Santa Cruz Tallboy 3

One of the most recognisable brands in mountain biking, Santa Cruz Bicycles is well and truly established in the upper echelon when it comes to prestige and desirability. Their bikes are ridden by absolute legends of the sport; from Danny MacAskill to Greg Minnar and Steve Peat—their pro-payroll is a veritable all-star cast of mountain biking. The bikes really stand out from the crowd too; clean, straight lines ensure they look sharp and purposeful with all manner of bright and sometimes gaudy colour schemes that shout ‘look at me!’ Of course for every candy apple red or baby blue and pink model there’s also a more stealthy option, just in case you’re not keen on looking like a popstar (or a popsicle).

With Santa Cruz, their strength has always been in their longer travel and rowdy trail bikes; models like the Nomad, Bronson and 5010. The Tallboy is their shorter travel cross-country 29er – usually one for the XC racer – and while it’s been in the lineup for a long time, it’s never really taken off like their other models. For 2017 it’s undergone a complete overhaul and the new version really doesn’t reflect on the original—it’s a whole new breed.

The Tallboy Mk3 has gone from 100 up to 110mm of rear travel but there’s a lot more going on than an extra 10mm of suspension. Like the recently updated Bronson and 5010, the new Tallboy runs a 148mm boost rear axle and the lower VPP suspension link is now tucked up behind the bottom bracket and well out of the way—it looks tidier and there’s less chance of rock damage. It also echoes the more angular lines of the Bronson and 5010; it looks pretty smart compared to the more rounded and curvy Tallboy 2.

The biggest changes come in the frame geometry. With the move to a wider boost drivetrain, they’ve been able to tuck the back wheel in closer to the bottom bracket and the chainstay length has gone from 445mm down to 432mm. That’s a pretty big change in itself but the head angle has also been slackened, moving from just over 70-degrees to 68-degrees. The reach is substantially longer, going from a cramped 415mm on a large to a reasonably roomy 450mm. There’s also more room for a dropper post with the large frame using a 450mm seat tube length (the older version was 470mm in the same size).

While the chanstays have lost 13mm, the overall wheelbase grown by almost 50mm, moving from 1,117mm to 1,165mm on the large size. Overall the bike has gone from a traditional XC-race based 29er with a distinct forward weight bias to an out-and-out new-school trail bike. Where the Tallboy 2 frame was around 2,390g, our new Tallboy 3 CC came in at 2,630g (frame and shock but no thru-axle), so it’s also gained a bit of beef along the way as well.

Pragmatic Design
So a lot has changed with the new Tallboy but Santa Cruz has stuck to their guns on a number of fronts. For starters they don’t agree with the trend towards press-fit bottom brackets, so this new-school Tallboy retains an old-school threaded bottom bracket. We haven’t had huge issues with creaking press-fit bottom brackets but still prefer the ease of servicing that a threaded setup provides. The rear brake hose runs externally and is mounted with cable ties—yet another tick on the serviceability front. Another retro touch is the international standard mount for the rear brake calliper; if something strips out it’s easier to fix than a modern post mount system.

On the whole Santa Cruz has been reluctant to move to internal cables. This is the first Tallboy to incorporate internal routing but it is done properly. Both the dropper post and rear derailleur cable run through moulded carbon tubes. You push the cable in one end and it simply pops out the other side—no cable fishing required. This design also makes the bike quiet on the trail; a contrast to some modern high-end bikes, which rattle like they have a set of maracas hidden inside the downtube. The cable routing is damn near perfect aside from one slight glitch; it’s optimised around a right/rear lever setup and most Aussies run it the other way around—not a deal breaker but still a little unfortunate.

Other nice touches include the moulded nylon protector that clips tightly onto the chainstay. It’s close to 4mm thick with a rubberised outer surface to silence the chain, and because it’s not attached with adhesive, it won’t peel off after a few months of use. There’s also a rubber protector on the down tube, which further contributes to the Tallboy’s quiet trail manners. As with other Santa Cruz models, you’ll find a grease nipple on the lower suspension link to help with on-going maintenance. Individually these are all small points but they really add up. It’s clear that lot of thought is put into the design and this makes the Tallboy very easy to live with.

Of course you’d want to hope the bike is damn near perfect; after all it is a Santa Cruz and you’ll pay for the privilege of owning one. Santa Cruz offers three different frames in the Tallboy; there’s the CC, the C and an aluminium version. The CC is the top-end carbon model and it’s the lightest of the bunch; the 2,630g frame and shock retails for $5,199. The C uses lower grade carbon but more of it to obtain the same strength and stiffness; it’s around 200g heavier and only comes as a complete bike (these builds start from $6,949). Aluminium Tallboys start from $5,599 and are roughly 200g heavier than the lower end carbon option. Regardless of which option you choose, the geometry and VPP suspension is identical, so you can expect the ride quality to be reasonably close.

As pictured our Tallboy CC tipped the scales at 12.3kg without pedals and retails for a cool $11,099. For this money you get the second from the top X01 build. It includes a SRAM Eagle X01 drivetrain (the more affordable of the two new 12-speed groups), second-in-line SRAM Level TLM brakes, alloy Race Face ARC rims, DT 350 hubs, a Reverb dropper and second tier Fox Elite suspension—a Float 34 fork with a DPS Evol shock on the back. For Factory level Fox suspension, SRAM Ultimate brakes and the top-end Eagle drivetrain, you’ll need to look at the next model up. The Tallboy XX1 starts at $12,899 and it goes up from there if you want the Enve carbon wheel upgrade. Yes, it’s pricy but it’s pretty consistent with boutique branded counterparts like Yeti, Intense and Pivot.

As the numbers suggest, a lot has changed with the Tallboy 3 and its trail manners are nothing like the previous version. The short cockpit/long stem and long chainstay combination have morphed into a very current trail bike, and the short seat tube offers a good deal of flexibility as far as the sizing is concerned. At 177cm, the online sizing chart would put me on a medium frame but the compact frame and low top tube meant that I could comfortably run with either a medium or a large. I opted for the bigger size to gain a 450mm reach and swapped the stock 60mm stem for a 40mm. With the large frame there was still plenty of room for the 150mm dropper post and proportions still looked right.

VPP Evolved
The newer style VPP suspension links and beefier construction has made the new bike a lot stiffer—it’s especially noticeable in the rear end where the Tallboy 2 was quite springy and flexy. Up front, the 120mm travel FIT 4 damper equipped Fox 34 is a perfect match; it’s stiff, well controlled and the steering precision is more than up to the task in this shorter travel application.

Over time the action of the VPP suspension has evolved. Where earlier VPP bikes employed an unusual regressive/progressive leverage ratio curve, their newer models are comparatively linear. The Tallboy goes from 2.5-2.56-2.3; still regressive/progressive but it feels more or less linear with the Fox Evol air shock in place. To translate this techno-babble; it means the suspension feel is more consistent throughout the shock stroke. It’s reasonably supple early in the travel (but certainly not mushy), the mid-stroke is plush without tending to wallow and there’s a subtle ramp-up at the end to offer some bottom out resistance.

It may only have 110mm of travel but the Tallboy uses it to the max. The O-ring is constantly pushed to the end of the shock shaft, so on moderate terrain the bike feels more comfortable and controlled than you’d expect. Occasionally I was reminded of its limitations; the linear travel led to a few harsh bottom-outs, but only when the bike was really pushed or when I stuffed up and miss-timed a landing. It’s something that wouldn’t be an issue on your bread and butter XC bike, however the new school frame geometry and excellent chassis stiffness really allows you to let loose on the descents.

I spent much of my time chasing guys on 150/160mm bikes and the Tallboy handled it just fine—the occasional reality check was inevitable however. If you plan on treating this short travel rig like an all-mountain bike, there is scope to make the rear end a little more progressive. The Float DPS shock already has a sizable 13mm volume reducer fitted but Fox makes an even bigger 19mm spacer that would bolster the bottom-out resistance if required. That said, perhaps the 130mm travel 5010 could be a better choice to begin with if that’s your intention.

The shorter travel VPP suspension really excels when you turn the tables and pedal back up the hill. There’s no need to reach for the DPS compression adjuster, as the Tallboy pedals really well with the shock left fully open. It doesn’t squat under power and retains a solid feel when you’re out of the saddle. For me it was a set and forget bike, which is something I love; uphill, downhill or wherever, there’s no need to reach for pedal platform adjustments or lockout levers.

Flip to Fat
One unique feature with the Tallboy 3 is the ability to run either 29-inch or 27.5 plus wheels—both regular and plus builds are listed on their website. There’s enough clearance around the seat and chainstays for 27.5 x 3.0 tyres, although Santa Cruz suggests that 2.8 is the best bet. To compensate for the 25mm smaller diameter of the plus wheels, the Tallboy has an adjustable rear shock mount. This lifts the bottom bracket by around 5mm and swapping the fork travel to 130mm does the rest. Converting our test bike from 29x2.35 to 27.5x2.8 took the bottom bracket height from 326mm down to 313mm, and it then went back up to 322mm—so the angles stayed the same and the bottom bracket height remained within a few millimetres once the adjustments had been made. As the fork travel needs to be changed, you won’t want to be swapping wheels from one ride to the next, but it’s still a feature that adds versatility to the Tallboy package.

I’ve heard people suggest that fitting 27.5 plus wheels makes a bike more playful. This wasn’t my experience however. Swapping to fat rubber and running 14psi definitely improved traction but I didn’t feel it added to the ‘playfulness’. After all the geometry remains the same and you’ve just added a bunch of extra rotating mass with the wider plus wheels. In plus mode the grip was like velcro; it definitely helped in skatey conditions and on low-traction climbs. The narrower tyres rolled better on harder trail surfaces and generally seemed less damage-prone thanks to the thicker sidewalls (most plus tyres seem to be exceptionally thin to get the weight down).

Regardless of which wheels you run, the Tallboy delivers a fun and engaging ride. Even though I chose to go up a size to gain a longer front centre, the bike remained agile, easy to wheelie and it loved to launch off whatever obstacles the trail presented. Its all-round stiffness really adds to the responsive feel and means you can stuff the bike aggressively into turns without the frame wincing underneath you—it simply shoots you out the other side.

While the VPP suspension certainty gets the job done, it’s really the geometry that brings the new Tallboy alive. It’s definitely one of the more capable short travel trail bikes that we’ve ridden and 95% of the time it’ll have you keeping up with bigger travel bikes on the descents. At the same time it’s a breeze to pedal uphill and it makes less challenging terrain more fun to ride.

Pros
Great handling new-school 29er
Super-efficient and very effective suspension
Adaptable to 27.5 plus
Refreshingly sensible design and attention to detail

Cons
Cable routing isn’t optimised for right/rear braking
Price

Specifications

Frame: Santa Cruz ‘CC’ Level Full Carbon
Shock: Fox Float Elite DPS 110mm Travel
Fork: Fox 34 FIT 4 Elite 120mm Travel
Headset: Cane Creek 40
Handlebars: Santa Cruz 31.8 Carbon 780mm
Stem: Raceface Turbine Basic 60mm
Shifter: SRAM Eagle X01
Front Derailleur: N/A
Rear Derailleur: SRAM Eagle X01
Cassette: SRAM Eagle X01 12-speed, 10-50
Chain: SRAM Eagle X01
Cranks: SRAM Eagle X01
Bottom Bracket: SRAM Threaded
Pedals: N/A
Brakes: SRAM Level TLM
Rims: Race Face ARC 24mm internal
Spokes: DT Competition Butted
Hubs: DT Swiss 350
Tyres: Maxxis Minion DHF/Ardent Race R 29x2.35
Saddle: WTB Silverado Team
Seatpost: RockShox Reverb 31.6, 150mm drop
Weight: 12.3kg without pedals (Large Frame 2,630g)
Wheel Size: 29-inch (or 27.5 plus)
Available Sizes: S, M, L (tested), XL and XXL
Price: $11,099
Distributor: Lusty Industries (02) 4962 3511 / www.santacruzbicycles.com