Strengths: really strong, handle most situations / drops etc, pedals extremely well, looks mean as!
Weaknesses: i didnt think it was too good in tight tech sections
Bottom Line:
the endless travel fills you full of confidence, it rides remarkably well for its weight and ammount of travel, fantastic full on DH rig, as its an older model now and so you can pick em up fairly cheap in comparison to the new stock price! bargain
Strengths: it can hit anything! and just gives you soo much confidence! i have toured allaround with my 07 ano black v10 and wud never want another frame!!!
Weaknesses: even with the vpp it cant handel hills amazing but who cares
Strengths: Too many to list...almost bottomless travel, great rig w/ the Ti spring, 02 boxxer WC a great fork, burly frame( what do you expect, It's a santa cruz) Really strong, surprisingly light, not 55+LBS like many claim, sticks to ground like glue, rails berms/corners...overall a great rig- way better than my SGS...also manuals/wheelies well, well balanced and jumps well. Also pedals extremely well.
Weaknesses: Long, heavy headtube, little hard to bunnyhop at first-you have to kind of re-learn how-not really though...little bit of play in the linkage, my local shop said this is normal. A little hard to pedal uphill, but what do you expect, it's a race/ extreme drop rig, not an XC bike.
Bottom Line:
If you are looking into buying one of these rigs-do...though they are not as light and jumpable as the Bullit, they are still a sturdy rig capable of hardcore freeride, big drops, rolling over anything, down anything, soaks up roots and performs extremely well though I have yet to actually Dh it...I've only owned it for about a month and a half...maybe two...Overall a great bike, if you are looking for a jumper though, or a light freeride rig, go w/ the bullit or an ellsworth joker or a bighit, they are better for jumping...but a great all around rig...Beats my old SGS hands down...
Strengths: big wheels, grippy tyres good becouse i do a lot of technical beach riding.
Weaknesses: the seat is very uncomfy ive not yet learnt to stand up yet so this is a major problem, heavy for when i have to push down hill if im too scared, the original front forks were to bouncy so i put some rigid ones on.
Bottom Line:
too heavy ive had a lot better for only £89.99 a shockwave SUS bought from halfords id avoid at all costs.
Strengths: Plush, pedals efficiently without bob. The root beer is the fastest color on the planet. Kick ass decals.
Weaknesses: I have a seat post cut for downhill, a longer one for freeride, and yet a longer one for cross country. Yes I said CROSSCOUNTRY.
Bottom Line:
I've been reading alot of reviews about guys ripping through rear rims, and it being said outloud that the v-10 can't be bunny hopped! From the moment my bike was built I've been living in a van travelling to downhill races all over the country. I started at Plattekill NY, made three of the five nationals and ended up at Rim cyclery in Moab for the fall. With that said, I have yet to replace my rear rim. Yes I've had to tighten loose spokes from time to time but the rim is as straight as any road in Phoenix Az. And as to the bunny hopping dillemma, you must first know how to bunny hop before implying the V-10 doesn't leave the ground. I have never been happier with anything I've ever owned. Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, AND AS TO THE WEIGHT ISSUE, with my 2.3 tires my medium tips the scale at just under 43 pounds. this bike kicks ASS period! Buy this bike and never drool over any other DH again.
Strengths: Bulletproof. When I was on this thing I felt like I could ride over boulders 2ft high without batting an eyelash. The plushness of the suspension is amazing. Between the spring rates and the way they have the dampers tuned at the factory, this thing soaks up curbs like they weren't there (But don't do this too much - forks don't like that sort of thing). When airborne the suspension reaches for the ground and then compresses with buttery smoothness.
Weaknesses: Floats like a brick and stings like foam rubber. Impossible to bunny-hop if the situation should arise on the trail where you need too. Heavy as hell. This thing is like the Humvee of downhill bikes. Some tuning of the dampers and swapping out the soft springs for some stiffer ones might do the trick. If you're really into just bombing during competition and thats your style then the previously mentioned isn't really a complaint...
Bottom Line:
Scary. Imagine taking a Honda CR250R and stripping off the gastank, the engine, the fairing, the seat and the fenders... What are you left with? A rolling chassis motorcross frame... That's what this thing feels like... of course I exaggerate to make the comparison - the 2 frames are nothing alike - but that's how it feels. Oddly enough your bank account won't know the difference between the 2 considering that MSRP for both in around 5 grand and change
Similar Products Used: Spesh Bighit, Cannondale Gemini, etc...
Bike Setup: Was a stock 02' I believe straight from the factory...
Overall Rating:
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Submitted by
erik jahne
a Downhiller
from wethersfield, ct, usa
Date Reviewed: August 29, 2003
Strengths: Everything on this bike is super strong. With a Dorado fork on the front it is the quietest bike I have ever ridden. A bottomless pit of travel. Super fast descents are no problem over anything.
Weaknesses: Ha! Good luck finding one.
Bottom Line:
Go out and get this bike. now. do it. Everyone told me that this bike is no good for freeriding or trail riding. What a load of crap! The bike is definitely more difficult to get off of the ground than most, but with any speed at all you can lift it in the air. I am 6'4". Anyone even an inch over this height should know that you will not be able to sit and pedal comfortably. My seat is at the max height and it has never gotten in the way on the steepest downhills. Sprinting with the bike is a complete joy. It bobs less than on my 5" travel stinky. After two weeks of use I had to relearn how to ride my other bikes because it is so intuitive and completely different on the v10. The travel keeps compressing three feet after you land. Both of my legs were shattered last summer. Being on the v10 is the first time since then that I can look at the trail without using disabled eyes. After a full day at Mt. Snow my knees were fine. Unbelievable. Thank you santa cruz.
Bike Setup: dorado fork. DH kit from santa cruz w/ monkey lite DH bar and sram XO der. 9.0 shifter upgraded rims and spokes
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
shean mogely
a Weekend Warrior
from ?
Date Reviewed: April 10, 2003
Strengths: well...nice colour but it snapped because it got run over by a car, the car looked mangeled but the bike was a little bent, a little bit of unbendinggot it back to shape but. When i took it of my two storeyrook onto a 10 foot landing ramp the VPP didn't like it, infact it snapped.but it rode nicely before.
Weaknesses: dont like cars
Bottom Line:
Great bike before run over by a car. but then made some funny sounding noises.
Submitted by
Jonny
a Downhiller
from Santa Barbara
Date Reviewed: February 20, 2003
Strengths: By far the best DH bike I have ever ridden
Weaknesses: perhapse a little bit long. Be sure and locktight the lower pivot screws 'cause you have to remove the mrp to get at them which also makes removing dirt from the area hard.
Bottom Line:
Simply one of the best bikes ever. Pedals so well you enjoy it. Perhapse a little long but a little room to improve is a good thing. You can still weave your way through tough sections at speed no problem. The Dorado is incredible; you can pick it up and put it wherever you want in the blink of an eye. It has such a light feel to it that if it was a single crown you'd find yourself doing x-ups off of everything bigger than a curb. Other forks I have ridden that are good forks do that brrddaaapppppp thing when you pound through rock sections fast, this bike with the Dorado is more like bwwooooshhh; you really should try it. I have not weighed it with the Dorado since I put it on there but I tell you what, with a 36 tooth ring on the front and a 11-32 or something in the back you can go up-hill too. If you want a true "free-ride" bike you may be better off with a bullit or a stinky or something but if you want the most rippin' DH bike that happens to allow you to pedal up the hill too (with a little pushin', it ain't a xc bike) then buy one. Hands down the best bike I have ever ridden.
Similar Products Used: V-10 w/ 2003 monster-t and others...
Bike Setup: Dorado and the Santa Cruz DH kit
Overall Rating:
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Submitted by
Jonny
a Downhiller
from Santa Barbara
Date Reviewed: February 18, 2003
Strengths: Fast... what more do you want in a race bike. Sticks to the ground like you wouldn't believe. Very ridged latterally and tortionally so it corners amazingly. Confidence inspiring. Pedals amazingly.
Weaknesses: This is pretty subjective: sticks to the ground more than you would like in some situations. Hard to bunnyhop. I have a '03 monster-t on there and it is not a good setup. I'm getting a dorado which I believe will rock. If you ride tech. stuff where you need to pick up the bike in the middle of a section to change lines this set-up sucks. Almost impossible for a shorter rider to manual with the monster.
Bottom Line:
Cliff drops, loooong vert. chutes, and any other time where you want to go as fast as your eyeballs can handle in a straight line I don't think there is anything else that comes close. This bike will go stupid fast, you'll find yourself pedaling to go faster down stuf that's steep to begin with. And even though the bike weighs aprox. 54 lbs. with the monster you can still pedal pretty good. That said, I don't like this setup at all; If you have arms like tree trunks and like to ride really aggressively you might be alright cause you can just muscle it through everything. The head angle is retardedly slack when you sag into the suspension. You MUST keep your speed up because the bike is unmanageable at low speed. The Monster-T is as ridgid as, well, a ridgid fork. Unless you are on-top of it the whole time the fork will deflect latterally off of stuf and because the bike sticks to the ground like its on rails, the bike will just keep going in that direction, even if its off the trail, and as I said earlier its a big bike to pull back under you. Bottom of the bottom line: the bike is a lot of work to ride. You could do it, but a setup with a shorter wheel base, steeper head angle, and lighter fork, like the dorado I'm ordering tomorrow, this bike will be a lot better for me. With the monster the bike feels invincible in a straight line. I gave it a 5 out of 5 cause even though I don't like the way this setup rides you feel like you are riding something special when your're on it. Its a very solid bike. It goes as fast as you want in a straight line. This review is more of a comentary on the fork cause the rear-end does what they say it should and thats amazing. I'll try and update this soon as I should get my dorado by this weekend. In the meantime I'm going to go and ride the steepest, fastest stuff I can find cause the bike is absoulutely incredible in a straight line and I will miss that feeling of absolute invincibility. But I'm sure the dorado will make this bike much much faster overall. But my brand new monster-t (well, ridden a little) in the pink bike classifieds.
Favorite Trail: Tunnel or Coldsprings or A-line or Joyride
Duration Product Used: 3 months
Purchased At: Velopro
Similar Products Used: M1, stab, tomac, super-8
Bike Setup: the stock kit w/ monster-t and a DH saddle at the moment
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Nick Moreda
a Downhiller
from santa rosa
Date Reviewed: October 21, 2002
Strengths: 10inch bike that you can sprint better than any other bike out there, takes up all the hits you can point it at and it is 42 lbs
Weaknesses: a little long
Bottom Line:
This is the best bike i have ever ridden it weighs two lbs. less than a super8 and it pedals better and has two more inchs. of travel for being a long bike it corners with the best of them. I canceled my order on a M1 for this bike and i have no regrets on it.
