Santa Cruz Hightower LT - First Ride
Santa Cruz released the Hightower early in 2016, a versatile trail bike with 135mm of rear travel that could be configured to run either 29” or 27.5+ wheels. It was well received in its stock configuration, but it wasn't long before someone figured out that it was possible to eke out even more travel from the rear end by running a different length shock, and images began appearing of riders who'd modified their Hightowers to turn them into even more formidable machines. Of course, this wasn't a practice endorsed by Santa Cruz, but it did show that there was a demand for a longer travel Hightower, one that would be better suited for enduro races and more aggressive riding.
Santa Cruz Hightower LT Details
• Intended use: all-mountain / enduro
• Wheel size: 29"
• Rear wheel travel: 150mm
• 66.4º head angle
• Full carbon frame, C or CC options
• Boost hub spacing
• Size: S, M, L, XL, XXL
• Colors: Wicklow green, slate and grey
• MSRP: $3949 - $9249 USD (shown)
• Weight: 29 lb / 13.15kg (size large)
• www.santacruzbicycles.com
• Intended use: all-mountain / enduro
• Wheel size: 29"
• Rear wheel travel: 150mm
• 66.4º head angle
• Full carbon frame, C or CC options
• Boost hub spacing
• Size: S, M, L, XL, XXL
• Colors: Wicklow green, slate and grey
• MSRP: $3949 - $9249 USD (shown)
• Weight: 29 lb / 13.15kg (size large)
• www.santacruzbicycles.com
That demand has been answered, and the result is the new Hightower LT. Designed specifically for 29” wheels, the Hightower LT has 150mm of rear travel and a burlier build kit than the original version. The front triangle remains the same, but the swingarm and upper shock link are new, created to accommodate the additional 15mm of rear travel.
The base model Hightower LT C R retails for $3,949 USD, a price that gets you a SRAM NX 11-speed drivetrain, a 150mm RockShox Revelation, and a Fox Float DPS shock. At the other end of the scale sits the Hightower LT CC XX1 Reserve featured here, which receives a 150mm Fox Float 36 Factory, a DPX2 shock, a 12-speed SRAM XX1 Eagle drivetrain, and Santa Cruz's new carbon wheels, a high end build that will lighten your wallet by $9,299 USD.
Frame Design
If you're familiar at all with the original Hightower, the LT version will look nearly identical, and for good reason – the front triangle is the same, and the basic design of the VPP suspension layout remains unchanged. What's different is that the shock link now only has one position, rather than the high and low settings found on the original, and the swingarm now uses a post mount design for the brake caliper, rather than previous IS mount configuration.
Other than those changes, the Hightower LT has all of the well-thought out details that Santa Cruz has come to be known for – a threaded bottom bracket, clean cable routing, ISCG mountain tabs, and frame protection on the chainstays and downtube. There's also room to run a standard sized water bottle inside the front triangle, even with the reservoir-style DPX2 shock. It's a tight fit, but it works.
There's just enough room to fit a regular-sized water bottle without it contacting the shock.
The swingarm now uses a post mount brake caliper.
Geometry
More than anything it's the addition of a 150mm fork that changed the Hightower LT's geometry when compared to the original set up with a 140mm fork. That spec change slackens the head angle by .6° to 66.4°, and puts the seat angle at 73.7°. The chainstay length has also grown ever-so-slightly, up to 438mm from 435mm.
The Hightower LT on the left, and the standard Hightower on the right.
Adding more travel to an existing bike model doesn't necessarily make it better, but in the case of the Hightower LT, I haven't been able to find any downsides to that extra 15 millimeters of squish. The LT feels just as quick out of the gate as its shorter travel sibling, but when gravity takes over the slightly more relaxed geometry and extra travel makes it even easier to maintain speed through really rough sections of trail.
While the original Hightower was close, the LT version truly is a big-wheeled version of the Bronson, with the same impressive capabilities out on the trail. It's an extremely easy bike to get along with — from the moment I swung a leg over it I felt at home, thanks to the very balanced, neutral handling. There are longer, slacker, and even stiffer bikes out there, but part of what makes the Hightower LT so fun is that it's not a demanding bike to ride. Sure, it feels best at higher speeds, but that doesn't mean you need to have pro-level skills to enjoy the Hightower's performance.
When it comes time to climb, the Fox DPX2's three position lever is easy to reach, although I only really used the first two settings — the Hightower LT's suspension design is efficient enough that even on smooth logging roads the middle compression setting offers plenty of support. Out of the saddle pedaling does little to alter the bike's composure, and there's no unwanted suspension bob, only crisp acceleration. I do think that the seat angle could stand to be a bit steeper, although I was able to find a comfortable climbing position by scooting the seat forward. The Hightower LT's reach numbers aren't wildly long, which makes a steep seat angle a little less of a necessity.
The aforementioned Fox DPX2 felt extremely well matched to the Hightower LT, providing a more supple ride than the RockShox Monarch RT3 did on the original Hightower. This helps to create a bike with trail manners that are both energetic and composed, traits that make it possible to plow right down the fall line, but also pop up and over obstacles in the blink of an eye. Big hits are met with a well-controlled ramp up, and there aren't any harsh surprises even when all of the travel is used.
Who is the Hightower LT for?
We're starting to see a split emerge when it comes to longer travel 29ers, one that's due more to geometry numbers rather than outright suspension travel. On one side you have slacker, more steep-terrain-specific bikes like the Trek Slash, and on the other side sit bikes that are a little more well-rounded, ones that won't make you regret your decision if you decide to embark on a long mission with plenty of climbing and descending – Yeti's SB 5.5 comes to mind.
Where does the Hightower LT fall? I'd place it smack dab in the middle of the rugged all-rounder category – this is a bike that doesn't necessarily need to be fed a steady diet of steep, rowdy terrain to remain happy, although when the time comes to dive into the rough stuff it doesn't miss a beat. It's less of a specialist and more of a jack-of-all-trades, a versatile, extremely competent companion for just about every kind of riding, whether that's racing the Downieville Classic, on the EWS circuit, or just cruising around on your local singletrack. It has all of the ingredients that made the Hightower so popular in the first place, but with a little bit more awesomeness baked in, a recipe that makes for an even more enjoyable time out on the trails.
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The Nomad4 came along too late. Couldn't stomach a SB5.5 or Wreckoning with aftermarket shock @jaame:
Are we reaching the mountain bike singularity with bikes like the new Hightower?
It has been said the N3 is too much bike for me, but I rode a GT Sensor last summer for a month and it was shit. Shit handling, just not confidence inspiring or fun.
I guess that is billed as a trail bike, 130 travel. I would take my Nomad over that every time, even for riding on the road... because all I have to do is drop the post and flick the dhx2 to open and I'm busting out off curb corners and flower beds.
You need the endurobrogeo for that kind of action. Who cares about uphills? I never time myself uphill anyway.
Sorry man, that make no sense.. That's like blaming your girlfriend for something your brother did and then calling her out to her whole family on Facebook, for something she didn't do.
Intense may have licensed VPP from SC, but that it. No other affiliation.
SC customer service has always been amazing in my experience. Shout out to Willie for his help down there.
Agreed. I think it's a little embarassing. why the f*ck not at least put a Yari on it. At least you'd get the stiffness a bike like this needs, f*cking flexy revelation sh*t. That fork's fine for trail/xc, not AM. Embarassing, Santa Cruz! The $4k Stumpjumper (comp carbon) has a Yari and GX, just saying, though I know it's not a "Santa Cruz".
I appreciate the DPS rear shock, in my experience it's freaking awesome and outperforms the monarch series easily, but sh*t, at this price give us GX and Yari, please.
I think you'll still be able to sell yours in a heartbeat if you're looking to upgrade. And SC isn't phasing out the old one, there's still plenty of demand. I know people looking for a used HT.
The stanchions on the 32mm revelation had a lot thicker walls than something like a FOX 32. Fork was just fine for it's intention.
@WAKIdesigns
It isn't a fork marketed at end users. It's a fork marketed at (& probably directly asked for by) brand managers trying to hit a certain pricepoint. Remember how everybody freaked out about how XO1 wasn't much cheaper than XX1? Same thing, it was cost savings to help brand managers save money in one spot to be able to spec higher in another.
So it's a lighter weight Yari? I'm cool with that. Sorry SC for screaming at you earlier.
Groggy Hunter...... it was flexy as sh*t at the longer travel settings eg. 140-150mm (as you'd expect). It was fine set at less travel than that.
The answer to your question is "yes" if you are talking about price points, but "no" if you are talking about chassis stiffness and / or damper.
Stoop dat wRoyting! Royd yeR bayeks, ye shambling, Rump-fed moldwaRps!
After that I check the geometry.
Most bike reviews these days are very touchy-feely. If you do your research you will find that the reviews tend to match the numbers (what a surprise). For example bikes with high AS and low PKB tend to be described by reviewers as "pedals better than you'd think it would." (Reviewers tend to realize that the suspension compresses easily with no feedback at the pedals and assume that means it's a pig to pedal, hence the surprise.)
What's wrong with Danes?
One of the funniest inter-scandinavian things I have ever seen was in queue to the lift in Hafjell during World Cup. Long line to the lift. Just before going onto the chairlift a Danish guy says something to a Norwegian guy in Danish. The Norwegian guy replies in English that he doesn't understand. Danish guy repeats in Danish. Norwegian guy repeats: sorry? - Danish guy finally answers in English: is it ok if I take the lift with you? Behind me I hear a Swede saying to another Swede: why does he think that anybody understands his weird language?
By far most risky google of the day, but I saw the Norwegian comedy video.
Damn. I wish I could laugh but it really hits me on a personal level. I have no idea what people say around me anymore, it's just stutter and nasal sound everywhere. We should just convert to bornholmsk, that way we could really get the best of both languages.
Real question is who is gonna be the first brand to get a properly engineered (from the ground up) 170/180mm park 29er out there, that has got to be the next engineering frontier surely?
FWIW, Snow Summit certainly isn't the most technical riding, but their rental fleet this year is a crap ton of Trek Slashes.
I actually wonder if this new hightower has a reduced fork offset. Apparently Nomad V4 does, & it's not even a 29.
I guess SC just didn't make a press release about using these quicker forks like Transition did, which is weird.
What offset is Transition using for their new Geo? If we can, lets put some context into this discussion.
If we start talking about the 46mm 29er options, it gets even closer.
Then, of course, I'd be interested to hear what the Hightower LT is running, as well.
1.stop making such long seat tubes in the bigger sizes! Don't make seat tubes longer than 450mm! We have 170-200mm dropper posts now!
2. Also get with the program and give us a 75º seat angle AT LEAST! Slack seat angles suck for sustained climbing and slamming the seat especially on with big wheels!
if you want a longer reach but youre too short to size up then get a longer stem, a pole bike or a nicolai or a mondraker or any other long bike but leave the seattube out of it, I'm hanging on by a thread as it is!
that said, my bike does only have a 490mm long seattube, which is a very common XL ST length, but on the shorter side.
There is no reason a rear triangle, linkage, and brake mount adaptor would be out of the question... but they'd be very low margin parts, and have to be made in MY17 colorways...
Is the rear triangle really needed? Is all that changed is a post-mount? If so, no thanks.
Is the shock the same?
If all that is similar, maybe all that's needed is the link? They sell link/bearing kits for all their bikes, so eventually we'll have access to those links.
Also, if any of you are interested in making your Hightower ST (short-travel) better, give DVO a call. They made a Jade with travel reducers for me and it transformed the bike. It rides like a mini DH bike and still climbs every bit as good as it did.
I'm glad it only has 15mm extra of travel. If it was a 160 bike that may have tipped the scales enough I'd consider swapping.
What this does do is open the door for somebody with the willingness to make a custom link that accomplishes most of that. If it can be pulled off with a metric shock (e.g. Trunnion 205x55mm) and have decent space, then there's the answer for everybody who already has a 160mm fork and wants to run a somewhat improved setup in terms of rear tire clearance at bottom-out.
Yea it would for sure, but I sold that 2 years ago. It would't blow the doors off my enduro 29 ltd coil (or a wreckoning)
But if they had bothered to make a new front triangle it could have been 75 sta and a 65.5 ha and a decent reach and competed with Slash, Carbine, Wreckoning, e29, etc etc
That new transition is coming too and that will blow this out of the water....
Yea I'm not keen on it either - seat angle is too slack
No. I get insider info on 1/2 the brands, but sadly not transition.
Haven't heard anything, and as its only 2 years old its very unlikely. I only heard about the Nomad and Frankintower LT this year...
those slack seat angles are great on flat terrain but when you point up your weight is off the back. people swear its the head angle but its the seat angle that makes bikes hard to climb. simple weight distribution
the new Rallon is the only big 29 i would ride at the moment. the new transition will prob will be better also
That somehow feels like an understatement. The gap makes me quite sure that Santa Cruz used a Purist as their benchmark. I wonder if a CamelBak's taller cap would even fit.
Nomad 29 is just a matter of time. If 29er V10 is pending, there should be absolutely no reason not to make a 29er Nomad. Santa Cruz bike line-up strategy seems to be:"Let's 29 everything!"
I do hope so. Hopefully this is just a stopgap.
Yea I won't own another Evil until they steepen their seat angles up. They are fine if you are average proportions, but with my long legs I end up way to far back over the rear wheel.
E29 Ltd Ed Coil is where I'm at at the moment....
Santa Cruz is trying to milk some more money out of their molds and not trying to actually be progressive with their geo.
Not that it matters because the primary rider of this bike is a 50 year old guy with a 200k+ income who likes to "shred" single track for an hour and then talk about it for 2 hours while drinking some sick IPA's next to his Range Rover Sport.
Those Santa Cruz rims are all about profit. Charge the same as last years bike with ENVE's and pocket the rest. Guess what rich guy, I'll still judge you as being too poor to afford real carbon rims!
Now while I do have a Land Rover LR3, I'm not an SC fan boy. ;-) Just curious because it sounds like SC decided to continue forward in an evolutionary manner and provide what a lot of people are clearly already after; a long travel 29".
Or should every new offer be a clean sheet design? This isn't always realistic or prudent. And long term evolution of a design isn't really a bad thing. The Porsche 911 is a great example.
Santa Cruz compromised because they wanted to get some more life our of their molds and they know that the majority of their customers will buy whatever new thing they put out.
Also, I get that right now there is so much uncertainty and things are changing so rapidly that it makes sense to be conservative and let thing play out. Maybe Apple is the better comparison?
Anyways, the next step is probably a Nomad looking 29er with a lower link driven shock (much better performance) and the latest fork offset gimmick. And it will be super ugly so it can accommodate a 2 liter water bottle and will be slightly ahead of the next color trend.
a) Porsche is willing to piss off their constituents when they must. The 996 is a perfect example of this.
b) Even the engine in the rear has benefited greatly from evolutionary steps. The old air cooled 911's had the engine behind the rear wheels. With the water cooled cars the engine moved forward and the car as a whole draws benefit from the engine and trans-axle weight being "on" the rear wheels.
I firmly believe whether a design is a compromise also has a lot of contributing factors that must play into it. The 911 of old was a compromised tradition driven design, but as a result of evolution, it's become a great design with attributes and abilities that can't be matched by FWD cars, front engined RWD cars, and mid engined cars. That engine in the back provides tons of options for attitude control on the way in and traction on the way out.
OK, I'm done. LOL
Clearly a lot of effort was placed on the Nomad as well.
I hope both of things find their way on to the next iteration.
.
WW I think you're spot on with the pricing though. SC loves the cash grab. Their pricing to distributors is already higher than many other brands (sorry LBS), so they're already making more on a comparable bike (though to be fair, I'm not sure how much their cost base differs), and house brand stuff is the oldest trick in the book to bump up margins. I haven't studied the spec in detail, but yeah, part of that high end premium buys you house brand stuff.
Anyway, I still like it and will be renting one during my autumn trip to Moab. Enchilada-style baby!
point to my first sentence is that if graves still prefers a stumpjumper, the SC guys like this HTLT, and most of Transition's people ride long-travel Scouts, are we all too big for our britches for wanting bigger and badder bikes? should we just ride harder and smarter on the bikes we have? i'm willing to believe this frame is mostly a business decision, but i also know for a fact i see a lot of guys on XC trails and at the bike park (racing or not) that are on machines they can barely handle on flow trails, never mind actual terrain.
Being a patrol owner I'm super excited to see what Transition does with the sentinel but if I was buying another bike it would be a boosted smuggler. It would fit my probably terrian better 60% of the time.
I'm bummed that the tire clearance in the rear didn't improve. (Tall tires chew up the back of the lower link).
One bike that can be 130 or150 travel with simple flip chip or shock flip
Or is that just me that wants that?
Whats next a 165-170mm 29er?
Man im getting confused with so much categories.
Then I look four posts down and see that teethandnails is apparently putting his '17 Enduro 29 up for sale. :-)
Text reads "chainstay length has also grown ever-so-slightly, up to 338mm from 335mm."
13 inch chainstays are mighty impressive for a 29" wheel. Seems almost, er, impossible?
Might need to edit those to 435mm and 438mm.
But Mike's story differs...
I own a 5010 V1 and I absolutely LOVE it. I was gonna go for the Hightower for my next bike but I was bummed when I started reading/hearing that the Hightower was kind of muted/dead feeling.
So what's the deal?
... really: clean cable routing? I always found the routing above in the BB a bit awkward - from downtube to seatstays, looks a bit strange, in particular w/o bottle cage.
I definitely prefer the Nomad 4 for all purpose riding here in Finale.
Maybe in an XXL there still is?!
The frame is made in China and all the parts come from Taiwan/China/Cambodia.
...Until you actually sit on the bike and it contacts the shock.
So I've got a call in on a Pivot Switchblade.
I didn't care much for the Switchblade to be honest. Reeeally wide rear on it. I mean, absolutely stout. At 180lbs and 5'10" it was just a lot of bike to get moving.
Good insight. Honestly... with a wife, 2 kids and a refocus on my career it's been a long time since i road actively so I'm looking for an efficient pedaler that's fun in the comers. I really have no need for huge travel. I come from BMX and DS racing... keeping up going downhill isn't my issue. LOL!
I know the switchblade is super stiff. I'd actually avoid carbon wheels because of the super wide rear end and bottom bracket. End up being too stiff.
I'm looking for the dopest most affordable frame set I can get. The build kit means nothing to me.
And that hefty rear end on the switch... I honestly don't know what I weigh right now but I'd venture to guess 235/240. And I've got legs like tree trunks. Getting it moving isn't a problem. It's keeping it moving. LOL
-Yep, you are, uhh, a 'sturdy' enough rider for that Switchblade, lol
- That wheelsize thing... man, I'm a 29r guy for the most part, but I also cut my mtb legs in the midwest where everything was a 'pedal trail'. It will depend on where you ride and who you ride with too... that said, most of the bmx/moto guys I've had as customers preferred the 27.5 wheels because of how they wanted to ride the bike. Answer here is to ride as many as you can before buying. If you also have the height to go with your weight, again, a 29r is going to feel just fine to you.
-If you really want to geek out, look into suspension design--or again, try to ride as many as you can. The difference between say the Process 111 and the Smuggler is enormous! The Process is much more lively in the back, playful and poppy. The Smuggler is a bit more stable when you point it and shoot, but more on the grounded side vs being playful. Both great bikes, both great companies, just depends what you want from your ride. I personally really like the feel of Santa Cruz suspension as it fits my riding style well. At this point my next bike looks to be the Hightower. Lifetime frame/brearings, and a threaded bottom bracket are all pluses. If the choice gets pushed out til next season, I'd love to see Kona make their Hei Hei 29 with a bit more travel--Kona's geo is always so dialed!
I love seeing people come back to the sport after time off to focus on raising a family. Whatever it ends up being, enjoy it man! You've earned it!
twentynineinches.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/2012_TALLBOY-LTc-YELLOW-3QTR.jpg
Yes Waki, I had a blur LT aluminium and a Tallboy aluminium and when that yellow TBLTC came out I had to have one - sold both my alu bikes and bought that yellow beast in early 2013. Loved it so much.
Now it would ride aweful compared to a following / primer / hightower I'm sure.
It had such a short wheelbase for a large - it was such a fun and poppy bike!
That blur TRC is a classic. If I could fit another bike in the stable I'd buy a large now just purely for jumping!