All New 2026 Santa Cruz Bullit launched

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xtraman122 said:
For those involved in the great efficiency debate in this thread of Bosch vs DJI from few weeks ago, the guys who did the comparison of the two in their real-world range test listened to feedback and did a revised test, with the DJI turned down to its trail mode which is a better comparison of power output to the Bosch's Turbo.

Low and behold, they came out damn near identical to each-other with both bikes on an 800Wh battery and the riders of the same weight. The DJI had about 4% more battery left at the end of the test, with the Bosch hitting its limp mode just a bit before the DJI did. Needless to say, the actual efficiency of all these motors is going to be very similar between motor brands in the same power class (Meaning a full power vs light assist motor) and I think it's safe to say Bosch has no statistically significant increase in efficiency over the DJI.

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Yah, I would agree that it looks like they settled this issue once and for all.

That DJI motor is really something, I have to admit.
 
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Another question for you guys who have received your bikes. Can people share their bike size and what the maximium seat post inseartion is?
 
Bogdan_CH said:
As rule of thumb : 480 mm reach for a 6 foot /183 cm is spot on. Not sure why some brands basically avoided skipped on one of the most common height / reach bike sizes.
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right?? guess what jackson goldstone V10.8 frame size.. a Large. YES you heard that right.. LARGE and he is 5'7 BUT headset adjust is at short which comes up to 467mm reach. people overthink it too much saying oh you dont have the leverage if the frame is too big for you bla bla bla.. if you are comfortable on a specific size and fast on it then go for it! dont let anyone tell you what you should be on. Test ride / demo the frame size you want and compare..
 
MTBeard said:
What, ape index? now I have to learn another thing. :) Very solid points and I am definitely not an elite level rider. I guess I get hung up abit on this cause its impossible to just swap it to a different size.


That makes sense. I suppose I have always gravitated to slightly smaller bikes when it comes to wheel base but this is a big bike so maybe I should just trust the size
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The Ape Index is a measurement of an individual's wingspan (distance from fingertip to fingertip) relative to their height (via google) lol! you dont have to be an elite. if you are comfortable on a frame size go for it and make some adjustments. if i ride the new med frame bullit with the OEM handlebars 800mm wide and 35mm rise, stem and stack height its too big for me. im 5'7 and went with a 755mm bar with 20mm rise - 35mm stem and 15mm stem spacers vs 25mm on stock setup. it feel perfect!
 
Armyn21 said:
right?? guess what jackson goldstone V10.8 frame size.. a Large. YES you heard that right.. LARGE and he is 5'7 BUT headset adjust is at short which comes up to 467mm reach. people overthink it too much saying oh you dont have the leverage if the frame is too big for you bla bla bla.. if you are comfortable on a specific size and fast on it then go for it! dont let anyone tell you what you should be on. Test ride / demo the frame size you want and compare..
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His DH bike is a large but he rides mediums in everything else. A lot of racers size up their race bikes to get the stability that comes from the longer wheelbase. I used to ride with a local elite DH racer that was 5’3, her DH bike was a medium but she rode a small in everything else.
 
TheMessiah said:
Waiting for it to arrive at the minute. Missing this weather is killing me.
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You will be amazed !
IMG_7636.jpeg
1027805620340772929.jpeg
 
Snoggin said:
You will be amazed !View attachment 159566View attachment 159567
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This last pic was right after a slow motion biff twisting down through the trees , very steep. This part not bad but steeper than it looks here . I biffed a very slow over the bars to the right side lol. But somehow got my foot trapped by the bars, the frame and a long stick that got caught in the brake line.. Took me about five minutes to figure out how to release myself. Brakes ok. Love the mavens by the way. That’s why I look out of sorts here. Dirt really nice there in SC
 
Armyn21 said:
right?? guess what jackson goldstone V10.8 frame size.. a Large. YES you heard that right.. LARGE and he is 5'7 BUT headset adjust is at short which comes up to 467mm reach. people overthink it too much saying oh you dont have the leverage if the frame is too big for you bla bla bla.. if you are comfortable on a specific size and fast on it then go for it! dont let anyone tell you what you should be on. Test ride / demo the frame size you want and compare..
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Seriously, what us mortals have in common with Jackson. I'm talking for general trail ridding.
 
I am a 87kg middleage guy ,i normally use tour on a cx4 2022 Wild and 600/625 is not enough on rides above the 40km ,1700m. A lot of partners with 750w at the same point of ride have lots of more battery.So manny times i have to end the ride earllier than them. The bullit have a lot of things that i like to have in a bike but the batt is a elimination point and SantaCruz and other brands dont want the 800wh batt mainly for the look of a thinner tube and LOOK and then they sugest a extender abortion ? I know its hard to please everyone but by the huge comments and opinions about the bullit or vala having a 800w option its easy to displease a lot of riders and lose many buyers.
Same for Wild,Regulator,Rellay,Mondraker Dune, and so on. Dji is here solving this problem,the bike is not what i want,but they are selling big numbers ? I think Crestline could solve, with a partnership or whatever ,his limited production.I think they could be a bigger contender to twist the ears of these stubborn people in what (a lot of) a rider want from a ebike.
I could be wrong but i would be one of the wrong ones to have a crestline
 
fjbtlx said:
I am a 87kg middleage guy ,i normally use tour on a cx4 2022 Wild and 600/625 is not enough on rides above the 40km ,1700m. A lot of partners with 750w at the same point of ride have lots of more battery.So manny times i have to end the ride earllier than them. The bullit have a lot of things that i like to have in a bike but the batt is a elimination point and SantaCruz and other brands dont want the 800wh batt mainly for the look of a thinner tube and LOOK and then they sugest a extender abortion ? I know its hard to please everyone but by the huge comments and opinions about the bullit or vala having a 800w option its easy to displease a lot of riders and lose many buyers.
Same for Wild,Regulator,Rellay,Mondraker Dune, and so on. Dji is here solving this problem,the bike is not what i want,but they are selling big numbers ? I think Crestline could solve, with a partnership or whatever ,his limited production.I think they could be a bigger contender to twist the ears of these stubborn people in what (a lot of) a rider want from a ebike.
I could be wrong but i would be one of the wrong ones to have a crestline
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Personally Im down for the new battery at 600w and put an extender on to get the 850. But that's me, so many nice bikes. The 2025 Orbea Wild looks fantastic also @ 750w but I also heard bikes with 750w are the older battery tech.
 
fjbtlx said:
I am a 87kg middleage guy ,i normally use tour on a cx4 2022 Wild and 600/625 is not enough on rides above the 40km ,1700m. A lot of partners with 750w at the same point of ride have lots of more battery.So manny times i have to end the ride earllier than them. The bullit have a lot of things that i like to have in a bike but the batt is a elimination point and SantaCruz and other brands dont want the 800wh batt mainly for the look of a thinner tube and LOOK and then they sugest a extender abortion ? I know its hard to please everyone but by the huge comments and opinions about the bullit or vala having a 800w option its easy to displease a lot of riders and lose many buyers.
Same for Wild,Regulator,Rellay,Mondraker Dune, and so on. Dji is here solving this problem,the bike is not what i want,but they are selling big numbers ? I think Crestline could solve, with a partnership or whatever ,his limited production.I think they could be a bigger contender to twist the ears of these stubborn people in what (a lot of) a rider want from a ebike.
I could be wrong but i would be one of the wrong ones to have a crestline
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It's not the size of the downtube that made SC switch to 600wh. It's the ride quality and I can tell the difference in the ride itself between riding a Vala and a Spez Gen 3 Levo just by the battery size and weight difference.
 
Druster said:
It's not the size of the downtube that made SC switch to 600wh. It's the ride quality and I can tell the difference in the ride itself between riding a Vala and a Spez Gen 3 Levo just by the battery size and weight difference.
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We may think why Pivot and Orbea Wild and others,dont put the 800 batt and prefer the 750w batt which is heavier 500gr than the 800 ? And any others who used the 750 and now use the 600? And if the look doesn't count, but the functionality is 1st place , why use cable integration despite a lot of mechanics and riders/users complain about it ? I would prefer to have two batteries 600 and 800 than the extender ,but then comes the removable batt or not.. its dificult to please everybody ,so again crestline choices are the way to go
 
fjbtlx said:
We may think why Pivot and Orbea Wild and others,dont put the 800 batt and prefer the 750w batt which is heavier 500gr than the 800 ? And any others who used the 750 and now use the 600? And if the look doesn't count, but the functionality is 1st place , why use cable integration despite a lot of mechanics and riders/users complain about it ? I would prefer to have two batteries 600 and 800 than the extender ,but then comes the removable batt or not.. its dificult to please everybody ,so again crestline choices are the way to go
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Bosch definitely messed up by making the new 800 a different width than the 600. It’s forcing frame manufacturers to decide whether they want to make an ugly bike that can take both batteries or decide to only support the 600 to be able to have a reasonable looking downtube. The fact that companies like Orbea are choosing to offer the old heavier 750 instead of the new 800 is pretty telling. Hopefully they’ll come out with a new pack somewhere above 600Wh with the same width as the current 600 to give manufacturers some better options.
 
I have a Bullit and Im good with 600 wh for most of my rides 2-2.5 hrs. I also have the extender and dont mind it. I used it over the weekend and didnt notice the weight really.. But I like the look and the performance is fine for 80% of my rides. Longer fire road or rides with other full power bikes ill use the extemder
 
xtraman122 said:
Bosch definitely messed up by making the new 800 a different width than the 600. It’s forcing frame manufacturers to decide whether they want to make an ugly bike that can take both batteries or decide to only support the 600 to be able to have a reasonable looking downtube. The fact that companies like Orbea are choosing to offer the old heavier 750 instead of the new 800 is pretty telling. Hopefully they’ll come out with a new pack somewhere above 600Wh with the same width as the current 600 to give manufacturers some better options.
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I heard that Bosch chose the size and form factor of their new 600 and 800Wh batteries after discussion with bike manufacturers who wanted a shorter battery presumably so as to keep the CofG lower. Ironically it seems that riders are more concerned with the bike's appearance than the claimed better handling from the lower CofG !
 
Snoggin said:
I have a Bullit and Im good with 600 wh for most of my rides 2-2.5 hrs. I also have the extender and dont mind it. I used it over the weekend and didnt notice the weight really.. But I like the look and the performance is fine for 80% of my rides. Longer fire road or rides with other full power bikes ill use the extemder
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That's my calculus
 
ckkone said:
They look like ass though.....
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I don't know about ass, but yah, they aren't that slick looking.

I hear great things about the VPP implementation, but at this point I'm a die-hard Horst Link/ 4 bar guy as I just think that they are better.
 
Snoggin said:
I have a Bullit and Im good with 600 wh for most of my rides 2-2.5 hrs. I also have the extender and dont mind it. I used it over the weekend and didnt notice the weight really.. But I like the look and the performance is fine for 80% of my rides. Longer fire road or rides with other full power bikes ill use the extemder
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Do you know how many miles or ascent you did on 1 charge of the 600w? How do you feel about the Mullet?
 
Haven’t chased them this week, don’t want to pester them into rushing it to get it ready for the weekend with the invisiframe etc if it’s going to land Friday afternoon. Are you in the UK?
 
I very much intend to test a medium and a large 2026 bullit to compare but I would appreciate anyone’s feed back regarding sizing.

I currently ride a 2021 L Whyte E160RS
Reach 480
Wheelbase 1259
Chainstay 442
Weight - ~26kg

I’m 80kg, 179cm, and I like to ride steep chunky tech enduro type terrain and I’m pretty much settled on a more aggressive bike (the 2026 bullit)

The SC size charts put me in the large size. Note - I’d say im all torso and arms in body shape.

I feel i wouldn’t want anything bigger than my current bike in fear that it I loose playfulness. I appreciate the L bullit is a bigger bike, certainly in wheelbase and chainstay but reach is similar. The M bullit is pretty much same wheelbase and chain stay but with ~20mm less reach.

Any thoughts? I feel a medium may be better for me.
 
Mojo_n_SB said:
Do you know how many miles or ascent you did on 1 charge of the 600w? How do you feel about the Mullet?
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I haven’t burned it out yet. But tomorrow Im going on a ride that should be pretty good. Depends how hard you ride it too. I did about 23 miles and 3k of elevation but riding hard lots of up and down. And had 6% left after 2:15.
 
RSG said:
Haven’t chased them this week, don’t want to pester them into rushing it to get it ready for the weekend with the invisiframe etc if it’s going to land Friday afternoon. Are you in the UK?
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Where did you order?
 
RSG said:
Haven’t chased them this week, don’t want to pester them into rushing it to get it ready for the weekend with the invisiframe etc if it’s going to land Friday afternoon. Are you in the UK?
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Yes I am in the UK, the shop is dropping it off with me tomorrow.
 
Snoggin said:
I haven’t burned it out yet. But tomorrow Im going on a ride that should be pretty good. Depends how hard you ride it too. I did about 23 miles and 3k of elevation but riding hard lots of up and down. And had 6% left after 2:15.
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That's a good day of riding! If I need more I'd be down for the extender

How does everyone feel about the new motor update and the drain on the 600w battery on this Bullit?
Thx again
 
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