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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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#5 ·
2011 Santa Cruz Butcher

Here's my new Butcher;

Med Frame w/ Fox RP23
Fox36 Talas RLC 160mm Taper
Mavic Crossmax SX Wheelset
Truvativ Stylo OCT 170mm 24-36T Crank
E.13 TurboCharger Bashguard
XO Shifters & Rr. Der.
XT Ft. Der & Cassette
Avid Elixir R SL Brakes w/ XX 185mm Rotors
Specialized S-Works Eskar 2.3 Tubeless Tires
Chris King Taper Headset
Easton MonkeyLite XC Low Rise Bars
Thomson 70mm Stem / 0 Offset Seatpost
WTB Silverado Seat
Crank Bros. Acid pedals
Santa Cruz Peaty Lock-On grips

Complete Weight: 29 lbs

Wheel Bicycle tire Bicycle wheel rim Bicycle wheel Bicycle fork


Bicycle tire Tire Wheel Bicycle frame Bicycle wheel rim
 
#12 ·
utahgeoff said:
I don't think there are that many out there either.
Ive been waiting for mine for 5 weeks now.
Paid for it in full 2 weeks ago hoping that that would magically get it here faster.
I imagine you'll be quite happy once you hit the trails. Can't comment on the Nickel, but the I swear they gave the Butcher it's name because it carves up trails. This bike is like a slingshot coming out of turns. Be sure to give us a trail report once you're bike comes in! What color did you order?
 
#14 ·
Hey Haus, tell us how your Butcher is going mate. You intial review two weeks ago was a little tainted by the heat and a light head, if I remember correctly. Have you had a good run on it now, what's your opinion, what are the strengths that you can see so far...., give us something to drool over.

Thanks
 
#15 ·
Just got back from a nice 10 mile ride today. Let me tell you man, I LOVE THIS BIKE. I find myself going down technical terrain so much faster than I could have imagined before. The butcher totally carves up technical fire roads and trails alike. I haven't hucked it off any 4' + jumps/drops just yet, but I've ridden down some really gnarley rock gardens, over nasty roots, and washed out trails pretty damn fast and the butcher just eats it all up like it's an appetizer. Climbing can be a challenge on steeper ascents, but that's a given with the bike's geometry. I've also been riding with flats since I day 1 on the Butcher. I plan on throwing my clipless pedals on sometime soon and I have a feeling this is gonna make a big difference when tackling some of those 25 + degree ascents and more technical s/t. Also, I'd prefer to ride my h/t stumpjumper when riding really narrow trails less than 18" in width. I was on a couple today on a really steep hillside. Because of the slack head tube angle, the bike goes where ever you point it- even with the slightest movement/adjustment. Not so good on the super narrow stuff, but I found it's awesome when trying to make quick corrections when traveling at speed. When you hit anything with a nice downslope, the Butcher feels like a slingshot. This is especially true coming out of corners. Just a little bit of physical exertion and the bike really takes off. I have the bike setup for a really plush feel right now and I've bottomed it out a few times, BUT, you don't even know that you've bottomed out. The rear suspension is super plush pretty much all the way through the shock stroke. And like others have pointed out- it's pretty damn stiff. I haven't felt the slightest lateral flex in the bike and I weigh around 190lb. We'll see what happens when I throw some heavier stuff at it if I can make it up to Northstar this summer. ;)
 
#21 ·
Haus Boss said:
I imagine you'll be quite happy once you hit the trails. Can't comment on the Nickel, but the I swear they gave the Butcher it's name because it carves up trails. This bike is like a slingshot coming out of turns. Be sure to give us a trail report once you're bike comes in! What color did you order?
I ordered a black D AM. (dang budget)
Before buying I was able to ride a Butcher and a Nickel at a Santa Cruz Demo. Now I'm stuck waitingfor that feeling again.
How did you manage to get yours so quickly Haus?
 
#22 ·
I live in Northern California :D The bike shops that carry SCruz round these parts sell more than 2-3 SC bikes per year. I'm sure SCruz wants to give bike shops moving larger volume priority.

Also, I had originally ordered by Butcher in chocolate. I called in 3weeks after my order to see if they had any news and was told the Chocolates were on delay since they didn't have enough orders, but they had black in stock (at the time). I decided this was a minor trade-off, and I might still be waiting for my bike to ship if I stuck with the choco!
 
#26 ·
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!
 
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