossmarks, being fast rolling help you get up to speed. That said I do not think Santa Cruz have pitched the Nickel at up hill whippet riders. With the Pro Pedal open the Nickel has good traction but due to its relatively high weight it is not as spritely up the trail as you would expect a 125mm trail bike to be. A few tweaks and some more air in the RP23BV later and things improved greatly, it is worth noting that we were now running the shock with just 10mm of sag. Jumping on the Nickel I was looking forward to seeing if this bike was as tough and abuse hungry as it looked.Īt first climbing on the Nickel was not as we had been expecting and we had to set the shock up on the medium Pro Pedal setting just to avoid the feeling of sinking into the travel. Its a bike that rewards you more the more you get involved, and whatever the geometry, suspension and component theory, it was the one we grabbed every. Our medium sized test bike weighed 21.9lbs without pedals on our scales.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |