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Santa Cruz Butcher (frame only) – First ride review

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The Butcher loves to be hammered about and can handle the abuse admirably well

BikeRadar verdict

3 out of 5 stars

"The Butcher loves to be hammered about and can handle the abuse admirably well"

5 comments
Thu 9 Sep 2010, 9:00 am BSTBy

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Santa Cruz may be renowned for their virtual pivot bikes, but how about a more cost-effective version? Enter the Butcher and Nickel – two bikes built around a single pivot with a linkage activated shock. We took the Butcher for a spin.

Ride & handling: Tough, stable and ideal for aggressive riders

Rolling into the hills and winding on the power, it’s clear the Butcher is more than happy to be pedalled hard. Beneath your feet lies a firm platform to push against, and getting the power down was never a problem. Flick the ProPedal platform damping lever on the Fox Float R rear shock and things stabilise even more.  

Size-wise, our medium – with 70mm stem – was just about right for our 5ft 8in test pilot, but you may find it slightly on the short side if you prefer a more stretched-out climbing position. 

The APP suspension system (more on this below) produced a supple beginning stroke that traced the ground’s contours as the rear wheel took on smaller bumps and obstacles. As the hits get harder, you can feel the bike working beneath you and doing a good job of eating up the terrain – you can feel the full 150mm (5.9in) of  travel.

However, we did feel there could have been a little more support in the mid-stroke of the shock. We bottomed-out the bike on a few occasions, but there was no harsh clunk, thanks to the progressive ramp-up toward the end of the stroke. 

Aggressive riding is what the Butcher loves best, and the 66.4-degree head angle on our test rig made for a nicely stable ride and a bike that could really be pummelled hard.

The new app swing link produces a variable shock rate: the new app swing link produces a variable shock rate

Frame & equipment: Well matched suspension, plus your pick of kit

Santa Cruz’s APP (Actual Pivot Point) is designed to produce a variable shock rate similar to that of their more expensive virtual pivot designs. This means that at the beginning of the stroke the shock rate falls slightly, making it supple and sensitive, in the middle it flattens out, and towards the end it rises to produce a more progressive, big-hit eater.

The hydroformed top and down tube meet with one solid weld before plugging into the tapered head tube, ensuring the steering department remains flex-free and looking good to boot. The main pivot and APP swing link pivots rotate on 15mm aluminium axles with angular contact bearings. Santa Cruz claim that their bearing and axle design is not only super-stiff but also easily maintainable.

The Butcher frame costs £1,299 with a Fox Float R shock or £1,409 with an RP23. Our total build, including pedals, weighed in at 13.7kg (30.1lb), which is pretty impressive considering how much travel this rig has.

Easton’s carbon MonkeyLite bar and Truvativ’s Noir cranks no doubt played their part in keeping the scales happy. The RockShox Lyrik Solo Air fork offers 160mm (6.3in) of travel and complements the rear end well. The Avid Elixir CR brakes were dependable and Panaracer’s CG 4X/AM 2.35in tyres rolled surprisingly fast.

The panaracer cg tyres are speedy rollers considering their width: the panaracer cg tyres are speedy rollers considering their width

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User Reviews

There are 5 reviews on this post

Showing 1 - 5 of 5 comments

  • I,ve had a butcher for about a Month now and can honestly say that its a very stable ride, tight and very plush.

    it eats up drops and flattens out corugations faultlessly !

    i love it !

  • I fail to see how a bike that actually has MORE bearings than the VPP bikes can be cheaper and simpler to produce.... or are the VPP bikes overhyped and over priced? you decide.

  • I have to agree with Daver 27. Why does VPP cost more to produce Santa Cruz say "it is because of the tighter tolerances of VPP". But tolerances of what? How does that feed into a more difficult manufacturing process? Surely they have recouped the majority of their R&D costs and purchase of the license after 9 years of VPP production too.

  • Right guys, in regards to the price difference of the VPP and APP bikes:

    -APP bikes use more basic, less manipulated tubing compared to that used on the VPP bikes which makes for a significant cost reduction.

    - VPP bikes use double sealed lower linkage bearings with grease ports.

    -APP bikes use steel hardware, VPP bikes use ti.

    -VPP bikes use full carbon upper linkages.

    Hope that helps.

    Cheers.

  • On top of what Weavs said you have to consider the complexity of the design and its sensitivity to variations in dimensions of different components. Basically manufacturing processes, tolerances and the VPP design all contribute to a more expensive (for Santa Cruz even) build. The sensitivity of the VPP design to slight changes in dimensions requires tighter tolerances and closer scrutiny during manufacturing pushing up the price to produce the frame, where the APP design is inherently less sensitive to the same level of variation in dimensions, so it can be built for less money. It turns out that similar easier to build stuff will always be cheaper than more complex counter parts, regardless of R&D costs and licensing…

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Specification

Name:
Butcher frame (Fox Float R shock) (10)
Built by:
Santa Cruz
Price:
n/a

Available Sizes:
L, L, L, L, L, L, L, L, L, L, L, L, M, M, M, M, M, M, M, M, M, M, M, M, M, M, L, M, L, XL, S, S, S, S, S, S, S, S, S, S, S, S, M, S, M, L, S, M, L, XL, S, M, L, XL, S, M, L, S, M, L, XL, S, L, M, L, L, XL, XL, XL, XL, XL, XL, XL, S, S, M, S, M, L, S, M, L, XL, S, M, L, XL, S, M, L, XL, S, M, L, XL, M, L, M, L, XL, M, L, XL, S, M, L, S, M, L, XL, S, M, L, XL, S, M, L, XL
Weight (kg):
13.7
Weight (lb):
30.1

Frame & Fork:

 
Frame Material:
Santa Cruz Actual Pivot Point platform with 150mm (5.9in) of travel
Fork Model:
RockShox Lyrik Solo Air 160mm (6.3in) travel
Rear Shock Model:
Fox Float RP23

Geometry:

 
Head Angle:
66.4 Degrees

Brakes:

 
Brakes Model:
Avid Elixir CR, 185mm front rotor and 160mm rear rotor

Transmission:

 
Rear Derailleur Model:
SRAM X.0
Front Derailleur Model:
Shimano XTR
Shifters Model:
SRAM X.0

Contact Points:

 
Saddle Model:
WTB Devo
Seatpost Model:
Thomson
Stem Model:
Thomson 70mm
Handlebar Model:
Easton Monkey Lite XC

:

 
Front Wheel:
DT Swiss EX500 rims, 240s hubs
Rear Wheel:
DT Swiss EX500 rims, 240s hubs

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