Santa Cruz Vala

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Introducing the new Santa Cruz Vala full-power EMTB, and big news - it's not VPP. It's rare that we see Santa Cruz release a new suspension platform, the only other bike currently in their lineup using anything other than VPP being the Blur with their Superlight flex-stay system. The new Vala on the other hand uses a four-bar linkage, which we think might be the first time Santa Cruz have ever brought this type of system to the market. Needless to say, it's a big deal.

Vala Key Specs:

- 150mm rear travel
- 160mm fork travel
- Bosch Performance Line CX motor - 85nm torque
- 600Wh battery (250Wh extender available)
- MX wheels
- SM - XXL frame sizes
- C & CC carbon frames
- Midnight Green and Gloss Grey
- Four-bar suspension linkage
- Sub-50lbs

What Is the Vala?

Now that we've addressed the elephant in the room, let's talk about what the Vala is and what it's for. The Vala is Santa Cruz's newest full-power mid travel emtb. With the same travel numbers as the Bronson and Hightower, similar geometry, and a mixed wheel setup, its intent is clear as a burly all-mountain ebike, with an emphasis on fun. With a frame designed to be stiff and strong, and optimised suspension kinematics, the Vala is designed to be Santa Cruz's best handling full power bike. A Rockshox Zeb or Fox 38 fork keeps things stiff up front, with enough travel to really get after it, but without so much bike that it's unwieldy. It's a heavy hitter with a playful side.

Vala Drive System

For the Vala, Santa Cruz have opted to use a Bosch drive system, for the first time ever - they say it gives them all the specs they wanted, and the newer Performance Line CX motor is quieter, lighter and more compact than previous versions. The motor itself has a punchy 85nm of torque, and is powered by a 600Wh internal battery that they've determined to be ideal for the majority of riders, eliminating the excess weight of bigger batteries, though a PowerMore 250Wh range extender battery is available for those wanting more juice.

The battery is now fixed in the downtube rather than being externally removable, which reduces complications and therefore weight, while making the whole chassis much stiffer and lighter. The smaller battery and internal mounting saves a total of 2.2lbs of weight, which combined with other savings is significant. In terms of real world range, the 600Wh battery can power a 170lb rider for 35km with 1,800m of climbing in eco and tour modes, 22km and 1200m climbing in emtb mode, or 48km and 1400m climbing in Boost mode with the PowerMore extender.

The new Performance Line CX motor is not only lighter and more compact, but it's also a lot more sleek of an install, with wireless mode control from the handlebars, and a wireless speed sensor, paired with the top tube display, the whole system is super discrete and clean looking.

Vala Four Bar Suspension

Let's circle back to that suspension system - Santa Cruz have gone with a four-bar setup for the Vala and ditched the old faithful VPP system that's featured on most of their full suspension bikes since 2002. It's a big change, but Santa Cruz know a thing or two about suspension, so we've got faith in the new Vala. Following the new Bronson and Hightower, Santa Cruz have been choosing to lower anti-squat numbers while keeping a progressive leverage rate, which they just weren't able to achieve with a lower link VPP design, since the lower link needs to sit very close to the BB, which is just not possible with a full power motor.

Santa Cruz found that they were able to achieve the kinematics they wanted by moving to a four bar system, settling with a more consistent anti-squat curve through the travel, as well as a flatter and lower anti-rise rate, and a slightly lower leverage ratio, allowing for a longer stroke shock and better controlled damping. A progression flip-chip at the bottom of the shock allows riders to choose between 26% and 29% progression for either a more consistent and responsive feel with lower progression, or a more progressive rate that sits deeper in the travel and prioritises bump-eating capability.

Diving a little deeper on kinematics, anti-squat describes how the bike reacts to pedal input - higher anti-squat numbers mean the bike resists compression under pedal input and can result in a harsh ride, and lower numbers mean the suspension is more active but can result in more pedal-bob. The lower anti-squat numbers on the Vala means that the suspension platform remains active while pedalling across technical terrain, giving more grip. It also means less pedal kickback on square edged hits, making for a more composed ride on the descents.

Anti-rise describes how the suspension reacts to braking, where the suspension resists compression while using the brakes. Higher anti-rise can mean the suspension can feel locked out under heavy braking, resulting in less grip. The Vala has more consistent, and lower, anti-rise characteristics. This means it has improved suspension performance under braking, giving it a more open feeling and allowing the suspension to conform to the ground better at all times, giving the rider a more confident feeling all the time. 

Frame Details

Despite being Santa Cruz's first ever four-bar frame, the Vala screams quality. Santa Cruz have put all their usual design flair into the Vala, and the result is something incredibly polished with great finish and details. The frame itself uses all the usual standards, including Zero Stack headset, boost axles, UDH dropouts, post mount brakes, and clearance for 2.5" tires. Because Santa Cruz have faith in their bikes, the Vala comes with their usual lifetime frame and bearing warranty.

Other neat features on the Vala include increased dropper insertion, with 180mm posts on Medium bikes, and 210mm on Large. The suspension layout may be different, but Santa Cruz used oversized bearings throughout, and as much of the same hardware as they could, meaning mechanics should find the Vala familiar and easy to work on. The frame features a geo-adjust flip chip for a high and low mode, and a progression flip chip for high and low progression modes. A one-piece rocker link makes the chassis stiff and prevents side-loading on shocks. The front triangle has a bottle cage mount on the downtube that doubles as the mount for the range extender battery, and a tool mount on the underside of the downtube, for tool storage.

Geometry

Geometry on the Vala sits firmly on the aggressive trail/enduro end of the spectrum, with similar numbers to the current Bronson. Featuring a flip chip at the upper link, the Vala has a high and low geo position, with a 64.2/63.9º head tube angle and a 77.5/77.2º seat tube angle. Reach sits at 480mm in a size Large, with a 443mm size-specific chainstay. The geometry on the Vala favours stability and confidence at speed, while the smaller rear wheel allows for a more playful ride. 

Spec & Build

The Vala comes with 38mm stanchion forks and Fox Float X shocks across all models, powerful Maven brakes and OneUp V3 dropper posts on all but the R spec bikes, as well as Schwalbe Magic Mary Radial tires across all bikes, pointing at the hard-charging intentions of the bike. 

The XX AXS RSV build gets a CC carbon frame, Fox 38 Factory fork and Float X Factory shock, XX AXS Transmission drivetrain, Maven Ultimate brakes and Reserve 30HD/DH carbon wheels on Industry Nine Hydra hubs. The XO AXS RSV build uses the same CC carbon frame, and Factory suspension, but instead uses the XO Transmission drivetrain, Maven Silver brakes, and DT Swiss 350 hubs.

The GX AXS build comes on the C frame, with Fox Performance Elite 38 fork and Float X shock. The drivetrain is GX Transmission, and stopping is taken care of by Maven Bronze brakes. Wheels are Race Face ARC 30 HD on E13 SL E-Spec hubs. The S build features Fox Performance suspension, a GX Eagle mechanical drivetrain, and the same Maven Bronze brakes and Race Face/E13 wheels. The entry level R kit comes with a Rockshox Zeb fork, Float X shock, SRAM NX Eagle mechanical drivetrain, DB8 brakes on upsized rotors, and Reserve 30 HD alloy rims on SRAM MTH hubs.

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