Company type | Division |
---|---|
Founded | 1993 |
Founders |
|
Headquarters | Santa Cruz, California, US |
Key people | Folkert Lamsvelt (CEO) [1] |
Products | Bicycles |
Parent | Pon Holdings |
Website | santacruzbicycles.com |
Santa Cruz Bicycles, LLC is an American division of Dutch conglomerate Pon Holdings that manufacturers mountain bikes in Santa Cruz, California. [2] They sponsor the Santa Cruz Syndicate, a downhill racing team. The company moved premises from 104 Bronson Street to 2841 Mission Street in 2013 . [3] Formerly owned by NHS, Inc. On July 3, 2015, Santa Cruz Bicycles was sold to Pon Holdings, a family-owned Dutch conglomerate with a bicycle division including brands such as Cervélo, Focus and Royal Dutch Gazelle. [4]
Santa Cruz Bicycles was founded by Rob Roskopp, Mike Marquez and Rich Novak in 1993. [5] Roskopp had spent many years as a professional skateboarder, and Novak's Santa Cruz Skateboards company had put out a special "Roskopp" model before the two met. Roskopp and Novak went into partnership with bike engineer Mike Marquez, who had particular experience in bicycle suspension, and Tom Morris, a designer, to build some prototypes. [6]
Their first bike, in 1994, was a full suspension bike called the Tazmon. It had an 80 millimetres (3.1 in) travel single pivot design, [7] the first on the market. [2] [5] It was followed a year later by the 100 millimetres (3.9 in) travel Heckler, a model that was discontinued for the 2016 model year and relaunched in 2020 as an e-bike.
The company acquired the patents for their Virtual Pivot Point (aka "VPP") from Outland Bikes around 1999. [5]
The company manufactures around a dozen models of mountain bikes made of carbon fiber and aluminum, ranging from $1500 to over $10000 retail. Their bikes are suited to a wide range of mountain biking disciplines. [2] Frame fabrication occurs in China and Taiwan, but all bicycles are assembled in Santa Cruz, built to customer specifications just before being shipped out.
In 2013, a single model, the "Juliana" was spun off as a stand-alone brand and range of mountain bikes for women, designed by and named for Juli Furtado. [8]
In 2017, Santa Cruz announced the addition of carbon fiber wheels [9] to their product lineup.
Current Santa Cruz/Juliana Production Models [10] [11]
Current Santa Cruz Production Wheel Models
Discontinued Models [17]
Santa Cruz Syndicate is a sponsored downhill team affiliated with the company. Current roster is Laurie Greenland, Jackson Goldstone, and Nina Hoffmann. [18]
A tandem bicycle or twin is a bicycle designed to be ridden by more than one person. The term tandem refers to the seating arrangement, not the number of riders. Patents related to tandem bicycles date from the mid 1880s. Tandems can reach higher speeds than the same riders on single bicycles, and tandem bicycle racing exists. As with bicycles for single riders, there are many variations that have been developed over the years.
A mountain bike (MTB) or mountain bicycle is a bicycle designed for off-road cycling. Mountain bikes share some similarities with other bicycles, but incorporate features designed to enhance durability and performance in rough terrain, which often makes them heavier, more complex and less efficient on smooth surfaces. These typically include a suspension fork, large knobby tires, more durable wheels, more powerful brakes, straight, wide handlebars to improve balance and comfort over rough terrain, and wide-ratio gearing optimized for topography, application and a frame with a suspension mechanism for the rear wheel. Rear suspension is ubiquitous in heavier-duty bikes and now common even in lighter bikes. Dropper seat posts can be installed to allow the rider to quickly adjust the seat height.
Mountain biking is a sport of riding bicycles off-road, often over rough terrain, usually using specially designed mountain bikes. Mountain bikes share similarities with other bikes but incorporate features designed to enhance durability and performance in rough terrain, such as air or coil-sprung shocks used as suspension, larger and wider wheels and tires, stronger frame materials, and mechanically or hydraulically actuated disc brakes. Mountain biking can generally be broken down into distinct categories: cross country, trail, all mountain, enduro, downhill and freeride.
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Juliana "Juli" Furtado is a retired American professional mountain biker, who began her sports career in skiing.
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A downhill bike is a full suspension bicycle designed for downhill cycling on particularly steep, technical trails. Unlike a typical mountain bike, durability and stability are the most important design features, compared to lighter, more versatile cross-country bikes. Downhill bikes are primarily intended for high-speed descent, and downhill riders will usually shove, or shuttle via chairlifts or motorized vehicles, to the trailhead. Downhill bikes share similarities with freeride bikes due to their large strong frames and increased travel.
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Cross-country (XC) cycling is a discipline of mountain biking. Cross-country cycling became an Olympic sport in 1996 and is the only form of mountain biking practiced at the Olympics.
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