Posts tagged Stigmata
The Evolution of the Santa Cruz Stigmata
August 8, 2023 11:55am
by
rob
I’ve been a huge fan of the Santa Cruz Stigmata since it was first introduced in 2007. Back then it was a no-nonsense cyclocross race bike with cantilever brakes. The frame was Easton EA6X aluminum (and I believe still made in the USA by Kinesis in Portland, Oregon).
The second generation Stigmata released in 2015 really got my attention. This time it was carbon fiber and came with disc brakes. I shot an email to Santa Cruz to complain that it didn’t have fender eyelets and got a really thoughtful reply from Scott Turner:
“The Stigmata is definitely still designed as a performance oriented bike with CX/Gravel in mind. Fender eyelets would feel pretty out of place on a bike like this. That’s not really the intended use/design spectrum it currently fits in.”
The third generation Stigmata released in 2019 saw fairly evolutionary changes–and this time it came with fender eyelets! I came very close to buying this bike. In fact, I would have probably bought one last year but it only cleared 45mm tires and I wanted to be able to go to 50.
So I was really excited to see the fourth generation Stigmata, which was finally revealed last week. This new bike has some BIG changes. It can now clear 50mm tires. And it's definitely a lot more mtb-oriented now.
Dave Rome at Escape Collective sums up some of the changes nicely:
"Gone is the traditional and cyclocross-inspired geometry, with the new Stigmata leaning into Santa Cruz’s mountain bike focus. Here, the revamped and now progressive geometry sees reach figures grow by a whopping 30 mm for each of the five frame sizes. Head tube angles are slackened by a whole two degrees to hit a consistent 69.5°. And such changes now mean the Stigmata is optimised around the use of a shorter 70 mm stem length. Whether you think it’s the future or a fad, the new Stigmata offers a suspension-corrected geometry to handle a 40 mm suspension fork."
I think the evolution of the Stigmata from 2007 is a pretty good summary of the gravel segment in general. Has Santa Cruz gone too far with the new bike?
Which generation is your favorite?
The second generation Stigmata released in 2015 really got my attention. This time it was carbon fiber and came with disc brakes. I shot an email to Santa Cruz to complain that it didn’t have fender eyelets and got a really thoughtful reply from Scott Turner:
“The Stigmata is definitely still designed as a performance oriented bike with CX/Gravel in mind. Fender eyelets would feel pretty out of place on a bike like this. That’s not really the intended use/design spectrum it currently fits in.”
The third generation Stigmata released in 2019 saw fairly evolutionary changes–and this time it came with fender eyelets! I came very close to buying this bike. In fact, I would have probably bought one last year but it only cleared 45mm tires and I wanted to be able to go to 50.
So I was really excited to see the fourth generation Stigmata, which was finally revealed last week. This new bike has some BIG changes. It can now clear 50mm tires. And it's definitely a lot more mtb-oriented now.
Dave Rome at Escape Collective sums up some of the changes nicely:"Gone is the traditional and cyclocross-inspired geometry, with the new Stigmata leaning into Santa Cruz’s mountain bike focus. Here, the revamped and now progressive geometry sees reach figures grow by a whopping 30 mm for each of the five frame sizes. Head tube angles are slackened by a whole two degrees to hit a consistent 69.5°. And such changes now mean the Stigmata is optimised around the use of a shorter 70 mm stem length. Whether you think it’s the future or a fad, the new Stigmata offers a suspension-corrected geometry to handle a 40 mm suspension fork."
I think the evolution of the Stigmata from 2007 is a pretty good summary of the gravel segment in general. Has Santa Cruz gone too far with the new bike?
Which generation is your favorite?