Santa Cruz Bicycles

Tallboy LT Carbon S Complete Mountain Bike - 2015

The 2015 Santa Cruz Tallboy LT Carbon S Complete Mountain Bike builds itself around Santa Cruz’s VPP design for anything the trail throws at you. The VPP suspension utilizes two counter-rotating links. The upper rotates the most as the bike moves downward to its sag point and keeps it moving along a vertical line. As the frame approaches its lowest point, the lower link rotates to move the path of the axle rearward. This secondary movement effectively lengthens the rear so that it is able to travel out of the way of impacts. Santa Cruz uses its collet-style pivot hardware designed from aluminum, as they are lightweight and easy to service.

Now back to the frame. Santa Cruz constructs the front and rear triangles of the LT as singles pieces, which means that there are fewer seams to interrupt the strength of continuous carbon fibers. Additionally, the frame is constructed so that a bladder compresses the carbon from the inside of the frame as it is curing. And while you’ll hopefully never see the insides of your tubing, this method of molding removes all excess epoxy, leaving a smooth-as-butter finish, inside and out. It also optimizes the strength.

As for the fit, the Tallboy LT features a 69.5-degree head angle coupled with 29-inch wheels and a 130mm RockShox Pike RC fork. The top tube gives you room so that you can enjoy the more upright setup of a shorter stem paired with wide handlebars. On the other end is the climb-worthy 72.6-degree seat angle and 17.7-inch chainstays. And while the smallest size offered is a medium, Santa Cruz knows that trying to shrink a 29er to fit too small of a frame only compromises handling.