Santa Cruz Bicycles Tallboy Carbon C S Mountain Bike

Why We Like The Tallboy Carbon C S Mountain Bike

Now that the Blur has made its way back into Santa Cruz’s lineup as their premier cross-country race bike, the esteemed California company was free to fine-tune the Tallboy into the trail weapon it was always meant to be. Changes start with 10mm extra travel, along with a new lower-link-driven VPP suspension platform inspired by Santa Cruz’s longer travel bikes. This allows the fourth-generation Tallboy to soak up rough terrain with newfound stability and cool composure. The bike also gets progressive new geometry, which is adjustable via a flip-chip in the linkage. The carbon frame itself is more refined than ever, delivering a responsive and quiet ride that makes you want to sprint both up and down the mountain. In short, you no longer have to hold back on fun and fast trails just because you’re not on a bigger bike, because the new Tallboy redefines what short-travel bikes are truly capable of.

Because Santa Cruz’s Bronson and Hightower got makeovers in the suspension department, it doesn’t come as a huge surprise to see the tweaks to the Tallboy went in the same direction. The new Tallboy follows the trends of its deeper-travel siblings, moving the VPP suspension down to a lower-link that offers improved stabilization in the roughest terrain, while an extra 10mm of travel helps soak up additional rocks and roots that the previous Tallboy would have shied away from. This makes the new ride more confident than ever, ready for bigger trails, rutted-out lines, brakes bumps galore, and even turning the odd set of rollers into doubles, but not at the cost of climbing. The new suspension is designed with the same engineering principles as the brand’s longest travel bikes, making it just as at home riding cross-country as it is extreme backcountry. Santa Cruz’s VPP suspension is designed to stabilize the suspension when you’re putting power down on the pedals, meaning the rear end ceases to bob, providing a much more responsive and lively feel when you hammer up steeps, so you aren’t wasting all of the power you put down. This is achieved with counter-rotating links that are carefully arranged to resist activation by pedaling forces, all but eliminating bobbing under power.

But the suspension is hardly where Santa Cruz stopped on upgrades with the new Tallboy. The bike sees entirely different geometry, but continues to use the flip-chip we saw in previous years for adaptable geometry that can be tuned to your own personal riding needs. In the front things start out with a much slacker head tube angle that shifted from the 68-degrees in years past to the ultra-long 65.5-degrees it is today (with the flip-chip in Low). This slack head tube elevates the confidence of the Tallboy when you point it downhill, providing improved handling in rough and jarring terrain, and boosting control at high speeds. With the head tube’s shift into the slacker realm, balance needed to be achieved to maintain the bike’s reputation for lively pedaling and handling, so the engineers at Santa Cruz opted to move the seat tube angle up a few degrees to a steep perch of 76.3 degrees—a full three degrees steeper than the previous model, allowing you to stay on top of the bike when pedaling power matters, and keeping the cockpit compact enough for comfort when handling the bike in rowdy terrain.

In previous generation Tallboys the flip-chip seemed to beckon for loftier 27.5+ hoops, but on the Tallboy v4 it serves a purpose tuned more acutely to riding style preferences. This combines with a low bottom bracket for a combination that’s built to thread the needle, rail berms, and launch out the other side with power and confidence.

The frame on the Tallboy Carbon S build uses Santa Cruz’s Carbon C construction, which is Santa Cruz’s second-tier carbon level. It’s just as strong as the higher-level CC carbon, though a little bit heavier. The carbon layup process remains the same, just with a different carbon modulus that’s a bit more budget-friendly, which is why you’re able to score the Carbon C at a much more modest asking price, all you sacrifice is an equally modest 240g of gained weight.

*Due to unprecedented demand in the global supply chain and the bike industry over the last 18 months, material weight and exact components are subject to change. We are working diligently to keep tech specs updated, and any adjustments will be minor. If you have any questions, reach out to a Gearhead by chatting online or calling 1-888-276-7130.

Details

• The Tallboy redefines what a short-travel bike is capable of
• 10mm deeper travel soaks up more rocks, roots, and trail chatter
• New lower-link VPP suspension improves performance across the board
• Super slack head tube feels controlled descending at high speeds
• Steep seat tube angle allows for comfortable & efficient pedaling
• Longer reach increases stability and high-speed composure
• Flip chips let you tweak geometry and chainstay length
• Carbon C frame rivals performance of CC frames at a lower cost

Tech Specs

• Frame Material: Carbon C
• Suspension: VPP
• Rear Shock: FOX Float Performance DPS
• Rear Travel: 120mm
• Fork: FOX 34 Float Performance
• Front Travel: 130mm
• Headset: Cane Creek 40 IS
• Shifters: SRAM GX Eagle
• Rear Derailleur: SRAM GX Eagle
• ISCG Tabs: ISCG-05
• Crankset: SRAM GX Eagle 148 DUB
• Chainring Sizes: 32t
• Bottom Bracket: SRAM DUB (BSA threaded)
• Cassette: SRAM XG1275 GX Eagle
• Cassette Range: 10 – 50t
• Chain: SRAM GX Eagle
• Brakeset: SRAM G2R
• Brake Type: 4-piston hydraulic
• Rotors: Avid Centerline
• Rotor Size: [front, rear] 180mm
• Handlebar: Burgtec Alloy
• Handlebar Rise: 30mm
• Handlebar Width: 800mm
• Grips: Santa Cruz House Grips or Burgtec Bartender Pro Grip Minaar
• Stem: Burgtec Enduro MK3
• Stem Length: 42.5mm
• Saddle: WTB Silverado Pro or WTB Volt
• Seatpost: RockShox Reverb Stealth
• Wheelset: Race Face AR Offset 30
• Hubs: DT Swiss 370, 32h
• Front Axle: 15 x 110mm Boost
• Rear Axle: 12 x 148mm Boost
• Tire Clearance: 29 x 2.6in
• Tires: [front] Maxxis Dissector 3C EXO MaxxTerra TR, [rear] Maxxis Rekon 3C EXO MaxxTerra TR
• Tire Size: [front, rear] 29 x 2.4in
• Pedals: not included
• Extras: downtube protector, chainstay protector, shock fender
• Claimed Weight: 30.6lb
• Activity: trail
• Manufacturer Warranty: [frame] lifetime