Bike Check: Laurie Greenland's Santa Cruz V10 - Pinkbike (2024)

The Syndicate team provisions two identical bikes for each rider, so that they have a perfect spare should something happen to the main bike mid-run.

Laurie plays with the frame geometry adjustments on the V10 quite a bit, and settled on the middle position for his rear center for Leogang, giving his medium frame a length of 451mm, with 5mm fore/aft adjustment should he want it. The lower link flip chip is set in the low setting to give him a 62.7-degree head tube angle.

There are some nice touches on the V10, like the routing for the rear brake hose over the bottom bracket, as well as Santa Cruz's standard of fully lined carbon tubes for the internal cable routing. Under the bottom bracket, there is 500g of weight added. Laurie has tested higher weights, but found it to be a bit cumbersome and went back to 500g.

One of the few changes from a stock Santa Cruz V10 is that Laurie has access to are additional options for the reach adjust headset. In addition to the stock ±8mm cups, he also has a set for ±4mm. Currently, he has the -4mm cups fitted here, which he has been using for the last few rounds. He does change it up on occasion and might have done so at Leogang, but the weather meant that he felt the minus 4mm set allowed him to stay more centered on the bike.

At the heart of Laurie’s V10 is a Fox DHX2 coil shock with a 500lb spring. Laurie prefers it slightly over-sprung, as he likes something solid to push into. Although he has tried softer springs, this setup feels best to him. The Fox spring has been tested on a dynamometer by the team at Fox to ensure it is running true to its 500lb rating. For compression, Laurie is running 5 clicks of high-speed compression and 12 clicks of low-speed compression. The rebound settings on his shock are 10 clicks of high-speed rebound and 4 clicks of low-speed rebound.

Laurie runs a Fox 40 up front with a flat crown and the stanchions 5mm through the upper crown. This isn't something Laurie fiddles with too much; if he wants to change the bar height, he uses spacers under his stem. There is 84 psi in his air chamber with 4 tokens. He runs his compression at 5 clicks for high speed and 10 clicks for low speed. The rebound is set relatively fast, with 6 clicks for both high and low-speed rebound. This setup is slightly softer than his normal setup due to track conditions, although Laurie doesn't tend to stray far from his base settings, usually only moving a click or two.

This tire needs no introduction: the ever-popular Maxxis DHRII is a staple in the Downhill World Cup. Laurie's tires have no inserts, with 22 psi of air in the front tire and 26 psi in the rear.

Some personalized Santa Cruz Reserve wheels with Chris King hubs. The wheelset is a special team edition made for the Syndicate. This Reserve 30 Team Edition rim has a profile based on the enduro reserve profile and has 28 holes instead of the 32 that the DH versions come with. This is because the Syndicate team is looking for a bit more compliance from their wheelset. Laurie's bike is running his V10 in a mixed-wheel set up.

Some test pilot Maxxis DHRII's for Laurie. He's been trying the new Maxxis short-spike tire and really liked it but made a change for the changing conditions in Leogang.

Laurie uses Shimano's XTR 4-piston brakes. He sets his levers up in a relatively flat position and likes his brakes to have 10mm of free stroke before they bite. Laurie uses sintered pads inside his XTR brakes. He likes the more positive bite that these provide; he feels it's a sharper bite when he brakes.

Some loop side of Velcro tape is used to keep the brake cables from knocking on the number board.

Laurie is running Shimano's 203mm Ice Tech Freeza brake rotors. This is a mixed set, however, with the front rotor being a 6-bolt and the rear being a center lock.

New handlebars for the Syndicate team - they are now running bars from OneUp. Specifically, the OneUp Carbon E-Bar, which the brand developed for E-bikes. It has a 35mm rise and 8 degrees of backsweep. OneUp claims this bar is 20% more compliant than other carbon handlebars. Laurie has cut his E-Bar down to 780mm, which is 10mm wider than the 770mm he used to ride.

Laurie uses Renthal push on grips.

When it comes to the drivetrain, Laurie and all the Syndicate team are using Shimano's Saint groupset. Unlike many riders in the World Cup pits, Laurie prefers to keep a full 10-speed cassette fitted to his bike.

At the end of the Saint cranks, there is a set of Crankbrothers Mallet DH pedals fitted in a very classic DH setup.

This looks to be a new set of Saint direct mount cranks. They are fitted with an O-Chain device set to 9 degrees. Laurie changes this around a little, but 9 degrees is normal for him.

Laurie's build is finished off with a Burgtec saddle and seatpost.

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Reviews and Tech Bike Checks DH Bikes Santa Cruz Bicycles Santa Cruz V10 Laurie Greenland