“No, we don’t have any plans to build a 29er—now, or in the future.” Santa Cruz resisted and resisted, but the numbers were written on the wall. Santa Cruz. After all, owes its success to one rule: “We build the kind of bicycles that we like to ride." This is the guideline that spawned the Superlight, brought them VPP suspension technology, earned the World Downhill Championships and inspired the crew to dive head first into carbon fiber. Almost everyone rides at Santa Cruz, so when employees began showing up for work on big-wheel bikes, the birth of the TallBoy was written in the stars.
RC photo
TALLBOY: SHORT VERSION
If you are not the reading kind: The Santa Cruz TallBoy feels much like a Niner—which means that it pedals, steers and feels just right, as if descended from a long line of 29ers and was lovingly formed by people who live, speak ride and dream big wheels. The fact that its frame is advanced carbon fiber makes it very un-29er light and surprisingly laterally stiff.
Recessed headset reduces the handlebar height by an inch. RC photo
 Tapered fork steerer tube and dual-diameter headset. RC photo
TALLBOY: LONGER VERSION
Tallboy frames are carbon fiber—and not just any carbon fiber. The maker is the most exclusive composite frame supplier in Asia, and intentionally services only a handful of customers. Santa Cruz is presently the only mountain bike brand they build for. The major parts of the frame—swingarm and front section are laid up, fitted to the pivot sections and shock mounts and then the entire structures are molded together in one process. Details like flush sanded cable housing stops and flush fit chainstay padding are standard fare for Santa Cruz’s carbon frames.
Santa Cruz's carbon fiber upper link. RC photo
Plenty of tire clearance and zerk grease fitting on the lower link. RC photo
Like the Blur LTc, Talboys have VPP rear suspension with a carbon fiber upper link and a forged aluminum lower link. Grease fittings on the lower link allow users to purge dirt and water that may sneak into the sealed ball bearings over time. The magic of carbon fiber makes it possible to thin the areas of the swingarm where the tires pass by without sacrificing stiffness and strength—which makes room for big, 2.35 tires (which we all like).
Fox 32F RLC 29er fork with the must-have 15QR through axle. RC photo
Up front, a tapered fork steerer (1.125 X 1.5 inches) and an integrated headset keeps the frame from growing too tall Most people will be able to ride the TallBoy with the bars level with the saddle—even lower if you wanted. Fox makes the fork and Santa Cruz wisely chose the QR15 through-axle option. Big wheel forks tend to flex a lot due to the additional leverage of the oversized 29-inch wheel, which easily overpowers the clamping ability of a quick release’s tiny 5-millimeter skewers.
Carbon fiber dropouts are weight savers. The Shimano shadow derailleur can handle 36-tooth cassettes.
RC photo
Santa Cruz offers a bunch of build options and our test TallBoy was set up modestly, with a Shimano Deore XT drivetrain, Mavic wheels, Fox Suspension and Easton cockpit items. The unassuming build was perfect because when ride time came, we could attribute any positive performance attributes to the bike design and less to the existence of wildly expensive components. Gearing was stock: 2, 32, 44 chainrings, powering an 11 X 34 SRAM nine-speed cassette. Brakes were Avid Elixir with 6-inch rotors.
The best quick release seat post clamp in the biz. RC photo
AND, THE TALLBOY RIDE?
Those familiar with Santa Cruz’s latest adaptation of the Virtual Pivot Point suspension will not be disappointed when they accelerate away on the TallBoy. With 100 millimeters of travel front and rear, there is little or no need for lockouts or platform levers, I used the Fox ProPedal function to judge its benefits during the first third of my initial rider and then left it wide open until present. With lightweight Kenda Small Block Eight 2.1 inch tires, the big-wheel Santa Cruz gets up to speed easily, but not as snappy as a similarly outfitted 26-inch wheeled XC bike. The big wheels make it easy to maintain speed over gravelly or irregular terrain, and anything larger is easily handled by the suspension travel.
TallBoys have a distinct cross-country trailbike feel—light, nimble, yet stable in the turns and technical sections. I aced every switchback so far, (uphill and downhill) on my home test course, and found the TallBoy’s geometery to be well balanced and never prone to pushing in corners. Wide Easton handlebars were a perfect choice for its make-it-happen handling. The fun surprise was how natural the TallBoy felt underneath me when I was bombing downhill trails. Even with its nearly-no-tread tires, I felt confident enough to push the TallBoy hard into tight corners and lofted a few drop-aways and tabletops with conviction that I usually don’t possess.
Recessed stainless steel anti chainsuck plate. RC photo
So, what do I think? Wow! How did Santa Cruz pull off a 29er this good on their first try? I am not qualified to answer that question, but I am certainly qualified to say that the TallBoy is a must-ride for anyone searching for a lightweight cross-country oriented 29er with four inches of suspension and an appetite for Singletrack trails. I’ll be back with more information videos, but now, I just want to ride my Tallboy.
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