Even the derailleur housing and brake hoses are color co-ordinated on Cedric Gracia’s (CG Racing Brigade) Santa Cruz V-10 Carbon
The drilled-out blades provide just a hint of extra traction on Cedric Gracia’s (CG Racing Brigade) Hope brake levers
A small plastic fender guards the rear shock
The Fox Racing Shox DHX RC4 rear shock is neatly tucked away low on the chassis
Two counter-rotating links and specific geometry form the basis of Santa Cruz‘s VPP suspension design
Four-piston Hope calipers with titanium hardware on Cedric Gracia’s (CG Racing Brigade) Santa Cruz V-10 Carbon
Cedric Gracia’s (CG Racing Brigade) Santa Cruz V-10 Carbon runs with Shimano’s current nine-speed Saint group
Cedric Gracia (CG Racing Brigade) was among many downhill racers in Pietermaritzburg running a dropper seatpost on the pedaling-intensive track
Downhill bikes aren’t typically set up for use with dropper seatposts so mechanic Kevin Joly had to get creative on Cedric Gracia’s (CG Racing Brigade) Santa Cruz V-10 Carbon
Whereas the rear brake caliper is fitted with titanium bolts exclusively, a mix of titanium and steel is wisely used on the front caliper
Alloy spiders on the Hope rotors save weight but also add some color on Cedric Gracia’s (CG Racing Brigade) Santa Cruz V-10 Carbon
Cedric Gracia (CG Racing Brigade) ran his Santa Cruz V-10 Carbon in the shorter travel position on Sunday
Shimano are soon to update their long-running Saint group, but unlike reigning World Cup champion Aaron Gwin (Trek World Racing), Gracia was running the current version at Pietermaritzburg
Most downhillers we saw in Pietermaritzburg used four bolts to attach the rotors
A Fox DOSS dropper seatpost and a custom finished saddle atop Cedric Gracia’s (CG Racing Brigade) Santa Cruz V-10 Carbon
Mechanic Kevin Joly trims away the flange on Gracia’s Lizard Skins grips to free up access to his Shimano Saint shifter
The clipped rear tire yields greater rolling speed without overly sacrificing cornering traction
The front tire is left unclipped, though, so as retain braking performance
Cedric Gracia’s (CG Racing Brigade) mechanic, Kevin Joly, clips tire knobs in anticipation of fast conditions
170mm-long cranks and a 38-tooth chainring for Cedric Gracia (CG Racing Brigade)
Cedric Gracia (CG Racing Bridage) pairs his Shimano Saint crank with an MRP G2 guide and Time pedals
Cedric Gracia (CG Racing Brigade) is one of the most colorful characters on the downhill circuit so it’s no surprise that the aesthetics of his Santa Cruz V-10 Carbon match his personality. What started life as a basic matte black carbon frame is now a flying rainbow of black, red and yellow – all perfectly co-ordinated, of course.
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Gracia’s machine isn’t all flash, however, as there’s plenty of performance tucked away beneath the bright livery, courtesy of Santa Cruz’s well-proven VPP suspension design and light but stiff carbon fiber front triangle (Cedric’s bike doesn’t sport the new carbon rear end developed last year for the Santa Cruz Syndicate).
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Equipment includes Mavic DeeMax wheels, custom etched Hope Tech Evo M4 four-piston disc brakes, a Shimano Saint transmission, a Fox DHX RC4 rear shock and new air-sprung 40 fork, hand-clipped Panaracer tires, and even Fox’s upcoming DOSS dropper seatpost. Total weight as pictured was just over 16kg (35lb). Check out our image gallery for lots more pictures.
Four-piston hope calipers with titanium hardware on cedric gracia’s (cg racing brigade) santa cruz v-10 carbon: four-piston hope calipers with titanium hardware on cedric gracia’s (cg racing brigade) santa cruz v-10 carbonJames Huang/BikeRadar
