The Tallboy LTc bike is an all-mountain 29er Carbon bike with 135 mm of rear travel.

Mike Ferrentino of Santa Cruz

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2QxPaLsZZFU&hd=1

Riding the Tallboy LTc in Rockville Park, Vacaville, CA

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=If1h0ZD_1XA&hd=1

Introduction by Aaron Faupell

On April 1, 2012, Santa Cruz builds on the success of their full suspension 29er Tallboy with their entry into the all mountain 29er category. Two bikes are being introduced, the LTc carbon bike and the LT aluminum bike. The Tallboy LTc bike is significant for being the first appearance of full carbon in this fairly young category. The specs put it at 135mm of rear travel with a slacked out 69.5 degree head angle on a Fox 34 140mm fork. Santa Cruz has done a lot right with this bike and finally includes the much desired 142x12mm rear axle as well as ISCG mounts and even a downtube bottle. I was lucky enough to get to ride this bike around some of my home trails in Northern California.



My normal rides consist of a Santa Cruz Blur LT Carbon and a fairly recently added Tallboy Carbon. As it turns out these two bikes make a great standard to compare the new Tallboy LT against. Placing this bike in the existing Santa Cruz lineup would slot it in somewhere between the Blur LT and the Nomad in terms of all mountain capability. The large wheels more than compensate for the slim 5mm shorter travel of the Blur LT. But if we consider the climbing ability of the Tallboy LT it leaves both of those 26 inch rides far behind. With a large frame, complete Shimano XTR group, and a Rockshox Reverb post coming under 28 lbs and combined with the VPP suspension, this ride closely matches the cross-country abilities of the regular Tallboy. The main difference here from my perspective was one of position. While the top tubes are of similar length the Tallboy LT is naturally set up with a shorter stem and a slightly higher front-end which does play a role in climbing performance.

For me, the Blur LT was a wonderful "do everything" bike. It's light and efficient enough to handle big climbing days but slack enough geometry to handle most descents with confidence. The Tallboy LT has really shown me that the do-everything concept can be taken even further. When I got the chance to aim the Tallboy LT downward it was a pleasure. I threw it off of everything I could find and it handled it all in stride. The landings felt easily on par with the Blur LT. Every time i braced expecting something harsh i was rewarded with nothing but a soft pillowy landing. The handling is a study in contradiction: maneuverable without being twitchy. I think the slightly longer wheelbase lends a hand to this feeling. 29ers can have somewhat of a slow dead feeling to the steering when not done right but the Tallboy LT displays none of this. Even coming from a 26 inch wheel you can feel immediately comfortable with the position and the handling, and that is one of the key qualities that lets you know when its done right. While this isn't a bike you are likely to go big on or throw into a giant whip, it is still quite comfortable in the air and i think we will start see a redefinition of what big wheels are capable of.

Release Video from Santa Cruz Bikes



First Impressions by Francis Cebedo:

I owned the regular Tallboy Carbon for a while so I have a bit of experience with it. It is an 100 mm 29er full suspension that pedals well, is agile and laterally stiff. It is a very capable XC bike and is the #1 selling bike of Santa Cruz. In fact, it outsells the the second place bike in the Santa Cruz line-up, the Blur LT, by two to one. But it is more of a cross-country bike and the rear suspension is happiest when it's racing XC and or going on all day rides. As I took it to tougher terrain, I felt the rear suspension was rather stiff and the BB was low as it hit a lot of rocks at places like Downieville, CA. For my XC and descending needs, I ended up with two bikes - the supersonic Highball Carbon hardtail for XC use and a Blur TRc for trail bike duty.

Well, the evolution of the Tallboy is here and it looks like Santa Cruz hit the mark again with the Tallboy LTc. It is a 5.3 lb frame sporting 135 mm of rear travel. It is mated with the wonderful 34 mm stanchion Fox fork with 140 mm of Kashima-smooth travel. Fully decked out with XTR and tubeless Maxxis Ardent tires, the medium bike came in at 28.10 lbs.

We took it to our local Norcal spot and the suspension felt bottomless. Instead of the aggressive ramping of the rear travel, this bike felt plush and willing to do more. It was eerie bracing for rocks or harsh landings and not feeling much of a shock. The ride was similar to my Blur TRc but this one had more bump compliance, more traction and it tracked better on the ruts. This bike felt good in the air too and was easy to move around.

It did feel a bit higher off the ground so it was good to have the Rockshox Reverb post to get my center of gravity down for the big descents. The handlebar was pretty high off the ground so getting an XC , pedaling position for my 5'8" was a challenge. This bike did seem like a very able climber though. Even with the proper sag, this bike motored up the hills with very little pedal bob.



The test bike weighed in at 28.10 lbs and I was curious what it would weigh in at with tricked out products. So I put in Roval Carbon wheels, Panaracer Driver tires, rigid Thomson post with Ritchey saddle and Crank Brothers ti pedals. Voila, the complete bike weighed in at 24.47 lbs.

Of course not all is perfect as the XTR equipped bike is hideously expensive at around $8000. It still comes with 3x10 gearing and it will be likely spec'ed with the lightweight but anemic Maxxis Crossmark tires.



Announcement by Mike Ferrentino of Santa Cruz Bicycles:

We put a lot of emphasis on the suspension performance and ride characteristics of our VPP suspension- design tuneability of shock rates for individual designs, superb pedaling AND bump absorption characteristics, awesome.

Chassis stiffness and ride dynamics, short stiff links with really good hardware, durability, ease of service-but we get real geeked out when we can build all that stuff into a carbon fiber bike. Our engineers will proclaim that carbon fiber processes are not all equal, and this is not all just random "black metal." We are very proud of what we can achieve with carbon fiber, and the way we do our layup gives us the advantage to build bikes that are lighter AND stronger than just about everyone else.

That said, this is the Tallboy LTc. Same geometry, same suspension, same intent as the aluminum version, but crafted from carbon fiber using our proprietary one-piece layup process. This is also our first foray into 142x12 rear axle territory. For lack of any better hyperbole, this bike is siiiiiick! 135mm travel, all the good juicy features already mentioned in the Tallboy LT blurb above, but also stiffer, stronger, and really, really effing light. Weight for a frame, with shock included, is 5.3 pounds. Yup.



Features:
  • M, L, XL sizes
  • Proprietary one-piece carbon fiber layup
  • Tapered headtube
  • 142x12mm rear axle
  • Replaceable derailleur hanger (optional Shimano direct mount rear hanger available)
  • ISCG05 mount
  • 135mm travel, 7.875x2" shock
  • Custom-tuned Fox Float RP23 Kashima shock
  • Collet axle pivot hardware
  • Offset lower link (better chainguide clearance), recessed grease ports
  • Continuous cable, dropper post routing
  • Leather seatstay, chainstay, downtube protector
  • Threaded bb shell (we think this is still the best, most user-friendly, widely compatible, globally serviceable way to install a bottom bracket.)
Available complete with R/AM spec for $4399 or SPX/AM spec for $5299

Colors: Matte Carbon/Orange, Gloss Yellow/Black