Fit and Geometry
For 2016, the Bronson’s travel stays the same, but it gets slacker and longer. The head tube angle goes from 67° on the old version to 66° on the new one. Also, going along with industry trends, it gets a significantly longer reach. The Large I rode had a 445mm (17.52”) reach, whereas the old version was only 429mm (16.9”).
To keep things reasonable while seated, the seat tube on the new Bronson is 74° – steeper by 1° than the old version. This keeps the top tube from growing too much; 618mm (24.33”) on the Large frame in the new version, vs. 610mm (24”) on the old one.
The chainstays get a smidge shorter (down to 432mm / 17”) by virtue of Boost spacing on the rear end, but the wheelbase grows a little bit due to the longer front end and slacker head tube.
Ultimately, the geometry changes on the Bronson keep it more or less in line with the direction most companies are going with their bikes: slacker, lower, and longer. The Bronson is at the slack end for bikes in this travel segment, but the rest of its numbers are fairly middle of the road. It’s not the longest bike out there, nor is it the lowest bike out there, but for a bike like the Bronson that’s designed to appeal to a pretty broad segment of riders, that’s probably alright.
The Ride
The changes to the Bronson are readily apparent, and it’s clear that this bike isn’t intended to be a casual noodler. The slacker angles and longer front end make this bike considerably more stable than its precursor, and also more stable than something like the Specialized Stumpjumper 650b.
The new Bronson still retains the pedaling efficiency of the prior version, which means it’s one of the better pedaling bikes in its class.
The suspension also feels more supportive, which has its upsides and downsides. The downside is that it uses its travel a bit more judiciously, so it’s not quite as supple through medium-sized chunder. The upside is that the Bronson does pretty well pumping through rollers and working the terrain, and while I bottomed it out pretty well on my huck to flat test, I wouldn’t say that it blows through its travel.
I compared the 2014 version of the Bronson to the 2014 Devinci Troy, and lo and behold, the Troy also got a significant re-vamp for 2016. The Bronson is now a bit slacker than the 2016 Troy, but the new Troy is a bit longer. The end result is similar in terms of stability, and the two bikes have a lot in common. For the new versions of each bike, I’d give the Bronson the slight nod when it comes to smoothing out the trail and pedaling efficiency, but the Troy wins out when it comes to big hits and gaining speed off of transitions.
Bottom Line
The newly revised 2016 Bronson sees a lot of changes that nudge it in the direction of the Santa Cruz Nomad and other such “enduro” bikes. People looking for a 150mm travel-bike to go really fast on challenging trails will be psyched on it, and it’s probably a really good option for a lot of the North American enduro races where a longer-travel bike really isn’t necessary.
That said, I thought the previous Bronson was a great option for riders who weren’t quite as concerned with going as fast as possible down really technical trails, but still wanted something a bit longer travel because, y’know, squishy bikes are fun. The new Bronson maybe isn’t quite such a good fit for those people; that’s not to say they won’t have a ton of fun on it, but it might be overkill for some of the more casual riders out there. For that segment of riders, the revised Santa Cruz 5010 is worth a look.
All in all, there’s no question that the changes to the Bronson make it a more capable bike. It may not be a universally perfect fit, but compared to the old version, it’s more stable, more forgiving in challenging terrain, and a bit more eager to be pushed hard. Or in other words, if you’re looking for a scaled down version an enduro bike, the Bronson is right up your alley.
Thanks for another thoughtful review. At 5’9″ how did you find the fit of the large?
Hey Miles,
I was ok on it, but it was definitely at the big end of what I could comfortably ride (and I’m generally ok with riding a bigger bike). That said, even though the trend these days is to ride bigger bikes, if I were going to buy one I’d probably go with the medium. The extra length on the large is nice a few situations (i.e. high speed rocky trails), but it definitely feels like a big bike in tighter, techy situations. The medium Bronson still isn’t a “small” bike by modern geometry standards, so I think overall, I’d personally go medium.
-Noah
I am addicted to your reviews, Noah. Can you do a review on the Bronson v3, please. I demoed intensely a Yeti Sb6, Sb5 LR, Hightower LT, Bronson v2 and V3, to come to the conclusion that the more enduro and best bike for my style of riding was the Bronson v3. I don’t care for the rear shock much, but is a big improvement from the past 2 generations v1/v2. The v3 feels like a complete different bike and I just simple love the confidence downhill.
I read this now and the large fit on the big end, but now bikes feel so big. I tried the new Bronson V3 and didnt like it and being at 6’1″ fit tall the XL and Large didt feel like fit me. I had the v1 Bronson and XL was a great size for me then. I think the new Santas are heavy , less playful and glue to the ground.
Can this bike take an internal dropper post. I bought this frame and don’t see an exit hole in the seat tube.