HQ Visit: Santa Cruz Bicycles

Among the perks of bike shop employment, the coolest just might be this: an invitation to tour the headquarters of one of the brands that we carry. 

Our latest invitation came from Santa Cruz Bicycles, and fell to Ben, on Contender’s service writing team. For the mountain bikers among the shop–which is everyone, basically–the double whammy of envy and desire to live vicariously through Ben hit hard. 

In that spirit, and anxious to learn a thing or two about a brand I’ve long admired–I grew up not far from Santa Cruz, and used to ride near their HQ as a teenager–I decided to sit down with Ben to hear about his experience. My favorite part: his retelling of an epic, 27 mile group ride through the Santa Cruz mountains, on a ripping, top tier Santa Cruz Vala electric mountain bike. 

Enjoy–and try not to let the sense of envy ruin your day. 

Q&A: Contender Visits Santa Cruz Bicycles HQ

Q: Ben, thanks for chatting. Let’s set the stage: what was the purpose of this visit to Santa Cruz HQ? And in the lead up, what were you most excited to see or experience? 

• A: The purpose of the trip was two-fold: a gathering of key retailers to come together to discuss Santa Cruz bikes and a range of industry issues, and to get a behind the scenes look at a brand that’s beloved here at the shop. 
  
  Going in, I was most excited to meet other industry folks, and to experience the legendary mountain bike terrain near Santa Cruz HQ. The area is known for its exceptional riding–redwood forests, grippy dirt, big features–and I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to take part. 

Q: I understand your experience started off with a tour of Santa Cruz’s main campus. Can you walk me through the place, the people, and your impressions? In my mind, I’m imagining some kind of utopia for mountain bikers. 

• A: Right? I had the same thought going in, and on some level it’s pretty true. Zooming out though, the experience started with a tour of a showroom type space at the front of HQ, where each model is on display and you can pick up some killer swag. We also got to see where components and groupsets are stored, the assembly line [more on this below], and Santa Cruz’s vast shipping operations.
  
  Something I especially loved was all the retro frames and memorabilia placed throughout HQ, including the original mold for the carbon Tallboy. 

Q: Let’s talk about this epic group ride — 27 miles of riding in the Santa Cruz Mountains sounds incredible. Can you give me the lay of the land? What kind of trails and conditions are we talking about, who was on the ride, and what were your personal highlights? 

• A: Incredible ride–definitely a highlight of the trip for me! All the retailers on the trip joined the ride, including a few Santa Cruz employees, and Eliot Jackson, a former World Cup downhill racer who is now an ambassador for Santa Cruz, along with some really inspiring efforts to drive inclusion and community in the broader mountain bike space.
  
  Santa Cruz HQ is located just west of downtown, near Highway 1, and the plan was to ride north of HQ, not far from UC Santa Cruz. They also outfitted the entire group with e-mountain bikes, to enable a longer ride, and to make it easier to stay together as a group.
  
  Right as we left HQ it started pouring rain, and it continued for a couple hours, which added a cool dimension to the ride–and very different to the riding I do here in Utah. Almost immediately we were in the redwoods, with a smattering of 5” puddles of water and the occasional slippery corner that tipped a few bikes over. Eventually we made our way out of the trees and into a moody layer of fog, on a champagne gravel type surface that drained super well. This was the last climb before we started back down to HQ. The trails ran the gamut, with a variety of tech and flow with lots of tree roots leading into big berms and light jumps. There were even some major manmade, wooden features, that seemed right on par with what one would find in the north shore mountain biking in and around Vancouver.  

Q: On the group ride, you were lucky enough to demo a Santa Cruz Vala, which is the brand’s electric mountain bike for trail and enduro riding (150mm, mullet setup). How was your experience riding the Vala? Any major likes, dislikes, or takeaways? 

• A: Specifically, I rode the Vala XO AXS RSV, which is a really premium build kit, and one down from the highest version Santa Cruz offers.
  
  No joke, this bike blew me away. It is quite literally the most planted and confident I have ever felt on a trail bike. At the same time I could not believe how playful it was when I wanted it to be. I expected it to feel sluggish in the air or when making snappy maneuvers because it weighs 46+ lbs, but it performed on par with a traditional trail bike. I had no problem scrubbing, whipping, or jibbing around on it, which was very impressive.
  
  While the extra tacky conditions did play to my advantage, I was thoroughly impressed by the cornering abilities as well. I felt like I could lay the bike nearly flat on its side and I would make it around a corner just fine. The extra low center of gravity with the battery and motor helps immensely. When climbing, it took all of the stress away and turned my focus toward dialling in the downhill runs, which was a gamechanger. I could choose a very natural feeling e-assist level, or just boost up to the top for the next lap.
  
  When descending, this bike ate the trail right up like Pacman. I just pointed the bike where I wanted it to go (sometimes for a line or jump way above my paygrade), and it always took the hit. It felt like riding a confidence boosting machine. When I needed to come to a stop, the SRAM MAVEN brakes put the power down and I never had to hesitate. I was also impressed with the battery life. We rode for nearly 4 hours, covering 27 miles with nearly 4,000 feet of vert, with me frequently toggling back and forth between the two middle assist modes (Tour+ and eMTB). Despite all that, I still had some battery life left when getting back to HQ. 

Q: You also got to tour the Santa Cruz assembly line. I imagine some of that experience is confidential, but are there any sights and sounds you’re able to share? Anything that stood out for you? 

• A: Another very cool experience! One of my favorite parts of their operation is all of the custom equipment and processes they have. For example, all bikes need to have the fork cut before being installed. They have an in-house engineer that designed a tool that automatically cuts the steer tube to the correct length for the type of bike you are assembling.
  
  The assembly line is simple, but super dialed in. There are a handful of key stations in the process, covering everything from frame prep and assembly to parts installation, and from motor and battery install (for e-mountain bikes) to boxing, getting the bikes ready for shipping.
  
  We also went on a quick side quest to see frame testing in action. Santa Cruz has developed their own testing processes for frames because they weren’t satisfied with the standards and requirements for the industry. In response, they designed their own equipment and have done extensive testing to find the limits of their frames. For example, we got to see a test on the headtube of the 5010. They drop weights on a makeshift fork to simulate a major impact to the front-end of the bike. In our test, the 5010 frame was shown to be 4x stronger than the industry requirement.

Q: Santa Cruz is known for its tight-knit culture. Not to get too idealistic, but what was your sense of the team, the culture, and what it’s like to work there? 

• A: Santa Cruz employees couldn’t have been more welcoming, and I loved how generous everyone was in sharing what they do at Santa Cruz. The sense of purpose and overall positivity was really tangible. They also seem to genuinely like working together–super good vibes, lots of joking. 

Q: Looking back on the visit, what were your biggest takeaways? If talking to a customer or friend about the experience, what rises to the top for you? 

• A:  Biggest takeaway for me: they love to ride, and seem dead set on making the most fun mountain bikes you’ll ever ride. That passion and the dedication they put into their products really stands out. 

Learn More

• Read: our Vala Ride Review, or recent Vala Beautiful Bicycle

• Shop: Contender’s Santa Cruz Vala collection

• Engage: have questions on Santa Cruz or the Vala? Visit the shop, send us a message here, or call us at (801) 364-0344.