Bike Check: Dirt School Coach Fi Berry’s Santa Cruz Bronson V5

Full time coach for Dirt School, Fi runs everything from our women's courses and Kids Academy weeks to skills workshops and Private 1:1 sessions helping riders of all levels improve their game, and giving countless others a positive introduction to the sport. If you follow the Dirt School social media feed at all, you’ll probably have heard her well known encouragement and enthusiasm from off camera as she urges on her riders. 

When she’s not working in the Tweed Valley, Fi is also a super keen rider regularly travelling Scotland taking on everything from long distance rides to technical Munro descents and enduro trails around the country.  She’s currently got just a two bike stable, with a Juliana Wilder handling all rides cross country and distance focused, while her daily driver for coaching and technical riding is her custom built Santa Cruz V5 Bronson. She’s been on the bike since spring, with it already touring the North East along with a trip to the Port Du Soleil for chairlift assisted bike park laps. 

With a solid amount of descending now logged on the her new bike, we thought we’d check in with Fi and see how it’s all going. 

Tell us about the new bike then! How has the change been coming from the Hightower V3?

It felt comfortable straight away and we get along grand! Sometimes new bikes take an age for me to get used to them but this one was good almost from day one. I’m still on my normal size Small, (Fi is 5,3' tall) but this one is a little bigger than the old bike in a good way. It’s also got a little bit more travel than the Hightower (10mm at each end) and between that and the slightly longer geometry it feels like it could ride anything! Compared to the V3 Hightower, it’s much more settled, capable and solid feeling, though it is also a bit heavier. 

Going back to MX wheels has been nice too, the smaller back out back helps when it’s steep as there’s less chance of getting buzzed by the back tire. 

Strengths and weaknesses - what does it do best? 

This isn't a super helpful answer but this bike does everything well. It’s comfortable to climb on, playful enough to enjoy mellower trails with and capable enough to ride absolutely anything I might want to point myself down. I can’t really fault it.

You’ve got a very nice personalised build. Run us through some of your choices?

The Hope Tech V4 brakes are new for me. I’m a long term Hope fan and as a smaller rider I’ve always used the lighter E4 before now, but the bigger V4 has already become my favourite brake ever. It’s incredibly powerful but still easy to ride at the same time, even for a rider my size. The fact you can pick from so many colour options is another nice bonus. I've got a bit mad on the colours for this bike as you can see! I usually use the Green pads out front for maximum power and the Red ones in the back for a smidge more control as they add a touch of modulation.

I’ve also taken advantage of the extra sizes from Hope to spec 155mm cranks. They give more room to move on the bike with your feet closer together (much like a narrower bar), they feel nicer to pedal to me, and there’s better ground clearance. I’ve got them paired with a 30T chainring and that gives an ideal set of gears for what I need. Flat pedals as always, the Burgtec Penthouse is a good size, light and grippy. 

The Reserve HD rims are great both to ride and for peace of mind; I just don’t need to think about them while riding at all. They’re super strong with no weight penalty, haven’t ever needed trued and if I do somehow break one then I know they’ll sort me out super quickly. 

Maxxis tires are another staple, and I’m riding DHRII front and rear at the moment. I like the DHR as a tire, it’s light, rolls well (for an enduro tire) and clears mud OK. EXO casing for the front tire and EXO+ on the rear, it’s tough enough for me and lighter and nicer to pedal than the heavier DD options. The front is a MaxxGrip and the rear a MaxxTerra. Pressures are usually around 18 psi front and 22 psi in the rear. 

Burgtec for the cockpit, I use their parts on all my bikes, they work great and the custom colours are an extra bonus. I’ve gone with a 35mm stem on the Bronson to keep the reach a little shorter and the bar is a Carbon Enduro in 30mm rise cut to 730mm. 20mm of stack under the stem as well. I’m liking the higher bar height; the taller front end feels really nice for steeper riding. 

This is my first SRAM T-Type drivetrain and it's been good so far with everything lasting well. The mech seems super durable which is nice when blasting through rocky sections. 

Suspension is a full Fox Factory set with a 36 fork and a Float X shock. Pressures are 49 psi in the 36 and 118 psi in the Float X. Both are pretty much full open on both compression and rebound as the pressures are low since I'm quite small and light.

Anything in the glove box? Other little touches?

Yep, a tube and a multi tool, takes bulk out of the pockets or pack. Always a mudhugger, keeps the mud, stones and dust at bay.

Sell us your bike?

What's not to like? It pedals well, can ride anything with confidence and it's nice to look at. I'd recommend one to anybody.

Fancy a go yourself? We've got demo options and stock at our high street shop in Innerleithen.

☎️ 01896 831429

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