Deep Loam #5 - The 5010 v4

Welcome to catching your greatest ever dirt wave all over again. The berm shralping, turn melting, lip popping, endorphin releasing dawn-to-dusk thrashing pocket rocket has been updated, so join us as we take a tour through the latest version of the bike that has always grasped onto our heart strings the hardest, now on version 4, this is the new Santa Cruz 5010!

Ever since its release in 2013 there has always been something about the 5010 that winched us in, it is the bike for the rider. It has bred a new form of creativity which has been showcased by the 50/01 crew and taken a host of riders from all backgrounds and riding styles to all corners of the globe. The changes to Version 4 not only expand the canvas of creativity further but also enhance the bikes ability to tackle any form of grin igniting technical trail riding.

So, what’s new?

Most obviously for version 4, the 5010 has followed suit with the rest of the Santa Cruz range (bar the Blur) and embraced the lower link driven suspension platform originally derived from the world cup winning V10 downhill bike. Over the last few years, beginning with the Nomad, the entire range has made the switch. Driving the shock from the lower link allows for the suspension to be tuned easier. This allows the bike to follow a true progressive curve, whilst also keeping the weight low and centered to further increase stability and overall performance.

Retaining its signature 130mm travel the 5010 is wearing this new guise well too! The progression rate has been increased – on the trail this makes for more ramp up, allowing for harder charging, longer pops and bigger drops, the extra progression adds support amplifying the corner exploding attitude – everything you put into the 5010 is translated into a new level of trail charging speed generation.

To simplify, this new suspension platform is an efficient fun-time creator and energetic day-long mile muncher!

All 5010s are now shipped with 140mm travel forks too. This provides just enough ‘get me out of the sh*t’ reassurance without losing the fun promoting ride a hardcore short travel bike provides.

With a dose of the longer, lower, and slacker treatment the overall confidence levels have been boosted. The 5010 now feels more stable at all speeds and fully cemented in the corners, regardless of the gradient.

Another big and exciting change for this new generation is the switch to frame-size specific chainstay lengths. As the reach grows so does the rear centre. This means regardless of the frame size, every rider is getting the same handling experience, the bike retains consistent balance as it grows and results in higher confidence levels. This varying in lengths is not done by a different swing arm either, as a matter of fact all rear ends are the same. The chainstay length is changed by moving the pivot points and shock mounts in the front triangle, to tailor a different rear centre size for each bike. The chainstay lengths are still short across the board though, and this means the trademark snappy and flicky traits are still calling as loud as ever.

Jim’s ride thoughts

Coming into this I was a little nervous. It’s always the way when a new version of a bike that you have such strong feelings for is released. It makes you think, can it get any better? Can it make you smile as much or fuel the big ol’ fire that makes you want to throw your kit on and go riding at every opportunity? But every single time, somehow, the latest version always blows your expectations out of the water and the newest 5010 does this to the extreme!

My first ride on the 5010 was a local ride from my door, it features a section of road riding before heading into some woods with tons of features to session, perfect for a post work evening rip. It was immediately apparent that the V4 5010 has a firm grip on its ancestor’s legendary ethos – right from the off the bike encouraged me to manual between bumps in the tarmac road and hit every side hit optional extra going, literally laughing to myself as I rode to the trails – It’s Straight up fun, 100% of the time!

Arriving at the trail head the bike naturally made me want to front wheel pivot 180 degrees ready to drop in for the run (it is the little things!). Due to the new shorter seat tube length the saddle is now properly out of the way when dropped only adding to the playful feel whilst reminding you of your distant BMX background. The latest modernised geometry situates you in a position that instils the credence to turn the dial past 11!

Hit the first turn, push your feet into the corners hotspot and eject out of the other side with more speed and a bigger smile – this feeling is addictive! Linking turns becomes one smooth movement and the bikes contagious playful feel allows for you to spot trail lumps, bumps and pops you have never noticed before - It’s BMX like flick ability and powder skiing fluidity with bucket loads of modern trail bike confidence.

From the first ride its apparent that the 5010’s capabilities and terrain attack ability has grown but the fun smile-forming traits are still firmly welded into this little bikes mentality.

Back up and repeat!

You pick it, we build it.

Exclusively Carbon, the 5010 has builds available in both Santa Cruz’s renowned carbon C and CC variants. The CC frame is available as frame only too making for the perfect base to begin your dream custom build.

The build kit.

While the amount of model lines has been reduced, the new trimmed selection of build kits for the V4 5010 takes the ‘everything you want and nothing you do not’ approach. Beginning with the more basic but trusty C R kit build, some middle ground (S and XT) choices down the centre then topping out at the uber refined, light and energetic X01 Reserve bike. Whatever the damands and must haves we have a 5010 to suit you.

Custom Build?

For model year 2021 ‘Off the shelf’ bikes are as good as they’ve ever been, but if the components you want aren’t available on a stock build or you’re just looking for that special aroma a custom built bike has the options are limitless.

As we previously mentioned the 5010 is available frame only, this leaves the doors truly wide open. Due to the versatility and light weight design there are several paths we could go down when building a 5010 from the ground up. We can work together to build a bike that perfectly fits your demands. Looking for a more trail orientated build? Then fast rolling tyres, lightweight componentry and premium trail riding focused parts are the way to go.

Looking to build a 5010 as a tough as nails bike park roasting jib machine then we can venture into hardcore parts avenues. In the spirit of 50to01 we can use Double Down tyres, riser bars, a Fox 36 fork and even Sram’s DH specific drivetrain to create the perfect do anything you want to it shredder.

Ultimately, we are geared up for any custom build and our experienced sales team contains the knowledge to steer you in the right direction. Whatever the demands or wants for your new dream build, give us a shout, we’re here to help and the sky is the limit.