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Regret Buying Bronson CC v4, Salvageable?

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#101 ·
Kartwheel68 said:
Someone already mentioned this, but I think its chainring gearing. The Stumpy has a 28t and the Bronson has 30 or 32. If the Bronson has a 32t chainring that could have a big impact on slow steep technical climbs.
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https://theloamwolf.com/reviews/bikes/review-santa-cruz-bronson-v4-cc/specs in the review say 32. that would account for the climbing feeling, but not the descents. so might be that OP is dealing with multiple issues at once
 
#102 ·
For sure, a 32t chainring, more forward seating position on the Bronson, and not the right suspension setup are probably all at play. I'm leaning towards the chainring just because even a poorly set up Bronson should easily outclimb that Stumpy. He could also be talking about climbing traction instead of climbing efficiency. The FSR was never great at climbing efficiency but almost always had great technical climbing traction.
 
#103 ·
PuddleDuck said:
Hi OTT, I’m 99.999% sure that the challenges you’re describing are due to the 2 bikes having the saddles in very different fore-aft positions relative to the bottom bracket.

The saddle on the Bronson will be up to 3 inches further forward. This places more load on your quads, and less on your glutes.

This difference in position is due to 2 things
1. The seat tube angle in the Bronson is ~77 degrees, ~2 degrees steeper than the Stumpy .. which puts the saddle further forward.
2. The dropper on the Stumpy has a head set back, which puts the seat back by 1 inch.

What to do?
1. Set-back heads can be purchased for some droppers.
2. 9.8 make a dropper with an offset head
OR
3. Keep riding the Bronson after pushing the saddle all the back on its rails, and also go to the gym to build up the muscles you need.

Detective Duck has solved another mystery
/case closed
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I'd make sure the saddle is high enough but I wouldn't start trying to go retro on the geometry right off the bat. There's a reason newer bikes have steepened the STA. Try to get it used to before just reverting back to a slack seat position.
 
#104 ·
PuddleDuck said:
Hi OTT, I’m 99.999% sure that the challenges you’re describing are due to the 2 bikes having the saddles in very different fore-aft positions relative to the bottom bracket.

The saddle on the Bronson will be up to 3 inches further forward. This places more load on your quads, and less on your glutes.
Click to expand...
I went from a slack-ish 75 degree effective ST on my old bike to something like 79° on my current bike and I can confirm that the first couple of rides my legs were dying. The seat position is different enough to use quite different muscle groups in your legs. I´d say it took me a month or two of regular riding with decent climbs to get used to it and get my climbing "fitness" back after the change. Now it´s better than ever though. So yeah, that could well be part of OPs issue. And as he doesn´t seem to do a whole lot of climbing it might take his body even longer to retrain his leg muscles.
 
#108 ·
are you running the same tire pressure for both? A fat tire requires less air pressure than a more narrow tire. I have found at slow speeds + size tires are smoother. However at higher speeds the larger tires have bad behavior earlier than more narrow tires.

Example I have a 120 hardtail with 29 x3" (15psi front 18psi rear) which is great over roots and small rocks. Compared to my 150 140 full suspension with 29 x 2.4 (21 psi front, 25 psi rear) which is better in big rocks and fast berms.
 
#111 ·
Only thing I can offer as a former v3 Bronson owner is, if you're hyper focused on strava times then go back to an XC or shorter travel trail bike. Bronson was all about fun for me. These bikes can climb in a dignified manor, but they shine when the trail points down. Its all sixes depending on your riding style. You'll most likely make the Bronson the worst of both worlds trying to alter it in order to get it to climb like your old bikes.

FWIW, most of the professional enduro racers on SC are riding bronsons.
 
#112 ·
#114 ·
OffTheTop said:
No it wasn't. It was 27.5 on both. I probably need to drop Strava (or at least my PRs) and just start enjoying the ride for what it is again. I need to invest more time in trial and error.
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Trade some attention for how Strava works for some attention on how bikes work.
 
#115 ·
This all smacks of a rider that needs some help with

bike fit
suspension setup
riding skills
expectations

He needs to make some riding friends and/or hire some local expertise. And get out and ride. And stop looking at Strava. And ride up some hills. And work on his descending skills. I don’t know if his Bronson is the perfect bike for him, but there’s no reason he can’t use it to do what he wants and there’s no way he’ll find the right bike by anything other than accident if he doesn’t expand his understanding of bikes and riding them.
 
#117 ·
When I bought my Bronson in 2016, it was immediately 20-30% faster than my Heckler on the same climbs. I also rode a Giant Trance that performed well, but not as good as the Bronson.

My Bronson also had a 3x11 Di2 electronic drive train that gave me a wide range of gears to climb anything. And on long climbs, my travel adjust shock would be locked down.

In any case, I can't understand how your Bronson could be slow. :rolleyes:
 
#118 ·
Clyde Ride said:
This all smacks of a rider that needs some help with

bike fit
suspension setup
riding skills
expectations

He needs to make some riding friends and/or hire some local expertise. And get out and ride. And stop looking at Strava. And ride up some hills. And work on his descending skills. I don’t know if his Bronson is the perfect bike for him, but there’s no reason he can’t use it to do what he wants and there’s no way he’ll find the right bike by anything other than accident if he doesn’t expand his understanding of bikes and riding them.
Click to expand...
It's a cry for help. We need an intervention.
 
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