#santacruztallboy #2020tallboy #shorttravel29 How does this newly redesigned Tallboy stack up to other ST 29ERS? Tune in to find out. 2020 Santa Cruz Tallboy S build C frame www.santacruzbicycles.com/en-...
Got impatient with the release of the Tallboy and bought the Ripley. It's been great on my Maryland trails. i did second guess my choice but this review makes me feel better. Thank you for your time- XL Ripley just shy of 29lbs
Took me 2.5 months to figure out the best setup on my TB 4. Changing stems, low rise bar, high rise bar, long, low, high, short, air pressures, rebound clicks, seat height, fore and aft... After resolving all of this, Ive never been on a bike in my 20 years of riding that can even come close to this rig. Money well spent.
I have no idea what a properly set up bike feels like. I've been riding that old Reign I as I bought it 2nd hand. Heck when I replaced the Crank I thought it was broken because I could feel something wobbling in the pedal. It was just that I was used to riding with a compromised Crank.
I just picked up a Tallboy CC w/ factory build, reserves & XX1 build (full bling build). 29 lbs exactly (XL). It's a rocket ship trail bike. Climbs like a rocket, snappy, playful and descends like a beast. All Santa Cruz bikes are so good ride now, but this one is an amazing trail bike.
What has been your favorite bike for your local trails!? Looking for a do it all bike and I’m in New England only on very rare occasions will I be going to highland mountain bike Park. Mainly local ma and nh trails.
Question, I ride through the woods (trails are mostly gravel, roots, etc., rough, but not too rough) the majority of my time and for long distances, but don't ride in too demanding technical trails and the local bike shop that specializes in all types of bikes suggested the Santa Cruz Tallboy for my type of riding. Thoughts? I am 6'2", 200 lbs, does it make sense to extend the chain stay from 432 to 440 if I prefer a more stable ride? Great video on the Tallboy, but it left me wondering if it is the bike for me.
Great review! I’m f Peru and I’m looking f a bike that ‘can do it all’, looking get into some enduro and have fun in some jumps and including pedaling long distances in flat terrain in the city..wich one you recommend please between Hightower , 5010 and tallboy? Thanks a lot f the advice
I'm surprised you didn't like the Tallboy more. I was skeptical of it at first when I demo'd it but grew to like it more during the course of my ride. Granted it was only a 6 miles demo ride at TOT and it was the CC XO1 build. I would consider the Tallboy the bike for people who like to shred on XC trails and don't do many park days or have a dedicated bike for park days.
Jason Catania for the trails we ride I rather have something with a little stepper HTA. I tried the TB in the high setting too and it didn’t really make a difference. This is why we demo.
@@jctrails horses for courses I guess. I still didn't see enough to justify selling by TB3 for one. I like having the separation between my Mega and the Tallboy for different riding. Only thing I might do is switch to a hardtail for my trail bike to cut down on maintenance expenses.
Great review. I have an 18 Tallboy and thought about upgrading to the new one. It looks like I will stay with the 18 since I ride a lot of trails with tight turns and whatnot.
Can’t decide between a regular travel stumpjumper or the new tallboy? I know you’ve rode them both. I live in Maryland. I keep thinking I will miss they extra travel if I buy the tallboy...any advice?
Blue Pitbull I’m a 29er kind of guy so I would stick with the Mega and HT. Just having the bikes in 2 different sizes makes them feel completely different to me.
This bike truly needs that CC frame and Carbon Reserve 27’s to “Wake Up & Come Alive” in the slower speed tighter stuff! Also a shorter stem and a 140 Pike or Fox would be Mint!!! I absolutely loved this bike in a large over the Hightower for some reason, but I think for the HT & Mega in the C frames make more sense then the Tallboy.. It really needs the weight savings of the CC to feel like a true competitor to that new Ripley! 👌🏼 Hope you get a better experience in the future if you ever take another one out.
The Bike Somm yeah dropping some weight would make the bike snappier. I rode the Ripley’s GX equivalent to this bike and it’s still lighter feeling to me. With that said I would like to try a light weight version in size large. How tall are you?
JC TRAILS Yea totally the Ripley wins the weight contest! The higher end Tallboy(tho not affordable) is the way to go with the Tallboy, I’m just over 5’11 1/2in. So Large was quite nice feeling, maybe an XL and a shorter stem could be fun too.. I’ve only been to one demo, but could see myself getting a small fleet of these bikes because they would do so well for tourists around Napa Valley’s Trails! Anyhow a few minor tweaks and the bike is a bit more capable on the technical downs vs the Ripley.. hard to buy a wrong bike between the two if one was caught in the middle. 🤷🏻♂️
Great review. This was on my list of new bikes: between Ripmo, Ripley, Tallboy. Between the Ripley and Tallboy, I found the Ripley climbed way better and was much more agile. On descents, they felt nearly identical, though I favored the Ripley more because of the agility when picking lines. Ultimately I went with the Ripmo since it almost climbs as efficiently as the Ripley, but it's beefier for descents. Both lower spec'd Tallboy and Ripley are the same price, I'd rather take the Ripley for its climbing prowess and agility, descending is just a matter skill
JC- that's a great review, along with your reviews of the Ibis Ripley and the Specialized Epic Evo. Have you had a chance to ride the Pivot Trail 429? I'm considering the Pivot and the Epic for my riding here in Northeast Ohio(looks similar to your terrain albeit a lot shorter runs). I'm looking for something to help me with faster climbs and turns. My current bike is a Cannondale Habit 27.5 and I'm in the market for a short travel 29. Your Ibis review was great- think I need to ride one, but I'm interested in what you think about the Pivot.
Josh Angelotta yeah it’s a pretty burly short travel 29er, but pedals extremely well. I would pick the pivot before the Tallboy. Ibis still leads the pack with me though. Here’s my review of the Pivot- th-cam.com/video/AKpKjhxv-ns/w-d-xo.html
Love my Pivot trail 429. Performs so well that I sold everything else except for my DH bike. DW link bikes Iike the Pivots and Ibis work so well for me.
Looking for first full suspension bike. Having a hard time finding the best bang for the buck. I'm 200lbs, and still learning to ride that Said I tend to ride a little rowdy. I ride north carolina and Interested in down hill bike parks. Can you recommend anything? I was looking at bikes like trek fuel ex, hightower, yt and transition.
I live in Fernie. Lots of Rock and Dirt. I'm moving on up from an Alloy 07 Reign 1 to a Carbon 20 20 Tallboy. This is my 2nd Bike for my 2nd year riding. I'm a Trail Rider is this a good choice for me?
Nice work J , I’m with you , the Megatower is amazing, the TB may be faster but the Megatower just destroys the competition, it’s fast , fun , I think it climbs amazing
Travel the Narrow Trail I really wanna try the DW link , I hear it climbs amazing, like the Rocky Mountain Thunderbolt, has anyone tried the a thunderbolt..?
There was a video on Pinkbike from the Nicolai designer, he shows why the slack, long bikes need to be leaned over more to work properly, it was such a simple demonstration, I was amazed I hadn't thought of it that way.
Yeah with these bikes getting longer and longer, your center of gravity is being pushed back. Which is great for bombing down steep terrain but not so good for my local single track. It seems like modern xc bikes might be the way to go for me. They basically have the same geo as trail bikes did a couple years of ago and pedal extremely well.
The S builds are heavy. It was surprising that my old aluminum bike was a pound lighter than my carbon bike. I don't think the added weight makes it feel slow.
Brian Vaughn the heavier weight makes it feel stable on the downs, but sluggish on the flatter tighter sections. I think they could of removed some material from the frame and still have an incredibly stiff and durable bike. I guess the Blur TR is filling the spot of the light weight aggressive XC/trail bike.
Matthew Piazzi park at Cleft rock and drop into down around. It’s the trail with the nice berms in the beginning. It’s a about a 2 mile loop that has some cool features.
I was literally thinking, this looks a lot like the trails I ride in Freetown. I wonder if hes in MA and then you said Plymouth lol Any recommendations for some decent downhill stuff in south of boston?
When I did my video review on this bike, I found this: (I have not dropped my Ripley video yet) Anyway, I would describe the Ripley as a better climber, but the Tallboy as the better descender. Both run a tighter cockpit so the bikes feel short. The Tallboy feels like the Yeti SB130 in descents, it feels like it has more than 120mm of rear travel, super plush down hill. It needs a 140mm front fork. The Ripley has a suspension that so supportive that it climbs super well, its super poppy but with that it feels a little harsh on descents with rocky, rooty techy areas. They both have their pro's and cons. Plus the Ripley has a beautiful looking frame aesthetically. That black is so nice when you see it in person. The Tallboy looks good too, but the colors are meh...
MTB Savant you know what, the 4.5 is still a benchmark bike. I still compare all ST bikes to it. Maybe I should get another one I still have the touch up paint.
How does this climb compared to a V2 Bronson? That's my current ride in Carrabassett Valley, Maine, so New England riding with several trips to KT every year. Looking at these short travel 29rs possibly to add to the Bronson or replace since I'm overbiked for my style of riding anyways. Thanks JC!
The TB has a similar pedaling platform as the Bronson but feels a touch more efficient due to the shorter travel and bigger wheels. If you feel like your overbiked on the Bronson the TB will feel just right for you. It’s fast and pretty efficient but still really capable.
I think you're overthinking it based on the previous bike. I believe it's just a modern geometry short travel bike. A lot of people prefer short travel these days. Kind of like why they make aggressive hardtails. Good reviews bud!
The way that the bottom bracket hangs outside of the frame triangulation makes it weaker. To combat that the frame construction in that area needs to be more substantial which adds to the weight. The lower link suspension setup also requires heavy frame construction in that area. The lower link suspension setup does not pedal that efficiently, it is better on descents than anywhere where powerful pedal input is required.
50mtb I would rather have the Ripley for my local trails. I think the TB would be fantastic for trails in CO front range. Big climbs up front and nice steep rocky downs back to the car.
@@jctrails love your reviews. Interesting. I'm on Front Range. Maybe I need to demo Tallboy. Just trying to get my head around the extra weight (vs Ripley) and super slack head angle (front wheel flop?).
@@50mtb44 In Denver, check out Base Camp Cycles, they have Santa Cruz and Ibis and carry the Ripmo, Ripley and Tallboy all for demo. There are trade offs with the Tallboy and Ripley. The Ripley does climb better and is super fast but its suspension is so supportive that on downhill rocks and roots it is not plus and absorbing. Its a bit harsh and the bike tends to get bounced around. The Tallboy does not climb as well as the Ripley, but its rear lower link suspension feels like 130mm of travel. It absorbs everything and handles bit hits really well. It does not get bounced around like the Ripley does. That is the difference between these two. They both have short reach, the Ripley feels a little tighter in the cockpit. I wished both companies would have designed these bikes with a little longer of a reach. The Tallboy is not as playful as the Ripley while the Ripley is not as planted as the Tallboy.
Sebastian Pretorius The ST handles my local tight trails a little bit better because of its steeper HTA. The TB pedals a bit better and feels more capable and stable on the downs. So depending on what trails you ride the ST or TB could benefit you.
I’m usually with you on bikes but disagree on this one. Or maybe I’m the person it’s built for. LOL. Granted I only had a short hour long demo and I plan to do a longer one, but I liked the bike. With a caveat- for my local DC/MD/VA trails. I have my Bronson for mountain gnar and bike parks, and while it does my local trails OK, that’s not its element. Local trails are a lot of roller coaster with some steep but short downs right into steep burner ups with a lot of roots. To get max fun outta them you need to maintain speed- as soon as speed from the down wears off you want to get out of the saddle and sprint up, then at the crest get your weight back and ready to do it all over again. My Bronson likes to climb more with me in the saddle, so I tend to lose my speed when the speed from my down wears off and I just kind of grind it out to the top. It works, but not ideal. The Tallboy was absolutely in its element in this kind of terrain- bomb the down, sprint the up, repeat, hit small drop, bomb some rooty section without losing speed, repeat all over. I like he slack HTA because these local trails still have some steep parts and chutes but just don’t require a lot of travel- for the roots 120-130 mm of travel is fine. But with older designed shorter travel bikes they also kept the HTA steep, meaning that when the downs got steep or there were drops the bikes were sketch. I guess what I’m saying is that just because the trails aren’t massively gnarly doesn’t mean that they still can’t be steep and have fun features. With the lower linkage Santa Cruz bikes I don’t equate slacker and longer with less playful, poppy or hard to turn bc I find them to be very fun, poppy and turn well. Agree that this is probably not an allrounder bike, and as an allrounder I like my Bronson better. But as a compliment to my Bronson, for my local trails, and a lot of east coast suburban riding, I think this bike would be ideal. In fact I’m considering just such a scenario- a stable fo Bronson and Tallboy. So I think that might be this bike’s niche- for the person that has a bigger bike designed for bigger hitting days, but can’t always ride days like that and has days at home in the burbs but still likes to get after it even there, or someone who spends most days riding the burbs but again likes to get after it, I think the Tallboy is perfectly designed. Btw- if you try one again try a large and see how it feels- I think on a medium you were on too small of a bike and were missing a lot of the design advantages of new style. I’m same height and actually demoed a XL and liked the size. Anyway, great vid as always and always love your honesty in reviews and watching you ride. Ride on.
DADventureTV I totally get what your saying. It sounds like the TB is a great fit for you and your local trails. Their is nothing wrong with the bike, but I personally would like something with a bit steeper HTA for the stuff I ride locally. I bet this bike would absolutely rip CO, CA, and NC trails. Where you need a good climbing bike to get to the top and then turn around and smash back down. The TB definitely likes steep chutes. If you watched to the end of the video you saw that I almost went over the bars and I believed the TB saved my butt. I tried the Large in the parking lot and it seemed quite big, but at the end of the ride I was wishing I was on a large. I hate being in between sizes, feels like I can never get comfy on a bike.
If the Tallboy isn't the best bike for your local trails because it's tight XC, then why did you get the new hightower (burlier version of tallboy) as your every day driver? I'm in Michigan so I have the same dilemma with tighter trails, and prefer my 27.5 bronson
Brendan Hoshal I knew someone would say that. Maybe I have another bike stashed away in the bike basement that I rip on the tight stuff. 😉. But seriously the 2 bikes handle about the same in my local trails and I rather have a longer travel bike with that aggressive geo. My interpretation of a short travel 29er should be a bike that pedals well, easy to pop off the ground, and turns well. The Blur TR kinda fills all those requirements, but it’s a little harsh for my old bones.
Brendan Hoshal I thought the new HT was awful , just like the Bronson,Sluggish, climbing on the new Hightower is painful , not as bad as the V3 Bronson but still very sluggish , imo , I still have my 2018 5010 c and I think it’s better than the Hightower and TB , I have put DT Swiss xc carbon rims and 240 hubs and it flies downhill, it climbs amazing too 👍🏽
Paul Cartwright Interesting. I actually demoed the Megatower in telluride this past summer and thought it was a pretty decent climber on the XC trails and a total riot downhill. I think my 2018 v2 Bronson CC is an great trail bike if you’re looking to get rowdy while also staying nimble. I almost got the 5010, but wanted a little extra travel to make up for my poor line choices and decent drops/jumps.
Brendan Hoshal yo 🤟🏾 I had the V2 , awesome bike , yeah that Megatower is something special, yeah the 5010 definitely gets a bit tricky on rowdy trails but I like it’s sharpness , and it climbs better than the Bronson but not by a whole lot, I’m saving for the Megatower 😫it’s SO expensive for the X01 build , the S build is too heavy I think
One thing I learned from my evo is to put more weight on the front wheel. The headtube angle makes a huge differnce on new bikes. But i believe you can get away with having about 20mm less suspension travel with new geometry bikes compared to bikes from just 3 years ago. Looks like a fun bike. My ideal shorter travel set up is 130 rear 140 front 66 degree headtube 76 degree seattube......(insert stumpjumper downieville edition here)
I have been riding a 2015 epic for several years and just tired of getting beaten up. Looking for a bike that will give me the suppleness needed on the roots on trails. Your review did not seem to give me any sense that the travel was sufficient enough to deal with a rough terrain unless it’s going straight downhill.
Jerry Porter once I got the suspension dialed in it’s pretty plush for a 120 bike. The geo just makes more sense when your going downhill with some speed. Coming off a XC bike I would highly recommend trying out the Ibis Ripley. The geo is not to crazy and the ride quality is superb.
JC TRAILS How do you feel the tallboy would feel if paired with 130 mm fork? I have a high tower and really enjoyed the 150 mm. But it’s just an off-season tooling around bike. I do some racing and fast riding with friends but it’s more of a fun activity not something I really take too seriously.
@@jctrails Haha! My additional 1.5 cents: even though my Pivot Trail 429 is about the same weight, it doesn't feel sluggish at all. It seems to me that SC decided to abandon a huge chunk of the market that doesn't have the long up-long fast down sort of terrain.
I wish the Giant Trance had a steeper seat tube because the rest of the geo looks better than a Tallboy for both mine and your local trails. And you don't have to be a dentist to own one lol.
JC TRAILS I can only have one bike and I can’t decide between the Trance and the new Reign. I am always guilty of over biking so I thought Trance, but I am worried I’d be over the back too much with the 74.5 STA. The 130mm fork seems to get overwhelmed a lot quicker too. I’m waiting for Reign reviews before I drop any $. Thanks again for the honest review! :)
SC went way overboard on this thing, imo. I don't want my XC+ bike to feel like a sled. Steep HTA is great for cornering and feeling snappy, which I think they forgot. HTA 67.5 and STA 75 would've been perfect.
Michael Sowalsky I couldn’t agree more. If I want a slack bike I would go with the HT or Mega. This frame has so much potential if the HTA was a bit steeper.
8:30 I think this section of your review nails it. Heavy bike, super slack head tube, short travel... as a package it just doesn't really make sense. If you are going to ride a 30 lb bike, you might as well get a Ripmo for more versatility.
Mechannel I dunno, I ride in Pisgah, and a week on a new Hightower felt like everything was perfect except the travel- riding hard both up and down, I could tell that the Geo was spot on, but the suspension that limited me also didn’t see enough use. it’s an enduro bike for XC dorks.
Great review... When I did my video review, I ran it in the low setting to slacken it out as much as possible. I didn't mess with the chainstays. I found that the rear suspension feels more like 130mm of travel. It reminded me of the SB130 in descents. That lower link VPP is so good downhill! However, the bike does not climb as well as the Ripley but I felt the Ripley does not descend as well as the Tallboy either so the trade off. The Tallboy frame so super stiff and over built, hence the heavy weight of it. You might get this bike about 27lbs with very high end build, but you can get the Ripley at about 25 with the same build. I agree the Tallboy, for a 120mm bike, does not feel lively as you would expect. I also felt the cockpit felt cramped! I thought they might have stayed with the reach the Hightower and MEgatower have. That is why you had a hard time keeping the front end down, too short of reach. It feels so short that for me at 5'10, I might go with an XL. I honestly feel for what the Hightower can do and how well it climbs, I'd rather go with it and get 140mm of travel. BTW, I just posted my MOAB video, part 1, (ha ha)...
The TB seems like it’s designed for big mountain riding with a little amount of travel. I feel like this bike is designed for pyramid type mountain biking (big climb up front and bomb back down). I would be stoked to own this bike if I lived out west.
![[TH] VCT Pacific Stage 2 - Week 4 Day 1 // PRX vs RRQ | GE vs GEN](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/iIi2_04jGr0/mqdefault.jpg)
I'll admit that I wasn't very keen on Santa Cruz bikes at all until I saw a Tallboy in a bike shop. It's a damn good looking bike.
Enjoy the honesty of your reviews and that you have your own opinions.
johnnnewmex thanks man!
Got impatient with the release of the Tallboy and bought the Ripley. It's been great on my Maryland trails. i did second guess my choice but this review makes me feel better. Thank you for your time- XL Ripley just shy of 29lbs
Brandon Lamb if your trails look like mine, you made a good choice.
Glad I got the Ripley months ago and didn't wait for the TB4...
Took me 2.5 months to figure out the best setup on my TB 4. Changing stems, low rise bar, high rise bar, long, low, high, short, air pressures, rebound clicks, seat height, fore and aft... After resolving all of this, Ive never been on a bike in my 20 years of riding that can even come close to this rig. Money well spent.
I have no idea what a properly set up bike feels like. I've been riding that old Reign I as I bought it 2nd hand. Heck when I replaced the Crank I thought it was broken because I could feel something wobbling in the pedal. It was just that I was used to riding with a compromised Crank.
What settings did you settle on? I'm in high and long setting. Having a tough time dialing in the suspension. Love the bike.
I just picked up a Tallboy CC w/ factory build, reserves & XX1 build (full bling build). 29 lbs exactly (XL). It's a rocket ship trail bike. Climbs like a rocket, snappy, playful and descends like a beast. All Santa Cruz bikes are so good ride now, but this one is an amazing trail bike.
Timmy C how tall are you?
@@jctrails I'm 6'1" with 32" inseam. I running it with a 40mm stem too.
Timmy C I might have to try the large. I hate being in between sizes.
@@jctrails I feel like this bike runs small honestly. If anyone is on the fence on size, I'd suggest sizing up.
Was fun to hear your opinion. I’m super interested in the Hightower. I’m thinking about picking up an 18.
B1KER get it!! Would you run it as a 29er or 27.5+?
JC TRAILS 29er. I want to get it for the lady/I can ride it too. 😂
B1KER haha sneaky, sneaky!
What has been your favorite bike for your local trails!?
Looking for a do it all bike and I’m in New England only on very rare occasions will I be going to highland mountain bike Park. Mainly local ma and nh trails.
Question, I ride through the woods (trails are mostly gravel, roots, etc., rough, but not too rough) the majority of my time and for long distances, but don't ride in too demanding technical trails and the local bike shop that specializes in all types of bikes suggested the Santa Cruz Tallboy for my type of riding. Thoughts? I am 6'2", 200 lbs, does it make sense to extend the chain stay from 432 to 440 if I prefer a more stable ride? Great video on the Tallboy, but it left me wondering if it is the bike for me.
I have the tallboy. I notice it rides better up and down in trail. Did you experiment with the trail setting?
Great review! I’m f Peru and I’m looking f a bike that ‘can do it all’, looking get into some enduro and have fun in some jumps and including pedaling long distances in flat terrain in the city..wich one you recommend please between Hightower , 5010 and tallboy? Thanks a lot f the advice
I'm surprised you didn't like the Tallboy more. I was skeptical of it at first when I demo'd it but grew to like it more during the course of my ride. Granted it was only a 6 miles demo ride at TOT and it was the CC XO1 build. I would consider the Tallboy the bike for people who like to shred on XC trails and don't do many park days or have a dedicated bike for park days.
Jason Catania for the trails we ride I rather have something with a little stepper HTA. I tried the TB in the high setting too and it didn’t really make a difference. This is why we demo.
@@jctrails horses for courses I guess. I still didn't see enough to justify selling by TB3 for one. I like having the separation between my Mega and the Tallboy for different riding. Only thing I might do is switch to a hardtail for my trail bike to cut down on maintenance expenses.
Great review. I have an 18 Tallboy and thought about upgrading to the new one. It looks like I will stay with the 18 since I ride a lot of trails with tight turns and whatnot.
The 18 is a sweet bike.
Can’t decide between a regular travel stumpjumper or the new tallboy? I know you’ve rode them both. I live in Maryland. I keep thinking I will miss they extra travel if I buy the tallboy...any advice?
Nice review man. Interesting opinions on it though. This bike and the HT are high on the list for my next bike.
I personally like the modern geo with 140mm of travel.
I bought the Alum R Kit as my first mountain bike! Good place to start? Looks like some fun trails, where is this?
Sounds like he said “Pine Hills” in Plymouth, Massachusetts
What size of the Tallboy would you recommend if I'm a 5'5'' rider? the small is 5'1" - 5'5" and the medium is 5'5" - 5'9"
Are you happy having the megatower and hightower? Or would you go mega and 5010? If you could do it again
Blue Pitbull I’m a 29er kind of guy so I would stick with the Mega and HT. Just having the bikes in 2 different sizes makes them feel completely different to me.
Good review. Im not an SC guy, but I dig the analysis.
bdubs 1 thanks man!
This bike truly needs that CC frame and Carbon Reserve 27’s to “Wake Up & Come Alive” in the slower speed tighter stuff! Also a shorter stem and a 140 Pike or Fox would be Mint!!! I absolutely loved this bike in a large over the Hightower for some reason, but I think for the HT & Mega in the C frames make more sense then the Tallboy.. It really needs the weight savings of the CC to feel like a true competitor to that new Ripley! 👌🏼 Hope you get a better experience in the future if you ever take another one out.
The Bike Somm yeah dropping some weight would make the bike snappier. I rode the Ripley’s GX equivalent to this bike and it’s still lighter feeling to me. With that said I would like to try a light weight version in size large. How tall are you?
JC TRAILS Yea totally the Ripley wins the weight contest! The higher end Tallboy(tho not affordable) is the way to go with the Tallboy, I’m just over 5’11 1/2in. So Large was quite nice feeling, maybe an XL and a shorter stem could be fun too.. I’ve only been to one demo, but could see myself getting a small fleet of these bikes because they would do so well for tourists around Napa Valley’s Trails! Anyhow a few minor tweaks and the bike is a bit more capable on the technical downs vs the Ripley.. hard to buy a wrong bike between the two if one was caught in the middle. 🤷🏻♂️
Great review. This was on my list of new bikes: between Ripmo, Ripley, Tallboy. Between the Ripley and Tallboy, I found the Ripley climbed way better and was much more agile. On descents, they felt nearly identical, though I favored the Ripley more because of the agility when picking lines. Ultimately I went with the Ripmo since it almost climbs as efficiently as the Ripley, but it's beefier for descents. Both lower spec'd Tallboy and Ripley are the same price, I'd rather take the Ripley for its climbing prowess and agility, descending is just a matter skill
Agreed!
JC- that's a great review, along with your reviews of the Ibis Ripley and the Specialized Epic Evo. Have you had a chance to ride the Pivot Trail 429? I'm considering the Pivot and the Epic for my riding here in Northeast Ohio(looks similar to your terrain albeit a lot shorter runs). I'm looking for something to help me with faster climbs and turns. My current bike is a Cannondale Habit 27.5 and I'm in the market for a short travel 29. Your Ibis review was great- think I need to ride one, but I'm interested in what you think about the Pivot.
Josh Angelotta yeah it’s a pretty burly short travel 29er, but pedals extremely well. I would pick the pivot before the Tallboy. Ibis still leads the pack with me though. Here’s my review of the Pivot- th-cam.com/video/AKpKjhxv-ns/w-d-xo.html
@@jctrails Thanks. I'm looking forward to watching.
Love my Pivot trail 429. Performs so well that I sold everything else except for my DH bike. DW link bikes
Iike the Pivots and Ibis work so well for me.
Looking for first full suspension bike. Having a hard time finding the best bang for the buck. I'm 200lbs, and still learning to ride that Said I tend to ride a little rowdy. I ride north carolina and Interested in down hill bike parks. Can you recommend anything? I was looking at bikes like trek fuel ex, hightower, yt and transition.
I live in Fernie. Lots of Rock and Dirt. I'm moving on up from an Alloy 07 Reign 1 to a Carbon 20 20 Tallboy.
This is my 2nd Bike for my 2nd year riding. I'm a Trail Rider is this a good choice for me?
Nice work J , I’m with you , the Megatower is amazing, the TB may be faster but the Megatower just destroys the competition, it’s fast , fun , I think it climbs amazing
Paul Cartwright it’s definitely fast down hill!
Yeah the Megatower is OG for sure man! Specialized even copied it, of course with the horst link suspension.
Travel the Narrow Trail I really wanna try the DW link , I hear it climbs amazing, like the Rocky Mountain Thunderbolt, has anyone tried the a thunderbolt..?
Great review! I have the TB3. Is the TB4 worth the upgrade?
K S if your riding steep trails I would.
There was a video on Pinkbike from the Nicolai designer, he shows why the slack, long bikes need to be leaned over more to work properly, it was such a simple demonstration, I was amazed I hadn't thought of it that way.
Yeah with these bikes getting longer and longer, your center of gravity is being pushed back. Which is great for bombing down steep terrain but not so good for my local single track. It seems like modern xc bikes might be the way to go for me. They basically have the same geo as trail bikes did a couple years of ago and pedal extremely well.
The S builds are heavy. It was surprising that my old aluminum bike was a pound lighter than my carbon bike. I don't think the added weight makes it feel slow.
Brian Vaughn the heavier weight makes it feel stable on the downs, but sluggish on the flatter tighter sections. I think they could of removed some material from the frame and still have an incredibly stiff and durable bike. I guess the Blur TR is filling the spot of the light weight aggressive XC/trail bike.
What trails do you recommend at pine hills? I got a little lost the one time I rode there
Matthew Piazzi park at Cleft rock and drop into down around. It’s the trail with the nice berms in the beginning. It’s a about a 2 mile loop that has some cool features.
I was literally thinking, this looks a lot like the trails I ride in Freetown. I wonder if hes in MA and then you said Plymouth lol
Any recommendations for some decent downhill stuff in south of boston?
He is riding in pinehills in Plymouth mass it's really fun
Just wondering what's the distance for 1 loop?
Tb vs blur tr vs ripley?
Which will you take for your local trails?
Alli Lim my typical loop is about 10 miles and 1200ft of climbing. I would take the Ripley all day.
Good review 👍 based on this, the Ripley is the current leader on my short list 🤔
J K if your trails look like mine I would go with Ripley.
When I did my video review on this bike, I found this: (I have not dropped my Ripley video yet) Anyway, I would describe the Ripley as a better climber, but the Tallboy as the better descender. Both run a tighter cockpit so the bikes feel short. The Tallboy feels like the Yeti SB130 in descents, it feels like it has more than 120mm of rear travel, super plush down hill. It needs a 140mm front fork.
The Ripley has a suspension that so supportive that it climbs super well, its super poppy but with that it feels a little harsh on descents with rocky, rooty techy areas. They both have their pro's and cons. Plus the Ripley has a beautiful looking frame aesthetically. That black is so nice when you see it in person. The Tallboy looks good too, but the colors are meh...
As someone who's never ridden the new Ripley the Yeti SB 4.5 is the best short travel 29er ever made. 😜
MTB Savant you know what, the 4.5 is still a benchmark bike. I still compare all ST bikes to it. Maybe I should get another one I still have the touch up paint.
And it's why I think Yeti will make them again...
Definitely liked my sb5.5 more than the sb130. Sometimes newer isn't better.
johnnnewmex I thought the same thing when I rode the 130
@@jctrails sold my sb130 and have a new tallboy on the way. Love my sb150 though!
How does this climb compared to a V2 Bronson? That's my current ride in Carrabassett Valley, Maine, so New England riding with several trips to KT every year. Looking at these short travel 29rs possibly to add to the Bronson or replace since I'm overbiked for my style of riding anyways. Thanks JC!
The TB has a similar pedaling platform
as the Bronson but feels a touch more efficient due to the shorter travel and bigger wheels. If you feel like your overbiked on the Bronson the TB will feel just right for you. It’s fast and pretty efficient but still really capable.
I think you're overthinking it based on the previous bike. I believe it's just a modern geometry short travel bike. A lot of people prefer short travel these days. Kind of like why they make aggressive hardtails. Good reviews bud!
Do you where to get the frame stickers? I just got this bike and wants add bit of another color other than yellow
Stikrd.com
Just learned JC is ok going either way depending on his mood ;) haha
Easy!!
Scratchin' me heed on that one
The way that the bottom bracket hangs outside of the frame triangulation makes it weaker. To combat that the frame construction in that area needs to be more substantial which adds to the weight. The lower link suspension setup also requires heavy frame construction in that area. The lower link suspension setup does not pedal that efficiently, it is better on descents than anywhere where powerful pedal input is required.
How much?
James, nice review. Sounds like you prefer the Ripley to the Tallboy for your local trails. True?
50mtb I would rather have the Ripley for my local trails. I think the TB would be fantastic for trails in CO front range. Big climbs up front and nice steep rocky downs back to the car.
@@jctrails love your reviews. Interesting. I'm on Front Range. Maybe I need to demo Tallboy. Just trying to get my head around the extra weight (vs Ripley) and super slack head angle (front wheel flop?).
@@50mtb44 In Denver, check out Base Camp Cycles, they have Santa Cruz and Ibis and carry the Ripmo, Ripley and Tallboy all for demo. There are trade offs with the Tallboy and Ripley. The Ripley does climb better and is super fast but its suspension is so supportive that on downhill rocks and roots it is not plus and absorbing. Its a bit harsh and the bike tends to get bounced around.
The Tallboy does not climb as well as the Ripley, but its rear lower link suspension feels like 130mm of travel. It absorbs everything and handles bit hits really well. It does not get bounced around like the Ripley does. That is the difference between these two.
They both have short reach, the Ripley feels a little tighter in the cockpit. I wished both companies would have designed these bikes with a little longer of a reach. The Tallboy is not as playful as the Ripley while the Ripley is not as planted as the Tallboy.
How does this compare to the stumpjumper st
Better or worse?
Sebastian Pretorius The ST handles my local tight trails a little bit better because of its steeper HTA. The TB pedals a bit better and feels more capable and stable on the downs. So depending on what trails you ride the ST or TB could benefit you.
I’m usually with you on bikes but disagree on this one. Or maybe I’m the person it’s built for. LOL. Granted I only had a short hour long demo and I plan to do a longer one, but I liked the bike. With a caveat- for my local DC/MD/VA trails. I have my Bronson for mountain gnar and bike parks, and while it does my local trails OK, that’s not its element. Local trails are a lot of roller coaster with some steep but short downs right into steep burner ups with a lot of roots. To get max fun outta them you need to maintain speed- as soon as speed from the down wears off you want to get out of the saddle and sprint up, then at the crest get your weight back and ready to do it all over again. My Bronson likes to climb more with me in the saddle, so I tend to lose my speed when the speed from my down wears off and I just kind of grind it out to the top. It works, but not ideal. The Tallboy was absolutely in its element in this kind of terrain- bomb the down, sprint the up, repeat, hit small drop, bomb some rooty section without losing speed, repeat all over. I like he slack HTA because these local trails still have some steep parts and chutes but just don’t require a lot of travel- for the roots 120-130 mm of travel is fine. But with older designed shorter travel bikes they also kept the HTA steep, meaning that when the downs got steep or there were drops the bikes were sketch. I guess what I’m saying is that just because the trails aren’t massively gnarly doesn’t mean that they still can’t be steep and have fun features. With the lower linkage Santa Cruz bikes I don’t equate slacker and longer with less playful, poppy or hard to turn bc I find them to be very fun, poppy and turn well. Agree that this is probably not an allrounder bike, and as an allrounder I like my Bronson better. But as a compliment to my Bronson, for my local trails, and a lot of east coast suburban riding, I think this bike would be ideal. In fact I’m considering just such a scenario- a stable fo Bronson and Tallboy. So I think that might be this bike’s niche- for the person that has a bigger bike designed for bigger hitting days, but can’t always ride days like that and has days at home in the burbs but still likes to get after it even there, or someone who spends most days riding the burbs but again likes to get after it, I think the Tallboy is perfectly designed. Btw- if you try one again try a large and see how it feels- I think on a medium you were on too small of a bike and were missing a lot of the design advantages of new style. I’m same height and actually demoed a XL and liked the size. Anyway, great vid as always and always love your honesty in reviews and watching you ride. Ride on.
DADventureTV I totally get what your saying. It sounds like the TB is a great fit for you and your local trails. Their is nothing wrong with the bike, but I personally would like something with a bit steeper HTA for the stuff I ride locally. I bet this bike would absolutely rip CO, CA, and NC trails. Where you need a good climbing bike to get to the top and then turn around and smash back down. The TB definitely likes steep chutes. If you watched to the end of the video you saw that I almost went over the bars and I believed the TB saved my butt. I tried the Large in the parking lot and it seemed quite big, but at the end of the ride I was wishing I was on a large. I hate being in between sizes, feels like I can never get comfy on a bike.
JC TRAILS LOL. Exactly- I want to still be able to do stupid stuff like that, even on a short travel bike!!!
It's perfect for Mid TN trails. I see people race tallboys and Stumpy 29STs because it's mostly rocky and rooty trails.
Tre Lane 🤘
If the Tallboy isn't the best bike for your local trails because it's tight XC, then why did you get the new hightower (burlier version of tallboy) as your every day driver? I'm in Michigan so I have the same dilemma with tighter trails, and prefer my 27.5 bronson
Brendan Hoshal I knew someone would say that. Maybe I have another bike stashed away in the bike basement that I rip on the tight stuff. 😉. But seriously the 2 bikes handle about the same in my local trails and I rather have a longer travel bike with that aggressive geo. My interpretation of a short travel 29er should be a bike that pedals well, easy to pop off the ground, and turns well. The Blur TR kinda fills all those requirements, but it’s a little harsh for my old bones.
JC TRAILS makes sense! Gotta love that Hightower blue too
Brendan Hoshal I thought the new HT was awful , just like the Bronson,Sluggish, climbing on the new Hightower is painful , not as bad as the V3 Bronson but still very sluggish , imo , I still have my 2018 5010 c and I think it’s better than the Hightower and TB ,
I have put DT Swiss xc carbon rims and 240 hubs and it flies downhill, it climbs amazing too 👍🏽
Paul Cartwright Interesting. I actually demoed the Megatower in telluride this past summer and thought it was a pretty decent climber on the XC trails and a total riot downhill. I think my 2018 v2 Bronson CC is an great trail bike if you’re looking to get rowdy while also staying nimble. I almost got the 5010, but wanted a little extra travel to make up for my poor line choices and decent drops/jumps.
Brendan Hoshal yo 🤟🏾 I had the V2 , awesome bike , yeah that Megatower is something special, yeah the 5010 definitely gets a bit tricky on rowdy trails but I like it’s sharpness , and it climbs better than the Bronson but not by a whole lot, I’m saving for the Megatower 😫it’s SO expensive for the X01 build , the S build is too heavy I think
One thing I learned from my evo is to put more weight on the front wheel. The headtube angle makes a huge differnce on new bikes. But i believe you can get away with having about 20mm less suspension travel with new geometry bikes compared to bikes from just 3 years ago. Looks like a fun bike. My ideal shorter travel set up is 130 rear 140 front 66 degree headtube 76 degree seattube......(insert stumpjumper downieville edition here)
LiveFreeandShred that would be my ideal bike. I would call it the New England Slayer!
@@jctrails ill be building something veryyyyy close to that in the near future. Special(ized) Livefreeandshred Edition Stumpy
@@livefreeandshred9818 Have you checked out the Revel Rascal?
Maybe the new Django would fit that bill. Only 120 in the back, and seat angle a bit steeper, but reviews have been positive so far.
I have been riding a 2015 epic for several years and just tired of getting beaten up. Looking for a bike that will give me the suppleness needed on the roots on trails. Your review did not seem to give me any sense that the travel was sufficient enough to deal with a rough terrain unless it’s going straight downhill.
Jerry Porter once I got the suspension dialed in it’s pretty plush for a 120 bike. The geo just makes more sense when your going downhill with some speed. Coming off a XC bike I would highly recommend trying out the Ibis Ripley. The geo is not to crazy and the ride quality is superb.
JC TRAILS How do you feel the tallboy would feel if paired with 130 mm fork? I have a high tower and really enjoyed the 150 mm. But it’s just an off-season tooling around bike. I do some racing and fast riding with friends but it’s more of a fun activity not something I really take too seriously.
IMHO, they should've come up with a new name, since it seems to have almost nothing in common with its predecessor.
Matt Galligan “Big Guy”
@@jctrails Haha! My additional 1.5 cents: even though my Pivot Trail 429 is about the same weight, it doesn't feel sluggish at all. It seems to me that SC decided to abandon a huge chunk of the market that doesn't have the long up-long fast down sort of terrain.
@@mattgalligan7702 They still have the Blur which has the angles and travel of the old Tallboy....
Downhill Tallboy or *"DownBoy"* for short.
I wish the Giant Trance had a steeper seat tube because the rest of the geo looks better than a Tallboy for both mine and your local trails. And you don't have to be a dentist to own one lol.
Marc Doucette the trance is pretty sweet how it is, but it would definitely benefit from a steeper STA.
JC TRAILS I can only have one bike and I can’t decide between the Trance and the new Reign. I am always guilty of over biking so I thought Trance, but I am worried I’d be over the back too much with the 74.5 STA. The 130mm fork seems to get overwhelmed a lot quicker too. I’m waiting for Reign reviews before I drop any $. Thanks again for the honest review! :)
Marc Doucette anyway for you to demo them?
I'm 5 10 and i ride an xl bronson, it feels perfect to be honest. You should at least be on a large bro.
SC went way overboard on this thing, imo. I don't want my XC+ bike to feel like a sled. Steep HTA is great for cornering and feeling snappy, which I think they forgot. HTA 67.5 and STA 75 would've been perfect.
Michael Sowalsky I couldn’t agree more. If I want a slack bike I would go with the HT or Mega. This frame has so much potential if the HTA was a bit steeper.
@@jctrails I think they forgot that people still ride trails that are flatter than a 10% grade. They built this thing for BC.
Agreed. I sold my TB3 and I’m getting a new Trek Top Fuel. 67.5 HTA and 24lbs in the 9.9 build.
Scott Simon sounds fast!
Check your Instagram DMs, please!
Becarereful .. Black bear waiting off the road
8:30 I think this section of your review nails it. Heavy bike, super slack head tube, short travel... as a package it just doesn't really make sense. If you are going to ride a 30 lb bike, you might as well get a Ripmo for more versatility.
Mechannel I dunno, I ride in Pisgah, and a week on a new Hightower felt like everything was perfect except the travel- riding hard both up and down, I could tell that the Geo was spot on, but the suspension that limited me also didn’t see enough use. it’s an enduro bike for XC dorks.
Great review... When I did my video review, I ran it in the low setting to slacken it out as much as possible. I didn't mess with the chainstays. I found that the rear suspension feels more like 130mm of travel. It reminded me of the SB130 in descents. That lower link VPP is so good downhill!
However, the bike does not climb as well as the Ripley but I felt the Ripley does not descend as well as the Tallboy either so the trade off. The Tallboy frame so super stiff and over built, hence the heavy weight of it. You might get this bike about 27lbs with very high end build, but you can get the Ripley at about 25 with the same build.
I agree the Tallboy, for a 120mm bike, does not feel lively as you would expect. I also felt the cockpit felt cramped! I thought they might have stayed with the reach the Hightower and MEgatower have. That is why you had a hard time keeping the front end down, too short of reach.
It feels so short that for me at 5'10, I might go with an XL. I honestly feel for what the Hightower can do and how well it climbs, I'd rather go with it and get 140mm of travel.
BTW, I just posted my MOAB video, part 1, (ha ha)...
The TB seems like it’s designed for big mountain riding with a little amount of travel. I feel like this bike is designed for pyramid type mountain biking (big climb up front and bomb back down). I would be stoked to own this bike if I lived out west.
Travel the Narrow Trail A short reach ? They made this bike huge effective top tube wise.