2021 Santa Cruz Bullit

[Dan_eng]

I have now 1300km with this bike and it’s amazing. Looking forward to see the new colors.

 

[AccousticBiker]

Hello folks, I'm about to get the bullit R build. all the reviews seem to be for the more expensive builds, how does the bike compare when its the R build ?

 

[Coolcmsc]

Hello folks, I'm about to get the bullit R build. all the reviews seem to be for the more expensive builds, how does the bike compare when its the R build ?

Look, it’s a fantastic frame and that’s what you’re buying. The motor can be criticised a bit, but seriously, I’m not sure choosing not to have one is a sensible response. You’ll be saving lots of money for upgrades later (when cash arrives), but for this bike, consider investing in a few coaching sessions.
The R build plus coaching plus fitness = you’ll probably have way more fun that somebody who spends a lot more on the top build.
Just my penneth and it’s (almost) exactly what I did (I bought the S). This wonderful bike, in the right environment which is basically one of mainly blacks rather than mainly reds and steep / difficult is a game changer once you’ve learnt to ride it well.
An Aston Martin is an Aston Martin, providing you learn to drive it.

 

[Gutch]

My upgraded R build is for sale! Nothing against this bike, it’s awesome. Whatever you purchase will put a guaranteed smile on your face!

 

[RustyMTB]

I've never seen an SC I didn't like. The proportions are just so right & I'm seriously entertaining getting a 5010 but the cable routing on just about all of them from the front triangle to the rear makes my teeth itch.

 

[mehukatti]

Bike is still going strong after one year. The only thing that broke is the plastic button cover of SW-EM800L which ripped off when I crashed.

 

[Coolcmsc]

View attachment 76879
Bike is still going strong after one year. The only thing that broke is the plastic button cover of SW-EM800L which ripped off when I crashed.

Do you think the Shimano Pro e-grip would have prevented that beak? Pro E-Control Integrated Grip | Pro Bikegear

 

[Madmountainman]

I have a bit of an update on UK Bullit availability having just received a call from my LBS. Don't expect any Shimano XT Bullit's any time soon folks. Santa Cruz are having a nightmare getting all the parts together and the latest update on availability is around July/August next year. That's the bad news. The not so bad is that I was told I could get an S or an XO1 in January. I've opted to wait it out as I can't warrant the extra expense of the premium bike and i'm not happy with the component spec of the cheaper.

 

[nmhinton]

Hello folks, I'm about to get the bullit R build. all the reviews seem to be for the more expensive builds, how does the bike compare when its the R build ?

Don't know if you got your R build or not, but I'm loving mine. Mine came with EP8 motor which is awesome. I was pleasantly surprised with the spec other than the rear rim which is rubbish. A Cush core or the like is mandatory or you will ding that rim on Green trails. I wish for more adjustability with the fork, but have decided that it's working plenty fine, it's requiring a lot less pressure than recommended but still holds the bike up high in the stroke. The shock... I'm still playing with volume spacers as it seems to be the opposite blowing through the travel too easily. other things I was concerned about such as shifters, brakes are better than expected. The bike is awesome. I will say that the rattle from the motor seems to have gotten worse over time, not sure if I should be worried or not.

 

[AccousticBiker]

Don't know if you got your R build or not, but I'm loving mine. Mine came with EP8 motor which is awesome. I was pleasantly surprised with the spec other than the rear rim which is rubbish. A Cush core or the like is mandatory or you will ding that rim on Green trails. I wish for more adjustability with the fork, but have decided that it's working plenty fine, it's requiring a lot less pressure than recommended but still holds the bike up high in the stroke. The shock... I'm still playing with volume spacers as it seems to be the opposite blowing through the travel too easily. other things I was concerned about such as shifters, brakes are better than expected. The bike is awesome. I will say that the rattle from the motor seems to have gotten worse over time, not sure if I should be worried or not.

I got the R build and had to make the following changes to improve on an already awesome bike
1. switched rear shock to fox dhx2 coil, the stock one was great for jumps and downhill but climbing was very harsh. As seated and pedalling up at 9mph was injurious to my butt
2. removed a token from the zeb-r, this made all the difference and its as good as my select+ on my regular bike. will not be upgrading it in the near future.
3. handlebar to 1up carbon. the stock one was fine but I like the oneup bar so upgraded.
4. I bought some code-rsc brakes assuming that guide's will be crap. but I think they are doing just fine and decided to stick with guides for now. I did aggressive bedding on the brakes and looks like the heat had morphed the front 220mm rotor a bit. I bent it back and its fine now.

Overall I'm very happy with the bike, the only caveat is motor clearance. I get motor strikes on the trails I have never had issues previously. I think the santa cruz test riders were either super awesome and never faced this issue or santa cruz just slapped the motor on their nomad frame without much testing.

my rear wheel is already a bit bent after 50mi, it might have to be upgraded in the future.
edit : also this is my 1st 27.5 or mx and am amazed at how good it is at cornering. the 29'ers are great but not as low slung as this one.

 

[nmhinton]

I got the R build and had to make the following changes to improve on an already awesome bike
1. switched rear shock to fox dhx2 coil, the stock one was great for jumps and downhill but climbing was very harsh. As seated and pedalling up at 9mph was injurious to my butt
2. removed a token from the zeb-r, this made all the difference and its as good as my select+ on my regular bike. will not be upgrading it in the near future.
3. handlebar to 1up carbon. the stock one was fine but I like the oneup bar so upgraded.
4. I bought some code-rsc brakes assuming that guide's will be crap. but I think they are doing just fine and decided to stick with guides for now. I did aggressive bedding on the brakes and looks like the heat had morphed the front 220mm rotor a bit. I bent it back and its fine now.

Overall I'm very happy with the bike, the only caveat is motor clearance. I get motor strikes on the trails I have never had issues previously. I think the santa cruz test riders were either super awesome and never faced this issue or santa cruz just slapped the motor on their nomad frame without much testing.

my rear wheel is already a bit bent after 50mi, it might have to be upgraded in the future.
edit : also this is my 1st 27.5 or mx and am amazed at how good it is at cornering. the 29'ers are great but not as low slung as this one.

interesting your experience on the rear shock. for me I added two volume spacers, dropped the pressure, And now the rear has much better small bump sensitivity while not blowing through all the travel on medium bumps. I don't know if it's an improvement in motor clearance or not, but I haven't had too much trouble. I may try removing a volume spacer from the Zeb, it doesn't really use all its travel even with low pressure .
I was very impressed with the guide RE brakes which are actually the old CODE brakes specifically optimized for e-bikes, hence the E. not perfect, but way better than the normal guides.
I decided to upgrade the shifting to GX AXS, which is Great, but I can't get used to the ergonomics of the lever, so I ordered the paddle shifter conversion kit. because I'm still running the stock 1150 cassette, I added a 36 tooth race face chain ring and that has improved my top end, while improving my chain line in the gears I use most.
Finally I do love my one up bars also!

 

[mehukatti]

Does anyone know if EP8 Dealer Manual torque spec (10-12.5NM) for motor bolts apply to Bullit or if Santa Cruz has specified something else?

 

[CRBB]

Does anyone know if EP8 Dealer Manual torque spec (10-12.5NM) for motor bolts apply to Bullit or if Santa Cruz has specified something else?

Where can i get the EP8 motor? waiting for the replacement motor is waaay to long!

 

[Richwall]

 

[Richwall]

In the tech sheets on the Santa Cruz website

 

[Antman450]

Guys, I am looking to put a Fox DHX2 on my Bullit. I cannot see however the size I need to get. SC says I need a 230 x 62.5 but the closest DXH2 I can find is 230 x 65 but it is not a trunnion. What spec DHX2 have you guys put on your bikes?

 

[Dan_eng]

Guys, I am looking to put a Fox DHX2 on my Bullit. I cannot see however the size I need to get. SC says I need a 230 x 62.5 but the closest DXH2 I can find is 230 x 65 but it is not a trunnion. What spec DHX2 have you guys put on your bikes?

Starting with 2021 DHX2 has external spacers witch allow the stroke to be set from 57.5 to 65 in 2.5mm increments. Bullit runs with a 62.5 stroke, but can easily go with a 65 stroke.

 

[Antman450]

Starting with 2021 DHX2 has external spacers witch allow the stroke to be set from 57.5 to 65 in 2.5mm increments. Bullit runs with a 62.5 stroke, but can easily go with a 65 stroke.

This may be a stupid question, but do our bikes use trunnion, or not trunnion?

Starting with 2021 DHX2 has external spacers witch allow the stroke to be set from 57.5 to 65 in 2.5mm increments. Bullit runs with a 62.5 stroke, but can easily go with a 65 stroke.

Thanks so much for your help.

 

[AccousticBiker]

This may be a stupid question, but do our bikes use trunnion, or not trunnion?


Thanks so much for your help.

not trunnion

 

[Jojo10]

Hello folks

After separating the battery cover from the battery (which works perfect since day one without any hassle), I'd had the idea to move the battery's position a little bit more down in the frame, as I saw some unexplainable space below the battery.
After disassembling the battery and loosen the two bolts of the battery "base plug", you can see the fixation of the battery carrier. It's a small aluminium frame screwed to a aluminium piece, that is laminated into the frame.

Than you can drill a third M6 hole. Unfortunately mine is a little bit to high, but anyways.

Now you can screw the carrier around 12mm below the original position. Together with some bushings and longer screws on the top, the whole battery sits now 12mm lower in the frame.

First test drive shows, that you can feel a little bit more agility. Even if I subtract a little bit imagination from my impressions, it's still significant. 12mm lower center of gravity of a 3,6kg block should make some (small) difference.

This is an advanced hack with chipremoving processing. So everything on your own risk.

Thanks

 

[mehukatti]

With that modification you will loose warranty and probably lower resale value. Interesting hack, though...

 

[Mungalot]

Why, just, why?

 

[Vertas]

Yea, I mean, sure you had fun doing this, would 10/10 not recommend anyone else doing it, seems like quite the longshot for the smallest benefit ever

Still sick hack, hope you enjoy it, and most definitely lost you're warranty just like that

 

[AccousticBiker]

I think its cool. you can make your own pack and have more room for it. I really think 900kwh is the bees knees for ep8.

 

[Downhillr]

I’d agree the Code RSC bakes are the one thing I likely will change on the bike. The brakes are not bad, but I don’t like the feel of them. I appreciate aggressive brakes, and the RSC’s are not aggressive.

Will try a few different pads to see if that can be adjusted. If not, I’ll swap em for a set of MT7

Just a comment on brakes... I updated my 2022 Bullit Code RSC to the new for 2022 SRAM HS2 rotors which are a touch thicker to resist heat, utilize a heat shedding paint on inner surfaces and have more pad contact surface... noticeably better fade resistance and felt a bit stronger. I've also now added new pads, MTX "Gold Label" (for DH & e-bike) to the mix and this set up changed the complexion of my brakes, stronger, less fade, while retaining great modulation.

 

[IronScott]

I have a new S build. Only one ride so far in less than ideal conditions (muddy in spots), a loose headset and a rear brake that barely worked (poorly setup), so I can't give a good review yet but I want to change the brakes from SRAM Code R to Shimano 4-piston, which I already have ordered. Going to try to do the install myself. Looks like it should be simple given the routing doesn't go through the motor. Anyone here have experience with doing this can confirm how easy or difficult it is?

 

[cdavies102]

I have a new S build. Only one ride so far in less than ideal conditions (muddy in spots), a loose headset and a rear brake that barely worked (poorly setup), so I can't give a good review yet but I want to change the brakes from SRAM Code R to Shimano 4-piston, which I already have ordered. Going to try to do the install myself. Looks like it should be simple given the routing doesn't go through the motor. Anyone here have experience with doing this can confirm how easy or difficult it is?

I can confirm it’s extremely simple, in typical SC style the internal routing is very easy to work with. I fitted XTRs to mine and they’re unreal

 

[IronScott]

I can confirm it’s extremely simple, in typical SC style the internal routing is very easy to work with. I fitted XTRs to mine and they’re unreal

View attachment 87365

Excellent! Thanks so much for the quick response. Excited to get some time on this bike. I could barely stop yesterday. I've never had brakes so poorly setup. I'm sure the shop would take care of it but it's raining all week and I should have the Shimano brakes delivered this week, so I'm hoping to get them installed before the next ride. This is the second bike I've had Code R on and I just do not like the feel at all, whereas I've enjoyed the Shimano XTs on my other bikes.

 

[333psi]

If you want faster shifting, go with AXS. I have it on my bullit and it's unbelievable. The stock 10 52 is great for climbing with battery off to reserve those miles.

Same here. AXS is a game changer.

 

[EatSleepRideRepeat]

Excellent! Thanks so much for the quick response. Excited to get some time on this bike. I could barely stop yesterday. I've never had brakes so poorly setup. I'm sure the shop would take care of it but it's raining all week and I should have the Shimano brakes delivered this week, so I'm hoping to get them installed before the next ride. This is the second bike I've had Code R on and I just do not like the feel at all, whereas I've enjoyed the Shimano XTs on my other bikes.

I just rode XTs for the first time and they're definitely better than the Code R. They're crap. Code RS are way better than the R, but I still prefer the XT. Just the setup on the handlebars is bullsh*t on the XT Kit.. Can't place the remote like I'd love to..