Santa Cruz Bullit MX could be the world’s burliest trail e-bike. Imagine the gnar-taming capabilities of the big-hitting Nomad and Megatower boosted with Shimano’s new EP8 STEPS motor and you start to see a bike that’s not only off-the-charts capability wise, but in terms of how far and wide you can go with it as well.

With a high-capacity 630wh battery, the more refined, more powerful—not to mention lighter and smaller—EP8 motor combined with a smasher build, Bullit turns those once-a-year epics into your regular rides, and lets you unlock new long rides you never thought possible.

Designed for tackling the steepest and deepest of trails, Bullit’s build – 170mm-travel fork with 38mm stanchions, DoubleDown tires, coil shock options—begs for the abuse of rooty, rocky, horror fests usually reserved for the aforementioned big hitting pedal bikes. Where the Heckler puts a premium on agility and playful handling, the Bullit comes to brawl with a no-limits attitude.

Like many of our bikes, the inspiration for this one initially came from the Syndicate – our works-level DH squad. After champion puzzler and downhill demon Loris Vergier talked us into a mixed wheel V10 DH sled, it was really just a matter of time before we brought that World Cup mindset to a broader use case. And like with Loris’ race bike, we’ve found it provides the confidence-at-speed of a 29er with the more spritely handling characteristics and manoeuvrability of a 27.5 rear end. Unlike Loris’ V10, however, this big hitting mixed bike goes uphill as well.