The new Santa Cruz Stigmata becomes more versatile than ever before

In the evolution of its Stigmata, Santa Cruz has sought to cover the entire spectrum of gravel from the very fast competitions to that use closer to what we usually consider mountain bike thanks to a careful and peculiar geometry that undoubtedly collaborates greatly to expand the versatility of this bike to the wildest side.

Santa Cruz reduces gravel limitations in its new Stigmata

When many people say that gravel bikes seem to be inventing mountain biking, they are partly right, especially if one of the fetish fat tyre companies comes along and applies several of the current mountain bike mantras in the development of its new gravel bike with the excuse of extending the range of use a little more.

And the renewed geometry is one of the essential points of the new generation of the Stigmata, a bike that Santa Cruz created in 2015 with the fusion of the characteristics of cyclocross and mountain bikes in mind in a few years in which the gravel began to land but no one knew for sure what the concept consisted of.

In this new generation of the stigmata, the first thing that stands out is its new dimensions, with steering angles more similar to those used on mountain bikes than the usual ones used on road or cyclocross machines, and horizontal tubes that are lengthened in search of a longer wheelbase to provide extra stability and confidence when facing complicated terrain.

We also found modifications in its head tube, now shorter than its predecessor to have a higher fork. The goal is to be able to mount one of the suspension fork options available on the market for gravel use without compromising the behavior of the bike.

However, it is surprising that Santa Cruz did not want to be too generous with the wheel arches, admitting at most 700x45c tyres or 2.1'' if we opt for 27.5'' wheels. In other words, its geometry allows total control of the bike on practically any terrain, but Santa Cruz keeps its feet on the ground and does not forget that this is a gravel model and not a mountain bike with curved handlebars.

We can't deny that we love how Santa Cruz has prioritized functionality in this bike, keeping details such as a BSA threaded bottom bracket, perfect to facilitate maintenance and avoid noise, or external wiring from the handlebar to the frame, which allows Santa Cruz to use bearings of generous dimensions that also guarantee reliability without having to think about leaving space for the passage of cables, in addition to facilitating any maintenance task or the adaptation of the position on the bike to the rider.

We find more references to that adventurous gravel bike in details such as the bottle cage threads to place three of them on the bike and to anchor mudguards, dropper seatpost on its top of the range single chainring model. On the other hand, the storage space on the down tube to carry the spare kit without having to resort to external bags seems to convey that, despite the changes introduced, it is still a very fast bike with which to face any gravel competition with guarantees.

Santa Cruz Stigmata: Setups and prices

Force AXS RSV (1x, 1x-650b o 2x)

• Price: 8,490 €
• Peso: 8.87 kg (1x), 8.86 kg (1x-650b) 8.63 kg (2x)
• Frame: CC Carbon
• Groupset: SRAM Force AXS
• Wheels: Reserve 25
• Tyres: Maxxis Ravager 700x40c (1x). WTB Ranger 27,5x2.0 (1x-650b). Maxxis Rambler 700x40c (2x)
• Stem: Easton EA90
• Handlebar: Easton EA70
• Seatpost: Rock Shox Reverb AXS XPLR (1x y 1x-650b). Easton EC70 (2x)
• Saddle: WTB Silverado Medium Ti

Rival AXS RSV (1x, 1x-650b o 2x)

• Price: 6,990 €
• Weight: 8.93 kg (1x), 9.16 kg (1x-650b), 8.87 kg (2x)
• Frame: CC Carbon
• Groupset: SRAM Rival AXS
• Wheels: Easton ARC Offset 25
• Tyres: Maxxis Ravager 700x40c (1x). WTB Ranger 27,5x2.0 (1x-650b). Maxxis Rambler 700x40c (2x)
• Stem: Easton EA90
• Handlebar: Easton EA70
• Seatpost: Easton EC70
• Saddle: WTB Silverado Medium CroMo

GRX

• Price: 5,890 €
• Weight: 8.58 kg
• Frame: CC Carbon
• Groupset: Shimano GRX 810
• Wheels: Easton ARC Offset 25
• Tyres: Maxxis Rambler 700x40c
• Stem: Easton EA90
• Handlebar: Easton EA70
• Seatpost: Easton EC70
• Saddle: WTB Silverado Medium CroMo

Rival

• Price: 5,090 €
• Weight: 8.9 kg
• Frame: CC Carbon
• Groupset: SRAM Rival 22
• Wheels: WTB EZR i23p
• Tyres: Maxxis Ravager 700x40c
• Stem: Easton EA50
• Handlebar: Easton EA50
• Seatpost: Easton EC50
• Saddle: WTB Silverado Medium CroMo