Review: Santa Cruz's All-New Tallboy Trail Bike

My test rig is the CC X01 RSV model that comes with Santa Cruz's own Reserve carbon wheels for $8,199 USD, but you'll have to pay even more if you want the Shimano XTR or SRAM AXS drivetrains on the top two versions - they go for $9,799 and $10,399 USD. There are less expensive carbon models, of course, but if all that sounds more than just a bit over the top to you, the same geometry and suspension kinematics can be found on the $2,699 USD AL D model that's assembled around an aluminum frame.

Speaking of frames, you can get that alloy one for $1,999 and the high-end carbon CC frame for $3,099 USD.

---

---

The Details

The all-new frame mirrors the lines of the Bronson and Santa Cruz's other longer travel machines that use their lower-link VPP suspension layout. Compare this fresh, fourth-gen Tallboy to the version that came before it and it's easy to see that the two look nothing alike. Gone is the old toptube-mounted shock and classic dual-triangle look, replaced with a low-slung Fox damper and lines that are ready for action, probably because it resembles their heavier hitting bikes like the Megatower.




And speaking of the Megatower, the Tallboy uses similar inserts at the axle to let riders pick a chainstay length of either 430mm or 440mm. I had planned on ranting about how such adjustments only add complication and cost while only serving as another bullet point on the sales floor, but Santa Cruz does have a sound-ish angle for the feature: If you want to run 2.6" wide rubber with decent clearance, you'll want to put it in the longer setting... Which should also be the only setting.

The change requires a different brake mount to be used (they both come with the bike), the non-drive-side chip to be flipped after loosening a micro-sized set-screw that holds it in place, and the different drive-side chip/derailleur hanger to be installed. This one is likely a set-and-forget for most of us.




But wait, there's still more flipping to be done, this time down at the lower shock mount where a chip offers either a 'HI' or 'LO' setting. Am I high for thinking that the majority of us would automatically default to the latter, even if we didn't know the geometry it provides? That'd probably be me, to be honest, and that's the setting that the bike spent the most time in; it provides a 65.5-degree head angle, a 76.2-degree seat angle, and 41mm of drop at the bottom bracket that's 332mm high.

Turn the chip around and you'll get head and seat angles that are literally just 0.2-degrees steeper, otherwise known as basically nothing. There are big changes at the bottom bracket, however, with 3mm of height added. Jokes aside, the idea with these adjustments isn't to drastically alter the bike's character, of course, but just as a modest tuning option. You might want to go LO to compensate for your 2.6" wide tires or if you over-over-forked the bike, for example. Or not, but you have the ability.




Santa Cruz really does have their frames well sorted; you can fit a giant water bottle inside the front triangle, the bottom bracket shell has threads in it, and internally-molded tubes mean that you push a line in through one hole and it comes out the opposite end like some sort of witchcraft has been used. Some of the smaller but still important details include a ribbed chain slap protector, ISCG 05 tabs for a guide or guard, and the cutest little fender protecting the Fox shock.

Geometry

Back to the numbers for a minute. Santa Cruz has gone more contemporary than crazy, with my large-sized test rig seeing a 468mm reach on LO (or 470mm on HI) that's feeling pretty comfy for a lot of people around my 5' 10" height. At the ends of the spectrum, the double-extra-large goes out to 515mm and the extra-small measures 398mm, while all six sizes share the same 430/440mm chainstay length.


Again, the angles are 65.5-degrees up front and 76.2-degrees for your bum in the LO setting. Those are a nip more aggressive than Trek's new Fuel EX that debuted a few days ago, but both brands chose geometry that makes sense for a lot of riders in a lot of places. Riders who run a lot of seatpost sticking out of the frame may still wish for an even steeper actual seat angle, but the rest of the numbers are well suited to this bike's intentions.

Lower-Link VPP Suspension

Santa Cruz was tinkering with prototypes using a lower link-style VPP layout many years ago, and I even remember seeing a rough-looking aluminum example hanging from a hook at their HQ during a visit back in 2012. ''It's been a long time coming. It just took time for the packaging to be sorted out,'' Seb Kemp, Santa Cruz Brand Manager, told me when I asked how many years they've been tinkering with the layout. Front derailleurs being ditched helped, he explained, as did Boost spacing, but manufacturing the frame out of carbon, and especially the 'shock tunnel' that's just above the bottom bracket, wasn't in the cards not that long ago.

Specifications

---

Climbing

It's always so much easier to talk about a bike when it does something that deserves a few exclamation points, a dash of hyperbole, or maybe even some italics. Good or bad, it doesn't really matter just so long as it's interesting. But when the bike just does all the things that it's supposed to, and it does them without any drama or complaint, things are, well, a bit less sensational.

That's the new Tallboy in a nutshell; calm, composed, and capable on the climbs, just like a modern, 120mm-travel trail bike should be.

Santa Cruz says that the Tallboy gets a bit less anti-squat than the Hightower while using a similar shock tune (in between light and medium for both compression and rebound, I'm told), so it makes sense that I reached for the pedal-assist switch about as much as Kazimer did when he reviewed the 140mm Hightower, which was basically never. The firmer feeling 120mm Tallboy isn't immune to the shock dipping in and out of its stroke slightly while you pedal - this isn't a cross-country race bike - but it's the ideal mix of forgiveness that lets you stay seated while powering up and over some rooty steps without it also feeling like you've got one wheel stuck in the mud.

The 120mm is firm enough that you shouldn't ever feel like you need to flip the Fox shock's blue lever when it comes to normal, day to day riding, and that includes those mind-numbing gravel road climbs where the only technical challenge is trying to stay awake.


Even so, the handling in the slow-speed jumbles of a tricky climb isn't quite as calm as the new Ibis or Trek Fuel EX, both of which come across as more composed at near-trackstand speeds. That said, who's buying these machines for how they handle just before you stall out and fall over because you couldn't unclip? Well, myself and maybe a few other kooks (hey, guys!), but if that's not your jam, I'm inclined to say that it's going to come down to skill and determination before bike choice on the climbs.

Descending

Since it's not a mountain bike review if there aren't a few clichés in it, I definitely need to refer to the Tallboy as some sort of trail scalpel. Thing is, when we talk about so-called scalpels, it's usually because the bike needs to be ridden with knife-like precision because, well, ya might get cut otherwise. The new Santa Cruz is a bit of a scalpel, too, just by virtue of only having 120mm of travel, but the well-sorted suspension, frame, and geometry let you ride it like a hatchet when the need arises.

Or the want. Especially the want.

Trail bikes are often less sure-footed than something a bit slacker, longer, and maybe squishier, but the Tallboy is unexpectedly composed when that's exactly what you need. It's been drier than an Arizona litterbox here lately, which means plenty of those fun, gravelly, hope-I-stay-up kind of corners where you're doing the 'trust fall' exercises with whoever made your tires. Santa Cruz's numbers add up to a bike that feels like it does the trust fall for you; the same tires in identical conditions on a few other test bikes didn't deliver anywhere near the same confidence when the trail (or myself) got a bit loose.

I spent the first few days on the Tallboy with the axle set to the shorter, 430mm length. That was fine. Then I put it to the 440mm setting and that was more fine. For a trail bike, it doesn't exactly feel short and easily placeable in the tightest of tight (even at 430mm) so I moved it to the longer mode because it didn't make the hard any harder but certainly helps everywhere else. It's not the most nimble machine, but the tradeoff is more control at the limits. It's simply calmer when things get sketchy.

I want to say that I found myself less likely to be taking those possibly slower but certainly more entertaining lines not because the bike isn't "playful" (clichés!) but because it's easy to ride it faster than most others in the same category.




Suspension that just plain works certainly helps the Tallboy's cause, too, and the last time a bike's rear-end did this much with so little I was raving about Yeti's SB100. While the two aren't all that comparable otherwise, both squeeze pedaling performance, good support, and an effective ramp-up into a relatively small amount of space.


There's less tiptoeing on the Tallboy, though, and it's definitely the shortest-travel bike that I've pointed down a few steep lines. Sure, you can ride it like a classic trail bike every day of the week if that's how you like to roll, but it'll also happily oblige if you need it to be your blunt instrument. Can't say that about too many 120mm-travel bikes.

---

Technical Report

Santa Cruz Reserve Wheels: House-branded components usually get a bum rap, and while I can understand wanting so and so's stickers on your bike, it's hard to fault most of the high-end house-branded stuff these days. That goes for the Reserve 27 wheels on my Tallboy test bike that seemed to give zero shits about all of the pointy rocks that I kept running into. No flat tires, no dinged or cracked carbon, and no issues.


RockShox Pike Select+ Fork: The Tallboy's 130mm-travel fork was a reminder of just how good the Pike is. The adjustments are effective, the air spring and damper are dialed by this point, and the chassis is stout enough for the very large majority of riders that'll ever throw a leg over the Tallboy.

How does it compare?

Ever heard of Trek's Fuel EX? You know, the one that was released only a few days ago. The one that I've been riding back-to-back against the Tallboy for the last month or so. Yeah, that one. We've got a video comparison of the two bikes (don't call it a shootout) coming out soon in which Kazimer and I actually agree on most of the talking points, but the bottom line is that the Tallboy and Fuel EX couldn't be more different.

With both bike's suspension left open, the Tallboy feels more than just marginally more efficient. Firmed up, the Fuel EX has plenty of jump to it, but you'll need to use that lever. No opinion there, just fact. The Fuel is a bit quicker in the steering department, and that'd make it my choice if the ride were full of awkward, mid-speed stuff instead of fast, rough, or steep trails - those places are where the Tallboy is more at home. Yes, both bikes are capable and adaptable, but it's also pretty neat that two companies ended up with such different solutions to the same purpose.

Given it has the same intentions and rear-wheel travel, the other bike we have to talk about is the new Ripley. The Ibis is the bike I'd choose if my rides were long and my climbs were hard, but the Tallboy feels more capable in the rough and steep.

Is this the bike for you?

It sure is for you if you're someone who likes to ride a short-travel bike too quickly for your own good. Never used a lack of travel as an excuse for not hitting something? Yup, it's for you as well. However, the trail riders who just want to ride without going for KOMs on the descents may not be the ideal candidates. Happy where you're at with the go-around lines? The Tallboy isn't going to hold you back on the stuff you do ride, but neither does whatever bike is in your garage right now.

Pinkbike's Take

---

---

Posted In:
Reviews and Tech Reviews Trail Bikes Santa Cruz Bicycles Santa Cruz Tallboy