Tallboy Mountain Bike Frame - 2017
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The Santa Cruz Tallboy Mountain Bike Frame is the perfect foundation for building the trail bike of your dreams. Pick your poison of building it up as a fast 29-inch ripper or as a traction-savvy 27.5 Plus whip, and prepare for some memorable rides on a super versatile machine that will efficiently plug along linking up the fun, technical bits.
Santa Cruz turned the mountain bike world on its head with the original Tallboy. It possessed agile handling that dispelled beliefs that 29-inch bikes were slow, sluggish, and not fun. Version 3, that we have here, continues to refine the modern trail bike, adding the ability to run dual wheel sizes and geometry allowing the bike to venture into and dominate trails far burlier than you would believe its 4.5-inches could handle.
The Tallboy’s universal praise comes from the fact that it's nearly cross-country efficient while climbing and pedaling, and able to hang with the big boys when the trails get steep and rowdy. You can easily build it up to your discretion with plus wheels or 29ers. The split personality is enabled by the reversible “flip chip” at the upper link. Setting the flip chip to the “low” mode relaxes the head angle by roughly half a degree and lowers the bottom bracket, which makes for an ideal setup when paired with the slightly larger diameter in 29-inch wheels. The slightly smaller 27.5+ wheels pair with the “high” setting, allowing for a similar clearance between the bottom bracket and the ground.
The Tallboy has 110mm of travel on tap governed by the latest version of Santa Cruz’s VPP technology. As with all VPP bikes, the Tallboy’s counter-rotating links are carefully arranged to resist activation by pedaling forces, all but eliminating unwanted bobbing under power. This being the latest iteration of VPP, it’s tuned to provide more midstroke support than previous generations of the VPP platform, giving the rider a better feel for the terrain, and a livelier ride feel.
While the excellent suspension plays a large role, a key part of the Tallboy’s handling is its carefully tuned geometry. At 68-degrees, the head angle is nimble enough for whipping through tight singletrack, while slack enough to remain confident at high speed. The 17-inch chainstays encourage quick line choices and lofting the front wheel over obstacles while long enough to provide ample traction on loose climbs. A longer reach positions the rider between the wheels for a better feel between the wheels and telepathic handling.
This Tallboy is built using aluminum, which is both impervious to rust and highly resistant to impact damage. This choice of material also results in a fairly modest asking price, which makes the Tallboy both an excellent introductory mountain bike, and a tempting addition to any well-equipped stable. You'll get a frame that will hold up to years of abuse, provide a comfortable ride, and will do so at a very competitive weight.
Details
- A trail bike frame with a hunger for technical terrain
- Versatile amount of VPP travel combines XC efficiency with trail riding
- Moderate geometry climbs well with point-and-shoot descending
- Flip chip allows for 27.5+ and 29er builds with one frame
- Uncompromising stiffness and weight with aluminum construction
- Version 3 proves Santa Cruz Bicycles is always willing to push further
- Item #SNZ00G8
- Frame Material
- aluminum
- Suspension
- VPP
- Wheel Size
- 29, 27.5+
- Rear Shock
- Fox Float Performance DPS
- Rear Travel
- 110mm
- Head Tube Diameter
- 1-1/8 - 1.5in.
- Bottom Bracket Type
- English
- Cable Routing
- internal
- Front Derailleur Mount
- direct-mount
- Brake Type
- IS disc
- Seatpost Diameter
- 31.6mm
- Seat Collar
- 35mm
- Rear Axle
- 12 x 148mm thru-axle
- Recommended Use
- trail
- Manufacturer Warranty
- lifetime
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