Santa Cruz Stigmata CC Rival 700c

When the Stigmata was resurrected in 2015, we fused a number of MTB standards and design features to create our spin on the modern CX bike. Nowadays, the internally routed disc brakes, generous tire clearance, and thru-axles approach that made the Stigmata famous have become more of a norm for the gravel-curious and free-roading crowd, so we took a fresh look at which standards the riders of tomorrow wanted access to today.

Threaded bottom brackets remain a perennial favorite across our entire line. The Stigmata also has your ass covered with neat, hidden fender mounts, and three water bottle mounts that highlight the Stigmata's ever-widening scope of purpose.

Deeper adventures, bigger tires perhaps? The frame now clears up to a 45mm 700c or a 2.1" 650B tire. Marry the latter to our Force/X01 AXS mashup kit, and you've got yourself the kind of drop-bar singletrack rallycat we can all get on board with.

And, when it comes to good old-fashioned off-road etiquette, the Stigmata's had some coaching at the Highball school of stiffness, handling, and offroad feel. The carbon layup and frame design produce a ride so law-abiding you'd think HR had sent it on a compliance training course.

Geometry plays a big part here too, so we've made tweaks to improve handling for smaller riders and reduce toe overlap. The reworking of the 52/54cm frames means the Stigmata now comfortably suits riders from 5'3" and up. Meanwhile, different fork offsets—50mm for the 52-54cm sizes, and 45mm for the 56-61cm sizes—help ensure your little piggies don't go to market on the front wheel.

Topped off with tidy details like 12mm front axle and flat-mount brakes, the Stigmata is designed to let you decide whatever the heck you want this category to be.

- Frame: Carbon CC Cyclocross
- 700c x 45mm tire clearance
- Rear Derailleur: Rival 1 Long Cage, 11spd
- Brakes: SRAM Rival