First rides
Mountain Bike Rider|April 2023
SWINGING A LEG OVER WHAT'S HOT THIS MONTH
First rides

SANTA CRUZ 5010 C GX RSV

£8,899 MX santacruzbikes.co.uk

Santa Cruz's new mixed-wheel 5010 is far more than just a jibber's playhorse

Santa Cruz says this bike is for playful riders, riders who want to roll up a tree trunk and fakie out of it and grind their mechs off on stumps big kids who won't grow up. It’s a trail bike that loves to play,” the brand says, and there’s even a little video from Handy MacAskill detailing all the mad skills you're supposed to be aiming for on the 5010. Marketing hype, thought.

Cut through that, though, and the new 5010 really is a vivacious little scamp of a bike. Santa Cruz hires ridiculously talented riders to show the world what its machines can do, and the 50to01 crew does tend to favour the 5010. But it doesn’t need to be that way. I’ve discovered that average Joes like me can have fun and rip on this bike... albeit in our own modest way. 

Santa Cruz has accomplished this with a modest frame redesign and some tinkering here and there. There’s nothing like the big changes that went into the last redesign in 2020, when the bike adopted the brand’s now ubiquitous lower link-driven makeover with its shock running through a tunnel in the seat tube. Instead, it’s settled on a suspension kinematic update the 5010 now has reduced anti-squat to keep it active and sensitive over the ground, and reduce the effects of pedal kickback. The leverage curve is more progressive too, which is great if you’re big into loading the bike round corners, hopping over stuff and generally larking about on the trail. It'll also come in handy when you reach the end of the modest travel available, increasing support and bottom-out resistance.

Diese Geschichte stammt aus der April 2023-Ausgabe von Mountain Bike Rider.

Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.

Diese Geschichte stammt aus der April 2023-Ausgabe von Mountain Bike Rider.

Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.

WEITERE ARTIKEL AUS MOUNTAIN BIKE RIDERAlle anzeigen
Best places to ride with your kids
Mountain Bike Rider

Best places to ride with your kids

Five top venues to keep the nippers entertained this summer

time-read
3 Minuten  |
August 2023
CANNONDALE MOTERRA NEO CARBON 2
Mountain Bike Rider

CANNONDALE MOTERRA NEO CARBON 2

It’s got more suspension tunes than a Hitchcock movie, but will this Moterra thrill us or chill us?

time-read
5 Minuten  |
September 2023
100% GLENDALE GLASSES
Mountain Bike Rider

100% GLENDALE GLASSES

When it comes to eyewear, having a large lens not only offers a lot more protection from trail splatter, it puts the frames further out from your field of view, allowing you to focus on the terrain in front of you. The Glendale is absolutely vast, and actually has a lens size akin to a full downhill goggle, so you literally can’t see the top or sides of the frame.

time-read
1 min  |
September 2023
DMR STAGE 2 MTB RAIL SADDLE
Mountain Bike Rider

DMR STAGE 2 MTB RAIL SADDLE

DMR's new Stage 2 MTB Rail is one of those new/old products. The shape and construction are identical to the existing Oi Oi saddle, but the company has wrapped it in a new skin and added some harder-wearing reinforcement to the edges. It's also toned down the lairy graphics; this saddle only comes in plain black.

time-read
1 min  |
September 2023
STRAIGHT TORQUING - GUY KESTEVEN
Mountain Bike Rider

STRAIGHT TORQUING - GUY KESTEVEN

Has tech taken the hard work and fun out of mountain biking, or should we embrace evolution and roll with it?

time-read
3 Minuten  |
September 2023
STORM FORCE
Mountain Bike Rider

STORM FORCE

Manon Carpenter may have retired from downhill competition, but her new role as a trail advocate is achieving results far beyond the race track

time-read
8 Minuten  |
September 2023
SWEAT AND SLATE
Mountain Bike Rider

SWEAT AND SLATE

We ride 140 miles through Snowdonia on Cycling UK's newest and gnarliest long-distance trail

time-read
9 Minuten  |
September 2023
HEAD SPACE
Mountain Bike Rider

HEAD SPACE

New guidance reveals how to spot concussion, and how best to treat it

time-read
4 Minuten  |
September 2023
LATE SUMMER LOVIN'
Mountain Bike Rider

LATE SUMMER LOVIN'

Classic UK holiday hotspots that really shine when the crowds have gone

time-read
2 Minuten  |
September 2023
HOT STUFF
Mountain Bike Rider

HOT STUFF

WHAT WE'RE EXCITED ABOUT THIS MONTH

time-read
3 Minuten  |
September 2023