All-new Juliana Maverick women’s trail bike, a less XC-focused Trek Top Fuel and the boutique, US-made Intense Primer Expert 29er
£7,799 Top-end women’s carbon-framed, trail-ready 29er
The Maverick is the latest addition to the Juliana Bicycles family – a 140mm-travel 29er that’s firmly aimed at trail/all-mountain riders. It uses the same frame as the Santa Cruz Hightower (the two brands are sister companies), which has had a major update for 2020. We hit the trails of Buena Vista, Colorado, to see just what this means on the hill.
The frame Probably the most striking feature is the shock position. It’s been shifted lower in the frame than on the old Hightower and now connects to the down tube just above the bottom bracket (BB) area, as on the Maverick’s sister bikes, the Roubion and Strega. This suspension set-up was debuted on the V10 downhill bike, and sees the repositioned shock being driven by the lower of the two VPP (Virtual Pivot Point) links that connect the front and rear triangles together.
The reach on the medium CC frame (Santa Cruz/Juliana’s premium carbon fibre) is now a much more up-to-date 450mm, in the ‘low’ geometry setting (453mm in ‘high’), compared to 430mm on the last-generation Hightower. A flip-chip allows you to raise the BB height and steepen the head angle slightly (from 65.2 to 65.5 degrees) for climb-heavy outings. But we spent most of our time in the lower setting, with no noticeable loss of e ciency while ascending or on undulating terrain. The steep 76.6-degree seat angle (77 degrees in ‘high’) keeps you well-positioned over the BB on the climbs.
There’s plenty of room inside the front triangle for a water bottle (and space to strap on a spare tube and tyre levers too), which’ll make a lot of people happy.
The kit This is the range-topper in the Maverick line-up, and is specced to reflect just that. Juliana worked closely with RockShox to develop a custom tune for the Super Deluxe Ultimate shock that controls the 140mm of rear wheel travel. This lighter tune has been designed to suit the lower weight and height range of typical female riders. It’s intended to give a light, supple action with less damping o the top of the stroke, building up to a more progressive feel the deeper you get into the travel. The shock comes fitted with one volume
spacer as standard. Up front is a burly RockShox Lyrik Ultimate fork with 150mm of travel.
Santa Cruz supply their Reserve wheels, which pair 30mm carbon rims with DT Swiss 350 hubs. These are shod with triple-compound 2.4in Maxxis Minion DHR tyres. A 12-speed SRAM X01 Eagle transmission (with X1 Eagle cranks) and top-end SRAM Code RSC brakes are to be expected at this price point, as is a carbon bar – in this case, a Santa Cruz AM. We like the colour-matched, women’sspecifc Juliana saddle and grips. An exciting addition is RockShox’s updated Reverb Stealth dropper post, which has been re-engineered to give a shorter overall length and is now said to require 50 per cent less force to make it drop, which is great news for lighter riders.
The ride That lower shock position provides a noticeably lower centre of gravity than on the old Hightower, so despite the big wheels, you really do feel ‘in’ the bike rather than perched up on it. For such a surefooted bigwheeler, it’s nimbler than you might expect and handles slow-speed twisty trails remarkably well.
On the climbs, the Maverick’s steep seat angle, big wheels and taut suspension – which feels supportive rather than wallowy – makes getting up and over rock-strewn inclines a sprightly and satisfyingly e cient a air. The momentum carried on flatter terrain with minimal input is impressive too – it rolls through rock gardens without getting hooked up or losing significant amounts of speed. On the descents, it feels steadfast, maintaining excellent traction and handling bigger hits with relative ease.
All in all, the new Juliana is extremely capable, and we can’t wait to tackle some more familiar, technical descents on our local test loops, so we can really push the bike to its limits. AOIFE GLASS www.julianabicycles.com
A nimble, con ident ride that climbs well and eats technical descents for breakfast