Santa Cruz Skitch owners?

[AvalancheRun]

Anyone riding a Santa Cruz Skitch?

I had a quick test and found it to be a compelling ride.

 

[AvalancheRun]

Adding some content to this thread.

Reviews:

These are only two hands-on reviews out there at the moment. The first one is sponsored, and the second is from a shop that sells Santa Cruz. That said, they seemed very fair, though mostly did not discuss price or value. The first video highlights the difference between motor noise in the Creo 1 and Skitch. Dustin understandably does not use his Creo 1 for group rides because of it, but claims that the Skitch would go completely unnoticed.

I also appreciate Santa Cruz's detailed comments on sizing. The model I tested was one size too small but the reach was still a little long. If this bike were less expensive it would be a no-brainer. $6-7.2k seems a bit much despite a very positive demo ride.

Sizing:

The Santa Cruz and Specialized fitting guidelines put me at a XL and 56 respectively.

However, upon testing 56 and 58 Specialized bikes, and fitting really well on a size-L Skitch, I think the 56/L and 58/XL are more comparable. Either work for someone my size, it just depends on the ride style desired.

Is anyone else looking at the Skitch?

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Although you might buy some Santa Cruz bikes and e-bikes in Europe, Skitch does not seem to arrive yet.

 

[Amazer98]

I looked into the Skitch, but the geometry seemed much more aggressive that the Creo 2 or the Domane+. At 70 years old, I’d prefer a more relaxed fit. But there’s much to commend the Skitch, both flat bar and dropped. I like the 420wh battery.

 

[AvalancheRun]

For what it’s worth, I went back for another test on this Skitch last month. Again the battery was low (buyer beware that these things may be sitting for long periods with dead batteries).

The excitement of the first ride had worn off. On second testing it came across as a competent lightweight ebike, but just didn’t wow me for $6k. The ride was ultra stiff compared to my Diverge. Motor was decently quiet but more annoying in pitch than our Bosch bikes. Didn’t love the power delivery. Didn’t like the throttle switch. Braking and shifting on the base model was meh. Even with a discount it just wasn’t appealing, sorry to say. Creo 2, while not exactly the same style of bike, was noticeably better in all of those areas.

 

[BlackHand]

You rode the flat bar version again?

I find the drop bar version tempting, though would probably want to make changes to the stem and seatpost to add compliance.

As far as power delivery - do you know if the shop had the bike updated to the latest fw that supposedly improved power delivery?

I find it odd that they market it as a do-it-all bike but it only has 2 sets of bosses and no real provision for any kind of rack.

Still seems to be an OK value with some discounting available. Can't find any near me to try out, and the only Creo2 or TQ bikes in stock locally are all $9-10k models which is a complete non starter for me.

 

[AvalancheRun]

You rode the flat bar version again?

I find the drop bar version tempting, though would probably want to make changes to the stem and seatpost to add compliance.

As far as power delivery - do you know if the shop had the bike updated to the latest fw that supposedly improved power delivery?

I find it odd that they market it as a do-it-all bike but it only has 2 sets of bosses and no real provision for any kind of rack.

Still seems to be an OK value with some discounting available. Can't find any near me to try out, and the only Creo2 or TQ bikes in stock locally are all $9-10k models which is a complete non starter for me.

Yep, flat bar. IIRC Skitch is on tubeless-ready wheels/tires so that's another easy compliance boost. Based on the battery being low both times I would assume old firmware.

From what I've read it waits for you to really dig in before giving full power, whereas the Creo will provide a healthy synthetic boost in turbo. Nice for commuting scenarios or traffic imo. That was true on my ride, but again it was around 20% SoC.

Totally agree on the bosses. You'll have to add a rear rack. I was looking at $1100 off between the two discounts ($500 store + $600 city program).

For the Creo 2, my thought was Comp model for $6500 and perhaps some comfort upgrades over time (seatpost, wheels, etc.) It is nuts that these bikes are generally unavailable. Not just the Creo 2, which is new, but the Trek TQ bikes are simply not stocked at most stores. I was told I would need to place an order sight-unseen. Nope!