Santa Cruz introduce some new big wheeled members to the family.
TALLBOY LT
The Tallboy has been a hugely successful bike for us. And it is clearly evident that the 29″ market is evolving, and the industry is figuring out how to make these bikes handle and perform well in a wider set of terrain than was thought possible a few years ago. (Somewhere we can hear Wes Williams laughing at us all) So, in order to meet the needs of riders who want aggressive allmountain bikes AND big wheels, here’s the Tallboy LT. It’s a 135mm travel bike with VPP suspension designed to run 130-150mm forks.
The TBLT head angle is a degree and a half slacker than that of the Tallboy, seat angle just under half a degree slacker. Doing the apples to grapes comparison that inevitably crops up whenever people start getting into wheel size arguments, think of this as a bigwheel alternative to our Blur LT—versatile enough to handle daily duty as a doitall bike, but burly enough to run hard in the big ugly stuff. There’s a ton of features that are probably best handled by bullet points, so without further ado…
Features:
M, L, XL sizes
Hydroformed top and downtubes
Tapered headtube
Replaceable derailleur hanger
ISCG05 mount
135mm travel, 7.875″x2″ shock
Custom tuned Fox Float RP23 Kashima shock
Collet axle pivot hardware
Offset lower link (better chainguide clearance), recessed grease ports
Continuous cable routing, dropper post routing
Threaded BB shell (we think this is still the best, most userfriendly, widely compatible, globally serviceable way to install a bottom bracket.)
Tallboy LT (available late April)
Frame w/RP23 £1879
Complete bike – R AM29 kit/Revelation RL DA 140 fork £3299
Complete bike – SPX AM29 kit/Revelation RL DA 140 fork £4099
Fork upgrades: Revelation RCT3 + £100 / Fox 34 Float RLC + £319
USA: Available complete with R/AM spec for $3199 or SPX/AM spec for $4299
Colours: Gulf Blue/Orange,Gloss Gun Black/Black
TALLBOY LTc
Here’s where we get into the flagship of our flagships. We put a lot of emphasis on the suspension performance and ride characteristics of our VPP suspension-design tuneability of shock rates for individual designs, superb pedaling AND bump absorption characteristics, awesome chassis stiffness and ride dynamics, short stiff links with really good hardware, durability, ease of service—but we get real geeked out when we can build all that stuff into a carbon fiber bike. Carbon fiber processes are not all equal, and this is not all just random “black metal.”
We are very proud of what we can achieve with carbon fiber, and the way we do our layup gives us the advantage to build bikes that are lighter AND stronger than just about everyone else. That said, this is the Tallboy LTc. Same geometry, same suspension, same intent as the aluminum version, but crafted from carbon fiber using our proprietary onepiece layup process. This is also our first foray into 142×12 rear axle territory. For lack of any better hyperbole, this bike is siiiiiick! 135mm travel, all the good juicy features already mentioned in the Tallboy LT blurb above, but also stiffer, stronger, and really, really effing light. Weight for a frame, with shock included, is 5.3 pounds.
Yup.
Features:
M, L, XL sizes
Proprietary onepiece carbon fiber layup
Tapered headtube
142x12mm rear axle
Replaceable derailleur hanger (optional Shimano direct mount rear hanger available)
ISCG05 mount
135mm travel, 7.875×2″ shock
Customtuned Fox Float RP23 Kashima shock
Collet axle pivot hardware
Offset lower link (better chainguide clearance), recessed grease ports
Continuous cable, dropper post routing
Leather seatstay, chainstay, downtube protector
Threaded bb shell (as in the paragraph above, our feelings are still the same. This is a good way to do a bottom bracket.)
Tallboy LT Carbon (available late May)
Frame w/RP23 £2699
Complete bike – R AM29 kit/Revelation RL DA 140 fork £4399
Complete bike – SPX AM29 kit/Revelation RL DA 140 fork £4999
Complete bike – XTR AM29 1×10 kit/ Revelation RL DA 140 fork £6199
Fork upgrades: Revelation RCT3 + £100 / Fox 34 Float RLC + £319
USA: Available complete with R/AM spec for $4399 or SPX/AM spec for $5299
Colours: Matte Carbon/Orange, Solar Yellow/Black
