Well that was eye-opening.
The wife's bike is a fairly well looked after 2010ish Superlight. Its hanging up in the garage and gets taken down occasionally and after the tyres are pumped up its good to go.
Its a "nice" bike - 2 x 10 XT, Reba World Cup, Hope wheels etc. I dug it out the garage today as my wife wanted to go a spin round the estate with my daughter.
I had a little play on it before I sent her on her way.
It just feels wrong! I actually checked if the fork was on backwards!
You could describe it as "lively" but "sketchy AF" would be nearer the mark. Oddly enough for an SC of that vintage it doesn't feel particularly short ( I think it has a 70mm stem), but it just feels like you are riding on top of the front wheel and its desperate to tuck under and kill you. This is with a works component angle set and a 120mm fork.
I was kind of a "geometry denier" for a while. I held on to a Turner 5 Spot for ages, but honestly steep head angles are for the birds.
Give me long, low and slack any day now!
Having ridden a LLS for a few months I would rather use a bike with geometry closer to the Superlight although even steeper than that. All depends what riding you do.
Yeah I get its horses for courses but I really do prefer my Whyte S-150 for just mooching a long on easy trails too.
The only thing I would take from the Superlight is the lower weight
As much as I like my modern geo, full sus bike, it doesn't hold a candle to my old school geo bike when it comes to nip and tick woodland singletrack. Different story when things point downhill for any distance though.
I went for a spin on my 2009 Anthem the other day - loved it! So light and nimble.
Still ride my 26 Superlight, 3x9, XTR, 120 Rebas, I guess you just get used to what you ride all the time. Still does what it did 10 years ago and does it well. It’s me that holds it back now! I have to confess to wanting to try a 29er though.
Shame SC don't still make affordable light-ish single-pivot frames.
Shame nobody does, really.
Shame SC don’t still make affordable light-ish single-pivot frames.
Shame nobody does, really.
This! Would love a new Superlight!
Yup, suss bikes are overly complex for no reason
Yup, suss bikes are overly complex for no reason
If it has lots of bits it must be better?
To be honest, my winter road bike feels broken after riding my summer road bike and there can only be a couple of degrees difference, if that!
I'll bet you'd adapt to tge Superlight within a ride or two.
I dug out a picture of my old 26" hardtail from 10 years ago, the handlebars were about 4" below the saddle, I couldn't even imagine running my road bike that aggressive any more...
I have a 2018 Cannondale scalpel SE which is single pivot (leverage actuated shock but still a single pivot). Rides nice, is light, has 29" wheels and isn't too slack. Always wanted a Superlight but never got round to buying one, weren't the last ones 29"?
I had a 26in one from 2001. Kept it till about 2004 I think. Went from a fully rigid to a FS with an old school noodle 63mm travel SID on the front. So when you braked the head angle got even steeper as the fork flexed...
It was a great bike. I’d not want to ride it now. 120mm stem if I remember rightly.
After 10 days tandem touring I jumped on my mtb and if felt like the weirdest floppiest bike I'd ever ridden. #itssurprisingwhatyougetusedto
Last one they did was 29 with 142 rear.
loved my 2007 super light, sold it in panic due to wheel size obsolesce and bought a whyte 905 but never really got on with the slack thing. Now have 29 anthem and am happy again. Agree with the above of depends on where you ride and what sort of rider you are
I've just gone back to a xc bike - Specialised Chisel - absolutely love it. Not slack, or long but just feels sprightly and fun to ride. The other bike that felt similar was my 29 Anthem, as above.
Test rode an anthem at the same time as my scalpel SE, the anthem felt faster but nowhere as capable as my scalpel. Shame as I quite fancied the anthem.
Always liked Steve Worland's (rip) one. >Here https://www.bikeradar.com/reviews/bikes/mountain-bikes/santa-cruz-superlight-review/
Well that didn't work 🤔
I have one hanging in the garage - its only ever done the Trans Rockies - if you feel the urge to take it off my hands in exchange for flour,eggs and wine let me know.
it just feels like you are riding on top of the front wheel and its desperate to tuck under and kill you.
I rode a mate's 2005 Kona recently and this was exactly my feeling. It made me remember how in the old days cornering was a fight for front wheel grip, and how without great care the front would just wash out immediately. Even though I had a near identical 2007 Kona and thought it great, even though I rode countless thousands of miles on similar bikes since 1994, this was always the way. The bike climbed really well with its flat bar and bar ends but my god, descending was a nightmare.
My two 29ers (from 2013 and 2015) are very XC indeed with their 70.5 HAs but because the wheels are bigger they have to be further away, which means XC focused as they are I can just throw them into corners at more or less any speed and they'll just drift through perfectly.
Bikes have come on massively IMO - the geometry rethink forced by the change in wheel size around 2010-2015 coupled with droppers has had a massive impact in handling.
I’ll bet you’d adapt to tge Superlight within a ride or two.
Nah. The main concern for me for all those 26er years was how to keep the front from washing out - and I have the scars to prove it. That just went away with my 29ers, in the same way that endless farting about with cantis trying to get the brakes to actually work went away when I got V brakes never to return.
The old Superlight was very nimble as it effectively had rear wheel steering due being so flexy. Mine ate rear shocks like crazy (found out stack of TfTuned receipts today) but somehow I still have fond memories of it.
Except when those times when it showed it’s tendency to lock suspension when braking - at least with V-brakes in the steep it would be better to just let go and roll.
I had a 2015ish Superlight single pivot 29er. Sold it to a mate at mates rates who still rides it well. I have asked for first dibs back, but he is not budging.
because the wheels are bigger they have to be further away
About 7mm horizontal by my calculations
“Shame SC don’t still make affordable light-ish single-pivot frames.
Shame nobody does, really.”
If everyone stopped going on about single pivots suffering brake jack then maybe they would!
About 7mm horizontal by my calculations
Fortunately, they didn't keep bikes the same shape and make the wheels slightly larger. They really started thinking about it, with great results.
but because the wheels are bigger they have to be further away
Fortunately, they didn’t keep bikes the same shape and make the wheels slightly larger. They really started thinking about it, with great results.
Indeed, even less than 7mm.
They're also better than 26ers at back pedalling.
I still ride a burley build heckler.love it. Handles like a bmx
