Santa Cruz says it’s learnt a lot about mixed wheel bikes since launching the Bronson 4 as its first MX bike, and it’s loaded those lessons into the new Bronson 5. Sure enough, the geometry has been rebalanced on the new bike and suspension character altered.

This is dangerous ground for the already brilliant Santa Cruz Bronson, one of the best mountain bikes of its generation. Has the ride dynamic been screwed up? Do the gravity gains compromise its previous position as the all day player in the Santa Cruz line up?

The new Bronson with more aggressive geometry feels right at home when it’s steep and rooty

Need to know

• New carbon frame lowers the shock, makes setting sag easier and it’s wireless specific on the premium CC version
• 160mm front, 150mm rear suspension with MX wheels (29in front, 27.5in rear)
• Check out the full lineup of Santa Cruz Bronson Gen 5 bikes, including prices, spec and geometry
• Much less anti squat than previous Santa Cruz bikes gives a more flowing, fluid ride
• Slightly slacker head angle but much steeper seat angle centralises the rider better on the bike than most mullet rides
• Latest FOX 36 GRIPX2 fork is very controlled but not naturally balanced with the Float X2 rear shock
• Lifetime frame, bearing and wheel warranties, with DIY grease injection on the lower linkage add long term value but as spendy as usual for Santa Cruz

The shock position is lower and flatter, and moving the pivot points has let Santa Cruz cut back on anti-squat

Frame and geometry

While the signature Santa Cruz VPP bike profile is preserved, the downtube is now broader with a deep trough scooped into its top side. This allows for a lower, flatter shock position and the triangular lower linkage is also moved forwards over the bottom bracket. And the ‘birds nest’ at the bottom of the seat tube is now triangulated, which gives a bigger window to check the shock sag marker, though full travel is still hard to check.

You still get size specific ‘proportional’ rear centres that grow as the bike does, increasing by an average of 5mm over the Bronson 4 (and Hightower 29er). In fact they’re only 0.8mm shorter than the Heckler SL MX e-MTB. The seat tube also steepens 1.5° to 77.9°, pushing you further ahead of the rear axle for an improved pedalling postion.

The flip chip lets you adjust the BB height by 3mm, and change the head angle by a smidge… it’s easier to get to now too

The bike’s longer now, there’s a 5mm growth in reach (now 478mm on the large I tested) that restores the length lost to the steeper seat tube, while the head angle slackens half a degree to 63.9°. BB height and drop are unchanged though and flipping the shock chip to ‘Hi’ lifts the ride height by 3mm and resets that head angle change as well as altering the suspension geometry.

Lurking in the glove box is now a tool wrap, which makes getting gear in and out much easier to do

Elsewhere, the Glovebox hatch for the roomy internal storage has been refined and relatched and you get a tube bag and tool wallet included now too. The opening is still a tight fit for a suitably sized spare tube though.

Top end CC carbon frame is wireless only, meaning there are no vacant ports for cable or hose rooting

Premium CC carbon models are wireless only now, with just dropper and rear brake openings in the head tube. The lifetime warrantied, DIY serviceable collet pivot bearings, with grease injection on the lower link are carried over and it gets the same ‘big flap’ chain guard protector as the Heckler SL.

The frame is still lifetime ‘no questions’ warrantied too, which helps offset the high price of frameset and full bike options. While specification changes don’t add much mass compared to the previous Bronson, overall bike weight is up by nearly a kilo, which suggests the new frame is a lot heavier.

The new Grip X2 damper inside this 36 is supportive without ever being harsh

Components

I tested the top spec XO AXS RSV bike, which gets the new GRIPX2 damper in its Fox 36 Factory fork, and a switch to Fox from RockShox for the Float X2 rear shock. SRAM provides the alloy XO AXS T-Type drivetrain and Maven Silver stoppers, with their huge power tempered by a small 180mm rear rotor.

Reserve HDi30 carbon rims have the same lifetime warranty as the frame, with Industry Nine hubs at the centre. MaxxGrip Assegai front and MaxxTerra DH2 rear is a classic combo, although a tougher DD carcass would suit the increased gravity focus of the new Bronson better. The excellent OneUp V3 dropper only has a 180mm stroke in my size too, all that will fit in the relatively short seat tube. The Santa Cruz carbon bar is a favourite though and the Burgtec Enduro stem matches the rear axle.

The previous generation Bronson might have stumbled in this mess of root and rock, where the new Gen 5 calmly trucks over it all

Performance

Santa Cruz has pointed the Bronson squarely downhill, the gometry is more aggressive, the suspension better damped, and the tyres are tackier. What that does to the bike’s climbing is obvious, it’s slow but steady. Fundamentally, Santa Cruz has changed the character of the Bronson in a direction plenty will love… but not me.

Climbing

In terms of regaining altitude between runs, the much steeper seat angle and supple, connected rear wheel meant I could crawl up and over root and rock technical sections as well as a fluid four bar suspension bike. The new suspension layout turns the first part of a high torque power stroke into a soft compression, rather than the more visceral, psychologically rewarding extension of previous generation VPP designs though. Add the extra bike weight, sticky front tyre and smaller rear wheel and it’s much less eager to move quickly uphill.

It’s an altogether calmer performance from the new Bronson

Descending

The previous Bronson was sold on the ‘if in doubt, take a Bronson out’ all rounder ticket, while the new Gen 5 bike is positioned much more in the ‘shredding the steeps’ space. Both the slacker head angle and the longer rear end both boost stability noticeably over the Gen 4 bike. The decreased anti squat and the switch from RockShox to Fox make for a plusher, smoother rear end that’s more consistently connected, especially when pedalling.

The smaller rear rotor and the new suspension layout means less jack under braking. While the smaller rear wheel and lowered pivot point means it falls into holes and slaps against square edges more than a higher pivot or 29er rear wheel, there’s less pull back through your feet. So if you were one of those riders who could only cope with a VPP in the Alps by using a crank spider then you’ll probably be OK now. The eager shock is progressive enough to eat up bigger hits without too much of a slam or sudden ramp up either.

As a result the whole bike feels really settled and safe just when you need it to. In fact with the increased weight, lowered dynamic centre and very similar geometry gives it a very similar feel to the Heckler SL ‘lightweight’ E-MTB.

The latest Grip X2 fork means you can nose the bike into steep sections and trust in the damper’s support to hold things up

The 36 fork with its Sergio Avanto designed, Supercross suspension-influenced GRIPX2 damper feels great when loaded up in the steeps. With 23 valves rather than the previous seven, it stays high in its travel as much as possible, returning really quickly but with impeccable control when you do push it deep. Together with the more neutral rear end that meant I could really work the big Maven brakes and MaxxGrip front tyre without the Bronson burying its nose and blowing its slacker, longer geometry advantage.

While the longer rear centre makes the mullet effect much less obvious than most shorter chainstay 27.5in rear bikes, it still has the edge over a twin 29er in tighter / faster reaction situations. The different scrub rates of the wheel sizes and tall fork versus easily squashed rear make it easier to tip the bike into turns. The different compounds and contact patch shapes mean the rear will naturally break out in turns sooner than the front.

Where’s the hustle though? The Bronson doesn’t pop out of corners like it once did

Santa Cruz PR assures us it ‘still loves back wheel’ the truth is even with the soft rear end it’s harder to manual or pop the front wheel than before and there was less feedback through my feet as well. It doesn’t have the same hustle and charge out of corners as the previous Bronson either.

The dramatic difference in character between the eagerly plush rear end and damping-dominant fork makes it hard to balance grip and control on flatter trails. Even with the GRIPX2 compression circuits fully open and well below recommended rider weight pressure the 36 still very obviously sat on its shims rather than sinking into its travel. Thankfully I could run more LSC and less sag on the Float X shock than I’d have ideally liked without making it too numb. It still felt tall and skittery on flatter wet root and rock turns than I’d have expected for a bike with a MaxxGrip Assegai up front, even with pressures low enough to bring that lifetime rim warranty into play.

With this much poise the Bronson is closer in ride feel to the hard charging Nomad than the lean 5010