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Tylers V10 Review
January 29, 2007Published by bruleWhat began as a want and then turned into a need, was me needing to build up a new bike. There is never anything wrong with my previous bikes, I am just a person that requires changes when it comes to my bikes. Simple really, well for me that is-try explaining it to a friend or better yet, a significant other that may not share all your views.
So last fall I began my quest to find a worthy frame and the proper parts to hang off it-this is the tale of how it unfolded and the end results. After returning from Interbike last fall I had a short list of bikes that I wanted to buy ASAP. My list was simple I wanted to build up either a Santa Cruz V-10 or a Cove Shocker. I contacted both companies in regards to availabilty and pricing from shops. Once I had that bit of knowledge in my hands my decision was made for me, I would be buying a shiny new Santa Cruz V-10-Poor me! Ha ha ha! Ok everyone that knows me, knows that I have the ability to really take my sweet ass time to get things done-including my bike build. This doesn't mean I'm lazy, it means things get done right. That and since I was spending my own money (like the rest of you out there have too) it was gonna take time to build up a whole bike, one part at a time. So the initial stages to any build is to get your key items in hand and think out the whole build as to what you want on your bike. From there it's time to start gathering those parts and building up your newest dream bike. I say newest cause a lot of us have a few dream bikes a week. I had my frame on order and began to pick the parts that I'd be strapping on it and the orders began to show up one by one. Let me remind you that the time line for this build was about 5 months long from frame arriving to me out on the trails with it-yes that is forever, but I'm from Alberta and you get used to no bikes in the winter time. The first piece to arrive was my FSA Orbit Xtreme Pro Headset. The bearings are top shelf and the construction is high quality through out. I chose this headset because it's light and hella strong.  FSA Orbit Xtreme Pro Headset Since a fork is the next huge investment next to a frame in a build up, I decided to go another route (by not buying a stock/off the shelf unit) and building a sort of Frankin Fork out of the parts I wanted in a fork. This is where I was able to do some bartering in order to get the parts needed to build up a great fork at the least expense. I traded my old fork to a local shop rat in exchange for his Boxxer Race equipped with a Mojo Cartridge. Since the fork still looked like a Boxxer Race, I couldn't have that and went in search of a set of World Cup Lowers with the new Maxle clamping system. Now I had the fork that I wanted to run. My bar and stem of choice were coming from Chromag and I was going with the direct mount Box stem and the Fubar OS Flat bar. Now of all the parts I put on this bike, the bar has gathered the most attention. Go back 15 years and we all had flat bars and you saw that one guy with a riser bar-your thoughts were WTF is that? Well the responses were very much the same to seeing a Flat Bar on a DH rig today. Well with all the drop crowns and rise bars out there to "fix" height issues, companies were introducing flat crown to further "rectify" the troubles faced by riders wanting a lower front end. Well crowns are a lot more expensive then bars and honestly if you are not looking directly at it, you'd never know that the Fubar OS wasn't a riser. Chromag is all about making products that fit a "need" in the market place and doing it right.  Early build pic Next to show up was the SDG Bel Air I-beam seat and post. This little company has brought us a new option to the standard post and rail clamping system with the advent of their I-beam technology. Simple, strong and light defies the SDG set ups.  SDG Seat and post Now it was time to throw a sick wheel set on this rig. Since the big color seemed to be white wheels, I too began looking for a set of white hoops. In my search I came across the Sun Wheels Eight Tracks in POLISHED SILVER=SICK! So they were now on their way. I decided that as far a rubber was concerned I should stick with what I knew and really liked running. Maxxis Minion front and rear tires in a nice soft compound would be what keeps me in touch with terra firma. I chose to run a SRAM 990 cassette (11-34T) cause well its red! SRAM X.0 rear derailleur (so silent) and X.0 shifter pod would be in charge of the gear changes. I ran a Shimano Saint set up in the past and was very happy with it, the move to SRAM was to see what it had to offer. And the offerings are great too-so happy with the performance in the shifting duties. In order to make the shifting happen I needed a set of cranks that I could rely on and a guide to keep the chain in place in the rough stuff. Eric and Sadie at Deity components are one of the coolest couples in the bike industry and running thier crankset and 36T sprocket was a choice I made based on supporting your friends and knowing that you'd be running parts that are gonna last.
Now that the bike was capable of going forward, changing gears and running things over, it was time to put some stoppers on it to finish the build off. The brakes were the one item that I never sourced out as I had kept my brakes from my last bike. I am a huge fan of my Magura Louise FR brakes and their stopping power. There are lots of great hydraulic systems out there, but I have been running the same brakes for a few seasons on my own bikes and I love the lever feel, the modulation and the power they have to stop my carcass in those "Oh Sh*t!" moments. So on they went with the help of a Boxxer specific brake adaptor and a new set of grips to clean up the cockpit of the V-10.  Magura Louise FR brakes mounted up to the Chromag Fubar OS Flat bar. So as you've already seen in the pictures, this V-10 got a crazy sticker job applied to it. And yes it's only on one side for a reason, to give it a truely unique look that is inspired from liking stickers too much, liking clean looking bikes and wishing that you could get sick decal kits for popular frames. In motorcross you can get crazy sick sticker kits for almost any bike, but in our industry, the demand just isn't there. So you need to create your own unique look or leave it stock. On the first weekend up at Silver Star I was told by another rider that "that's the nicest, ugly bike I've ever seen!" I take that as a compliment.  Subtle Non-Drive Side  Sickest sticker job in ages Here's a look at the final built up of the V-10 and all the parts that over the course of about 5 months found their way into the build up. It was a slow project but so fun to do. "that's the nicest, ugly bike I've ever seen!" 
 Happy Owner of one trick Santa Cruz V-10 Thanks to SDG, Santa Cruz, Deity, Sun/Ringle, Magura, Chromag, FSA, SRAM and Maxxis for all the help in getting the parts I wanted for my build up. Happy Trails and good luck to everyone doing up their own builds this winter! |
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acctually i think that flat bar is sick man! front end is super low, i bet you can really put some power down with that thing on the course. if you were taking it on the local trails i personally would have a switch up for it with a riser, but for a race bar i had never though of it before, let us know how it works!
That bar was sick in all conditions that I rode in. Really its a sick bar and it was a cost effective option to buying flat crowns that wouldn't have cleared the top tube. This way I was avoiding denting the frame and keeping my ride height where I wanted it.
if you wanted a low front end why not remove all of those spacers from under the top crown?! then a riser bar would be fine and the bike would look 'normal'
Ok, for starters-what is normal? But another reason was that if you lower the crown (taking out spacers), it'll will actually hit the frame on a V-10 before the bump stops. Now I'd rather not risk denting a frame to as you put it "look normal", but rather I found a more cost effective solution and it works great.
ya ya ya sticker boy why did you stop with only one side done I would have keep going as for the weight of that rig my guess is 400 pounds thanks to all those dam stickers eh? but seriously Tyler I've never seen you tear the trails like you did on that rig!!!! ok well once when you were wearing that black leather trenchcoat riding the unicycle sweet ride brother happy trails
oh for f*cks sake, dya want a f*ckin medal or something?
yes its a nice bike, but for f*cks sake its not news is it.
yes its a nice bike, but for f*cks sake its not news is it.
Wow you got up on the wrong side of the bed-tisk tisk! Its a simple story about building a bike that you want to ride when you're done. Incase you love bikes, you may understand, but sorry if you didn't get the point of the story. It's about doing what you love and not rushing it or cutting corners. Well and it is a sick bike.
If you build a bike thats this nice and write a story about it, then I would be glad to read it. Also, why are people getting mad if somebody puts a part on THEIR OWN bike, that others don't agree with. If you don't like the part then don't buy it.
why are the bars flat? because they don't need to rise anymore. simple. riser bars came out in the days of 2 inch suspension forks and 100mm stems when getting your weight a little higher and further back made a huge difference. nowadays with 8 inch forks and short stems there really is no need for bars with a rise anymore. if you'd been riding long enough to remember flat bars and why we started using risers in the first place you wouldn't be so bothered about it.
hey brule,
i understand why you put the flat bars on here although would you please explain why you didn't just save money by keeping your old boxxer lowers and buying riser bars instead of unnecessary new lowers? please respond
i understand why you put the flat bars on here although would you please explain why you didn't just save money by keeping your old boxxer lowers and buying riser bars instead of unnecessary new lowers? please respond
cuz now he can take his flat bars off and hit you in the nutz, haha, im going to get them just to piss you and ellis off
What are you riding at the moment now that Simon's got this beast? Sick colour, Photographs really well, It's like someone's shining a spotlight on it all the time.
Johno, man am i looking forward to your pics this season buddy! I'll have to drag my ass to the island and take in one of those races in the spring time. Ya Simon is lovin that machine now and I am waiting on a Commencal Supreme DH VIP frame set to do up this season-I'll keep you all posted on that build up too.
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