The Superlight never drags its heels out of corners and

£499-£3690 MODERN CLASSICS
UNWRAPPED
SINGLE-PIVOT SETUP
“The Superlight never
drags its heels out
of corners and climbs”
Single-pivot systems score against linkage
bikes in lower levels of weight and cost,
because – quite simply – they’re made with
fewer bits. The wheel always pivots in a
simple arc around the point the designer
has chosen. That said, despite the extra
bearings, short, multiple linkages and short
rears tend to be stiffer than unavoidably
longer single-pivot swingarms.
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HOW
THEY
COMPARE
ORANGE CLOCKWORK S
GT ZASKAR CARBON
9R ELITE
SANTA CRUZ SUPERLIGHT TURNER BURNER EXPERT
XCD
PRICE
£1149
£1999
£2724
£3690
CONTACT
www.orangebikes.co.uk
www.gtbicycles.com
www.santacruzbikes.co.uk
www.silverfish-uk.com
SIZE TESTED
M
M
XL
M
SIZES AVAILABLE
S, M, L, XL
S, M, L, XL
S, M, L, XL
S, M, L, XL, XXL
WEIGHT TESTED
13.33kg (29.4lb)
11.42kg (25.2lb)
13.51kg (29.8lb)
12.78kg (28.2lb)
FRAME
6061 T6 butted alloy
FOC Ultra speed carbon
6000 Series hydroformed alloy
Custom 6000 Series alloy
FORK
RockShox Recon Silver, 120mm
RockShox Recon Gold RL 29, 100mm
Fox Float CTD Adjust FIT 29, 120mm
Fox 34 Factory Float FIT CTD, 160mm
SHOCK
n/a
n/a
Fox Float Factory CTD
Fox Float Factory CTD
MAX TYRE SIZE
2.35in
2.3in
2.3in
2.35in
CHAINSET
Deore 24/32/43T
SRAM S1000, 24/38T
Shimano Deore, 24/32/42T
Shimano XT, 24/38T
SHIFTERS
Shimano Deore
Shimano SLX
Shimano Deore
Shimano XT
DERAILLEURS
Shimano Deore (F), Shimano SLX
Shadow (R)
SRAM X5 (F), Shimano SLX (R)
Shimano Deore (F), Shimano SLX (R)
Shimano XT (F & R)
CHAIN
Shimano Deore
KMC X10
Shimano Deore
Shimano XT (F & R)
BOTTOM
BRACKET
Shimano Hollowtech
SRAM XR GXP
Shimano Hollowtech
Shimano XT
CASSETTE
Shimano SLX, 11-36T
Shimano SLX, 11-36T
Shimano SLX, 11-36T
Shimano XT, 11-36T
FRONT
Mavic TN119 29er rim, Formula
15mm hub
Alex XD Lite 29 rim, All Terra 15mm hub
WTB ST I19 TCS rim, SRAM 15mm hub
Stan’s Flow EX 27.5 rim, Stan’s Speed
Tuned hub
REAR
Mavic TN119 29er rim, Shimano
Deore hub
Alex XD Lite 29 rim, All Terra QR hub
WTB ST I19 TCS rim, Shimano Deore
hub
Stan’s Flow EX 27.5 rim, Stan’s Speed
Tuned hub
TYRES
Continental X King, 29x2.2in
Maxxis Aspen, 29x2.1in
Maxxis CrossMark, 29x2.1in
Kenda Nevegal DTC, 650bx2.2in
BRAKES
Avid Elixir 1, 180/160mm rotors
Formula RX, 180/160mm rotors
Avid Elixir 1, 180/160mm rotors
Shimano XT, 180/160mm rotors
BAR
Orange Hot Rod, 700mm
Crank Brothers Cobalt 1, 680mm
Race Face Ride, flat, 710mm
Enve Low Riser, 710mm
VERDICT
TRANSMISSION
WHEELS
FINISHING KIT
STEM
Race Face Ride, 60mm
Easton EA50
Truvativ AKA, 70mm
Thomson Elite, 90mm
GRIPS
Strange, lock-on
GT EVA, foam
Lizard Skins 494
ODI/Turner Ruffian
SEATPOST
Race Face Ride
Crank Brothers Cobalt 1
Race Face Ride
Thomson Elite
SADDLE
SDG Falcon Orange
Fizik Tundra 2
WTB Volt Sport
WTB Rocket V
HEADSET
Token, tapered
FSA No42
Cane Creek 10
Cane Creek 40
PEDALS
Flats
n/a
n/a
n/a
GEOMETRY
DIMENSIONS
Standover 30.3in
23.9in
72°
25in
11.6in
HIGHS The smooth rolling fork and
wheels with sure footed long wheelbase
handling.
LOWS Long footprint can stumble at
lower speeds, less prestigious names
deliver better pricing.
BUY IF... You want a confident rough trail
roller with hardcore head nod kudos and
legendary Halifax home-brewed back up.
17.5in
Standover 29.9in
71°
73.5°
18.5in
44in
AT A GLANCE
23.8in
Standover 29.6in
72°
73.5°
17in
17.7in
Standover 29.7in
69°
23.4in
72°
21in
11.7in
42.7in
HIGHS Keen steering and seriously stiff
frame rip through the tight stuff and
make molehills out of mountain climbs.
LOWS Short, snappy steering front
end and slick tyres undermine confidence
on descents.
BUY IF... You want an outstanding
technical and speed climbing machine
rather than a relaxed angle ripper.
17.5in
66°
17in
13.1in
45.6in
HIGHS Immediately intuitive suspension
feel in a light, durable and affordable
frame with sensible build options.
LOWS Mainstream bikes are ahead on
spec and there’s noticeable flex when it’s
pushed hard.
BUY IF... You want an effortlessly
enjoyable and naturally fast 29er with
boutique kudos for mainstream money.
17.6in
13.4in
45.7in
HIGHS Beautifully built, and detailed
frame with naturally confident and super
neutral all-rounder ride.
LOWS Flexy rear end if pushed hard,
potentially pedal clearance issues and
default cockpit is too conservative.
BUY IF... You want a beautifully US made,
sweetly balanced, neutral all-round trail
bike for a Taiwanese welded price.
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SANTA CRUZ SUPERLIGHT XCD £2724
It’s got the DNA
The Superlight layout is instantly
recognizable from the earliest Heckler
frames that followed Santa Cruz’s Tazmon.
Even the twisted, hydroform swingarm
design has been around a while.
Spec upgrades
The Fox fork upgrade on our
sample adds £425 over the default
RockShox Recon spec. Shimano XT,
Hope bearing and Reverb options can
take complete build prices over £4000.
AT A GLANCE
Not quite cutting edge
Bike design is always a compromise
and while a screw-thru rear axle
would be stiffer, it would add cost
and weight to a bike designed to
be as light and affordable as possible.
The Superlight stays simple, but not basic – and shines on singletrack
A
direct descendant from Santa Cruz’
original single-pivot Tazmon, the
Superlight shares all the simple,
durable, communicative
suspension charms of the original chassis.
The more we rode it, the more it proved
itself. It’s a real grower.
Simply communicative
In a world (do the deep-voiced Hollywood
guy here, it helps) where complex, multibearing, patent dodging linkages rule, a
single pivot is a welcome sight. Especially
when the pivot in question is a super durable
and easily adjustable collet setup, as it is
here. 100mm isn’t enough wheel movement
for most linkage setups to make a big
difference in actual dynamics anyway,
whereas the Superlight stiffens under power
and relaxes into smoother flow when you’re
freewheeling. It’s a totally intuitive feel.
The 29in wheels restore much of the small
bump subtlety and smoothness that single
pivots typically lose when pedalled hard on
the flat. While that rear wheel ‘dig in’
sometimes comes at the expense of sudden
slip, there’s loads of direct feedback through
the sole of your shoes to allow you to
balance torque against traction.
With the Fox shock under the toptube
the lockout is in easy reach, but we never
touched the ProPedal lever except on long,
late-in-the-day fire road climbs. The 2.5kg
(5.6lb) frame is light enough that even with
heavy UST tubeless tyres and basic Deorecentric build kit, the Superlight never drags
its heels out of corners and on climbs.
Flexible friend
There’s more bounce and wallow into the
deeper part of the stroke than the best
linkage bikes, which you’ll notice when
thundering on rolling trails. Yet it does a fine
job of letting you go faster for longer across
rough terrain than a hardtail, and with very
little penalty in mechanical complexity or
weight. Its sheer simplicity and intuitive
eagerness to communicate meant it was
liked by every tester who rode it.
The simple design also keeps it affordable
for a frame name with real bragging rights
– it’s £1199 – and the range of upgradeable
complete bikes keep it in sight of mass
market options when it comes to spec.
Furthermore, a conventional bottom bracket
and front mech keep parts choice wide, it
takes a 100 or 120mm fork in its tapered
headtube and it’s rigged for dropper posts.
TRAVEL 100mm
HIGHS Intuitive
suspension feel in a
light, durable and
affordable frame with
sensible build options.
LOWS Mainstream
bikes are ahead on
spec, and there’s
noticeable flex when
it’s pushed hard.
BUY IF… You want
an enjoyable and fast
big wheeler with
boutique kudos for
mainstream money.
While it’s a naturally fast and encouraging
ride, it can get carried away. At 71 degrees
even with a 120mm fork the head angle is
pretty steep – a 100mm fork will put it to a
precipitous 72 degrees. The heavily dropped
toptube also allows noticeable flex in the
front end, so it can shunt outwards and
overrun corners if you go in too hot.
While we never got it to jump gears (just
grind them) under power, the long swingarm
with QR axle twists noticeably when you’re
working hard through corners or up climbs.
Summary
It’s not the stiffest or smartest frame, but the
combination of its big-wheeled smoothness,
constant feedback and ‘boutique’ prestige
makes the Superlight an enjoyable and
responsive way to add speed to your XC and
singletrack sessions.
“Smoothly fast and simple speed,
and at an affordable price given
its aspirational name.”
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