- Santa Cruz Bronson 5
Wheel Size: 29’’ front / 27.5” rear
Travel: 150 mm rear / 160 mm front
Geometry Highlights:
- Sizes offered: S, M, L, XL, XXL
- Headtube angle: 64.2° (High) / 63.9° (Low)
- Reach: 480 mm (High) / 478 mm (Low) (size Large)
- Chainstay length: 442 mm (High) / 443 mm (Low) (size Large)
Frame Material: Carbon fiber (C and CC versions available)
Price:
- Complete bikes: $4,999 to $8,999
- Frame w/ Fox Float X Factory Shock: $3,899
Intro
The prior-gen Bronson was Santa Cruz’s first mixed wheel bike apart from the V10 DH bike, and was well ahead of the curve in bringing the layout to a more all-rounder Trail bike, in a time (just a few years ago) where the layout was mostly reserved for big DH and Freeride bikes.
The new Bronson sees updates to improve the balance of the geometry as well as improving key parts of the suspension characteristics to reduce pedal kickback and create a smoother ride. The 150 mm travel Trail class is a bit of a Wild West category where bikes can end up with wildly different personalities, so let’s get into the details to see where Santa Cruz landed with the new Bronson.
The Frame
Santa Cruz’s familiar aesthetic continues with the new Bronson, built around the familiar low-slung VPP suspension layout that has been shared across most of the brand’s lineup for years now. The biggest aesthetic change is that the shock tunnel has a sizeable cutout just above and forward of the bottom bracket, but the overall layout and design language are still very identifiably Santa Cruz.
Mixed wheels are the only option on offer with the Bronson, and the 150 mm of rear travel and a 160 mm fork carry over, too. For now at least, the Bronson is a carbon-only affair, with the choice between the less expensive C grade carbon that adds a small bit of weight, or the top shelf CC grade frame.
Most of the other frame details are also what we’ve come to expect from Santa Cruz, including in-frame storage via the Glovebox system and internal cable routing. Interestingly, and perhaps frustratingly for the cable-actuated fans among us, the CC frames only offer internal routing for the dropper and rear brake — it’s wireless electronic shifting only on the high grade frame option. Fortunately the lower spec C models still include internal routing for a rear derailleur.
The rear suspension layout looks familiar, but has seen some rather substantial changes with the goal of reducing pedal kickback and creating more settled rear suspension performance. A closer look reveals a more forward lower pivot and new two-pillar shape around the shock tunnel, with the shock also moved farther forward in the frame to the point that it nestles into the downtube. It looks quite refined aesthetically, but more importantly it allows Santa Cruz to reduce anti-squat for a more active suspension under pedaling forces while also creating a smoother descending feel due to reduced pedal kickback.
Fit & Geometry
Santa Cruz is offering five sizes with the Bronson, ranging from Small to XXL. Unfortunately for particularly small folks, the XS size featuring dual 27.5’’ wheels has been retired. Each frame size now gets size-specific chainstays. A flip chip at the rear shock mount also allows for tweaking geometry between High and Low settings.
Across the board, the geometry has gotten a bit longer and taller relative to the outgoing version. Using a size Large frame as reference and in the High flip chip position, the Bronson features an 480 mm reach, relatively tall 641 mm stack, 64.2° headtube angle, and 442 mm chainstays. The effective seat tube angle is quite steep at 78.2°, and Santa Cruz projects a bottom bracket height of 344 mm.
Switching to the Low setting yields subtle changes. The reach shrinks slightly to 478 mm while the stack increases to 643 mm. The headtube angle drops to 63.9°, while the chainstays lengthen very slightly to 443 mm. The bottom bracket height drops to 341 mm, and the seat tube angle relaxes to 77.9°. If those sound like small changes, they are — while the flip chip adjustment is much less radical than with some other bikes, that could be a great thing for riders who are looking to slightly dial things in rather than make wholesale changes.
The Builds
Folks who are familiar with Santa Cruz’s build naming convention will find a familiar arrangement with the new Bronson. Ranging from the least expensive R build to the range-topping X0 AXS RSV, there are five builds in total with the upper three all using electronic shifting from SRAM.
Aside from the RockShox Lyrik and Fox Rhythm shock on the R build, all other builds get some version of the Fox 36 fork and Fox Float X rear shock. Each bike gets 4-piston brakes too, with DB8 brakes on the R and S builds while the burly Maven brakes handle stopping duties on the three higher end builds. Only the top two builds get the higher-spec CC carbon frames, with their lack of derailleur cable routing matched to SRAM Transmission shifting.
Full build specs are included as follows.
- Drivetrain: SRAM Eagle NX
- Brakes: SRAM DB8 (200 mm rotors)
- Fork: RockShox Lyrik Base (160 mm)
- Shock: Fox Float Performance
- Wheels: Reserve 30 TR 6061 rims / SRAM MTH hubs
- Dropper Post: SDG Tellis
- Drivetrain: SRAM Eagle GX
- Brakes: SRAM DB8 (200 mm rotors)
- Fork: Fox 36 Performance (160 mm)
- Shock: Fox Float X Performance
- Wheels: Reserve 30 TR 6061 rims / DT Swiss 370 hubs
- Dropper Post: OneUp V3
- Drivetrain: SRAM Eagle GX
- Brakes: SRAM DB8 (200 mm rotors)
- Fork: Fox 36 Performance (160 mm)
- Shock: Fox Float X Performance
- Wheels: Reserve 30 TR 6061 rims / DT Swiss 370 hubs
- Dropper Post: OneUp V3
- Drivetrain: SRAM X0 Transmission
- Brakes: SRAM Maven Silver (200 mm front / 180 mm rear rotors)
- Fork: Fox 36 Factory (160 mm)
- Shock: Fox Float X Factory
- Wheels: Reserve 30 SL 6069 rims / Industry Nine 1/1 hubs
- Dropper Post: OneUp V3
- Drivetrain: SRAM X0 Transmission
- Brakes: SRAM Maven Silver (200 mm front / 180 mm rear rotors)
- Fork: Fox 36 Factory (160 mm)
- Shock: Fox Float X Factory
- Wheels: Reserve 30 HD carbon rims / Industry Nine 1/1 hubs
- Dropper Post: OneUp V3
Some Questions / Things We’re Curious About
(1) Santa Cruz has made a lot of tweaks to the new Bronson, and while most of them don’t look massive on paper, have they added up to a more distinctly different whole?
(2) We’ve seen a lot of brands starting to focus on reducing anti-squat to tackle excess pedal kickback. Do the changes to the Bronson feel subtle on the trail, or is the change more significant?
Bottom Line (For Now)
Between the tweaked rear suspension and revised geometry, the new Bronson appears to be a bigger and slightly burlier bike than the outgoing version. That said, Santa Cruz still characterizes the Bronson as a playful and versatile all-arounder, so we’ll just have to see for ourselves how all of these changes add up once we have one in for a longer-term test.
Flash Review: Our Initial On-Trail Impressions
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Flash Review — Santa Cruz Bronson 5
We’ve started spending time on the new Santa Cruz Bronson — so how does it compare to the old one, and the longer-travel Trail bike market as a whole? Check out our early thoughts.
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