J'ai commander le miens ( en XL ) en France en Octobre , reçu en Décembre et déjà 50kms au compteur... Bizarre. tu as commander quel montage et quel couleur ?
Santa Cruz Vala
- Thread starter Lee Dove
- Start date
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- santa cruz
The more bikes that get released the more I feel like the Vala and Bullit are tough to beat, just so damn sexy for a full power EMTB.
As much as I hate the look of the range extender, I'll happily use that on the few rides I need it versus riding some of these new heavy bulbus manatee looking things all the time.
As much as I hate the look of the range extender, I'll happily use that on the few rides I need it versus riding some of these new heavy bulbus manatee looking things all the time.
Got a message from Santa Cruz factory that they are not able to deliver my Vala X0 AXS RSV (XL) at all. I pre-ordered in September before the bike was even released, so this is a really really strange outcome. They must have some big troubles in their supply chain. So the end result is that I'm switching to Bullit with the hope that they are able to deliver that instead.
FastFR
Member
The only thing I don't like on my Vala are the Sram Maven brakes. They did a pretty decent job at the beginning, but since few weeks they do not work properly. Even after a maintenance stop by my dealer (piston's massage + purge of the systems), my rear brake is worse at every ride. I'm gonna replace them by a pair of Hope Tech4 V4 as soon as possible
LautSprecher
Active member
Not sure if tan is a yes or a nono.
Andeh
Active member
I have 3 pairs of Mavens, and while I like them a lot, I have noticed that they are one of those brakes that are susceptible to front/rear feel imbalance. The root cause seems to be dragging or feathering the rear brake as opposed to hard lockup pulls, but also to a lesser extent just the typical pad wear imbalance front vs. rear.
You can compensate for pad wear imbalance by using the contact adjuster (on Silver / Ultimate models) - ideally after a fresh bleed and fresh pads, start with both contact adjusters fully inward. Then move the rear brake's contact adjust outward to balance feel. By the end of a set of rear pads' life, the differential between my front and rear contact adjusters is probably over 20 clicks.
There can also be a front/rear feel imbalance caused by the pistons not advancing in line with pad wear, due to dragging the rear brake. My tips for addressing this are always run sintered pads in the rear (they wear slower), and before each ride, pull hard on the rear brake lever and hold for 5 seconds a few times. This will cause the pistons to advance & reset based on current wear levels.
I'm pretty picky about having my front and rear brakes feel the same, so at this point will not run any brake without a contact point adjust specifically for these reasons. My last brakes were Dominions and it was a nightmare trying to keep them feeling balanced. I basically was doing the pull & hold piston advance thing every lap with those.
FastFR
Member
I do have a more important problem on mine. Despite what I mentioned the shop did to solve the problem, my rear brake, in pretty steep downhill with strong braking, after4-5 seconds the lever is going nearly to touch the bar. Absolutely no consistency.
Even when the were working "fine", you're right the feeling between front and rear were not similar, and never liked the feeling that I find too hard and not enough progressive.
So I really prefer to get back to a pair of Hope Tech4 V4, which I loved on my previous bike as the are really tunable to your own preference and never had issues of power, reliability, power and feeling.
Even when the were working "fine", you're right the feeling between front and rear were not similar, and never liked the feeling that I find too hard and not enough progressive.
So I really prefer to get back to a pair of Hope Tech4 V4, which I loved on my previous bike as the are really tunable to your own preference and never had issues of power, reliability, power and feeling.
Andeh
Active member
Lever pulling to the bar is 100% bad bleed. Tell the shop to start over and take their time, use lots of gentle vacuum. Keep going until no more bubbles.
TheMirrorVision
Member
100% agreed. If your local bike shop is following SRAM’s process and Is still having issues they should be submitting your brakes for a warranty claim.
Would not agree on that 100% ... is pretty close, but defenetely not 100% bad bleed. It can also be damaged/leaking seals on the piston inside the lever or like in my case, an internally leaking hose (warning! boring video!):
WatermanJim
Active member
Quick fix for sram brakes- dont take the wheels off or brake pads out. just attach the QR syringe filled 1/4 with fluid to the caliper. pull out a little and let the air bubbles rise then squeeze hard until its totally full. twist it closed while still applying a mild pressure. you can not press hard enough with the syringe to move the piston so dont worry about that. if its too tight try again and close with less pressure. There is a little more to it but play with it and you will see that you can set feel as tight as you want. The sram brakes are inconsistant i found mostly because of temperature changes and they somehow just lose fluid magically. anyway the quick fill technique works great and i even taught my LBS how to do it.
FastFR
Member
Thank you for all your advises, but my decision is taken. I’m replacing those Maven by the Tech4 V4. The Hope upgraded with Trickstuff Power+ pads are in another league in terms of braking
Guess the frames are made in China, and bikes assembled in USA? Then the 145% customs can be too hard to swallow.
Fredmeister69
Member
I ordered my Vala in XXL in October and after a phone call to my LBS they talked to SC and got the info that the bikes are on their way and it’ll be about 2-4 weeks from now. I’m planing to swap my current shock to the Vala, which has a stroke of 65mm. Just to reconfirm: no known problems in any frame size concerning fit? Has anyone changed the tune? I would assume that running the flip chip in the low prog. setting might be beneficial?
Andeh
Active member
When I built mine up with a 65mm shock, I took the valve core out and fully compressed the rear suspension with the shock installed to verify clearance. Fully compressed there looked to be ~15-20mm of clearance from the seatstay bridge to the back of the seat tube. Way more clearance between the reservoir and downtube. I am running the RockShox C34 tune on my Vivid (which is the generic retail tune) as opposed to the next firmer C37 tune that SC usually specs, and am able to run the HSC in the middle setting instead of -1 like I do on my other bikes' C37 tune shocks. I am also running less sag with the longer shock, equivalent to as if I was still running a 60mm shock, so about 27% on the 65mm. This keeps the bike's geometry at sag feeling balanced - I started running 30% and the rear felt too mushy relative to the front. Running at 27% makes it still responsive pedaling and pumping but gives extra cushion on big hits.
I haven't tried the low progression setting on the Vala, went straight to high. I've tried low/high on other SC bikes and usually the less progressive setting feels smoother and more consistent near sag, and the higher progression setting feels more active off the top. From tinkering on other bikes, I know that I prefer to run very progressive bike frames with fewer volume tokens in the shock (and also prefer large volume air shocks to coil). Anyways, try both and see what you like better, keeping in mind you will probably find different pressures/spring rates work better for you in each setting.
I haven't tried the low progression setting on the Vala, went straight to high. I've tried low/high on other SC bikes and usually the less progressive setting feels smoother and more consistent near sag, and the higher progression setting feels more active off the top. From tinkering on other bikes, I know that I prefer to run very progressive bike frames with fewer volume tokens in the shock (and also prefer large volume air shocks to coil). Anyways, try both and see what you like better, keeping in mind you will probably find different pressures/spring rates work better for you in each setting.
Fredmeister69
Member
Thanks for sharing your experience! I’ll give it a try and repost as soon as I’ve got some impressions
JankyMcJankface
New Member
Picked up my Vala yesterday and took it for it's first ride. Holy shit this thing rips! Night and day difference to my Forbidden Dreadnought. Made a bold choice on the fork orange 170mm, but will balance it out with some more accents and will likely us my X2 factory.
I was really on the fence with the new Bullit but ultimately for the kinda riding I do the Vala is more than enough.
View attachment IMG_5227.jpeg
I was really on the fence with the new Bullit but ultimately for the kinda riding I do the Vala is more than enough.
View attachment IMG_5227.jpeg
FastFR
Member
Really thinking about increasing the Fox 38 travel to 170mm and replace the rear shock by the new Fox X2 with Bullit size and valving (if I can get this information…)
When checking goe’s between Vala and new Bullit, with those mods it should be really close…
When checking goe’s between Vala and new Bullit, with those mods it should be really close…
I don't think you can get 170mm rear travel out of the Vala, probably max out at 162.5mm or maybe 165mm. End of the day you are talking about adding about a half inch of travel to the Vala. I wouldn't bother, I'd just sell the Vala and buy a Bullit if you really need more travel.
Kind of an unusual comparison, can you say more? I'd expect the Dread to be more of a ripper. Wondering what your thoughts here might suggest wrt weighing against to the new CorE.
Bontee
Active member
I agree Mike,My wife has a Heckler 2024 model and I too think the Vala is a great bike ,I think the VPP will be looked back on as a better model.
The Vala is a bit too similar to virtually everything else and whilst that’s no bad thing, the Heckler has a unique look and feel.
Just my opinion guys,please don’t take offence.
ebsocalmtb
Well-known member
Agreed that the new horst link bikes don't look as special as the vpp models, heckler sl, nomad etc. Thank god the vala/bullit are good enough bikes to make that worth it... but yeah, for a bike this expensive it would be nice to have it look a bit more special.
twisted_trails
Member
Hi all, I just got mayself a new Vala in C S build. After couple of rides, bike developed a weird squeaking sound when dissengaging motor at higher speeds. You can hear it happening here couple of times in a row after I stop pedaling -
My guess is something is rubbing when motor disconnects from the cranks. On the S build I have E13 Helix eSpec cranks. Or could it be an internal motor thing? Is it a know Bosch v5 thing? If the motor is off it's ok without a sound.
Any idea what could be going on? Thanks!
My guess is something is rubbing when motor disconnects from the cranks. On the S build I have E13 Helix eSpec cranks. Or could it be an internal motor thing? Is it a know Bosch v5 thing? If the motor is off it's ok without a sound.
Any idea what could be going on? Thanks!
Andeh
Active member
That's really odd and annoying. No idea what could be causing it, but mine does not do that. If it doesn't do it with the motor off, it's most likely something with the drive unit rather than cranks or anything else external.
Bontee
Active member
I do hope that isn’t the equivalent of the infamous ep8 and bosch rattles when the motor clutch disengages.
Having a mouse stuck in the motor would be a lousy upgrade.That’s really irritating
Having a mouse stuck in the motor would be a lousy upgrade.That’s really irritating
Its the dust cover between the crank and chain ring, remove it or put a little oil where its rubbing.
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