Santa Cruz Bicycles

Tallboy Carbon S Mountain Bike

Leaner than the average trail bike and meaner than your run-of-the-mill cross-country rig, the Tallboy Carbon S Mountain Bike is the fastest trail bike from Santa Cruz. The 120mm of rear travel runs on the same lower-link VPP chassis as the longer travel members of the Santa Cruz family for support on the climbs and forgiveness on the descents. The Tallboy runs on 29in wheels front and rear for maximum rolling efficiency on long routes and excellent rollover capabilities for square edge hits. Santa Cruz keeps the head tube angle at 65.5-degrees (low position) to ensure the bike can still easily maneuver tight switchbacks, but it’s still slack enough for plenty of straight-lining stability. The new Glovebox frame storage system lets us stash our tools, tubes, and nutrition right in the downtube so that we don’t need to worry about carrying a pack on long rides.

This S build from Santa Cruz delivers an excellent value-to-component spec ratio, starting off with the Carbon C frame construction which strikes the perfect balance between weight savings, durability, and value. Next up is the Fox 34 Float Performance fork which supplies 130mm of forgiving travel along with plenty of dials and knobs for dialing in the perfect settings. SRAM’s GX Eagle 12-speed drivetrain is our workhorse groupset of choice because it delivers reliable shifting characteristics and lots of universally compatible Eagle replacement parts. We can’t speak highly enough about the AR Offset 30 wheels from Race Face which provide excellent durability that’s great to see on a mid-tier build like this one. This Tallboy is an excellent choice as an addition to a quiver at a great value, or as a quiver of one for a rider’s first carbon trail bike.

*Due to a high demand in the global supply chain and bike industry since the start of the pandemic, material weight and exact components are subject to change. We are working diligently to keep tech specs updated, and any adjustments will be of equal or better spec level. If you have any questions, reach out to a Gearhead by chatting online or calling 1-888-276-7130.