We've long believed that frame geometry is absolutely key to the performance of any MTB. In our books it’s more important than other highly hyped factors such as wheel size and the suspension type.
Most people recognise the trend of slacker head angles and lower bottom brackets, but the other thing we’re seeing is a move towards longer front centre and ‘reach’ measurements. Making the front end of the bike longer allows you to use a shorter stem without winding up with a cramped cockpit area. Shorter stems help to provide sharp and responsive steering whilst also putting you further behind the front axle, which improves your sense of security on steep descents. The added length up front improves stability while the use of reasonably short chainstays keeps the total wheelbase length in check and gives the bike some agility.
Santa Cruz has obviously likes these new school handling traits, as they’ve worked all of these tricks into their revamped Bronson and 5010 models. Both feature shorter chainstays than before (432mm on the Bronson and just 426mm on the 5010) and the reach measurement has grown by 15-25mm on most frame sizes, making short stems more palatable. The head angles are slacker too, with the Bronson at 66-degrees and the 5010 at 67-degrees.
Beyond the geometry, the suspension has also been tweaked. The newer design positions the lower suspension link up a bit higher and out of harm’s way. More importantly from a performance perspective, the leverage rate has been tweaked; both bikes are now more linear with mid-stroke that offers more support than before. While the Bronson still has 150mm of travel, the 5010 now offers 130mm (it used to be 125mm).
As with the previous version, there will be two carbon variants; the more affordable C and the upper-end CC models. The CC spec carbon frames are impressively light with the Bronson CC at 2,470g and the 5010 at 2,380g (both claimed figures). The C versions will weigh around 280g more but offer the same overall stiffness and strength. There’s no alloy version at this point (carbon is the future as far as Santa Cruz is concerned).
Like many other new model bikes, the new Bronson and 5010 use a 148mm 'Boost' style rear hub - like this change or not, it seems like boost is the way that many brands are going (at least the bottom bracket remains an easy to service threaded unit).
The suspension tweaks certainly sound positive but it’s the revised geometry that really caught our eye. Roll it all together and the revamped Bronson and 5010 models should be more capable and fun than their predecessors. Don’t know that it’ll help us ride like Ratboy though...
