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Santa Cruz Hightower


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It was on my list but I ruled it out for a bunch of reasons. After riding an Orbea I fell in love with it. But I am more of a 130mm guy, didn't need the longer travel of the Hightower. On the upside it has a threaded bottom bracket, I am not a fan of the press fit models. Also the SRAM brakes were a no-go with me. 

Hightower is a good bike. If you are interested in shaving 10mm of the front travel and saving a few hundred, you're welcome to borrow my Orbea Occam. I think Wes might still have some 2019's available at killer prices. He does have a demo of the 2020 as well. 

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I bought a Hightower 1 as soon as it came out in spring 2016 and it's been an awesome bike; I've taken it to enduro races, all-day backcountry XC rides, downhill parks, and ultra endurance events, and the versatility is excellent. Santa Cruz has one of the best warranties in the industry, and the VPP suspension works great. I wouldn't hesitate buying another one. The Hightower 2 is a bit heavier and longer, but it might be a more comfortable climber with the steeper seat tube angle. I would be torn between the Tallboy 4 and the Hightower 2 for an all-around squishy trail bike. There are plenty of other bike brands I wouldn't rule out, but Santa Cruz bikes just look and feel good.

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I looked at it but ultimately went a different direction. Loved the geo numbers, but didn’t care for some of the specs. Ended up going with the Norco Sight, which if I were doing it today I would go with the 2020 Norco Optic over the 2020 Sight. The new Optic is what the Sight use to be and the new Sight is what the Range use to be. No telling what the Range will become. 

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I've had mine since 2016 too.  It's a great Brushy/BCGB bike, bit of overkill for the R&I though.  I got the 27.5+ configuration initially for the 150 Pike, the 29 had a 140 Pike.  Ended up loving the plus tires, and never did get around to buying a backup set of 29 wheels.  Big tires eat up the rocks and they've done well when I hit the front range and the Appalachians in the SE in the roots/rock.  Now the Hightowers only come with 29 wheels but 27.5 plus wheels still fit.  The Hightower LT and Megatower are 29 only. 

I've been pretty impressed with SC's warranty.  Broke a piece on the chainstay of a 5 y.o. Tallboy and they sent me a brand new gen 3 frame.  And they still send bearings free of charge if you have proof of purchase. They've tucked the VPP link above the BB now on most models so it's a lot easier on the bearings than my Gen 1 Tallboy, but still nice to have.

Wish I had gone to the SC demo last weekend. Wanted to try the Gen 4 Tallboy. It's shorter travel, but has a headtube angle closer to my Gen 1 Hightower.  

And almost forgot. I wish I had a later generation Hightower with the link down low on the seat tube.  Mine's a PITA to fit a large bottle. 

Edited by Chongo Loco
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