Early Verdict
Santa Cruz design meets Bosch's latest motor tech and the result is a riot. The Vala handles exceptionally well for a full-power bike and the active suspension behaves brilliantly over the rough stuff – even when hauling on the rear brake. It's light for its class and looks fantastic too. I want one!
Pros
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Superbly active suspension even when braking on tough terrain
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Well-balanced handling for a light ride feel
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At 21.6kg, it's spritely for a full-power e-MTB
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Comes with Bosch's brand-new Gen 5 motor
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Non-electric parts are designed with servicing in mind
Cons
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600Wh battery is non-removable
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Mid-size battery may give range anxiety
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Pricing starts around 7 grand
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Hot on the heels of its latest Hightower and Bronson trail bikes, Santa Cruz has just revealed the Vala – a brand new mid-travel (160/150mm), full-power electric mountain bike weighing an impressive 21.6kg / 47.6lb for the large framed model.
Powering the Vala is with Bosch's latest Gen 5 Performance CX motor which is lighter, quieter, and has a more responsive feeling than before. The motor comes with a non-removable 600Wh battery – which may surprise some as there are plenty of higher-capacity options available. The new bike replaces the Heckler in Santa Cruz's e-MTB range and will sit alongside the lighter-weight Fazua-powered Heckler SL released last year.
Somewhat surprisingly, Santa Cruz decided against using its in-house VPP (Virtual Pivot Point) suspension design and opted for a four-bar setup instead. The Vala also comes with a mullet-wheeled setup (29in front, 27.5in rear) only. I visited Santa Cruz's HQ to get some time on the Vala a few days before the bike's launch.
Design and geometry
The Vala gets its name because the team at Santa Cruz thought it sounded cool and they liked the vague Norse associations. Like basically everything that comes out of the Californian brand's stable, the bike itself looks seriously cool too. Even without the brand's trademark VPP suspension, the Vala still gives off a definite 'Santa Cruzness' with its clean lines, glossy coat, and in-laid headtube badge.
In its most recent form, as seen on the latest Bronson and Hightower bikes, Santa Cruz's VPP suspension design houses the linkage and shock as low as possible in the frame to give a more active performance while pedaling and braking. Unlike the Heckler SL with its much smaller Fazua drive, the larger dimensions of a full-power motor meant the design team couldn't achieve the results they wanted with VPP, so they opted for a four-bar suspension setup with a vertical shock position instead.
On the lower shock mount is a flip-chip that allows you to choose between two suspension progression options – 26 or 29 percent. Similarly, on the rear of the rocker is a pair of flippable chips that allow riders to alter the geometry by 0.3 degrees on the head tube and 4mm at the BB.
Geometry-wise, the Vala is almost identical to the Bronson with a 460mm / 456mm reach (Hi / Lo, medium frame), a 64.2 / 63.9-degree head tube angle, an effective seat tube angle of 77.5 / 77.2 degrees, and a 440mm chainstay length (medium frame, length is frame size dependant).
Santa Cruz says the reason that the Vala is only available as a mixed-wheel mullet is that a smaller rear wheel counteracts the extra weight placed on the front of the bike by having a battery in the downtube.
Motor system and components
The Vala is powered by Bosch's recently unveiled 85Nm Performance CX Gen 5 motor and a 600Wh battery. Bosch says the new drive unit is 100g or so lighter than the Gen 4 model and is more robust. I can confirm that it's much quieter in operation with no rattle and the feel of the power to your cranks is more controlled too. Essentially the best e-MTB motor system just got better.
Motor controls are happily kept as minimalist as possible with Bosch's Bluetooth Mini Remote (hurrah, no wires) on the bars and its System Controller set into the top tube – which displays the power level and remaining battery life.
Battery-wise, there were of course higher power options available to Santa Cruz, but it felt the 600Wh hit the sweet spot between weight and capacity for the Vala – the next size up (800Wh) would add an extra kilo (2.2lb) in weight to the bike. If you're concerned the battery might not provide enough ride time for you, the Vala is compatible with Bosch's bolt-on 250Wh Powermore range extender.
All the Vala options come with a 160mm fork and 150mm of rear travel. The XO AXS RSV model I was testing sported a Fox 38 Factory fork and Float X Factory shock – both with the latest Grip X2 dampers.
The wheels were similarly fancy with Santa Cruz’s in-house Reserve 30 IHD carbon rims on DT Swiss 350 hubs. They're shod with Schwalbe’s new Magic Mary Radials.
Brakes and gears both come from SRAM with the massively powerful Maven Silvers with 200m hubs front and rear, and as you'll have guessed from the model name of the bike, wireless XO AXS T-Type Transmission and the latest Rocker Shifter.
Performance
My visit to test the Vala was over in a flash and I only got four hours or so on it over two rides. While my time on the bike may have been short, I was seriously impressed with what Santa Cruz has put together.
Along with fellow riders (including Jackson Goldstone and Steve Peat), we headed out from Santa Cruz's factory into the surrounding hills. Once into the woods away from traffic noise, I was struck by how quiet the latest Bosch motor really is. There's no motor rattle and even its electronic whine seemed quieter. The power delivery has definitely improved too with a much more responsive feel and plenty of hammer on tap as soon as I hit the pedals harder.
The trails themselves were as dry as it gets, even for California. Dust billowed everywhere – which made seeing exactly what was in front of you tricky when following another rider. We rode undulating trails as well as steeper, more technical enduro runs.
It was clear from the onset that the Vala is a well-balanced bike that's nicely poised for all manner of trail riding. Even though Santa Cruz didn't hit us with a brainwashing session until after the first ride, the design team's work on keeping the suspension as active as possible was really noticeable. This was most apparent when grabbing the brakes down steep sections with repeated hefty hits, as the reduced kickback helped me negotiate these parts of the trail more quickly.
The Vala felt seriously nimble for a full-power bike too, which was undoubtedly aided by the mid-size battery, but Santa Cruz seems to have done something clever with the weight distribution too. This feeling was reinforced when I returned home and jumped on a very similar bike in terms of overall weight, suspension and battery size, which didn't feel quite as agile.
As for the available ride time I could get out of the 600Wh battery, I reckon I could pull out around four hours if I stayed away from Turbo mode. I'm not the heaviest at 69kg and we were riding in conditions where there was zero mud to suck at our tires, but my longest ride on the Vala was 2 hours 45 minutes with a distance of 40km and 1,100m of climbing. I was careful with the battery to begin with, but once confident I would have plenty of charge to finish the ride, I toggled between eMTB and Turbo modes. At the end, there were still two orange bars left on the charge indicator – which is 30 to 21% according to Bosch.
Verdict
Despite fairly limited time on the Vala, I was left in little doubt that this is a seriously impressive e-MTB. The handling is extremely well balanced and the suspension platform is properly sorted too. Adding Bosch's excellent new motor to the mix makes for a properly heady electric brew.
If you can afford the bike, the only potential downsides are that the battery can't be removed for charging or switching over, and the default 600Wh option may prove to be a barrier for some.
Tech specs: Santa Cruz Vala XO AXS RSV
- Frame: CC carbon, 150mm travel
- Fork: Fox 38 Factory, Grip X2 damper, 160mm travel (44mm offset)
- Shock: Fox Float X Factory (205x60mm)
- Motor: Bosch Performance CX (Gen 5) 85Nm
- Battery: Bosch Powertube 600Wh (250Wh Powermore range extender compatible)
- Control unit: Bosch Mini Remote and System Controller
- Wheels: Reserve 30 IHD rims on DT Swiss 350 hubs, 29in front, 27.5in rear
- Tires: Schwalbe Magic Mary 29x2.5in, Trail Radial, Ultra Soft front, Schwalbe Magic Mary 27.5x2.5in, Gravity Radial, Ultra Soft rear
- Drivetrain: SRAM XO Eagle 160mm crank, SRAM XO Eagle T-Type mech, 10-52t cassette
- Brakes: SRAM Maven Silver, four-piston, SRAM HS2 200mm rotors f/r
- Stem: Burgtec Enduro 42mm
- Bars: Santa Cruz 35 Carbon 800mm
- Dropper: OneUp V3, 180mm MD, 210mm LG 31.6mm
- Saddle: WTB Silverado Medium Fusion CroMo SL
- Sizes: SM, MD, LG, XL, XXL
- Weight: 21.6kg / 47.6lb (size LG)
