Bike
Bike
Climb on board the Ratboy’s one-off Santa Cruz V10
Josh Bryceland’s Santa Cruz rig gets the World Championships treatment in time for Sunday’s finals.
Josh Bryceland's Santa Cruz V10 CC
© Bartek Woliński
With the rumour mill continuing to mutter and whisper in regards to Josh Bryceland’s future in downhill racing, the man himself has turned up at the final international race of the year with one of the flashiest bikes in the whole pits. And given the amount of time and effort that has been invested into some people’s Worlds bikes this year, that’s saying a lot!
Josh's race number for the weekend
© Bartek Woliński
Josh has some pedigree when it comes to the Worlds too. In 2008 he was crowned the Junior World Champ and in 2014, the year he won the UCI World Cup overall title, he narrowly missed out on winning the rainbow stripes when he refused to brake for a huge finish-line jump and instead broke his foot. We caught up with his mechanic, Doug ‘Hatrick’ Hatfield, to get all the details:
Frame
Josh's Santa Cruz is styled out in red and black
© Bartek Woliński
Complete carbon goodness
© Bartek Woliński
At 35lbs, Josh’s bike is super light but sturdy
© Bartek Woliński
Despite being tall, Josh likes a small bike feel
© Bartek Woliński
The V10 monicker is now in it’s fourteenth year of downhill racing so it’s no surprise that this is one of the most recognisable, tried and trusted designs in the paddock.
Resplendent in custom-painted red, white and blue it’s constructed using carbon fibre and rolls on 27.5in wheels. The Syndicate run the full bells and whistles ‘CC’ derivative which utilises advanced lay-up technology to shed a few hundred grams over the standard frame.
Unusually for a DH bike, the V10 is available in XL and even XXL sizes but Josh, despite being comfortably over six feet tall, runs a L. He prefers the ‘chuck it about’ feel of a smaller bike. “Basically, he likes it for the whips!”, Doug laughs.
Chris King’s Buzz Works prototype headset
© Bartek Woliński
To add a little more room up front he’s running a 60mm Burgtec stem and a special Chris King Buzz Works prototype headset for 8mm added reach. On top of this, the alloy-machined lower link is 10mm longer than stock which adds a bit more progression to how the suspension behaves at top-flight pro speeds. The bike weighs 35lbs (15.87kg).
The lower link is the only non-carbon part
© Bartek Woliński
Suspension
Rockshox DHX2 coil sprung rear shock
© Bartek Woliński
Josh runs Fox Racing Shox suspension which is dropped out in between sessions and taken care of by their on-site technicians. His V-10 has a 40 FLOAT air sprung fork and a DHX2 coil sprung rear shock producing 216mm of rear wheel travel. Interestingly, the shock featured a Fox RAD development sticker so he may have some internal trickery going on to help further finesse the super-steep slopes of Val di Sole.
Josh actually likes to run his suspension to feel pretty soft and active
Wheels
The Santa Cruz Syndicate roll on some of the most lusted after rolling stock in the pits in the shape of ENVE Composites M90-Ten rims laced to Chris King hubs. Maxxis are their choice for tyres and it’ll be interesting to see what they’ll be racing come finals. The mid-height Shorty tyre was their favoured option in the deep dust of Andorra last weekend and Josh has gone for it again, for the time being anyway, in Italy.
The Maxxis Shorty tyre is ideal for loose terrain
© Bartek Woliński
ENVE Composites M90-Ten rims are pure carbon gold
© [unknown]
Chris King wheel hubs
© Bartek Woliński
Doug has a special set of ‘race day’ wheels built up ready for Sunday’s finals. “I have a bunch of wheels on deck and then the race day wheels that he’ll race on separate,” he explains. “I’ve done some cleaning and taken some seals out to make them run a bit faster. I don’t want them to be run right now as it’s so dusty, defeats the purpose. They’re set aside and he’ll run them in qualifying but he has done a run on them just to get everything bedded in.”
Components
Resin pads on rear brakes to get maximum bite
© Bartek Woliński
Few bikes can match the Syndicate machinery for all-out carbon fibre beauty and ENVE are again responsible for the black stuff accounting for Josh’s bars (un-cut and 800mm wide) and seatpost. Shimano also sponsor the team so, naturally enough, they run the Saint groupset. Featuring four-piston, heat-shredding brakes and a clutch-equipped, short cage derailleur it’s been their choice for several seasons now.
Shimano Ultrega cassette on the rear
© Bartek Woliński
“He’s hardest on the chain guides,” Doug laughs. “On this track he’s actually pivoting over all the rocks and the boulders. He uses an MRP, it’s really robust and it works for him. He’s running the MRP Mini with a 36T Shimano Saint chainring which just gives that bit more clearance.”
Josh Bryceland’s knackered Lizard Skins grips
© Bartek Woliński
Josh has returned to flat pedals this season
© Bartek Woliński
WTB Hightail saddle
© Bartek Woliński
The #allthelads MarshGuard mud guard
© Bartek Woliński
A WTB Hightail saddle features a special rear cutaway to allow maximum tyre clearance on full compression too. Previously, Doug was having to remove a section from the rear of a stock saddle. The pedals are Burgtec’s Penthouse flat pedals.
