Santa Cruz Launch the Alloy Vala!

The Santa Cruz Vala launched last year to incredibly good reviews, with both journalists and regular riders alike loving the new bike and Bikeradar going as far as to call it simply the best bike they had ever tested.

In what at the time was a bit of a shock move, the Vala abandoned Santa Cruz’s iconic VPP suspension in favour of a more conventional 4 Bar design in order to free up extra room for dropper post insertion and improve traction while climbing. Initial doubts on the change quickly faded as soon as anyone got a chance to throw a leg over the Vala, with it performing brilliantly everywhere. Climbing with tenacious traction it also ripped down descents with handling that came as close to a regular enduro bike as any full power machine possibly could while delivering surprisingly good ranges from the 600W onboard battery. 

Reliability has also turned out to be excellent with the frame bearings proving to be well sealed and supported, and the new Gen 5 Bosch motor still seems to be setting the bar as the most reliable motor system on the market for our wet UK conditions. Add to that the most recent update letting users power up their Bosch bikes to an even higher 750W max power if they want and you’ve got a bike that can compete with anything up or down the hill. 

So what’s to grumble about? The only real answer could be price, with the base 70 kit Vala coming in at £6799 and putting the bike out of reach for plenty of folk. Well, Santa Cruz have listened and today sees the launch of an Aluminium version of the bike, keeping most of what makes the Vala so special while making it accessible to many more with a more attainable price tag. That same 70 kit bike in the aluminium frame is over £1000 cheaper at £5599, which could be enough to make a bike possible or allow a key upgrade or two compared to the carbon models. 

The AL Vala in detail.

Only a subtly different bike to the Carbon version, the Aluminium Vala is nearly the same bike bar a couple of small details. Travel is the same as at 160mm / 150mm and like its more expensive brother it still uses a gen 5 Bosch motor system and 600W internal battery. 

The geometry is very slightly different as the Alloy bike forgoes the High / Low adjustment of the carbon bike instead being built around a midpoint between the two positions. Given that we’ve plenty of customers who like the bike in either mode,  that’s probably no bad thing with the middle geometry setting producing a nice balanced range of numbers.

Similarly, shock progression adjustment has also been locked into a fixed mid-value between the two options of the carbon bike, aiming to give a balanced ride feel. Based on how well the Vala rides in both high and low modes, a middle value is going to be very rideable indeed with a balance struck between support and sensitivity. Other than shock progression, the rest of the suspension feel should exactly mirror the excellent manners of the existing bike, with superb climbing traction, calm behaviour under braking and plenty of support when working the bike around the trail.

There are two colours and two build kits on offer; either a Shimano Deore based build, with a basic suspension package, or the harder riding SRAM 70 bike for those looking for a more Enduro ready riding package. Either kit can come in the fetching Gloss Stormbringer Purple or the neutral Gloss Lunar Grey.

Fancy a look at a bike in real life or a ride on a Vala? We’ve a mix of 70 Kit Vala AL bikes inbound and most size in Carbon 90 kits ready to demo.

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