Santa Cruz Vala

[kneesliding]

 

[russ_e]

That just looks like a poor finish rather than anything to do with the replacement screen.

Fingers crossed they sort it out for you.

 

[kneesliding]

Was under the original controller. The one with the just the LEDs and the frame.

 

[Jambo 777]

Joined the club Friday....
Changed a couple things already.

Only down side, dealer fitted the kiox 400c and the grey paint stripe under the old cover has damaged the paint, looks like it was fitted when the paint was wet...
New Bike, dealer has contacted SC, seenwhat they say, but seems to be widespread.

View attachment 171152

I’ve got 400c and mine is the same

 

[Andeh]

Ditto. Got a little bit of scuffing from the old LED display. Doesn't bother me though since a) the green CC has a black stripe there so it doesn't show up much and b) I scratch up my frames regardless.

 

[TheBob]

Can someone share their Vala shock ID? I'd like to have a look at the tune specifications for a stock shock.

 

[Shark58]

Can someone share their Vala shock ID? I'd like to have a look at the tune specifications for a stock shock.

This is the tune for my Vala MY26 shock:
2026_25, FLOAT X, F-S, K, 2pos-Adj, Trunnion, Evol LV, Santa Cruz, Vala, 205, 60, 0.4 Spacer, CL53, RL60, LMM, Rezi B53, Neutral, Neutral Logo, OE
Part number is 979-72-038

I would be interested to know what exactly the CL, RL, LMM and Rezi values mean.

 

[kneesliding]

For anyone wondering what the long string of codes on your rear shock actually means—especially if you're looking at a Factory Series FLOAT X—here is the breakdown of that tune code:
* 2026_25: Model Year or Revision ID.
* FLOAT X: The specific shock model (High-Performance Trail/All-Mountain Air Shock).
* F-S (Factory Series): Denotes the highest-end product line from Fox.
* K (Kashima Coat): The distinctive gold/bronze coating on the stanchion.
* 2pos-Adj: Primary lever features Two Positions of adjustment (Open/Firm or Open/Climb).
* Trunnion: Trunnion Mount standard (The shock body mounts directly to the frame).
* Evol LV: Extra Volume, Large Volume Air Spring (Larger negative air chamber for improved small-bump sensitivity).
* Santa Cruz / Vala: Bike Manufacturer and the Specific Tune ID (i.e., the internal settings were optimized for this bike model).
* 205 (mm): Eye-to-Eye Mounting Length.
* 60 (mm): Stroke Length (Travel).
* 0.4 Spacer: Size of the installed Volume Spacer (affects the end-stroke progression).
* CL53: Compression Low Speed Tune (Specific shim stack code for the compression circuit).
* RL60: Rebound Low Speed Tune (Specific shim stack code for the rebound circuit).
* LMM: Specific code referring to the tuning of the pedal platform/climb mode.
* Rezi B53: Code for the tuning of the Reservoir/Bladder assembly (Rezi = Reservoir).
* Neutral / Neutral Logo: Refers to the color and style of the decals (often muted grey/black for OE).
* OE (Original Equipment): Means the shock was supplied directly to the bike manufacturer (Santa Cruz) for factory installation.

 

[Shark58]

To make the above complete, this is the tune for the fork in my Vala:
2026_25, 38, K, FLOAT, 29in, F-S, 160, Grip X2, HSC, LSC, HSR, LSR, Med Plus Reb, Shiny Blk, Neutral/Gloss Blk Logo, Kabolt X 110, BLK, 1.5 T, 58HT, 44mm Rake, N/M OE, +1VS

Part number is 910-36-523

 

[TheBob]

Thanks for the replies! I checked the Fox part information for the codes. Not all are listed, but it seems like the Float X are tuned to mid compression and pedal lock with a fairly light rebound tune from what I can interpret.

 

[Tubby G]

Hi Vala thread. I'm being lazy here as I don't want to scroll through 25 pages, but can someone let me know if the RRP Proguards fit OK on the Vala and if you have a photo showing how they look that would be perfect thanks.

 

[pursuitofnow]

Hi Vala thread. I'm being lazy here as I don't want to scroll through 25 pages, but can someone let me know if the RRP Proguards fit OK on the Vala and if you have a photo showing how they look that would be perfect thanks.

One page back, 24.

 

[Tubby G]

One page back, 24.

Thanks, that was easy

 

[russ_e]

Thanks, that was easy

I bought the exact ones posted and they fit perfectly. I also ordered a small frame protection kit to protect where the zip-ties go on the back as I didn't get my Vala Invisiframed.

 

[Shark58]

I bought the exact ones posted and they fit perfectly. I also ordered a small frame protection kit to protect where the zip-ties go on the back as I didn't get my Vala Invisiframed.

I had two spare sheets of helitape from my Mudhugger rear fenders. They are clear, quite thick and very sturdy. I wrap one each around the seat stay. Nearly invisible and very good protection.

You can get them directly from Mudhugger: Mudhugger Helitape

 

[Tubby G]

I bought the exact ones posted and they fit perfectly. I also ordered a small frame protection kit to protect where the zip-ties go on the back as I didn't get my Vala Invisiframed.

Cool, good to know cheers. I have RRP’s on my other bikes and have no complaints so will do the same for the shiny new Vala when it arrives

 

[TheBob]

Finally arrived! Waiting for the frame wrap before I take off the green protective film

 

[Shark58]

Today I mounted the new Fidlock bottle/cage and the new Lupine front light SL Mono. Both came yesterday.

The 750 ml Fidlock fits perfect on my M size frame and the black color looks great with the midnight green. My regular 750 ml bottle didn't fit at all and the 550 ml bottle I borrowed from my wife scraped along the frame when putting it into the side loader cage.



For the front light I needed something new, as my original plan to simply mount the existing motor powered Busch & Mueller didn't work. On the Vala X0 kit there are two fully laminated cable channels along the inside of the down tube. These channels and their openings are a great and clean idea, but fit only exactly one cable. No way to get an additional light cable routed from the motor to the front. Both channels are taken by the rear brake hose (left) and the dropper post cable (right). So I bought a battery powered front light.







I also ordered the optional 40 cm long "long-life" USB-C cable that can be used to power the lamp while in use. The cable has a special watertight connector that goes into the lamp and a regular USB-C connector on the other end. This plugs into the Kiox 400C controller in the top tube. So when I need a front light for longer than the built-in battery lasts, I can use the cable to power the lamp during the ride. Anyhow, this is how it looks with the cable attached.

 

[TheBob]

Just done a short up and down the road on the bike. Holy smokes! The Bosch motor has some mojo. Coming off a Gen 3 Levo the difference is huge

 

[TheBob]

Ready to for the weekend. So stoked on how this bike has come together

 

[eaxford]

Joined the club Friday....
Changed a couple things already.

Only down side, dealer fitted the kiox 400c and the grey paint stripe under the old cover has damaged the paint, looks like it was fitted when the paint was wet...
New Bike, dealer has contacted SC, seenwhat they say, but seems to be widespread.

View attachment 171152

Nice Red touches!

 

[eaxford]

Today I mounted the new Fidlock bottle/cage and the new Lupine front light SL Mono. Both came yesterday.

The 750 ml Fidlock fits perfect on my M size frame and the black color looks great with the midnight green. My regular 750 ml bottle didn't fit at all and the 550 ml bottle I borrowed from my wife scraped along the frame when putting it into the side loader cage.

View attachment 171496

For the front light I needed something new, as my original plan to simply mount the existing motor powered Busch & Mueller didn't work. On the Vala X0 kit there are two fully laminated cable channels along the inside of the down tube. These channels and their openings are a great and clean idea, but fit only exactly one cable. No way to get an additional light cable routed from the motor to the front. Both channels are taken by the rear brake hose (left) and the dropper post cable (right). So I bought a battery powered front light.

View attachment 171498

View attachment 171499

View attachment 171500

I also ordered the optional 40 cm long "long-life" USB-C cable that can be used to power the lamp while in use. The cable has a special watertight connector that goes into the lamp and a regular USB-C connector on the other end. This plugs into the Kiox 400C controller in the top tube. So when I need a front light for longer than the built-in battery lasts, I can use the cable to power the lamp during the ride. Anyhow, this is how it looks with the cable attached.

View attachment 171501

Thanks for sharing. I had thought about changing to a wireless dropper and using that cable port to get the wire to the motor to use a SL AX Lupine light. Since I already have a Piko, I mounted the battery on the left side of the bars and the lamp on the right side. In the end the 2100 lumens of the Piko are adequate and ride time for me is long enough @ 2.5 hours. I do like the way you can charge your light. Ride as long as you want.

 

[Shark58]

I had thought about changing to a wireless dropper and using that cable port to get the wire to the motor

Since I own a Reverb AXS first generation on my older bike, I initially had the same idea. But that would have added another 550 Euros (and 200 grams) to the cost, so I wanted to give the factory OneUp Components V3 a chance. As it turns out the V3 is a great dropper post, gives me 180 mm moving space (my AXS is a 150 mm), operates very smooth and needs comparable low force on the remote. I'm keeping it and I am happy with the Lupine SL Mono.

 

[mojojo24]

To the ones that have "Over-Stroked" Valas to 170mm Forks & 205x65 shocks...

Bike is so good as is but am very tempted to squeeze more travel. I've watched Brian Cahal Vala review multiple times but he doesn't compare it to "stock" form as he is not the owner.

Does the bike still maintain its current playful/lively/poppy characteristic?

Thanks!!

 

[Andeh]

To the ones that have "Over-Stroked" Valas to 170mm Forks & 205x65 shocks...

Bike is so good as is but am very tempted to squeeze more travel. I've watched Brian Cahal Vala review multiple times but he doesn't compare it to "stock" form as he is not the owner.

Does the bike still maintain its current playful/lively/poppy characteristic?

Thanks!!

The short answer is it depends on how you set up your suspension. I set my 65mm shock up with less sag, equivalent to the same amount (in mm) as if I was running 30% on 60mm. That gives it a very similar feel pedaling and pumping, but a little more depth landing jumps. Fork is a bit more subjective - but I found running it at 170 lets me run more HSC for stability at speed without adding too much feedback at my hands. So yeah, you could end up making it really squishy and muted, but if you've already got a setup in 160/150 you can tune it to feel similar to that, just a bit deeper, by running a bit less sag and more compression damping/fast rebound.

 

[mojojo24]

To the ones that have "Over-Stroked" Valas to 170mm Forks & 205x65 shocks...

Bike is so good as is but am very tempted to squeeze more travel. I've watched Brian Cahal Vala review multiple times but he doesn't compare it to "stock" form as he is not the owner.

Does the bike still maintain its current playful/lively/poppy characteristic?

Thanks!!

The short answer is it depends on how you set up your suspension. I set my 65mm shock up with less sag, equivalent to the same amount (in mm) as if I was running 30% on 60mm. That gives it a very similar feel pedaling and pumping, but a little more depth landing jumps. Fork is a bit more subjective - but I found running it at 170 lets me run more HSC for stability at speed without adding too much feedback at my hands. So yeah, you could end up making it really squishy and muted, but if you've already got a setup in 160/150 you can tune it to feel similar to that, just a bit deeper, by running a bit less sag and more compression damping/fast rebound.

Thanks for the feedback.

 

[royboy]

Vala owners with the e13 hubs... how are the bearings lasting? Im 310km into ownership and have had to replace the fronts already and they are already rough again after only a few more rides. The rear is also starting to rumble and grumble. Im riding uk winter and do understand that bearings can only hold up so long in wet conditions but this amount of time seems very unreasonable. The endcaps on the hubs seem to have very limited sealing properties. I have never had bearings fail so soon even with super cheap and basic entry level hubs that I have run on my winter hardtail hack

 

[leroy]

Vala owners with the e13 hubs... how are the bearings lasting? Im 310km into ownership and have had to replace the fronts already and they are already rough again after only a few more rides. The rear is also starting to rumble and grumble. Im riding uk winter and do understand that bearings can only hold up so long in wet conditions but this amount of time seems very unreasonable. The endcaps on the hubs seem to have very limited sealing properties. I have never had bearings fail so soon even with super cheap and basic entry level hubs that I have run on my winter hardtail hack

mine are fine but i had the same problem with the i9 hubs on my heckler.

turns out that the bearing spacer was 0.5 mm short so it wasnt doing it's job.

if you have a vernier caliper then check the length vs the gap between the two bearing surfaces on the hub, you could also email e13 and ask what the dimension should be.

 

[steve_sordy]

@royboy I had a very unhappy experience with e13 hubs.

In my mtb days, I bought an e13 wheelset. It came with a five-year parts and labour warranty. Five years! My view was that they must have a lot of confidence in their product, so I bought the wheelset. After 128 miles the rear hub failed, leaving me a with a walk home. The seals had failed and the pawl springs had rusted through. No quibble warranty claim, all new seals, pawls etc. After a further 711 miles, the hub failed again. Another walk home. No quibble, even more patrts replaced. A while later, I decided to sell the bike to a friend of mine and the hub failed again when on the test ride!!! This time it was after 786 miles Another walk home, plus the looming prospect of a missed sale. Back it went and this time the service guy rang me to ask me what was going on. I never use a hospepipe, don't submerge the hubs etc. He told me that he had never had one e13 hub back before and now he'd had one that failed three times. The whole hub was replaced this time, along with the latest design seals.

My friend still bought the bike (despite me telling him the hub history). Under new ownership, and after the usual distance (a bit further this time because it was now Summer and drier) the hub failed for the fourth time! Because my friend was aware of the history, this time he had the wheel rebuilt with a different hub and spokes. He had no further trouble.

Because I had bought the wheelset from CRC, it had to go back to their depot in Northern Ireland for inspection each time before being forwarded to the e13 service point back on the mainland, who did the job before returning it to CRC in NI. They then sent it back to me. This process took at least two weeks and once three weeks!! I will never buy a bike with e13 anything on it (it's not just hubs they have had problems with). Their "five-year" warranty is spoof. A bit like Specialized's much applauded warranty for their Brose motors, I don't want a fantastic warranty and service if I'm having to use it constantly because the product is not fit for purpose.

PS: No problem with the front hub.

 

[royboy]

mine are fine but i had the same problem with the i9 hubs on my heckler.

turns out that the bearing spacer was 0.5 mm short so it wasnt doing it's job.

if you have a vernier caliper then check the length vs the gap between the two bearing surfaces on the hub, you could also email e13 and ask what the dimension should be.

After a strip down of the rear hub its clear that the end caps and associated seals are the main issue. Having fully stripped the rear its clear from the assembly and components that it is nothing more than a very basic novatec hub as the process and parts are the same