Pinkbike needs to hire you for there reviews, this is so much more informative then some dude saying "Yea the bike shreds!!"

Dude these are great. Demystifies the hype from the manufacturers and offers objective data-based comparisons.

Okay I am hooked. I want to see all of the suspension systems compared this way now. Might help picking out what I need based on my riding and not marketing bs.

Really excellent vid. I have ridden numerous four bar (Horst) designs, DWLink bikes (Pivot and Ibis), Yeti’s Switch Infinity and I own 2 Santa Cruz Bronsons (V2 with upper linkage and V3 with lower, and have demoed the new Tallboy and Hightower with lower linkages, although not the Mega yet). Most of what your math indicates should happen in the real world I would say is correct, with a few caveats. I have found that the anti squat on the lower link Santa Cruz bikes in the real word outperforms four bar as follows- they stay higher in their travel and have less pedal bob but stay planted providing better traction under pedal power and there is zero pedal kickback on big square edge hits. The four bar definitely loses some small bump compliance and ground hugging compared to the VPP, which if you then drop the psi in the shock to compensate you get more pedal bob. So with a four bar you have to choose- do want better ground hugging traction or less pedal bob, you can’t have both, whereas with the VPP you get both. Also, the pedal kickback difference is quite noticeable. IMO the four bar feels more like the old upper mounted VPP designs- they all had these same issues, especially the pedal kickback due to the chain lengthening. But the new lower link VPP fixes all of these issues. Also, IMO, the DW link bikes and Yeti switch infinity are even better than the VPP in all these areas, but the difference is closer than ever and probably not noticeable for a lot riders. Regarding downhill, the VPP is far superior to the four bar IMO- it is significantly more supple off the top providing better small bump ground hugging but there is no mid travel sag- in fact just the opposite- when you push the suspension into the mid travel to rail a bermed turn or preload for a jump, it is quite supportive. This is, I believe, why just about everyone who rides a VPP will tell you that they rail turns and feel poppy. And that to me is the magic of the lower link VPP, downhill they manage amazing traction and ground hugging over smaller chunder at high speed, yet still allow you to push into the suspension to rail a turn or boost a jump, making the bike both a bomber and playful and poppy. While IMO the DW link bikes and Yeti have a slight advantage up and under pedal power over the VPP, the VPP is better downhill compared to all of them, although I would take all of them over a four bar. Regarding blowing through the travel, what I will say about the lower link VPP is that every aggressive ride the little rubber ring is either at the end of the shock or off, indicating I have either used all the travel or blown through it. The VPP combined with the shock tuning will have you using all the travel, occasionally blowing through it. If you are used to older bikes where after even aggressive rides you often have a fair amount of travel left, this may seem shocking (no pun intended). But what I can also say is that even when I have blown through it I have seldom ever actually felt it, and was surprised at the end of my ride that I had blown through it. So in MTB review terminology- the VPP has no harsh bottom out- in other words there is no jarring bang at the end of the travel to mess up your landing- just smoothness. Why I went Santa Cruz- first, the price difference is not much- compare the Bronson with Trek Remedy, the Scott Genius, the Yeti SB 140, the Pivot Mach 5 etc. All of these brands, if you compare models with similar components, are all within a few hundred dollars of each other. So price is really not an issue if you compare Santa Cruz to other similar upscale brands that do not sell direct to consumer. Although you can save money on consumer direct brands. Which brings me to another reason I went Santa Cruz- dealer support and availability. SC dealers are everywhere in the US, so support no matter where I am is great. And their dealers seem to be the better LBSs with more mountain bike oriented workers. And Company support and warranty are excellent. And the most important reason- the feel when I rode it- the bikes are substantial and stiff as hell resulting in a machine that felt more like an extension of me than any other bike. Plus the sizing is great- at 5’10” I like a long bike and could and did size up to an XL with no problem because of the low standover. The Bronson just fit me better and overall felt better than other bike I had demoed, pedaled awesome, and absolutely felt like a dream on the downhills. And that really should be the deciding factor for a buyer. It is how does the suspension and geometry and the quality of the build and the components come together to feel when you swing a leg over it and hit the trails. Anyway, great vid and interesting to learn the engineering behind it and how it does really play out on the trail.

These videos are amazing. Would love to see one on the Infinity Link

I bought that same bike about two years ago Megatower C XL & I loved it. 160mm Fox 36 up front & rock shox ultimate deluxe plus in the rear. One hell of a bike. It's now 2022 & I'm now on my second 2020 Santa Cruz Megatower & this time I'm riding a large CC👍🏿👍🏿 170mm factory Fox 38 up front a factory DHX 2 coil in the rear & I'm 6ft 1in tall. My bike is now amazing to ride & better then before. I live in the PNW Oregon/Washington where we have some big mountains to climb with some amazing down hill to boot & this bike climbs up them all very well & with very little noticeable anti squat & that was with the air shock. Now with the coil I do notice some squat when climbing but not much to complain about. When I get to the top of these mountains & point that Megatower down hill that is where this bike comes alive. I do believe that this bike performs much better with a coil shock in the rear better then the air shock. But tuning that coil to your liking will take some time & homework. I'm not sure that I got it right but all I know is that my 2020 Megatower feels really good to ride🤘🏿

Excellent video! Please keep them coming

Amazing video!! these tipes of videos are better than reviews so keep doing them!

Probably the best video out there that teaches suspensions kinematics for dummies like me. Thanks!

Great video and work! So glad I found your channel, I've got some binge watching to do.

This is the best mtb channel on KZfaq. Give this man a million subs!

awesome analysis - I'm surprised I actually understood most of it. The best explanation of complex suspension interactions I've ever seen

Really excellent video. Explained clearly and quickly. Subscribed ☑️

Very good content. Great explanation. Thank you.

Thanks for the information dude! HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Amazing! I want to see pivots dw-link or something where the shock is further up in the frame

What a great review. Thanks

Thanks for your video, after buy a megatower one friend of mine share me this video and I found why this bike it’s better than my transition scout 19, and his old horse link

Liked and subscribed. I liked your little joke at the end there, the "why to buy a Santa Cruz" part. Excellent satire.

I love these suspension review videos. Very informative. I do some bike reviews on my channel, and this info really goes more in depth. Love it.

Excellent stuff, Im still a huge fan of the VPP design, whats interesting is its been around for a very long time and wasn't until Santa Cruz got there hands on the patent after Litespeed went under that people started to take notice. IMHO its still the best all around design for the type of riding that I do, with great small bump compliance under braking with minimal "stinkbug effect." Your suspension info is very helpful and I like how you are including just how important shock choice can be depending on design and type of riding a person does. Thanks, keep up the great work.

Great explanation I'd love to see the new 2020 Specialized Enduro analysed :)

Finally someone who speaks suspension with analytical language unbiased by marketing. Thank you sir!

Thanks a lot for the videos like this one!! I really enjoy them and find them useful to chose my new bike. I'd like to see one for the Mondraker's Zero suspension system, that uses also a VPP

1st time seeing your content. I remember seeing some content from an engineer I think his channel is alexxtr or something like that but he rarely does anything. He has some very interesting content on suspension. Anyway, hopefully you keep up these explanations of different suspension types and their characteristics.👍

Gosh, what a great video. I remember when Santa Cruz first came out.... they had a single pivot, and I would laugh because they bobbed so much climbing. At the time, I thought they were toys and never turn into a serious, highly engineered machine. Wrong I was. Thanks for this explanation. Now, I would consider buying.

Good work!

great suspension reviews! please do more bikes. and, thank you.

Holy headset ! I knew I should have taken calculus ! That's what I call tech support!. Thanks for that and stay safe.

Lovely engineering explanation since I'm looking for my next bike frame; been used to 4 bar linkages for quite some time on the Enduro and Trek bikes, but looking at an Intense Carbine frame which uses VPP derived tech.

I have the Kross moon 1.0 and i love it❤️

It would be great if you kept an updated list of bikes ranked from best to worst depending on specific characteristics. A spreadsheet would be great. I think you've found a great video format here. Keep making these and you'll eventually become the go to guy for this stuff. Anytime anyone is looking to buy a new bike, they'll refer to these vids. Great stuff. Keep up the amazing work. Btw, it would be really cool if you could compare the full floater design from the 2018 Trek Remedy to the non full floater modern Trek Remedy models. I've always been curiuos about the ABP as well.

this is gonna be my next rig

Please please please do the hightower in XXL :). Loving your channel. And lets delve a little deeper into the maths than just the graphical plots 🙂. Interested to see how the anti-squat changes with gradient as CG shifts back.

Great video and analysis! Would be interested how and if this new vpp design differs from the older style with the higher mounted shock like the 2018 Hightower.

My santa cruz dealer has some of the best costumer support i have ever tried.

Cool! I rode the Ransom and Megatower back to back and found them very different. The Ransom was very plush and smooth, and the Megatower bounced around a lot and felt like the rear wheel hung up on any square hit.

Great analysis! Would be cool to see your thoughts and analysis on the new Megatower V2 with it's revised kinematics.

Excellent, well in-depth video. Keep ‘em coming. I would love to hear your opinion on the PROPAIN HUGENE suspension. It has an unusual design. Bike was named Bike of the Year amongst 10 others, by some magazine, I forgot which one. Thanks!

Love your videos. So much effort in these. Could you do one on Niner Rip 9 RDO? CVA suspension? Super curious how this suspension system compares to the competition. Thank you!

holy shit this is so good. legit thought this good had like 100k subs coz of the quality of the vids. how do you have only 6.3??

Awesome video and explanations. I would love to see one on Commencal meta 29s linkage driven single pivot and how it compares.

Love this particular insight into frame! Could you do one on the new kona process 153s?:)

Very much enjoying your suspension analyses videos. I believe you've overlooked a critical characteristic between the VPP (Megatower) and 4-bar-link (Scott Ransom) during you're summary. While your analyses shows the suspension to perform in a fairly similar manner in your 2D analyses, I suspect the VPP design has greater lateral and torsional stiffness making the bike track better in corners especially when the going gets rough. The solid VPP rear triangle also likely transfers bump energy to the shock more efficiently without flexing and twisting. The VPP rear triangle stiffness should also increase pedaling efficiency with less energy lost to a flexing and twisting of the rear triangle. The same type of lateral and torsional stiffness benefits should apply to DW link and the Yeti suspensions you've reviewed. Probably the only way to test for this would be to build a test jig that measures deflections while applying twisting forces to the rear axle while holding the main frame steady. The same type of test jig could probably be used to test the stiffness of forks.

This is mind blowing! Please review Trek Slash 2021 if possible. Thank you.

Cool video. I've been debating between an air or coil shock for my Megatower. I think I'll stay with air.

Absolutely killer! Do yeti switch infinity next!

I'd be curious to see how the Intense derivative of VPP that they use on the Carbine and the Tracer stacks up to the Santa Cruz. Love the videos, very informative!

Could you do one of these videos for the Trek ABP suspension system? Thanks for your awesome videos!

Could you please do a video on the Jamis 3VO suspension? Just subscribed for these videos, great info!

Great comparison to the 4bar style linkage 👌🏻 Giant’s Maestro next?

How did you get your measurements for your analysis? Most bikes it's fairly straightforward and you can do it in linkage with a side profile pic of the bike. The new lower link Santa Cruz's tho are really hard because you can't see the pivot bolts, so curious where you got your measurements from. Fantastic videos btw. Good explanation and some of the best editing I've seen on any analysis like this ever, nice work!

It would be cool to see a video where you compare the effects of a flip chip on a bike like the Nukeproof Dissent or Giga.

Very cool and geeky video ! Can you do the Mondraker Foxy 29 ?

When Santa Cruz bikes start winning Enduro's I'll believe the hype

I'd be interested to see this for the Canfield Balance Formula!

I have a megatower and can tell you that when pedaling the bike reacts very differently depending on how much you keep your weight on the seat. If I'm fully committed to weight on the seat there's no Bob. In fact, the lack of bob is actually a pain when doing some trails as it makes you feel like you're sitting too high on the bike.

Two more important things about VPP: 1) all bearings are installed in links which makes service extremely easy; 2) (goes to all virtual pivot point suspensions) front and rear triangles are single parts which makes them also easier to (dis)assemble and service.

@3:50 more air in this suspension does not result in less small bump compliance, specifically because the leverage curve is higher. the higher leverage curve makes the suspension more reactive in the lower air pressures before the shock is compressed.

Please do Specialized Stump jumper FSR

Please do the CBP suspension of Revel Bikes and Salsa’s suspension design it would be really helpful for me to decide what I would get thanks!

Enjoying your videos, are you doing one for the 2020 specialized enduro

Very nicely explained, but you talk about the price for the Megatower as it is more as the Scott Ransom?! They are identically priced here in Europe. In my opinion the big difference between the two are the 2kg while pedalling uphill. The Ransom about 13kg and the Meg about 15kg (with coil). I own a Megatower and my grilfriend a Ransom. Love both bikes.

Best

A video on the Pole bikes?

excellent analysis,can you do one for the nukeproof mega? thanks

Great, I have actually had a chance to ride this. You can really notice the small bump compliance (I am a heavy rider). I'm also facinated that the spring rate has a bigger effect then the leverage curve. Inifinity link or DW next?

I would love to see a Comparison of the Santa Cruz Megatower and the V10... of course, the one is Enduro and the other a DH, but i would line to see the significant differences between them.👍🏻

Like what you’re doing. When will you check out the new 2020 Specialized Enduro ? Thanks.

Great review! I would really like to know how this compairs to the 2020 Specialized Enduro?? Can’t decide between the two? I am 6’1” and 220lbs. I ride hard and like to pop off things and hit jumps and drops.

Great information regarding the chain growth of 5.2%. Is that a relatively constant number for all VPP suspension on their bikes. e.g, will the 5010v3 rear-center be 447mm at max length (425mm static). I’m curious what the Megatower and 5010v3 rear-center measurements are at 50% travel and if the low shock VPP ratio of 5.2% is similar to the high shock mount VPP of the 5010? Thanks for the interesting video!!

Do nukeproof giga vs mega!

Please do the Specialized Enduro suspension.

Do an IDS GT!!!

thanks for the informative and unbiased technical analysis, can I conclude that all the latest santa cruz bikes that have the same design will have similar characteristics? or it will be vary by model since this was analysed based on megatower?

Amazing 🤩, YT V4 please :)

How about a breakdown of a CBF suspension? (Revel licenses the Canfield Balance formula)

Interesting analysis! Is it possible to tune the suspension on a Megatower to feel more plush, like on that of a Nomad?

Can you make one on the Devinci spartan?

Its a bit late but can you do a video on forbiddens trifecta linkage

Giant's Maestro suspension pls

Please do the new v10!

My LBS deals in SC, Specialized and Rocky Mountain so support would be the same for all I'm guessing.

I wonder how much improvement between Santa Cruz old VPP and new VPP

Any chance you can do Rocky Mountain Element and Instinct? Both are some sort of 4 bar design. thanks!

Would this analysis apply to all of Santa’s Cruz’s lower link VPP bikes (Hightower and Tallboy)?

Can you please do Marin Mount Vision ?

im impressed maybe to much

I love these video, but am noticing that your leverage ratio curves are different than those found on the very popular Linkage Design Blogspot. Can you offer any insight as to why the leverage ratio curves might differ between your videos and the Blogspot site? Makes it tough to make a decision when you're not sure who's more on point. Thank you!

Is there a verison of this video for the new v2?

I call this the " mud clog linkage" on rear

SO WHICH IS BETTER? scott ransom or santa cruz suspension?

Do the maestro link pls

Is it just me, when I see other suspensions designs I don't care if it's better or worse than the Ranson...I still want the Scott Ransom haha

Does this analysis apply to the 5010 v4 with the same VPP design?

I have ZERO idea what any of this is and means. And I am an engineer. Lol. And it is all AWESOME!!!!! 🤣😍

If anything else it looks clean af compared to other technologies

May i request the zero suspension tech on Mondraker *please*

I think the biggest part of the VPP suspension design is actually the low center of gravity it offers, not actually the suspension performance

So if you take a big hit and then brake hard the rear suspension would extend while the fork would go deep into the travel due to the weight transfer. This looks to me like the perfect recipe for going over the bars.