2023 Santa Cruz Bronson v4 Review
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 2 ต.ค. 2024
- Here's a long term review of my custom built Santa Cruz Bronson!
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Love your vid!
After a lifetime of hard tails - 59 years old - I finally bought a full suspension - a Santa Cruz Bronson. At Dodge Ridge Ski/bike resort I couldn’t believe the difference. 1/3 my way down my first run I was laughing my head off - it was so beautiful! Blasting through rock gardens that before were so bone jarring my teeth felt like they were coming loose but now were smooth. I loved bouncing off bumps on the single track that use to have me bouncing around on landing and trying to keep my bike on the trail but now were butter smooth stable landings. I love this bike. I gave my hardtail (Specialized Carve Pro 29er) to my nephew. I am never going back. I can’t as I feel so completely and totally spoiled on the Santa Cruz Bronson. I am headed back up to Dodge Ridge for more downhill this Labor Day Weekend and I CAN’T WAIT‼️
I love dodge! The trails are looking so nice
Where is that resort located? sounds awesome
Just got mine in gloss chalk white 🤓 can’t wait to ride it tomorrow
I've had mine for a few months and absolutely love it. I also got the 's' build. One thing about it is that its a ridiculously quiet bike. Practically no creaking (other than a pedal pinging) after months of riding.
It does just fine at my local XC loops, and is SUPER fun in the bike park. It jumps like nothing I've ever ridden. The suspension has so much pop compared to my ripley AF, and I think I've bottomed out the rear once? It feels bottomless yet well supported when you want it to be. Its ridiculous how capable it is. I've taken it down some trails that had me hanging on for dear life on the Ripley AF, and this thing just fills me with confidence.
Overall, its a fantastic choice for anyone looking for their "one bike to do all the riding" type bike. I can see this being in my garage for a long time. Now time for some upgrades.
💯💯💯
Awesome comment to read. I currently have a Ripley AF and am seriously considering the bronson or a hightower (leaning more bronson). I've experienced all the same things with the ripley, hence wanting the upgrade
I was just waiting for this❤
Thanks for the climbing review for this bike. Hard to find
I'm 5'7" and am in my 2nd season on my V4 Bronson. Running it with a coil and love the way it handles for my frame/riding style. At my height it is just a better setup than the full 29er I had. Great video.
Thank man!
Sick video, love that bike! I just bought and canyon spectral and have some Nobl wheels on route! Need some solid hoops for fortune for sure! 🤙🏻
Awesome! Be sure to grab some cush core to keep those wheels safe :)
That ride was absolutely wicked. I miss my Bronson MX. Honestly that bike is so confident dh, but climbing was not fun.
I have the Tallboy which I’m really loving as it feels almost like a dirt bike that can climb like no other- after seeing this the Bronson has got me considering maybe I should get that for the bigger hits and confidence boost 🤔
That would be a sick combo!
Hi, great riding and honest review! Great job! Why didn’t you go with the Nomad V6?
Thanks! I considered it but I do a ton of pedalling so I generally go for a 150/160mm travel bike so it’s more manageable. I’d love to try a Nomad eventually though.
Are you still running 160mm in front? or is it at 170 with the Zeb? I have a 2022 Bronson and really like it...and I have a Fox 38 factory sitting in my garage I've been considering swapping into for the 36 that's on it now. PS i don't love the new SRAM AXS stuff. I have it on my other bike and i find it slow and I often bump the button and get multiple shifts when i don't want it.
I have a 160mm Zeb. I didn’t want to push the geo too far outta whack with a longer fork. Have you tried the new firmware update for the transmission? It makes it shift a tad quicker. It’s not a huge difference but it’s definitely noticeable.
Sick review! It might not be scientific but you're absolutely shredding in your videos since you got that bike, so it must be working for you!
Thanks dude!
Interesting you mention service windows between Fox/RS. I had a 38 Factory last season and running the Zeb charger 3 this season. Last season I didn't touch the 38. This season I did the 50 hour service on the Zeb and it's already feeling like it needs another service. Point being, Factory 38 felt like it was fresh for much longer than the Zeb from my anecdotal experience.
Yeah who knows man haha. I may have gotten a lemon of a fox fork too.
Insanely good riding, as usual ✌️ sick bike
Thanks 😊
How do you like the 38mm stantions? I'm around the same weight (155LBS) running the V4 Bronson with the stock fox 36. I was thinking of increasing travel to make it more of a downhill machine but I'm now thinking a lager stanchion fork might make a bigger difference without messing with the travel.
Also another question. Is your flip chip in high or low?
Hey! So I actually switched to a 160mm Lyrik because I found the axle to crown length on the Zeb was too long and it was making the front of the bike higher than I wanted it. The bike rode much better with the Lyrik IMO, I was able to get my weight over the front easier in the corners. So just keep that in my because both mods you want to do will increase that axle to crown length. And I’m running the bike in the low setting ✌🏻
When I decided to get back into mountain biking a few months ago I like didn’t even have to think about it Bronson is just a no brainer if you have the bread for it :)
It sounds like a great bike.. Santa Cruz MX 👌🙂👍
Good stuff. You were shredding! I rode one today at spider mtn. Had a fox 36 on it and was blown away. Coming off only riding my budget built db atroz, made it a good test. It's insane smooth had crazy grip, where my other bike i woulda been on the ground. Very confidence inspiring. I was alrdy looking for a new bike, and leaning toward a yeti sb150. But i think ima get a bronson instead. Hell ya. i mean its fckn amazing! seriously. holy shit.
Heck yeah dude! The Bronson is killer 🤙🏻
The yeti has gotta climb way better than VPP though…
Very nice fam!
Totally agree about the 27.5 rear on techy climbs, or any climbs where you have to spin up quickly. If you can maintain speed, 29ers are great. That on top of the bike big bmx bike kinda feel goes back at least to the V2- I have a V2 and V3 and both have that. It’s why I love it.
Question on your filming- are you using super wide? It felt like I was watching you ride through a fish bowl. Actually made it kinda tough to watch.
Enjoy your new ride. She’s a beauty. 🤙
I’m using Hyperview on my gopro hero 11. Seems to be what most other folks are using too. Thanks for tuning in ✌🏻
Красивый велосипед. Но.. я бы хотел поменять вилку и амортизатор на FOX
I'm in the process of building up a new Bronson. Was gonna try running the new Super D and Lyrik on it. I have a new Zeb I can throw on there. Only makes it about -.2 slacker (160mm to 160mm). If the Lyrik feels good on there, I might keep it. I'm definitely tempted to try a Super D coil though!
Nice! I thought of trying out a Lyrik top and I still might butt the Zeb feels really really good.
Long comment incoming! I just found your video because I was looking up Bronson reviews. Your video and review was crazy good, better than a lot I reviewers I have seen with thousands more subs. Your audio was very clear and concise, I really felt like I could feel your excitement about the bike when you were talking. You video quality was also outstanding. The riding footage was actually incredible, the angle was damn near perfect and somehow you managed to capture a sense of speed that others don't. I actually appreciated that because it gave me a sense of what this bike can actually do. The smaller travel numbers on here compared to other bikes may deter people but watching you rip kind of makes all that a moot point. Really nice job on your video. would love to see it compared to the Nomad or Megatower on the same trails.
Thanks a lot David! Glad to hear you enjoyed the review :). I am always looking for ways to make something different then what is already out there. The Bronson is an amazing bike too. Something to take in to consideration is that the Bronson is pretty poppy and lively feeling and you feel more “on top” of the bike rather than “inside” it. It took me a while to get used to this but man oh man does the bike jump. It makes you want to pop and jib over everything. Thanks for the comment ✌🏻
Hey dude, just about to build up a frame. Regarding your seat post issue my questions are:
What size are you on?
What's your height?
Just trying to determine if the 180mm would be necessary.
Thanks!
I was on a size medium and I ran a 180mm post with no issues. I tried a 210 as well but needed to shim it. It came with a 150mm which was too short.
@@CapitalMTB Wish I had seen this before ordering the OneUp V3 210mm. Hoping I can make it work shimmed down to 190mm🤞
I absolutely agree about Code R - I had them and do not like them. On the other hand, DB8s are much better IMO.
Good to know!
Rad bike! I agree that I love how quick a 27.5 rear wheel spins up. Makes a big difference
Totally!
Also, I’m 5’9” and I tried both the medium and large, both felt great, but I went with the medium. Just felt better
Congrats on the new bike thanks for the detailed specs.
You bet!
Cool trails, where are they?
This is Camp Fortune, just outside of Ottawa Ontario in The Gatineau Park
Hey buddy, what's the tune on the coil shock?
It’s the linear with low rebound. I’m 150lbs with gear and mix running a 350lb spring, 1 click of low speed compression (from open), 1 click of high speed compression (from fully open). 2 clicks of hydraulic bottom out and rebound is at about half way.
I don't know if you'll see this or have time to reply but I thought I'd ask anyway. I heard in the video you also have a Norco Sight. I'm on a current model Sight right now and am considering selling it for a Bronson. I get along pretty well with the Sight except it feels pretty unwieldy at times and sort of dead (I run a megneg, stock configuration had me bottoming out way too much) It's pretty good at running straight through rocks and absorbing heavy landings. I'm hoping for something more engaging, poppy and fun while still being able to smash through some rocks at times, I don't intend to do any serious racing on it. I hear from friends on mullets that they tend to hang up more on obstacles on climbs and during regular trail riding which I tend to do a lot of but that they're more fun going downhill. They're not on Bronsons though so I don't know if that's more of a bike model thing or mullet. Anyway, if you have the time and see this comment I'd love to hear a comparison between the Bronson and the Sight. Thanks for making the vid!
Okay... Let me start by saying I'm pretty much sold on the mullet set up. Keep in mind that different suspension platforms will preform differently as mullets. The Bronson is super progressive and the VPP is pretty good at trucking through rough stuff. Personally I found that the bike performed best with a coil shock as it was almost too lively with the stock air shock. The Bronson handles a coil shock better than any bike I've ridden in the past too. The coil also kept the rear wheel from getting hung up a bunch too. In terms of hangups on the climbs, I didn't notice any issues and I actually preferred how easy it was to spin up the rear wheel especially in those techy situations. Overall the Bronson is really poppy and playful and it never felt like too much bike. With all that playfulness you do sacrifice a bit of stability at speed. There where trails I'd ridden on the Sight with zero issues where I felt under-biked on the Bronson. I feel like with the sight you sit more in the travel and the Bronson you ride more on top of it. I also feel like I could have sized up and gained a bit of stability there. I am 5'8 and that usually puts me on the large end of a medium or the small end of a large.
All that said, both are awesome bikes and I really enjoyed my time on both the Bronson and the Sight so it really just boils down to rider preference. Hope that helped!
@@CapitalMTB Thanks a lot for taking the time to reply, much appreciated. I think I might get a Bronson then. I prefer being underbiked occasionally rather than being overbiked. I'm 5'10 so will go for a L, thanks!
Did tou try de new nomad v6? I was wondering if the climbing is really different than the bronson?
I haven’t no, I was really torn between that and the Bronson but I do prefer a 160mm travel fork up front. I’ve always felt weird on 170mm travel bikes.
I have a nomad v6 and it climbs just as good as the Bronson. I’ve ridden a lot of sc bikes and they all climb really good and fairly similar.
230x60 or 230x65 rear shock?
230x60
Size coil shocks ?
230 x 60
What is travel of the Zeb?
160mm