At the 2017 World Cup season opener in Lourdes, Loris Vergier, Luca Shaw, and Greg Minnaar qualified 1, 3, and 6 aboard the ‘controversy machine’—a V10 with a new swingarm rolling on 29-inch wheels.
The clouds broke open before the top qualifiers, soaking the track, and the question of technological supremacy would have to wait…for five weeks, when Greg Minnaar climbed to the top step at Ft. William for the seventh time.
The arms race was on.
Over the next winter, using what we learned during the 2017 race season, we set about designing an entirely new V10—longer reach, better shock rate, and better frame and cable protection. All three frame sizes (and Reserve carbon DH wheels) were designed and manufactured in time for a week of testing before the Ft. William World Cup in 2018. Greg crashed in those sessions, breaking his arm, and effectively ending his season. A few days later, Luca qualified first and Loris third on the new bike. Loris put down a scorcher in the finals that only fellow Frenchman Amaury Pierron could top, but Luca flatted high on course and had to cruise down.
The new school had arrived, and they had new wheels.
Testing continued throughout the 2018 season, usually in the form of link sets designed to tweak the shock rate or make minor alterations in geometry. We had the big variables figured out, but fine-tuning the suspension under the Syndicate during World Cup season guaranteed regular, high-level feedback and lots of high-stakes puzzling. The result is perhaps the most refined suspension performance available outside of a World Cup pit.
That brings us to now—kind of.
Pairing 29-inch wheels with 215mm of travel makes a juggernaut of a race bike, but racing isn’t everything. Depending on the type of trails or riding style you’re into, breaking out the biggest artillery might not be ideal. Rider height also looms large when deciding which wheel size is optimal and a lot of people may opt for smaller wheels.
So we decided to make a 27.5 V10, too.
No compromises, no gimmicks, no shortcuts—it was designed in parallel to the 29er V10 as an original suspension platform and chassis. The 27.5 bike comes in Small, Medium, and Large, while the 29 comes in Medium, Large, and XL. Make your choice according to your size or riding style, and you’ll be the recipient of every bit of work and puzzling that’s gone into the Syndicate’s race bikes.
The most successful bike in downhill history shows no signs of slowing down.
More details for the realest puzzlers:
We get it, you want to know every configuration, the geometry, and all the parts each of those comes with. So we've got you covered, below are PDFs with the geometry and kits that this bike comes in.
Price
£6099GBP
Weight
16.75kg / 36.94lbs
Wheel Size
29
Fork
FOX 49 Performance Elite, 203mm, 29"
Shock
FOX DHX2 Performance Elite Coil 450 (M) 500 (L) 550 (XL)
Rear Derailleur
SRAM GX DH 7spd
Shifters
SRAM GX 7SPD
Crankset
SRAM Descendant DH, 165mm, 34t
Cassette
SRAM PG720 DH 11-25T
Chain
SRAM PC1110
Bottom Bracket
BB GXP XR MTB83
Brakes
SRAM Code R
Brake Rotors
Avid Centerline, 203mm Front, 200mm Rear
Headset
Cane Creek 40 Hellbender, ZS49 upper/ EC49 lower
Bars
Burgtec RideWide DH Alloy Bar
Stem
Santa Cruz Direct Mount 35x45/50
Grips
Santa Cruz Palmdale Grips
Front Hub
DT 350 20x110 32H
Rear Hub
DT 350 12x157 HG 32H
Rims
Race Face ARC HD 30 29" Rims
Spokes
DT Competition (32)
Front Tire
Maxxis Assegai 29x2.5 MaxxGRIP 3C
Chainguide
E13 LG1+
Rear Tire
Maxxis Assegai 29x2.5 MaxxGRIP 3C
Tubes
Stans Sealant 2oz
Seat Post
Race Face Chester 31.6
Saddle
Ergon SMD20 Comp
Price
£6099GBP
Weight
15.88kg / 35lbs
Wheel Size
27.5
Fork
FOX 40 Performance Elite, 203mm, 27.5"
Shock
FOX DHX2 Performance Elite Coil 400 (S) 450 (M) 500 (L)
Rear Derailleur
SRAM GX DH 7spd
Shifters
SRAM GX 7SPD
Crankset
SRAM Descendant DH, 165mm, 36t
Cassette
SRAM PG720 DH 11-25T
Chain
SRAM PC1110
Bottom Bracket
BB GXP XR MTB83
Brakes
SRAM Code R
Brake Rotors
Avid Centerline, 203mm Front, 200mm Rear
Headset
Cane Creek 40 Hellbender, ZS49 upper/ EC49 lower
Bars
Burgtec RideWide DH Alloy Bar
Stem
Santa Cruz Direct Mount 35x45/50
Grips
Santa Cruz Palmdale Grips
Front Hub
DT 350 20x110 32H
Rear Hub
DT 350 12x157 HG 32H
Rims
Race Face ARC HD 30 27.5" Rims
Spokes
DT Competition (32)
Front Tire
Maxxis Assegai 27.5x2.5 MaxxGRIP 3C
Chainguide
E13 LG1+
Rear Tire
Maxxis Assegai 27.5x2.5 MaxxGRIP 3C
Tubes
Stans Sealant 2oz
Seat Post
Race Face Chester 31.6
Saddle
Ergon SMD20 Comp
Price
£7999GBP
Weight
15.17kg / 33.44lbs
Wheel Size
27.5
Fork
FOX 40 Factory, 203mm, 27.5"
Shock
FOX DHX2 Factory SLS Coil 400 (S) 450 (M) 500 (L)
Rear Derailleur
SRAM X01 DH 7sp
Shifters
SRAM X01 DH
Crankset
Race Face SIXC Crank 83/165mm, 36t
Cassette
SRAM X01 DH Cassette 7 Spd
Chain
SRAM XX1
Bottom Bracket
Race Face BSA 83mm BB
Brakes
SRAM Code RSC
Brake Rotors
Avid Centerline, 203mm Front, 200mm Rear
Headset
Cane Creek 40 Hellbender, ZS49 upper/ EC49 lower
Bars
Santa Cruz Bicycles AM Carbon Bar 35x800
Stem
Santa Cruz Direct Mount 35x45/50
Grips
Santa Cruz Palmdale Grips
Front Hub
DT 350 20x110 32H
Rear Hub
DT 350 12x157 XD 32H
Rims
Race Face ARC HD 30 27.5" Rims
Spokes
DT Competition (32)
Front Tire
Maxxis Assegai 27.5x2.5 MaxxGRIP 3C
Chainguide
E13 LG1+
Rear Tire
Maxxis Assegai 27.5x2.5 MaxxGRIP 3C
Tubes
Stans Sealant 2oz
Seat Post
Burgtec Xpress Carbon Post, 31.6
Saddle
Ergon SMD2 Pro Ti
Price
£7999GBP
Weight
16.07kg / 35.43lbs
Wheel Size
29
Fork
FOX 49 Factory, 203mm, 29"
Shock
FOX DHX2 Factory SLS Coil 450 (M) 500 (L) 550 (XL)
Rear Derailleur
SRAM X01 DH 7sp
Shifters
SRAM X01 DH
Crankset
Race Face SIXC Crank 83/165mm, 34t
Cassette
SRAM X01 DH Cassette 7 Spd
Chain
SRAM XX1
Bottom Bracket
Race Face BSA 83mm BB
Brakes
SRAM Code RSC
Brake Rotors
Avid Centerline, 203mm Front, 200mm Rear
Headset
Cane Creek 40 Hellbender, ZS49 upper/ EC49 lower
Bars
Santa Cruz Bicycles AM Carbon Bar 35x800
Stem
Santa Cruz Direct Mount 35x45/50
Grips
Santa Cruz Palmdale Grips
Front Hub
DT 350 20x110 32H
Rear Hub
DT 350 12x157 XD 32H
Rims
Race Face ARC HD 30 29" Rims
Spokes
DT Competition (32)
Front Tire
Maxxis Assegai 29x2.5 MaxxGRIP 3C
Chainguide
E13 LG1+
Rear Tire
Maxxis Assegai 29x2.5 MaxxGRIP 3C
Tubes
Stans Sealant 2oz
Seat Post
Burgtec Xpress Carbon Post, 31.6
Saddle
Ergon SMD2 Pro Ti
