Santa Cruz once again has a 29er trail bike in its line. The Hightower builds on the pedigree of the Tallboy LT with a host of refinements that make it an entirely new, more versatile machine.
Hightower highlights
- Longer, lower and slacker than the Tallboy LT
- 135mm rear travel
- 1x specific frame design
- Available in 29er and 27.5+ builds
- 73mm threaded bottom bracket
- Offered in M, L and XL frame sizes
- Claimed frame weight with Monarch RT3 shock 5.88lb / 2.68kg
- Available now
Bringing back the big gun
Santa Cruz rolled out its first long-travel 29er, the Tallboy LT, in the spring of 2012. At the time it was an incredibly capable machine, but the evolution of 29ers, and trail bike geometry in general, left it looking steep in the front and overly long in the rear when compared with some of the recently released 29er trail bikes. Santa Cruz retired the Tallboy LT at the back end of 2015, leaving many riders to wonder what would come next.
The Hightower shares the same 135mm of rear suspension travel as its predecessor, but the geometry and handling is different enough that Santa Cruz opted to give the bike a new name to accompany its more aggressive personality. If you're into numbers, the Hightower's head angle is 2.5 degrees slacker and the chainstays are 15mm shorter than the Tallboy LT. Frame reach has increased considerably across all frame sizes, too. As a result, Santa Cruz won't offer the Hightower in an XXL as it did with the Tallboy LT. The reach of an XL Hightower is approximately 16-18mm longer than an XXL Tallboy LT, depending on the wheel configuration – more on that in a bit.
The majority of features incorporated into the Hightower follow the same steady progression of refinements Santa Cruz rolled out last year with the redesigned Bronson and 5010. Like these two smaller-wheeled siblings, the Hightower uses a reworked VPP arrangement, with the lower VPP link tucked above and behind the 73mm threaded bottom bracket shell. (Yes, Santa Cruz stays the course with a threaded BB. Thanks, guys!)
The Hightower also features internal cable routing for the rear derailleur, a 148x12mm rear thru axle, and a 31.6mm diameter seat tube to accommodate 150mm dropper seatposts, which comes stock on all complete bikes. Unlike the Tallboy LT, the Hightower is a 1x specific machine.
Big wheels or big rubber – you choose
Geometry changes aren’t the only major difference between the Hightower and the Tallboy LT. The Hightower was designed to be compatible with 29 and 27.5+ wheels. To dial in the geometry, Santa Cruz opted to use an offset chip in the shock mount.
According to Santa Cruz, Hightower riders who wish to dabble with the 27.5+ format at a later date will need to flip the chip to the high position and replace the stock 140mm fork with a 150mm version to preserve the bike’s handling. With a longer fork installed and the chip in the shock flipped the geometry varies ever so slightly between the two wheel sizes.
Build kits, pricing and weights
Santa Cruz offers the Hightower in three 29er and three 27.5+ builds. The 29er builds with XO1 and XX1 kits are available with an upgrade to ENVE's M60Forty carbon wheels. The Hightower is available in the premium 'CC' carbon as well as the slightly heavier, but more affordable 'C' carbon builds. According to Santa Cruz, there are no plans to develop an alloy version of the Hightower.
The Hightower is also available as a frame with shock for $2,899 / £2,699 (Australian pricing was not immediately available)
ArraySo how does it ride?
I spent four days riding the Hightower while testing out a new stage race format in the Aysén region of southern Chile. It wasn't quite an enduro, but it was certainly more than your standard cross-country event. Stay tuned for the full review.
