We’ve come to expect Santa Cruz’s bikes to be stiff, quiet, and tight, and the Hightower met our expectations. Something you hear a lot from testers is that the Hightower can “punch above its weight class.” It even has the modern geo to help get you out of trouble when you pick a really spicy line. Still, if you’re lucky enough to have 6.5K to drop on a new rig, the exceptional ride quality of the HighTower will definitely soften the blow. Obviously, with carbon frames, things are lighter and slightly snappier, but the geometry remains the same throughout and allows for the climbing to be really efficient across the line. There’s more stability too, so unless you want to mash away out of the saddle, there’s no need to stretch down for the compression lever. This is a very versatile bike that a lot of riders will enjoy across a variety of terrains. You help support Gear Hacker by purchasing from our retail partners. Santa Cruz’s entry level R Aluminum build comes … With that said, if you find our review helpful and decide to purchase an item we review, we would be very appreciative if you use our links to do so. With a flip-chip, the bike can transform slightly, depending on your local trails and your riding style. The bike scores with its terrific suspension and inspires with outstanding cornering manors. Santa Cruz Nomad CC X01 RSV (2021) first ride review. The Hightower is one of those bikes that’s so good at everything it’s almost boring. The advanced composite chassis tracks well across all trail surfaces, holds a line, and is reactive to rider directions while isolating pedal-influenced inputs. This new Hightower is version 2.0 of the venerable Santa Cruz Hightower introduced in 2016, a 29er with 135mm rear travel and 140mm front travel.That bike could accept 27.5+ wheels with a geometry flip chip and a longer fork. There is a lockout switch on the shock to assist in any long fire road climbs but a lot of testers opted to keep it open during technical climbs to help with small bump sensitivity and to keep all the traction they could in the back wheel. It grew in geometry and travel, but it’s still a great do-it-all bike that puts an emphasis on riding bikes, up and down mountains. There are three Carbon C build options ranging from $6,099 to $4,299, a good variety of options for people looking to get a carbon bike. That’s all changed now, with almost the entire Santa Cruz range adopting a lower link-driven VPP arrangement first seen on the Santa Cruz V10 downhill bike. The Maxxis Minion DHR II tires are used across the line of bikes and are a great choice. Santa Cruz Reserve wheels put world-class performance within reach for more riders, and will definitely live up to the hype. It manages to entice and excite at every turn, and the more we rode it, the more we appreciated its abilities. Santa Cruz Hightower: Best All-Around Long Travel Bike of 2021, All-around Ability in a Variety of Terrain, Now Comes With A Water Bottle Mount, Sportier Geometry. Santa Cruz Tallboy, across sites, per customer and individual reviews, averages around four out of five stars. Other small changes see a Burgtec stem replace the RaceFace Aeffect, while the 170mm RockShox Reverb gets swapped for a 175mm KS Lev on the size L. All subtle changes that should make the stellar ride of the HighTower shine even brighter in 2021. The Hightower not only does it do it all. The 2021 Santa Cruz Megatower X01 Reserve makes a big leap in performance with the coil kit. Mudguard protects the shock from the worst filth. The Hightower is everything you love about Santa Cruz Biycles all rolled into one bike. There’s a small mudguard to protect the shock from dirt, there are bearings in the rear shock eyelet to reduce friction, the Palmdale grips and Maxxis Minion DHRII Wide Trail 3C tyres are excellent, and oversize Torque Caps fitted to the DT front hub maximize steering stiffness. The Hightower LT filled a hole in the lineup for Santa Cruz when longer travel 29ers were coming on strong and the development schedule for a brand new model to fill that void was too long. For six months now, we’ve had three different reviewers riding the recently overhauled Santa Cruz Hightower. Let’s cut straight to the chase: Santa Cruz’s new Bronson is an absolute weapon on the descents. If you do more pedaling and less bashing, then there is the Tallboy. The Hightower cuts a now familiar silhouette, with its steeply sloping downtube, angular rear triangle and low shock mount, it shares the same layout as pretty much the whole 2020 Santa Cruz stable of bikes. Years of feedback from consumers and EWS riders alike has brought about the 2021 Santa Cruz Hightower C, which takes the knowledge and burliness of their long-travel 29ers and builds it into a lighter, more nimble package. THE LAB Sporting 140mm of rear wheel travel and 150mm up front, Santa Cruz offers the Hightower in five carbon build kits and three aluminum builds, so that riders of varying budgets can keep their bank accounts, and significant others, from turning red. If you do more pedaling and less bashing, then there is the, The Best Long Travel Mountain Bikes of 2021. Simply put, by using the lower link to drive the shock, the leverage rate remains more consistent throughout the stroke, so it’s easier to tune the shock and set-up the suspension. The Hightower Santa Cruz uses three frame materials: aluminum, Carbon C, and Carbon CC. There is added protection throughout the bike, including a tailgate protector, a fender for the shock, and a really quiet chainstay protector. While initial the multifaceted crossover potential (for instance, a 29er with an XC design) caused some skepticism, for most the bike ended up delivering. A tall boy is a chest for drawers, a 14oz beer can or literally a tall boy. As mountain bikes are being continuously refined, bike brands are pushing the envelope for what these bikes are capable of. It was easy to give the Hightower our selection as Best All-Around Long Travel Bike of 2021. Words by: Max Morgan. 2020 Santa Cruz Hightower Review - The Jack Of All Trades. Just when we all thought the Hightower couldn’t get any better, well, it did. Though the aluminum bikes do weigh in on the higher end of the scale, at around 35lbs, the weight does not seem to impact the pedaling efficiency. As mentioned earlier, Santa Cruz’ scale makes the company able to produce a lot of bikes and a lot of build options, which is also awesome for getting bikes into a lot of people’s hands, no matter the price range. Before the version 2 came out earlier this year, the Hightower used a similar design to the Intense Primer, with the shock driven by a short swinglink beneath the top tube. Framesets are also available if you prefer to build your own. That’s all changed now, with almost the entire Santa Cruz range adopting a lower link-driven VPP arrangement first seen on the Santa Cruz V10 downhill bike. You can lean it in at MotoGP angles and load up both tyres for carving turns, or push into the travel to generate speed or pop to clear obstacles. There is a lockout switch on the shock to assist in any long fire road climbs but a lot of testers opted to keep it open during technical climbs to help with small bump sensitivity and to keep all the traction they could in the back wheel. Hightower is a native american name that means tall person and the definition of a mega tower is a very tall tower. To accommodate the shock, the frame uses a pierced seat tube design, where the RockShox Super Deluxe passes through a moulded tunnel and anchors to the base of the down tube. Santa Cruz is offering the Hightower in everything from its top-tier ‘CC’ carbon to more affordable aluminium, with … The ever increasing reference to height, directly related to travel – the 140mm Hightower splitting the difference between the 120mm Tall Boy and the 165mm Megatower. Getting the 150mm travel RockShox Lyrik Ultimate fork set up is simple. Santa Cruz has switched out the Lyrik Ultimate for a new Fox 36 Factory fork. And while it’s not super long by modern trail bike standards it’s perfectly balanced, where the 150mm travel fork is alway in step with the VPP rear suspension. The original Santa Cruz Hightower converted a lot of riders to 29ers, does the new version have the same significance? Similarly, borrowing traits from the Hightower, Santa Cruz’s (more) aggressive 140mm trail 29er, the 2020 Santa Cruz Tallboy has a 65.5° head-angle, generous front center, and steep 76.6° seat tube, numbers that are typically reserved for longer-travel bikes. We participate in affiliate programs to help us fund Gear Hacker. On the downhills, the Hightower is ready for any line—be it flowy or absolute chaos. Mountain biking can be a very enjoyable hobby and activity whether it be for fun or taken seriously as a sport. However, the Tallboy just isn’t as capable over a variety of terrain as the Hightower, and that is where the big difference is. Frame and Build. The Santa Cruz Hightower is like the wands in Harry Potter—everyone will find a bike that fits them and is ready to make magic. Talk about composure, like Will Ferrel in Old School, this bike does not lose its composure! So, it’s not a massive difference, but it can help make the bike more accessible on a variety of trails. It feels right from the very first pedal stroke, and encapsulates the versatility that defines every great trail bike. If you’re looking for a high-quality all-rounder, you will find it here. The Code brakes have a little less initial bite and a firmer spring than the XT models fitted to the Intense, but they stop just as well without any consistency issues. It foregoes the trendy 27.5″/29″ dual compatibility and opts for the now-proven 29″ wheels. And there’s more leg room too, because that saddle drops completely out of the way, so you can be much more dynamic than on the Intense without getting tangled up. The Hightower CC X01 RSV is built with Santa Cruz’s top-notch CC carbon, and you can guess from its beefy construction that it’s going to provide a stiff ride. Downhill, that heft is felt most in the form of Santa Cruz’s signature stoutness. The flip-chip does not make it feel like a different bike, which is something that happens with other flip-chips. At 13.25kg (29.2lb) with alloy wheels, it’s a fair bit lighter than your typical enduro rig, making it easier to maneuver in tight, technical terrain while simultaneously saving your legs on long liaisons. As mentioned earlier, Santa Cruz’ scale makes the company able to produce a lot of bikes and a lot of build options, which is also awesome for getting bikes into a lot of people’s hands, no matter the price range. For the Santa Cruz Carbon CC frames, there are two build options: the XX1 with the wireless derailleur at $10,499 and the X01 at $7,099. Home » The Santa Cruz 5010 Review [2021] The Santa Cruz 5010 Review [2021] By Sinclair89 / Mountain Bikes / 17 minutes of reading. First the climbs. With a 150mm travel front end paired with 140mm of Rear VPP suspension and 29er wheels it, strikes the balance of being able to descend super fast and controlled but still efficiently pedals for those all day epics! SRAM drivetrain put in a flawless performance. It does it all well! Shifting was precise and the dinky 30T chainring eased the strain on grinder climbs. MBR March 2021: The latest issue of MBR is out…, RockShox Lyrik Ultimate RCT3, 150mm travel, DT Swiss 350 hubs, Race Face ARC30 rims, Maxxis Minion DHR II Wide Trail 3C EXO 29x2.4in tyres, SRAM X1 Eagle Dub chainset, 30T, 170mm, SRAM X01 Eagle r-mech and shifter, Santa Cruz AM carbon 800mm bar, Race Face Aeffect 50mm stem, RockShox Reverb Stealth 170mm dropper post, Nukeproof Giga 290 Carbon Factory: first ride review, Best hardtail mountain bikes: entry-level and mid-range classics, Praxis 1X Direct Mount Wave Chainring review, Everything you could want from a trail bike. Like Intense, Santa Cruz uses a flip chip at the rear shock mount to let you tune the geometry and suspension feel. With this number of frames and the components that, This is a very versatile bike that a lot of riders will enjoy across a variety of terrains. And given that it’s so versatile, you could probably convince yourself, or your partner, that you’re getting two bikes for the price of one. Smack right in between the Megatower (downhiller) and the Tallboy (short traveler), it is a super versatile “Goldilocks” of a bike. That Hightower answered the call for a lot of folks as the 'goto' steed. In the low geometry setting, the HighTower’s slack 64.6º head angle gives you the confidence to lean into turns at MotoGP angles. Specs, reviews & prices for the 2020 Santa Cruz Hightower R Aluminum. 0 shares. Danny Milner; December 15, 2020. View and share reviews, comments and questions on mountain bikes. There really isn’t much more to say other than this bike will climb and mountain and ford any stream. And this build is stunning. Santa Cruz's 29er All mountain, All rounder. In fact, the only thing it’s not easy on is your wallet. In the low setting, you get a more linear progression rate in the shock as well as a slacker head angle, by 0.3-degree, and a lower bottom bracket clearance. Santa Cruz Hightower CC X01 Reserve frame. As we know the more C’s after the word carbon, the lighter and firmer the carbon—oh, and the more expensive. We were really impressed with the bike and its capabilities. But with its recent conversion to a very enduro-focused rig, it’s become a different sort of beast. We were really impressed with the bike and its capabilities. I’ve spent a lot of time on Santa Cruz bikes over the years, actually owning the first and second generations of the Bronson, and have become very familiar with how they … While the 65.2-degree head tube angle is steep, it doesn’t try to get away from you on the steep sections. There’s enough room for a bottle cage within the main triangle, but the compression threshold lever is much harder to reach when climbing, and it’s more difficult to see the red O-ring when setting up the sag. So much so that we could easily move up a size to the XL frame and still run a 170mm dropper with plenty of standover clearance. See Our The Best Long Travel Mountain Bikes of 2021. This comes at no additional cost to you, and we will never base our reviews on whether or not we earn a commission off of a product.

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