2027 Santa Cruz V10.8 CC Custom Kelp & Orange Edition

The Most Talked-About Bike On Our Shop Floor

Some bikes need explaining. This one just needs looking at.

Gloss Kelp Green carbon frame. Custom orange decals. Shiny Orange FOX 40 Factory forks. Matching orange coil spring. Even the Burgtec direct-mount stem gets involved.

It’s loud, but not just for the sake of it. Underneath the colour scheme is a properly serious downhill build based around the latest Santa Cruz V10.8 CC frame, with 203mm of FOX Factory suspension up front, 208mm of VPP travel at the rear, an X01 DH drivetrain and enough braking power to stop something considerably heavier.

This is a proper downhill bike.

And yes, it looks absolutely ridiculous in the best possible way.

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Kelp Green And Factory Orange: Subtle Was Never An Option

The Gloss Kelp Green frame already stands out, but pairing it with orange decals, a Shiny Orange FOX 40 and matching orange shock spring completely changes the bike.

The Iron Bro Orange Burgtec stem ties the front end together, while clear-anodised Maven Ultimate brakes add another premium detail without fighting the main colour scheme.

It’s easily the most talked-about bike on our shop floor.

Walk past it once and you’ll understand why.

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Santa Cruz V10.8 CC: A Proper Downhill Chassis

The V10 isn’t an enduro bike with a dual-crown fork attached.

It’s a purpose-built downhill platform with a Carbon CC frame, 208mm of VPP suspension and geometry developed for race runs, uplift days and bike park laps. Size Medium uses the intended mixed-wheel setup, with a 29in front wheel and 27.5in rear.

The frame feels composed when the track gets fast, but it hasn’t been turned into a bike that only works for World Cup racers. There’s enough adjustment to make it manageable on tighter UK tracks, while still having the stability needed when speeds start getting properly silly.

Lap after lap, this is what a downhill bike is built for.

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203 / 208mm Travel: Built For The Way Down

A 203mm FOX 40 Factory controls the front of the bike, while the V10’s VPP system delivers 208mm at the rear.

That gives you the travel to deal with big compressions, rough braking zones and awkward landings, but the important bit is how controlled that travel feels.

The V10 doesn’t just flatten everything and remove the rider from the equation. It stays supportive enough to pump through terrain, drive through turns and generate speed where a softer bike would disappear into its suspension.

Big travel, but still something you can actively ride.

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2027 FOX 40 Factory GRIP X2: Orange And Very Serious

The Shiny Orange lowers get everyone’s attention.

The performance underneath them is what keeps it.

This is the 2027 FOX 40 Factory with 203mm of travel, a GRIP X2 damper, Kashima-coated upper tubes and the updated FLOAT EVOL GlideCore air spring. The 40mm chassis gives you the steering accuracy needed to hold a line through rough ground, while the damper provides the support and adjustment required for proper downhill speeds.

It stays smooth when the fork is loaded under braking, holds you up through steep compressions and gives the front tyre the chance to keep working rather than skipping across the surface.

It also happens to be bright orange.

Which helps.

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FOX DHX2 Factory: Coil Consistency

The V10 frame comes with a FOX DHX2 Factory coil shock, paired here with a matching orange spring.

Santa Cruz designed the V10.8’s leverage curve around a coil shock, and the DHX2 suits the bike perfectly. It gives the rear wheel a calm, connected feel across roots, rocks and repeated square edges, while remaining consistent from the top of the track to the bottom.

There’s sensitivity when you need grip, but still enough support to push into turns and compressions without the bike feeling lazy.

The correct spring rate matters on any coil-sprung bike, so we’ll help make sure the setup suits the rider rather than simply sending it out with whatever looks best against the frame.

Although the orange does look very good.

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Three-Way Geometry Adjustment: Set It Up Your Way

The V10.8 gives you meaningful adjustment in three different areas.

Reach can be changed using centred or offset headset cups. The rear-centre length can be altered with short, middle or long dropouts. A three-position lower-link adjustment lets you change the suspension position and bottom bracket height.

Santa Cruz recommends beginning in the middle position across all three, then adjusting from there depending on rider preference and terrain.

Run it shorter and higher for tighter, more active tracks. Add length and lower the bike when outright stability matters more.

This isn’t adjustment added to fill a specification sheet. Each change can make a noticeable difference to how the bike behaves.

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DT Swiss FR 1500 Classic Wheels: Premium Alloy Done Properly

The mixed-wheel DT Swiss FR 1500 Classic setup keeps the V10 fast, tough and serviceable.

A 29in front wheel brings rollover and front-wheel confidence, while the 27.5in rear gives you more clearance to move around the bike and makes it easier to change direction through tighter sections.

The FR 1500 Classic is a proper gravity wheelset, built around 30mm internal-width aluminium rims and DT Swiss 240-series hubs. It has the strength needed for downhill and freeride without the anxiety that can come with smashing an expensive carbon rim into every rock garden.

Premium wheels, just without the delicate attitude.

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Schwalbe Tacky Chan Radials: Ultra Soft At Both Ends

This bike runs Schwalbe Tacky Chan Gravity Pro Radial tyres front and rear.

The 29 x 2.5in front and 27.5 x 2.5in rear both use Schwalbe’s Ultra Soft compound, putting maximum grip and damping ahead of rolling efficiency. Exactly the right priority on a downhill bike.

The Tacky Chan tread is designed to balance cornering grip, braking traction and speed, while the Radial construction helps the tyre conform to the ground and maintain contact across rough surfaces.

They aren’t light trail tyres.

They aren’t trying to be.

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SRAM Maven Ultimate: Twin 220mm Rotors

A V10 carrying proper speed needs brakes with a lot in reserve.

SRAM Maven Ultimate four-piston brakes provide the power, paired with 220mm HS2 rotors at both ends. The clear-anodised finish looks suitably special, but this is very much a performance choice rather than a cosmetic one.

Maven’s stiff calliper and huge baseline power give you the ability to slow the bike without squeezing the lever into the handlebar. More importantly, there’s enough control to manage that power rather than turning every braking zone into an on-or-off situation.

The thicker HS2 rotors improve heat management and provide more braking power, which matters when you’re doing repeated runs rather than one short descent followed by a long rest.

Big brakes. Big rotors.

No mystery about why they’re here.

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SRAM X01 DH: Seven Gears Are Enough

A downhill bike doesn’t need a 52-tooth climbing gear.

SRAM X01 DH keeps the drivetrain short, tight and focused on the gears you’ll actually use between the start gate and the finish line.

The short-cage X01 DH derailleur is tucked safely out of the way, controlled by a dedicated seven-speed trigger shifter. At the rear, the XG-795 cassette uses a compact 10–24-tooth range with close steps designed specifically for downhill riding.

That means quick changes without jumping across several unnecessary ratios, whether you’re putting in a few hard pedal strokes out of the gate or driving towards the next feature.

X01 DH cranks complete the setup with the stiffness and strength needed for hard landings and full-power sprints.

Simple, mechanical and race-proven.

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Burgtec Finishing Kit: More Orange, Obviously

A 45mm Burgtec Direct Mount MK3 stem in Iron Bro Orange sits neatly between the FOX 40 crowns.

It keeps the steering direct and gives the front of the bike another hit of colour without looking like an afterthought.

A Burgtec Xpress alloy seatpost and Cloud DH saddle finish the seating setup. Both are straightforward, tough components designed around downhill riding, where the priority is keeping the saddle low and out of the way.

Nothing complicated.

Nothing that needs charging.

Nothing added purely because it looked good on a spreadsheet.

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Who Is This Custom V10 For?

This is for riders with access to uplifts, chairlifts, race tracks or a very patient mate with a van.

It’s for downhill racing, bike park laps and riders who know that a long-travel enduro bike still isn’t quite the same as a proper DH bike.

The V10 gives you more stability, more suspension consistency and more confidence when the terrain becomes fast enough that normal trail-bike compromises start showing.

It won’t pedal nicely to the top.

That isn’t a criticism. That’s the point.

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The Takeaway

This build gets attention because it’s green and orange.

It deserves attention because the specification underneath is properly sorted.

You get the latest Santa Cruz V10.8 Carbon CC chassis, 208mm of adjustable VPP suspension, a 203mm Shiny Orange FOX 40 Factory GRIP X2, FOX DHX2 Factory coil shock, DT Swiss FR 1500 wheels, Ultra Soft Schwalbe Radial tyres, SRAM Maven Ultimate brakes and a compact X01 DH drivetrain.

It’s bright, fast and completely unapologetic.

The most talked-about bike on our shop floor.

And probably the hardest one to walk past without looking back.

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Available : Now

Available quantity : ONE!!