FIRST RIDE REPORT

SANTA CRUZ VALA

Review by Drew Rohde

When Santa Cruz’s marketing manager Garen Becker pulled the new Vala out of his truck, I immediately noticed the difference in appearance and stance to their other mountain bikes. In typical fashion, the paint, finish and overall aesthetic was very Santa Cruz, however the vertical shock, suspension linkage and rear triangle commanded attention. As a rider who has long been critical of the drawbacks the VPP suspension platform have in certain conditions,  I was very excited to see how the four-bar-equipped Santa Cruz Vala would perform on the high desert chunk we test all our bikes on.

Unfortunately due to the craziness of everything in the bike industry these days, we’ve not been able to spend nearly enough time on the bike for a thorough review. That said, our initial ride with Garen told us quite a bit about the bike and got us excited for more time aboard this bike once our travel and shootout schedule mellows out.

Right off the bat, getting up to the climb trail we had a flat, twisty singletrack pedal that was grin-inducing for sure. The new Bosch drive unit throws down impressive power and speed on flatter terrain and was immediately noticeable. Once the pitch went upward the feeling of normalcy returned and it felt pretty much like what I’ve grown to expect from a Bosch drive unit. However, it was a bit louder, and emitted an interesting tone. I spoke with Bosch about my thoughts as well as Robert (our UK tech editor), who went to the Bosch media camp and has ridden more bikes with the drive unit. Both of them were surprised as reports from most people say that the new drive unit is much quieter, though it has not been my experience so far.

Moving into the geometry and general feel of the Vala, it feels very ‘Santa Cruz.’ The geometry, fit and body position the bike puts me in is natural and intuitive. I am a big fan of how Santa Cruz bikes feel underneath me. For my 5’11 chassis, the size large fits me just right and inspires a playful and powerful position. The Vala is a playful and snappy bike for a full power eMTB and likes being pushed hard and slammed into corners.

As far as the suspension goes, I’d first like to say that I am appreciative of the willingness of Santa Cruz to strike out and leave a platform they’re so known for after realizing the design created limitations they couldn’t work around. While there are undeniable merits of the VPP platform, thankfully, many brands are reducing anti-squat numbers significantly as it seems more riders are favoring downhill performance and suspension feel over pedaling efficiency. Speaking of reduced anti-squat, our ride was full of high-speed washboards, big compressions and little chunky rock gardens full of embedded lava rock. It’s the perfect place to test rear suspension. Compared to other Santa Cruz eMTBs I’ve ridden, the Vala seems to be a bit more supple off the top and has a slightly more compliant rear end. While I have been happy with how the bike feels during initial testing I do plan on making some more tuning adjustments to the rear shock as I get more time to ride it.

Overall, the Santa Cruz Vala seems to be a great step for their eMTB line and we look forward to putting more miles on it and passing it around to some other testers on the team. For riders who like how Santa Cruz bikes play, move and corner, you’ll be happy that the handling pedigree remains. However the improvement to the suspension platform, (for a non-VPP fanboy) are very welcome indeed.

SANTA CRUZ BICYCLES

INTRODUCING THE VALA

A NEW NAME IN TOWN

CLASS-LEADING POWER MEETS SANTA CRUZ RIDE DYNAMICS: All the legendary ride qualities of a Santa Cruz – supreme handling, great suspension, and longevity – paired with the class-leading Bosch Performance Line CX motor and a versatile battery solution. This is no trekking bike – the Vala is built for aggressive riding on singletrack trails.

BOSCH PERFORMANCE LINE CX: The NEW Bosch drive unit is powerful, reliable and quiet. The power on tap and how it delivers it makes climbing as engaging as descending.

RANGE WITH HANDLING IN MIND: 600 Wh is optimal for most rides, and its low placement improves handling characteristics. The 250 Wh PowerMore range extender provides the freedom to cover more ground, but only carry the extra weight when you need it.

EXCEPTIONAL HANDLING DYNAMICS: Bombproof, lightweight carbon frame, superior ebike suspension performance, and independently tuneable geometry and kinematics create an adaptable chassis, allowing riders to quickly optimize the Vala for the trails they’re riding.

DETAILS MATTER: While this bike might look like something you’ve seen before, we found ways to make the four-bar suspension system work better on the trail and off. Sublime kinematics, dialed handling, tuned chassis stiffness, and Santa Cruz’s legendary hardware make the Vala a joy to own.

WHY FOUR-BAR? WHY NOT VPP?

It is a challenge to package large motor where optimum VPP™ pivots would be.

We wanted to apply the advances in suspension design that we’ve made on recent pedal bikes (VPP™) to the Vala.

This meant utilizing a new design, but one that gave us the freedom to make all the right spec and kinematic choices. The result is our best handling ebike.

ANTI-SQUAT

Anti-squat refers to how much your pedaling inputs stiffen the suspension. Too little and you have a bike that bobs under power. Too much and the bike will be harsh and not as able to absorb bumps while under power.

We’ve worked hard to improve (reduce) anti-squat on our bikes (pedal). We weren’t prepared to give that up on our full-power ebike models now.

Traits of Vala:

• Reduced pedal kickback on square-edge hits
• Remains active while pedaling up and across rough, technical terrain

ANTI-RISE

Anti-rise refers to the amount of rear suspension squat that occurs when using the rear brake. Some amount of this is helpful to counteract the natural forward weight shift while braking. Too much can compress the suspension and decrease traction and suppleness.

Traits of Vala:

• Fantastic performance while braking on steep, rough terrain.
• Bike feels very composed and suspension doesn’t ‘lock up’. It conforms to the ground isolating the rider from harshness of the terrain and maintaining traction at all times.

LEVERAGE RATE

We don’t want to dramatically change our leverage curves from current bikes, but we did want to decrease leverage ratio.

The four-bar design provides the space for a longer 60mm stroke shock (compared to 55mm for Heckler 9 and Heckler SL). This gives us better damping quality and consistency on long descents.

Two options via flipchip allow for two different characters:

• Low progression provides a very consistent feel that prioritizes responsiveness
• Hi progression sits in a bit more and prioritizes bump-eating forgiveness.