Santa Cruz Bicycles

Highball Carbon CC XTR Reserve Mountain Bike - 2019

There's something to be said for the inherent simplicity of a hard tail. Sure, we won't write off the full-squish feel of a beefy trail or enduro rig, but we're also a fan of crushing climbs, speeding past the other steeds that, by comparison, climb like chubby ponies. With that said, in the past we've also found too many feathery cross-country rides that felt fragile, noodly, and overly twitchy at high-speeds. Fortunately we're here to say that we can send those notions to the past with Santa Cruz's new Highball Carbon CC XTR Reserve Complete Mountain Bike. Now don't get us wrong, we're not going to tell you this newest generation of Highball is going to be a worthy replacement for your trail bike, but it does offer you that speedy cross-country geometry we covet, and with a frame that won't waiver when its time to put the hammer down.

As we've seen year after year, Santa Cruz always manages to push the envelope in the design of their bikes and this third-generation Highball Carbon 29er is no different, weighing a half pound lighter than previous versions in their high-end Carbon CC lay-up. You read that right, the newest version of the Highball Carbon CC 29er is a half pound or some 200 grams lighter, dropping the frame's overall weight to just over two pounds, which is absurd when you think about it. Santa Cruz's composite engineers achieved this absurdly low weight through a meticulous application of carbon in zones critical to stiffness and structural integrity, trimming the bike down in all other areas for the utmost in weight savings.

Although the third generation of Santa Cruz's Highball makes no qualms about its dedicated racing purposes, it's distinctly Santa Cruz in nature, meaning you can dare to tackle a bit more technical lines on the XC course that would leave you questioning your sanity on other cross-country bikes with steeper head tube angles. For this third-gen Highball, Santa Cruz slackened it out a hair. Instead of the previous head tube angle of 70/70.5 degrees, it's now 69.5 degrees for a bit more confidence on descents, but without compromising the razor-sharp handling of the last generation. Another geometry figure to note is the 44-millimeter fork offset, which increases the bike's trail and subsequently makes it a touch more stable when you're picking your line across more technical downhill sections with rocks and roots aplenty.

Because the Highball had the reputation as being one of the stiffest bikes in Santa Cruz's line, the engineers had a few tricks up their sleeves in muting trail chatter and excess vibration from this third-gen model. Low-angle seat stays meet the seat tube just below the top tube junction, plus there's a bridgeless seat stay to absorb incoming vibration over rugged race courses. Santa Cruz then uses a 27.2-millimeter seat post diameter to impart even more compliance, so you don't feel every terrain inconsistency in your lower back for days afterward.

Other notable geometry changes include a moderately longer reach and wheelbase (increases in reach and wheelbase for a size medium are 0.9 and 1.4 inches, respectively) for a bit more composure on descents, plus the ability to run a more modern bar/stem combo. Santa Cruz realized the low-slung 12.4-inch bottom bracket and snappy-short 16.9-inch chainstays made the previous Highball an absolute hoot to blast around corners and hairpin turns, so they retained these figures, as to not dramatically alter its spirited handling characteristics.

While Santa Cruz has been known to offer builds for any budget, this particular Highball features only the most coveted cherry-picked parts, starting with Santa Cruz's own Reserve wheels. The Reserve wheels are crafted with the Northern California brand's complete carbon expertise, meticulously laid up with unidirectional carbon fiber, amounting to stiffness that's hard to beat, and without a weight penalty. Santa Cruz even backs its wheels with the same lifetime warranty that its carbon frames get, giving you peace of mind when you underestimate a hairpin turn. The build doesn't stop with carbon hoops, though. It also features Shimano's newest 12-speed XTR drivetrain. XTR 12-speed has been long awaited, and packs in all of the precision you've come to know from Japanese engineering, and brings it up to speed with nearly endless gears to offer you an option for conquering the steepest climbs.

Despite these changes in the frame's geometry and ability to mute incoming vibration, Santa Cruz managed to preserve the high levels of torsional stiffness and reliable strength you've come to love from the Northern California brand. High levels of stiffness means every ounce of rider energy will be directed into rocket-like acceleration and its reliable strength is backed by a lifetime warranty —all without rider weight limits imposed by other manufacturers. And because racing speed isn't the only thing desired on a bike of this pedigree, you'll find all the thoughtful design features that define a Santa Cruz. These features include a threaded bottom bracket for creak-free reliability, three bottle mounts, internal dropper compatibility, and internal routing of all cables to keep everything looking tidy.