Most everything that is new and innovative and currently cool is on this bike. The list goes on with the mm dropper, low center of gravity and downhill brakes Code RSC on a trail bike.
For those of us who understand these are life changing developments, you can understand why I was truly down to test this bike. The previous generation Bronson was a full I never rode the previous generation and it seems to me the number of riders wanting a full It makes much more sense to be comparing this new mixed wheel bike against full 29ers. The new Bronson would be considered an aggressive trail bike in this part of the world.
It fits solidly and nicely in between a Santa Cruz Hightower-type trail bike and a full bore Enduro bike. MX wheels in carbon to go along with the carbon frame and all modern conveniences; this is not an inexpensive machine. The Reserve rims have been a big hit here at NSMB as they seemed to have found the right amount of stiffness.
The Bronson is designed around the mixed wheel size with mm travel rear and a mm travel fork. The head angle in the low position is The mm isn't particularly long for a large and we actually went with an XL for the test with a mm reach. The frame has a nice angular business-only look. The large diameter downtube strangely reminds me of an e-bike and I never quite got used to it.
As per usual with Santa Cruz, the frame oozed quality and just made you want to keep it clean and well-looked after. Somehow Santa Cruz always makes you feel like you spent your vast amount of money wisely. Looking at the chart below you can see a nice bump up in gnarlability compared to the super popular Hightower. I think and I have absolutely no insider info on this that a quick review of these numbers indicates that the current Megatower model is not long for this world.
