Hey everyone, how's it going?
So how excited would you be to find a box like this at the door?
I know I'm over the moon because I've been looking for this for quite a while
and no, this is not an IBIS bike, actually this is the...
2020 Santa Cruz Tallboy CC, let's check this out!
Just like everything these days, this is close to impossible to find
but I found this as a former demo bike, not only the frame,
look at this beautiful yellow and the low link VPP,
but also a PIKE Ultimate that came with it.
This is the Tallboy CC version of the frame, the lighter version of the frame by about 1/2 a pound
and while I can't wait to actually build this up in this video I'm going to focus on the frame
because there's quite a few details that are worth mentioning.
And what's more important than the color of the frame!?
This is what's called the Rocksteady yellow which was available in 2020 right next to the deep purple.
This frame was not protected in any way and I can tell you that it looks mint,
just a couple of tiny stone chips here and there,
but overall this seems to be really good quality paint or sturdy paint if nothing else.
One area that requires attention is here around the threaded bottom bracket,
you can see how the paint peels off slightly so you got to be careful with this area when installing.
In different lighting this frame would look different and it's interesting how Santa Cruz here stands out because this is a fluorescent yellow.
Some call this baby puke yellow, I don't know, I think it's gonna grow up on me, it looks pretty neat or definitely different.
Most of these builds if not all of them came with FOX Float shock, this is the Factory version of that.
And if you look underneath you're gonna see a little sticker which tells you the size, in my case it's a large,
it's a 29er and you can see that this is made in China.
Now before you get all upset about it, this is made in China
but as far as I know Santa Cruz has their own factory there fully controlled by them.
Tallboy is the last bike in their lineup to get this design with the low link VPP
and you can see clearly VPP or Virtual Pivot Point written here on the seat tube.
You are gonna get that tiny fender that protects the end of your shock from mud and debris thrown in by the wheel
and here at the bottom you have the two bolts holding the lower link together.
And since we started with the middle of the bike, here you're gonna have serial numbers of the front triangle and the swing arm,
you have a nice beefy protection of this down tube, down tube that is kind of square, it's not round like in many other cases.
You have two bolts here for bottle cage, the second one being inside the triangle.
This should fit a quite large water bottle if not the largest you can find.
When I read 120 mm head tube length I expected this to be bigger. It's not bigger, it's 120 for a Large.
And the cable ports are not here on the side, actually Santa Cruz has them here up front
so you have less cable rub on the frame and also you can set up the brakes Moto style easier.
One other thing that you may or may not know, if your lettering here on the head badge is red that means you have the CC version,
for the C version or the simple carbon that's going to be silver.
IS or internal headset for the head tube so the bearings sit right in there in the carbon.
As for this top tube there's nothing special about it until it gets here to the back.
This is where this top alloy link attaches to the top tube.
31.6 millimeter seat tube and you can insert a fairly long dropper post in this Large frame.
How much room is in here in the frame?
Well I can push in this entire seat post all the way
and the length of it is right at 29 cm so you can insert this whole seat post in the Large frame no problem.
I mentioned the cable routing and you see the ports here on the head tube.
You have the plugs because this was an X01 build used with SRAM AXS so no cables to run through.
I am curious how the tube, the carbon tube works out for the dropper post
because this would be pretty hard to fish a cable through here.
But if you were to use cables, the shifter cable comes out here and it's going to feed into the swing arm.
Obviously the cable is gonna come through here and exit right before the derailleur hanger.
The brake hose comes out on the other side of the down tube,
feeds into the swing arm, you have that rubber grommet so nothing rattles,
and it's gonna come up top and then exit here on the inside.
And from this side you're gonna see that lower link and that is the first Flip Chip which is the one modifying the geometry slightly.
Not only the geometry between High and Low, but also how progressive the suspension it's going to be.
Use the LOW position to have the suspension more progressive, to have the bike more poppy.
Use the HIGH position to have this more linear so you use more travel easier.
This oversized chainstay protection was introduced with the Megatower,
it is made out of plastic with the rubbery top and this is ribbed as well so that's supposed to keep this super quiet,
and also you have protection here on the seatstays.
And that brings us to the back of the bike.
This is where you have the ability to change the chainstay length between 430mm which is in this position,
but you also have the ability to install this other derailleur hanger that's provided by them
to run your chainstays in 440 millimeter length.
And once you change your chainstay length to 440 millimeters,
Santa Cruz indicates that you can run a full 29 x 2.6 tire in this rear triangle.
Despite the confusion out there, this frame can take 160mm rotors without using any adapters,
this works no problem in the 430mm chaistay position of your axle.
If you go to 440mm you got to use the adapter that they provide just to move the caliper in the right spot for it (180mm min).
This frame is missing a little aluminum insert that allows your axle to be installed either on the 430 or 440 mm position
and I'm a bit surprised that this bike is provided with a quick release, this is a DT Swiss,
you can find custom ones online but there are not that many and they're usually quite expensive.
Weight of that DT Swiss rear axle is 62 grams,
and the weight of this Tallboy CC Large with the FOX Factory shock,
with the chainstay protection and also the seatpost clamp is 2967 grams.
If I add the rear axle that makes it 3030 grams, again this is Tallboy CC so the lighter carbon,
add about 1/2 a pound for the simple C carbon version of this frame.
This is not a light frame by a long shot but it is built like a tank:
if you think about where the pivots are or where the bearings are,
yes you have bearings right there in the lower link but they're all pressed into that aluminum piece.
Up top you also have bearings but they're again pressed into the alloy piece here the swing arm
up top and again here.
So as opposed to many other bikes, there is no bearings pushed into the carbon frame
whether we're talking about the swingarm or the front triangle,
no bearings are pushed straight into carbon on this frame.
So why would anybody care about this Tallboy from Santa Cruz?
Only because it is made by a boutique company like Santa Cruz?
In my case is because I was looking for a playful trail bike that it's not giving me a ton of travel.
This is a 120mm travel in the rear and it can be used with 130 or 140 millimeter fork.
If you want I would call this a big bike in a small bike body because of the travel.
From the reviews that I've seen this is supposed to be super stiff
and it also gives me an Enduro geometry for a bike that it's a short travel 29er.
65.5 degree head tube angle combined with a bit over 76 degrees seat tube angle,
that should make it for an interesting ride if not an amazing ride!
One thing that is worth mentioning is the sizing:
this is a size Large, I always choose a size Medium being 5'10" (1.78m).
However look carefully for the geo of this bike and keep in mind that these bikes usually fit small.
I'm gonna couple the frame with that PIKE Ultimate in silver, and this should make it for a pretty rad build,
I've been waiting for this ever since I sold my Transition Smuggler a couple of years back.
What do you guys think about this Santa Cruz Tallboy version 4?
Have you ever ridden one? Have you ever owned Santa Cruz bikes?
I would love to hear your comments below.
As usual don't forget to like, subscribe, comment,
and until next time hope to see you folks on the trails,
why not riding a Santa Cruz bike?
Cheers guys, cheers!