There’s a new Bronson out, and the big news from Santa Cruz is… not much has changed at all on the brand’s all mountain machine. That is, until you look a little more closely. The profile’s the same, it still gets mullet wheels, and 150mm travel, but there are serious geometry and suspension changes to help it go downhill better.

The Gen 5 Santa Cruz Bronson comes in two colours, this Kalimotxo and Rootbeer… or pink and brown to my eyes

So while the through shock design and travel aren’t new, Santa Cruz has jiggled around the bike’s suspension linkage placement to build in less anti-squat and make the bike more active. On top of that the Bronson is now longer and slacker, a practice that’s helped the best mountain bikes on the market keep their edge.

Add that up and you’ve got changes that are totally on trend, as suspension, bikes and even tyre brands look to softer and more compliant. We’ve reviewed the Santa Cruz Bronson XO AXS RSV, check out Guy Kesteven’s thoughts on the new bike.

Santa Cruz Bronson need to know

• Gen 5 Bronson keeps the mullet wheels, 150mm travel and a 160mm fork
• New linkage placement reduces the Bronson’s anti-squat for smoother VPP suspension
• Geometry has grown, with a longer wheelbase and slacker head angle
• Bike keeps its size-specific chainstays, but they’ve grown to better the fore-aft balance
• Five sizes, from S-XXL, with the Large boasting a 478mm reach
• Five builds, starting at £4,899 for the Bronson CR

The shock now sits more horizontally in the bike, and together with the pivot changes the bike gets less anti-squat

Bronson generation 5

Last time Santa Cruz updated the Bronson they made some pretty radical changes, which included switching to a through shock and switching from 27.5in wheels to mullet. And although it’s hard to believe, back in 2021 the Bronson was the brand’s first dedicated mullet bike.

This time around Santa Cruz is correcting the mistakes it made then, principally to improve the downhill performance. When we tested the Santa Cruz Bronson CC AXS Reserve three years back it generated a pitter patter suspension feel even then, so we’re expecting something even better this time around.

The previous generation Santa Cruz Bronson was and still is a brilliant bike

According to Santa Cruz’s own data, the bike actually had pretty high anti-squat figures in its initial travel, some 145%, and it’s now closer to 120%. It also reaches 100% anti-squat much higher in its stroke than the old bike too

If all that’s gobbledegook to you, it means the suspension will feel more open, earlier on its travel on the new bike. It also means the bike could potentially bob more when you’re pedalling too though.

With proportional chainstays that are now around 4mm longer, the Bronson should give the same balanced fit across all sizes

Geometry changes

What was apparent on the old Bronson though was the bike sat pretty deep into its travel and had a rear wheel bias. That’s understandable given its short chainstays and mullet wheel, a design feature that made the front end feel pretty high.

The Gen 5 Bronson gets a head angle half a degree slacker, at 63.9-64.2°, depending on whether it’s in the high or low position. That kicks the front end of the bike out by xxmm, and consequently the bike gets a longer front centre. And in turn Santa Cruz has lengthened the chainstays by around 4mm to balance up the changes, with proportional geometry adjusting between sizes.

The compliance zeitgeist

Santa Cruz says it’s making these changes to make the bike less rear wheel biassed and more competent when descending. More importantly though, this is a trend we’ve seen across the industry, as everything from suspension to tyres gets softer and more cosseting.

Take suspension, earlier this year Fox launched a new generation of Grip dampers specifically to take the harshness out of their forks and shocks, all without sacrificing support. That helped Specialized make its new Stumpjumper the pinnacle of suspension excellence, which we found out during the Stumpjumper 15 Pro Carbon Trail bike Review.

Same story with tyres, Schwalbe’s new Albert and Shredda radial tyres are designed to make the trail softer, and we’re hearing on the grapevine that other tyre brands are moving in that direction too.

Lorrie Greeland piloting the Bronson in Chamonix, France

Bronson geometry at a glance

• Size Large, low geo setting
• Reach 478
• Head angle 63.9
• Effective seat tube angle 77.9
• Chainstay 443mm
• Front centre 825mm
• BB height 341mm
• Wheelbase 1268mm
• Effective top tube 615mm

Santa Cruz calls its internal storage the Glovebox

Frame details

Five sizes from SM to XXL, with proportional geometry and MX wheels for all. The bike gets internal downtube storage and internal fully sleeved cable routing. There are two frame options, C carbon, or lighter CC carbon that’ll shave off a few hundred grams.

Bronson CR £4,899

Santa Cruz Bronson range finder

Bronson CR £4,899

Frame C Carbon, 150mm travel, Rockshox Lyrik Base 160mm fork, Fox Rhythm shock, SRAM Eagle NX drivetrain, SRAM DB8 Stealth brakes with 200f/200r rotors, Reserve 30 TR 6061 SRAM MTH wheels, Maxxis Assegai EXO+ MaxGrip / Maxxis DHR2 EXO+ MaxTerra tyres, SDG Tellis dropper post.

Bronson CS £5,699

Bronson CS £5,699

Frame C Carbon, 150mm travel, Fox 36 Performance 160mm fork, Fox Float X Performance shock, SRAM Eagle GX drivetrain, SRAM DB8 Stealth brakes with 200f/200r rotors, Reserve 30 TR 6061 DT 370 wheels, Maxxis Assegai EXO+ MaxGrip / Maxxis DHR2 EXO+ MaxTerra tyres, OneUp V3 dropper post.

Bronson C GX AXS £6,599

Bronson C GX AXS £6,599

Frame C Carbon, 150mm travel, Fox 36 Performance Elite 160mm fork, Fox Float X Performance Elite shock, SRAM GX AXS Transmission drivetrain, SRAM Maven Bronze brakes, Reserve 30 TR 6061 DT 370 wheels, Maxxis Assegai EXO+ MaxGrip / Maxxis DHR2 EXO+ MaxTerra tyres, OneUp V3 dropper post.

Bronson CC XO AXS £7,799

Bronson CC XO AXS £7,799

Frame CC Carbon, 150mm travel, Fox 36 Factory 160mm fork, Fox Float X Factory shock, SRAM X0 AXS Transmission drivetrain, SRAM Maven Silver 200f/180r brakes, Reserve 30 SL 6069 i9 1/1 wheels, Maxxis Assegai EXO+ MaxGrip / Maxxis DHR2 EXO+ MaxTerra tyres, OneUp V3 dropper post.

Bronson CC XO AXS RSV £8,799

Bronson CC XO AXS RSV £8,799

Frame CC Carbon, 150mm travel, Fox 36 Factory 160mm fork, Fox Float X Factory shock, SRAM X0 AXS Transmission drivetrain, SRAM Maven Silver 200f/180r brakes, Reserve 30 HD i9 1/1 wheels, Maxxis Assegai EXO+ MaxGrip / Maxxis DHR2 EXO+ MaxTerra tyres, OneUp V3 dropper post.