Santa Cruz Bicycles

Tallboy Carbon C Mountain Bike Frame - 2018

Whereas the original incarnation of the Tallboy aimed more at XC domination, the latest Santa Cruz Tallboy Carbon C Mountain Bike Frame blends XC swiftness and trail-devouring composure with a reinvigorated geometry that's slacker and more confident dropping into aggressive terrain. That being said, it's still an incredibly responsive machine that's more than eager to accelerate out of corners and fly past heavier enduro rigs on steep climbs where pedaling efficiency is paramount. You'll find it's the go-to choice of the Santa Cruz Factory Team when they're racing technical courses with thousands of feet of brutal climbing combined with precipitously steep, rocky descents, such as the infamous terrain at Downieville.

We credit this boundary-blurring virtuosity to a more relaxed 68-degree head tube angle paired with 4.3 inches of VPP travel balancing pedaling efficiency with bump-smoothing composure. The 29-inch configuration absolutely steamrolls anything lying in its path by carrying greater momentum and increasing the angle of attack over larger rocks and roots. When run in the momentum-carrying 29er mode, a 120mm fork is recommended and it smooths out trail impediments and absorbs mid-sized drops without fuss.

This third version of the Tallboy is not only more capable than ever when the going gets rough and rocky, but it's also interchangeable between 27.5+ and 29in wheels. This ability to swap wheel sizes is due to a flip-chip located along the upper link. The flip-chip maintains its geometry between both wheel sizes, so long as you adjust your fork to 130mm when you're converting to 27.5+ wheels. This is a nice addition to the newest Tallboy, as the 27.5+ wheels provide greater bump compliance and tons of grip over loose, drifty trail surfaces.

The Tallboy employs the third generation of Santa Cruz's VPP suspension platform, which attaches the upper link to the top tube for greater stiffness and increased stand-over height. The lower link configuration is revised as well, now tucked above the bottom bracket to prevent rock strikes and flinging debris from damaging it. The third-gen VPP suspension retains the praised pedaling efficiency you've come to love from VPP, making it an ideal platform for XC racing and trail riding without pedal bob sapping your forward momentum across flats or slowing uphill progress on long climbs. Another thing to note, Santa Cruz improved its VPP platform for this third iteration with better compliance over small bumps, as well as preventing it from settling in the middle of its travel, so it feels more active and tracks to the ground noticeably better.

We'd be remiss if we forgot mentioning the provided Carbon C frame, which is both stout and snappy at accelerating, due to its impressive level of stiffness. This frame is tough when you're thrashing it on the trail, and Santa Cruz is so confident in its quality that it's backed by an impressive lifetime warranty. Internal cable and stealth dropper routing clean up the frame's aesthetics while protecting cables from dirt and debris.