Juliana

Juno D Complete Mountain Bike - 2015

Forget diamonds, the 2015 Juliana Juno D Complete Mountain Bike very well may be a girl’s best friend. With 125mm of travel via a durable, single-pivot aluminum frame, and mid-sized 27.5-inch wheels, it’ll handle pretty much anything you can throw at it. And not only is it versatile, but thanks to a carefully selected build kit, it’ll be there for you year after year with minimal upkeep. What more could you ask for in a best friend?

While the Juno is a simple machine, don’t let that fool you into thinking that it’s unrefined. Its hydroformed aluminum tubeset will stand up to season after season of riding, without being unreasonably heavy. Like Juliana’s VPP bikes, it runs on super-stiff collet hardware, which has the added benefit of being easy to service. Further enhancing the stiffness is a 12x142mm rear thru-axle. The 30.9mm seat tube offers compatibility with dropper posts should you choose to upgrade.

You may be aware that Juliana is a branch of Santa Cruz Bicycles, which is why the Juno relies on the proven suspension pivot location also found on Santa Cruz’s Bantam. The pivot is placed slightly above and forward of the middle chainring to offer 125mm of responsive, trail-taming travel. One drawback of single pivot designs has always been out-of-the-saddle sprinting, because the suspension will compress under rider loads, thereby sacrificing pedaling efficiency. Thankfully, shock technology has mitigated that drawback. The FOX FLOAT CTD rear shock found on the Juno has three distinct damping settings, which are adjustable on-the-fly from wide-open and plush to firm and efficient.

The Juno’s D build starts off with a RockShox Recon Gold TK fork, which is nicely balanced by the Evolution series FOX FLOAT CTD rear shock. The drivetrain consists of a blend of Shimano and SRAM components, with SRAM’s DB1 brakeset keeping you in control on the descents. For the cockpit, Juliana supplies the custom handlebar, grips, and saddle — each of which is designed to complement a woman’s body. A Race Face stem and seatpost keeps things in check, and the Origin rolls on a hand-built wheelset that consists of SRAM hubs laced to WTB i19 tubeless-ready rims, and they’re wrapped in Maxxis tires.

The 2015 Juliana Juno D Complete Mountain Bike is available in three sizes, from Small to Large, and in the color Apple Green.