All New 2026 Santa Cruz Bullit launched

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Today I did 14.5 miles and about 4100 ft of vert. I had 22% left so could have climbed one more and close to 5k vert. Good for laps! Doing laps mostly and a bit of transfer riding but it’s plenty for most of my rides. I’ll have my range extender back again this weekend. Maybe ill try some kind of epic next week and do a range test with extender
 
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Snoggin said:
Today I did 14.5 miles and about 4100 ft of vert. I had 22% left so could have climbed one more and close to 5k vert. Good for laps! Doing laps mostly and a bit of transfer riding but it’s plenty for most of my rides. I’ll have my range extender back again this weekend. Maybe ill try some kind of epic next week and do a range test with extender
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I wish I lived where you live!
 
Does anyone know the maximum seapost insert depth of a medium frame 2026 Bullit? Or do they know if a one up 210mm will fit and be slammed down to the collar?
 
Wish Santa Cruz would sell e-bikes as a frame only as Specialized do. Got my Bullit X0 RSV build today and then set to removing all the bits I wanted to change, hubs, brakes, seat post, bars, stem, headset.... Just makes for an expensive pile of take off parts.
 
TheMessiah said:
Wish Santa Cruz would sell e-bikes as a frame only as Specialized do. Got my Bullit X0 RSV build today and then set to removing all the bits I wanted to change, hubs, brakes, seat post, bars, stem, headset.... Just makes for an expensive pile of take off parts.
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How much for the Mavens? I bent the master cylinder body on mine today, the part thats curved to fit the bar. It doesn’t sit straight and im pretty sure its going to break if i bend it back any more than I have already .. Works but it’s a bit wonky. That’s the second bit of kit Ive bent on this bike in a week! Im going fast on it and that might be part of the problem, speed outrunning my skill?
Been washing out front end more than i ever have. Maybe some cockpit change will help. Im going to try changing the tires to Schwalbe MM front and rear and see if it’s better… But an Assegai should be pretty grippy in the front too. First time on one of those
 
Snoggin said:
How much for the Mavens? I bent the master cylinder body on mine today, the part thats curved to fit the bar. It doesn’t sit straight and im pretty sure its going to break if i bend it back any more than I have already .. Works but it’s a bit wonky. That’s the second bit of kit Ive bent on this bike in a week! Im going fast on it and that might be part of the problem, speed outrunning my skill?
Been washing out front end more than i ever have. Maybe some cockpit change will help. Im going to try changing the tires to Schwalbe MM front and rear and see if it’s better… But an Assegai should be pretty grippy in the front too. First time on one of those
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Aren't trails around Santa Cruz quite grippy right now?
 
zorglub said:
Aren't trails around Santa Cruz quite grippy right now?
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I’m not there. This was at China camp backside. Pretty dried out and loose a lot of places. Santa Cruz was great as it had rained a bit right before I got there
 
The suspension on this bike is superb. But, ive decided after taking it to some steep DH stuff that it’s just not quite long enough out the front and the stack height is too low for me in size XL. That’s after fitting 50mm one up and a 50mm stem to try to increase it out the front a bit (I’m 6’3” for reference).

I’d try the XXL but the seat tube height is ridiculously long at 500mm. The rest of the geo in XXL looks pretty decent and would probably be a better fit.
 
Snoggin said:
I’m not there. This was at China camp backside. Pretty dried out and loose a lot of places. Santa Cruz was great as it had rained a bit right before I got there
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How does the bike do there?I haven't been in over 10 years, but I remember it being really tight. Is the long wheel base ok in those tight switch backs?
 
zorglub said:
How does the bike do there?I haven't been in over 10 years, but I remember it being really tight. Is the long wheel base ok in those tight switch backs?
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It is fine back there. Tight as it is I find it the same as my Heckler SL and im making some I haven’t made before even. Im adjusting to the extra power and Im going faster although it doesn’t feel like it at the time. When I compare Im taking minutes off the heckler SL time. Part better riding , part more power.. I ride the Bullit in EMTB exclusively. I have a herniated disc so can’t strain too much.. Heckler SL I ride in trail exclusively. It’s a bit less power.. I think I’ll roll off the power in the app a bit while im getting used to it. Crashing more than usual too lol

Expensive hobby when you get it wrong. New bar and rear brake master and lever. Ive got $300 fixing this bike since i got it 10 days ago.. all my fault. But Im getting used to it. It has an Assegai up front. Im going to try Magic Mary radials front and rear like i have on my heckler SL. See if it works better for me
 
Still waiting for mine. Shop is waiting for coil shock mounting hardware and I will be good to go. Looking forward to feedback on radial tires.
 
Snoggin said:
How much for the Mavens? I bent the master cylinder body on mine today, the part thats curved to fit the bar. It doesn’t sit straight and im pretty sure its going to break if i bend it back any more than I have already .. Works but it’s a bit wonky. That’s the second bit of kit Ive bent on this bike in a week! Im going fast on it and that might be part of the problem, speed outrunning my skill?
Been washing out front end more than i ever have. Maybe some cockpit change will help. Im going to try changing the tires to Schwalbe MM front and rear and see if it’s better… But an Assegai should be pretty grippy in the front too. First time on one of those
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I am in the UK so shipping would be a pain.
 
Rob Rides EMTB said:
The suspension on this bike is superb. But, ive decided after taking it to some steep DH stuff that it’s just not quite long enough out the front and the stack height is too low for me in size XL. That’s after fitting 50mm one up and a 50mm stem to try to increase it out the front a bit (I’m 6’3” for reference).

I’d try the XXL but the seat tube height is ridiculously long at 500mm. The rest of the geo in XXL looks pretty decent and would probably be a better fit.
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I'm about the same height. Your comment had me worried - I'm tossing up between a Bullit and an E-Druid (currently on a Crestline and an Amflow).

Looking at a geo comparison, seems the stack is actually pretty high relative to recent peers. Are you saying *no* current bike meets your stack requirements?

geometrygeeks.bike

Geometry Geeks

The world's biggest open geometry database. Find bikes by name or numbers. Easily compare bike geometry side-by-side.
geometrygeeks.bike geometrygeeks.bike
 
Lightme said:
I'm about the same height. Your comment had me worried - I'm tossing up between a Bullit and an E-Druid (currently on a Crestline and an Amflow).

Looking at a geo comparison, seems the stack is actually pretty high relative to recent peers. Are you saying *no* current bike meets your stack requirements?

geometrygeeks.bike

Geometry Geeks

The world's biggest open geometry database. Find bikes by name or numbers. Easily compare bike geometry side-by-side.
geometrygeeks.bike geometrygeeks.bike
Click to expand...
For a slack long travel bike it feels quite low out the front. I find some other measurements also related to stack are CS length (longer CS I prefer higher stack) and the Bullit is longer than most of the others in your list. Others listed in the geometry geeks charts are more trail bikes in stock build (other than the Druid).

My Nicolai S16 has a 670mm stack (with 170mm fork) and the new Trek Rail I am riding has a 678mm stack (with 180mm fork) and these feel very good for my body shape on steeper tech.

Comparing to other (non ebikes) but something I consider a modern big travel enduro bike, the Frameworks Enduro bike, which has similar reach and front centre, has a much higher stack (but longer chainstay)

I noticed it on my first ride of steeper stuff, that the front felt low.

Although, its somewhat unique to me personally, I have regular sized legs, and a much longer torso / upper body than lots of other folks my size. So you may be OK.

If the seat tube was 460mm on the XXL, I'd definitely preferred have liked to try that one.

Screenshot 2025-05-04 at 10.30.02.png
 
Edit - I just measured stack and I got 636mm (980mm from floor to top centre of head tube, 344mm BB height)

980mm - 344 =636 mm

Anyone else got a stack measurement they can validate versus my XL?
 
Thanks for the explanation.
It is a bit dire if the stated stack is that far off reality.
 
Rob Rides EMTB said:
Edit - I just measured stack and I got 636mm (980mm from floor to top centre of head tube, 344mm BB height)

980mm - 344 =636 mm

Anyone else got a stack measurement they can validate versus my XL?
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@Lightme I made an error in my measurement - (I remeasured again today) - headtube is 1000mm and BB is 344, so real stack is bang on Santa Cruz' listed 656mm.
 
Geetsrevoel said:
Does anyone know the maximum seapost insert depth of a medium frame 2026 Bullit? Or do they know if a one up 210mm will fit and be slammed down to the collar?
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Can confirm a one-up 210 can slam on a medium. I am extremely happy with this as a short inseam person who felt compromised with the max 150 I could fit on the Lenovo sl.

1000021166.jpg
 
Think Im going to spring for one of the New REverb AXS posts. I have an extra pod so it’s not too bad price wise. 210 mm for the win!
 
At 5'7" on a medium, the 180 is plenty for me and a game changer. Really allows to move the bike around and comes in handy when jumping.

One thing I noticed is that the bike doesn't free wheel as well as my Rise. Seems like the rear brake is dragging a tiny bit. Will need to look at it and adjust.
 
@RSG Haha I was mid build. Did put some stick on bumpers that will hopefully do the job.

Only one ride so far but can already say the bike rips and I'm stoked on it. Can give some general observations compared to the Kenevo SL I'm coming off of.

Pros
- As a inseam challenged person, the fact that I can now run a 200mm dropper (150 max on KSL) is a game changer for my riding style. Had so much more fun, was able to pump more, and just move around on the bike which felt great. 27.5 on the rear helps with this too.
- Jumping felt better as well but not sure why. I'm on the shorter end (5 7") and am wondering if I just feel better on a 27.5 on the rear.
- I'm very particular with suspension and usually need to rip off stock setup but the rear of the bike overall felt pretty darn good. I'll probably still swap the shock out just because I have a preference for heavy damping but overall super impressed.

Meh
- Wish they went with longer chainstay or had the option (on a size medium for reference). More-so because it's something I've been wanting to try but still felt like I needed to consciously weight the front a little bit. Might partially be due to the Hillbilly not working great on the concrete like hardpack we have going on lately.

Cons
- Can't connect the bosch to garmin. It was so nice having a built in power meter sending data over so I'm bummed bosch hasn't opened this up yet.

@Snoggin the fork is sweet. Best chassis I've been on, crazy how frictionless it stays even under heavy load. I will say the stock damping was not to my liking at all. Compression was way light, and rebound too slow, even taking into account my preferences for the opposite. Thankfully it's pretty easy to open up and mess with the stacks and it's feeling pretty great now.

20250505_183200~2.jpg
 
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