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2006 Santa Cruz V10 vs 2021 V10 with Steve Peat - Are DH Bikes Faster Today? 14

Watch as Peaty sends it down Morzine, putting his 2006 Santa Cruz V10 against his 2021 V10 to see which is faster.

Jason_Schroeder
10/26/2021 5:00pm
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Peaty dusts off his 2006 V10 race bike (that he won the World Cup Series Overall on), some old race threads and tries to put down a heater on Morzine's famous Le Pleney downhill course. Bikes have got longer, more stable, more reliable and suspension has got much better. No questions asked, he must be  faster on his current V10, right? Can he even get close to his time on the current day race bike? You might be surprised at the result. Maybe Peaty was in his prime in 2006...

 

In 2006 we all drooled over Peaty's Santa Cruz V10, which now looks like a dated relic from the past. It's phenomenal how much mountain bikes have evolved in 15 years. Enjoy some side-by-side comparisons from then to now and let this serve as a perfect example that it's never the bike making the magic happen; it’s always the rider.

2021 Santa Cruz V10 - 29-inch wheels, carbon frame

2006 Santa Cruz V10 - 26-inch wheels, aluminum frame

Shimano Saint rear derailleur
SRAM XO1 rear derailleur (can you still hear it now?)
29-inch carbon Reserve wheels
26-inch DT Swiss aluminum wheels with tubes
Burgtec cockpit, Shimano XTR brake levers, Chris King headset and FOX 40 Factory fork with drop crown
TruVativ Holzfeller handlebar, Chromag stem, Avid Juicy Ultimate brakes with carbon BlackBox levers, Chris King headset and RockShox BoXXer with riser crown.
FOX DHX2 Rear Shock
FOX DHX 5.0 with PUSH stamp of approval


Related:
Downhill
Steve Peat
Santa Cruz Syndicate
14 comments

View replies to: 2006 Santa Cruz V10 vs 2021 V10 with Steve Peat - Are DH Bikes Faster Today?

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Explodo
3 years ago
I really like that the only thing the same is the CK headset...but I'm sort of a CK fanboy.
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StudBeefpile
3 years ago
Would have been interesting to then do the same test with mortal piloting the two bikes. You always hear, "Pro X could ride a shopping cart down a hill..." Would a new bike only be slightly faster for us? I don't think so, most of us would probably have a huge gap between the two. Pro's are just amazing at riding the ragged edge.
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DH_Speedster
3 years ago
I think you should have used the same parts like tires, brakes, handlebars and maybe even suspension to get a really meaningful comparison between the bikes.
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thom9719
3 years ago
7 seconds difference is huge to attribute to the equipment. If you look at world cup racing as a game of hundreths of a second, improvements in the bike can be the difference in winning a season or a one off event like world champs. I think that video is a testament that the new bikes ARE SO MUCH better.
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TEAMROBOT
3 years ago
Quick test- when you were racing Kyle, how
much harder would you have to work to be 7 seconds faster on a 3.5 minute track? That’s the difference between not qualifying and being in the top 20 on most World Cup tracks.
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bandit350
3 years ago
The music and throwback kit remind me of the Earthed movies from back in the day
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jeff.brines
3 years ago
Such a great piece. Peaty is the best.

EDIT: Maybe this would have yielded bigger differentials if he did it at a world cup track? Can someone comment as to the gnar factor of that track?Just curious. BTW, pretty cool they brought Bryceland back as Peaty's mechanic. (that was a joke)
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Milton 26"
3 years ago
Gnar factor is not super high except the steep bit around 5:00. Typically most people go around it because once you plunge into it, gravity takes over and you struggle to control speed for the berm. the braking bumps can be like stairs.

The track is quite fast and has good flow, not a lot of rocks and roots, but brake bumps can be terrible. Overall the track is not very steep, some turns are quite flat actually.

Actually, this is a kind of track I would excpect and long 29er to have great advantages because of speed and because you need to carry speed since it's not steep all the time. And yes, 7 seconds on a 3:30 track is huge, but if someone would make these 7 seconds while riding in front of you, you would probably have the impression that you kinda keep up most of the time. So for an average rider who is not racing, I'd say these 7 second are not as big of a deal.
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jeff.brines
3 years ago
Two things...

1) Thank you for this! Helps see how the "super official" test could be improved upon. The best test (being its Peaty) would be Fort Bill. That'd be so rad to see!! I doubt that poor wheel would survive however. #fanboi alert...lol

2) Your avatar/handle might be the best on Vital. Lumberg (sp?) approved.
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