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Post your Butchers & Nickels!

345K views 2K replies 249 participants last post by  Shawn in da Canyon 
#1 ·
Let's see these sexy beasts!

I'll Start:

Butcher R AM w/ Fox Float 32 in the front



And here's the mutilator with Mt Tamalpais in the background- sun glare kinda missed up the pic :(

 
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#27 ·
overtorqued_nut said:
Just finished (sorta) the build on my medium Nickel; got a 15QR kashima talas rlc with a rp23 in the back. The parts kit is a mix of 3 generations of XT/XTR, and some pretty stout wheels I laced up personally with XT high flange (Boat anchor!) hubs, 14 gauge spokes, and DT ex400 hoops. Still figuring out what stem and seatpost works best, so no final weight but it was a few c-hairs over 29 pounds with a maverick speedball post and race face diabolus stem. Hoping to bring it down closer to 28 lbs by not using spare AM/DH parts...
Anyways with the insane build disclaimer out of the way, I must say that this bike is really superb. It pedals and climbs like a blur when the fork is in 120mm mode, and slackens out nicely for rough ground like a nomad in when in 150mm mode. The frame is stiff, so it is pretty confidence inspiring, and encourages more agressive riding than 125mm of rear travel would suggest. Even with 10mm more travel in the front than recommended, it still rides fine, and is a great bike to have a travel adjust fork to alter the geometry to suit the trail.
Overall fit and finish is good too, the head tube was cleanly and evenly machined and almost mirror smooth on the inside, the bottom bracket shell had good clean threads, and the decals are so clean that they look like fine, hand-painted china. There are a few tiny drips and runs on the powder coat, for example a little wart on the rear IS brake mounts, but nothing that cannot be corrected or that is too noticeable.
Looking forward to spending more time riding the Nickel and getting it dialed in, as it's a bit unconventional in a lot of ways. I think it will work for a lot of different types of riding, similar to how the Blur 4x and Specialized Pitch do, but with some modernized features like a tapered headtube, angular contact bearings, and creative options on cable routing.
I'll see if I can find anything I don't like about the bike, but so far it looks like Santa Cruz has knocked another one out of the park!
Nice lyrics, but post some pics plz :p
 
#33 ·
hitek79 said:
Finally got a crane rented to lift my frame into my truck. Definitely not a bike that will ever be able to make it up any kind of hill. Estimated build weight is somewhere around 42,000lbs.

?

is the frame really so heavy? 7.37lbs or 3kg with shock in medium

i have a blur lt2 and i think the frame in L has the same weight ...

the fork is a good choice
stiff as hell (!) and very light

i have it on my rize :)
 
#36 ·
Just a Butcher frame with RP23 rear shock. I'm waiting on the steerer tube spacers, since I have an 1 1/8 steerer on my Talas 150mm. Bicycle World in Kingman Arizona ordered the frame, and is swapping most of the parts from my Kona to the Butcher. Seat post is smaller than my Kona Dawg, so I'm getting a Thompson Elite (30.9mm) Cane Creek xx headset is here already.







 
#40 ·
hillwilly said:
yes, frame size medium. Should have the completed bike pictures up by Wednesday or Thursday I hope. I'm guessing the complete bike will weigh 31 pounds when it's finished.
Please post up your thoughts on comparison between the Butcher and your old DAWG, Id be very interested to here how it is over bumpy terrain and braking. Congrats on the new ride!
 
#41 ·
I'll be picking up my completed bike, after work on Saturday. My LBS had to order a derailler for the new frame, the one on my dawg wouldn't work on the Butcher. Also the brake hoses were a little short, so new ones were ordered. Everything else is good to go, ride review and pictures of the complete bike will be posted next week some time.
 
#42 ·
Hi, I was thinking to the Nickel as a short travel "slack 'n' low" aggressive bike (i.e. Banshee Spitfire). It seems pretty heavy, so I guess it should stand some abuse (with "abuse" I don't mean 6' drops!). Do you know if a 150mm Revelation would void the warranty? With this fork it should have angles similar to the Butcher but with shorter CS and longer top-tube. Another questions: why no raw finish for Nickel and Butcher? At least, the bike builder on SC website doesn't show it as an option.
 
#43 ·
greb said:
Hi, I was thinking to the Nickel as a short travel "slack 'n' low" aggressive bike (i.e. Banshee Spitfire). It seems pretty heavy, so I guess it should stand some abuse (with "abuse" I don't mean 6' drops!). Do you know if a 150mm Revelation would void the warranty? With this fork it should have angles similar to the Butcher but with shorter CS and longer top-tube. Another questions: why no raw finish for Nickel and Butcher? At least, the bike builder on SC website doesn't show it as an option.
From the SC FAQ section on the Nickel:

What fork sizes are recommended for the Nickel?


120mm-140mm. The forks we offer are all 130mm, which is kind of the sweet spot, but they can all be reduced to 120mm or extended to 140mm by removing or installing a travel spacer.

So yes, it would more than likely void the warranty.
 
#47 ·
New Butcher

Built my butcher finally, most parts are swapped from my other bike. I did just purchase a Revelation Team dual air tapered fork to try. Haven't installed it yet.

Here's the current build:

Medium Santa Cruz butcher
Marzocchi all mtn. SL 1 160mm fork ( to be replaced w/ Rockshox Revelation team Dual air tapered 150mm)
Easton 31.8 oversize carbon riser bar
Easton stem 90mm
Easton Havoc seatpost (to be replaced w/ Joplin 4)
Hope M4 brakes 180mm front -160mm rear
Bontrager rhythm Elite tubeless wheelset
Kenda 2.3 Nevegals
XTR crank
Specialized Rival SL seat
ODI ruffian lock-ons
 

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