u/Taqia

Santa Cruz Vala 1 Al Deore

Picked this one up earlier this week after my Canyon Spectral:ON broke again, another bad battery-motor cable. It's under warranty but got an estimated delivery time for next January.

Took off all the good bits from my old bike: Magura Gustavs, Fox 38, and DT Swiss HX1700 wheelset that happened to have fresh Eddy Current / Magic Mary radials as well.

This bike absolutely rips. It's amazing how much lighter it feels compared to the Canyon when riding, even though on paper it's a bit heavier. Bonus points for sensible cable routing, unlike a lot of bikes these days.

Definitely want to get an XT shifter for the double upshifts, still wondering if I should upgrade the shock as well or not.