Circles has in-stock frames for the SANTA CRUZ BICYCLES Stigmata CC 3. After buying one with the highest level of excitement, I became completely captivated by its performance, and now it goes everywhere with me. Today, I’ll explain it using my own Stigmata, which features a poppy candy light blue color!
I love the style of chromoly bikes like SURLY, CRUST, and ALL CITY, but when it comes to focusing on truly "riding" hard, carbon bikes are simply superior.
Please also check out the ride reports from my Hokkaido crossing and Kyushu crossing on this bike. The long rides you can do because it's a Stigmata are the best...
SANTA CRUZ Stigmata 3 CC
SIZE : 52cm, 54cm
COLOR : Gloss Lavender
PRICE : ¥465,300 (tax inc)
SANTA CRUZ handles all its own design & production
Born in 1993 in a small garage in Santa Cruz, California, SANTA CRUZ still owns its offices, factories, and carbon frame manufacturing facilities today, handling all of its bike design and production in-house. This is quite different from today's standard industry style, where many companies outsource to Asian factories to cut costs and improve efficiency. That is exactly why we love Santa Cruz.
Furthermore, SANTA CRUZ is very rare in that they assemble all of their complete bikes by hand as well. It’s not widely known, but this self-contained process not only leads to durability and high quality, but also creates local jobs, cultivates trails for riding, and fosters local cycling culture.
The Stigmata’s riding performance is overwhelming
If you switch over from a chromoly frame, you’ll be amazed at its performance.
The shorter chainstay length and the seat stays connected at a lower position create a small rear triangle. This suppresses frame flex and ensures no power is lost when you pedal. It responds agilely and delightfully to acceleration from zero speed, steep climbs, and pushing hard on bumpy off-road terrain.
Personally, the best point is that the BB shell is a threaded type.
With press-fit BBs, common in many carbon bikes with racing specs, I found it stressful that removing and installing them damages the frame and causes creaking noises. It’s worrisome to have a frame that claims such robustness effectively "killed" by something like that.
Performance capable of racing
The Stigmata was originally released as a cyclocross bike. Through subsequent updates, it now has massive tire clearance—45mm on 700c and 2.1 inches on 650b. In other words, it has evolved into a bike that goes well beyond cyclocross to enable active riding on gravel and trails.
Personally, I don’t race, so I have 45mm tires on it for gravel riding, but because the carbon frame is 10 times stronger than metal while remaining lightweight, it has the specs to compete in cyclocross if you use 32c tires. Whether it’s long distance or short, a strong and flexible carbon frame provides versatile performance.
So, how will you build yours? – For those curious about GRX Limited...!?
If you’re going to ride it properly, you’ll need to choose good wheels. On the other hand, since you can choose your components relatively freely, I recommend GRX for cost-effectiveness.
SHIMANO GRX, which I have installed on my own Stigmata, prevents chain slap on gravel where the bike gets shaken violently, and the wide gear range has been helpful on many rides.
I can’t help but imagine how the silver components of the GRX Limited would look perfect on a pale purple frame.
Great news for you! We can offer a special price for those who want to build their bike with a Stigmata and GRX Limited! Please get in touch if you’re interested. I’ll put my heart and soul into assisting you!!