Evolution of the King
Written: Jun 30 '02 (Updated Jul 03 '02)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Light, plush suspension, comfortable, supremely capable
Cons: Fox Race air shock tends to leak
The Bottom Line: Not cutting edge, but among the best of the serious full suspension mountain bikes.
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| sneddren's Full Review: Santa Cruz Superlight R |
This is my second review of the Santa Cruz Superlight; the first review was of a 2001 model that I rented when I went on a Rim Tours trip to the White Rim Trail in Moab. This year, I went with Rim Tours again and again rented a new (2002) Superlight for the trip. As much as I liked the Superlight last year, I like it even more this year. The significant changes between the two models were that the 2002 model had:
Manitou Black front shock;
Fox Race air shock in rear; and
Avid Single Digit brakes.
The 2001 model had a Rock Shox Judy front shock, Fox coil over rear shock and I don't remember the brake system. What I do remember from last year's model is that the front shocks were a bit harsh (stiff, not in a good way) and the rear shock was not quick enough in responding and caused quite a bit of feedback when climbing. I also vividly remember not being overly fond of the brakes, as they didn't modulate too well and tended to fade a bit after heavy use. Nonetheless, these were very minor quibbles and I loved that 2001 Superlight.
The 2002 Superlight ups the ante. The Manitou front shock is far superior to the old Judy shock. It delivers a plush ride, very responsive and follows the trail rather than bangs across ruts. At first I thought that the front end was a little too soft but after the first hard ride I was convinced otherwise. The Manitou Black was a revelation. I was equally happy with the Fox air shock in the rear, as it also delivered a far plusher ride than the old coil over. It was a star on hill climbs, allowing me to power over rocks in a way that only hardtails generally can, but with far less trauma. I only had to lockout the rear once when things got very technical. As a cautionary note, however, about 7 other people in my group had also rented the Superlight with Fox air shock and most of them had serious seal leakage problems with this shock. The guides informed us that they had experienced very high failure rates with this shock and had even brought along spare coil over shocks as replacements. Two or three bikes had to be converted to coil overs on the trip, so caveat emptor with this component. My bike seemed to be the exception in that it had no problems.
Finally, I can't say enough about the Avid Single Digit brakes. They were STOUT...I am very hard on brakes and usually will get a lot of fade and sponginess in a short time. The Avids were the best brakes I've ever used. They felt robust the first time I used them and they stayed that way for the entire week. Very easy to modulate and all the stopping power I could ever want.
Otherwise, the Santa Cruz Superlight 2002 model was just as exceptional as the 2001 model I reviewed last year. It is an outstanding mountain bike: light, tough, comfortable and a star performer on the rough stuff. I am absolutely a novice mountain biker, so a serious rider may see the flaws in this bike, but I can't come close to riding up to the capabilities of this bike. In fact, it actually gave me the confidence to push my own limits, which is a good thing. There was one stretch of the trail where I was getting more comfortable with the Superlight and it was one of those moments of mountain bike bliss...the trail was fairly clean singletrack with nice twists and a mix of up and down. I powered into one U-turn corner that had a sandy berm at the apex and the front wheel caught into the sand and started climbing up and over, leading to what I thought was my first serious spill. But I laid my inside foot down for a second and the Superlight caught itself, dropped down into the corner again and I was able to pedal out hard and lost no momentum. The bike just STUCK in that corner. It also rides really well over technical areas, isolating the bumps and keeping the wheel planted nicely. I noticed how the rear wheel actually was following the contours of rocks I was riding over and how easy it was to tell when it was time to torque out of ruts and leave a nice little rooster tail of dirt as I exited. Very cool stuff, thanks to the Superlight's.
And as a slight aside, even more kudos to Rim Tours (www.rimtours.com) for renting the Superlight and hosting yet another spectacular mountain bike trip.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
sneddren
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Reviews written: 36
Trusted by: 6 members
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