2020 New SANTA CRUZ HIGHTOWER V2 CC Sram Eagle X01 ,

Description

Item specifics Condition: New: A brand-new, unused, unopened, undamaged item in its original packaging (where packaging is ... Read more Brand: Santa Cruz Colour: Blue Suspension: Front & Rear (Full) Custom Bundle: Yes Handlebar Type: Riser Bar Wheel Size: 29" Frame Material: Carbon Fibre Number of Gears: 12 Model: Hightower cc X01 reserve Gender: Unisex Adult Frame Size: Medium Brake Type: Disc Brakes - Hydraulic Type: Mountain Bike Manufacturer Colour: Highland Blue and Desert Country/Region of Manufacture: United States Features: Adjustable Seat Santa Cruz bills the new Hightower as a 'Goldilocks' bike, a 140mm 29er that sits squarely in the do-it-all category. The term 'all-mountain' seems to have fallen out of favor, but I'm going to dust it off for this review – it's a fitting description for the riding style that this new bike was designed for. The Hightower is the latest model in Santa Cruz's lineup to get the lower link-mounted shock treatment, joining the Nomad, Bronson, and Megatower to create a quartet of bikes that look nearly identical, at least from a distance. Up close, and on the trail, it's the bikes' geometry, travel and wheel size that sets them apart. Construction and Features Santa Cruz have settled into a groove with the frame design of their longer travel bikes. The new shock configuration puts the weight of the damper and linkages nice and low in the frame, along with providing room for a water bottle. Plus, it's probably nice not needing to reinvent the wheel for each model. It does make for a familiar sounding list of features, but that's not a bad thing – Santa Cruz's frames are some of the nicest in the business, and they come with a lifetime warranty, which also includes the bearings. There's internal cable routing, a threaded bottom bracket, down tube protectors to prevent frame damage from rocks and tailgates, and a ribbed chain-slap guard on the chainstay. A flip chip on the lower link allows the geometry to be fine-tuned – there's a .3 degree head angle, and 4mm bottom bracket height difference between the two settings, and the lower position also alters the shock curve to provide a little more bottom out resistance. The new Hightower now uses the same suspension layout as the Nomad, Bronson, and Megatower. Raised chainstay protectors have quickly become the norm in order to keep things nice and quiet. Geometry & Sizing In addition to moving to a lower link-mounted shock design, the new Hightower gets the longer and slacker treatment. The amount of rear travel moves from 135 to 140mm, which is paired with a 150mm fork. The head angle now sits at 65.2-degrees in the low setting, and the reach on a size large measures 470mm. Those are significant changes compared to its predecessor's 67-degree head angle and 450mm reach of the size large. Despite the longer front center, the chainstay length remains the same – the flip chip found on the Megatower and V10 hasn't trickled down. Suspension Design The Hightower's suspension layout may look identical to the Megatower, but a few tweaks have been made that alter its ride characteristics. The Hightower was designed to run an air sprung shock only, and as such it has a slightly less progressive suspension curve than the Megatower. The RockShox Super Deluxe shock has a low rebound and low compression tune, and comes with one volume spacer already installed – riders can add up to 2.5 more spacers in order to fine-tune the end-stroke ramp up. There's enough room to fit a Super Deluxe or Fox DPX2, but shocks with larger air cans, like a Fox Float X2 or Cane Creek DB Air, aren't compatible. Climbing The shock's light compression tune felt like a very good match for the Hightower's kinematics – it makes the compression dial a usable feature, as opposed to needing to run it all the way open without any room for adjustment. I added four clicks of low-speed compression (from fully open) to the Super Deluxe shock, which added a touch more support for climbing, while still retaining plenty of small bump sensitivity for rougher sections of trail. There's also a climb mode that can be used to firm things up even further, but I only touched that when I was spinning my way to the trailhead on a paved road. Otherwise, I was completely content leaving that blue lever alone. Even though it's longer and slacker than the prior model, the Hightower is still quite maneuverable when things get tight and technical. It's not wildly light, but it's not a pig either, and the well-balanced geometry makes it easy to power through the miles required to reach the top of a big climb. The geometry is really close to that of the Megatower, but with a little less suspension squish, it handled a bit better on the climbs – the 150mm fork (vs. a 160) shifted my weight over the front a little more, and the reduced sag from the shock kept the seat angle a little steeper. Descending I didn't look at the geometry chart for this Hightower until I had a handful of rides under my belt, and when I did I was surprised by how similar the numbers were to the Megatower. On paper they may not be that far off, but on the trail, the bikes have two distinct personalities due to the different travel amounts and shock tunes. The Hightower has much less serious feel than the Megatower; where the Megatower felt a little subdued when ridden at a casual pace, the Hightower has a much more eager, energetic nature. It's the type of bike that makes you want to toss in a little speed wheelie whenever possible, or try to double up features that probably weren't meant to be doubled. Imagine doing a cannonball into a pile of memory foam mattresses - that’s the sensation the Hightower delivers when faced with bigger hits. It’s not ultra-gooshy, to use a technical term, but it does a great job of balancing comfort and support in rougher terrain. The shock tune felt perfectly matched to the bike's behavior - the rear wheel stayed glued to the ground when I wanted it to be, delivering a surprising amount of traction on off-camber roots and slippery, loose corners. I ended up adding one additional volume spacer to the Super Deluxe shock, bringing the total up to two. Dry summertime conditions meant that my local trails were running extra-firm and fast, and the spacer added a touch more support and bottom out resistance. I used all 140mm of travel when it was warranted, but there weren't any harsh bottom outs, or unexpected surprises at the end of the shock's stroke. A 65-degree head angle on a 140mm 29er would have been seen as extreme just a few years ago; just take a look at the original Hightower's 67-degree head angle for proof. Nowadays, it's fast becoming the norm, especially for this do-it-all category. Yes, the front end handling may be a touch less snappy than the original, but if anything, it creates a calmer, easier to handle ride. I didn't have any trouble with the extra wheelbase length that the Hightower gained either. Granted, I've been spending a lot of time on fairly long bikes lately, but all the same, I didn't have any issues snapping through tight berms or making quick direction changes on more technical trails. Would the Hightower make a good enduro race bike? That depends. I could see it working well at a location like Rotorua, NZ, where the trails are twisty and tight, and require faster bike maneuvering. For somewhere like Whistler I’d want a a bike with a little more travel, or at the very least the option to run a coil shock in order to better handle the longer, rougher stages. How does it compare? The Stumpjumper and the Hightower both have the same amount of front and rear travel, but there are some significant suspension and geometry differences. The Stumpy’s rear suspension is more active, which helps give it lots of traction, albeit at the cost of some uphill efficiency, at least without using the climb switch. The small bump sensitivity is excellent, but it’s also hard to avoid using all of the travel on bigger hits due to the more linear suspension curve - the Hightower’s better able to handle those larger impacts. As far as geometry goes, the Stumpjumper is on the more conservative side of things, while the Hightower's numbers are fairly typical for a modern aggressive trail / all-mountain bike. A size large Stumpjumper has a reach of 445mm, while the Hightower checks in at 470mm. The Stumpjumper's shorter length and 1.5-degree steeper head tube angle give it slightly quicker handling, but it doesn’t have quite the same ready-for-anything feel as the Hightower. Both bikes can handle plenty of rowdiness, but I felt like I could push the Hightower further before reaching its limits compared to the Stumpjumper. There is one thing the Specialized has that the Hightower doesn’t - a secret snack compartment. That SWAT box is one of my favorite inventions in recent memory, and I wish more companies could figure out how to incorporate on-bike storage solutions. Maxxis DHRII tires: The dual Maxxis DHR II tire combination isn't a spec choice that you see all that often, but I'm a fan. It's a predictable setup, with plenty of cornering and braking traction. Updated RockShox Reverb: The Hightower comes with the latest version of the RockShox Reverb, with 175mm of drop on the size large I tested. The fact that it takes less force to lower the post than before is noticeable, but only if you have a previous generation model to compare it to. Thankfully I didn't have any reason to try out the Vent Valve feature, which is used to rectify any squishy post issues - the post is still going up and down just like it's supposed to. RockShox SuperDeluxe Ultimate shock: I touched on it already, but it's worth mentioning again: the shock tune on the Super Deluxe feels really, really good. The ol' parking lot test, the one where you ride in a circle and bounce up and down, doesn't make it feel like anything special, but it's a different story once you get away from the asphalt and onto the dirt. One of my favorite bits of trail is chock full of roots, sudden g-outs, and steep sections into hard turns, and each time I rode it I was impressed with just how well the shock was absorbing all of the impacts. Specifications Product 2020 Santa Cruz Hightower Carbon CC X01 Model Year 2020 Riding Type Enduro / All-Mountain, Trail Rider Unisex Sizes and Geometry M (Low, High), Wheel Size 29" Frame Material Carbon Fiber Frame Material Details Full CC carbon fiber with hose guided internal cable routing and integrated shock fender, shuttle guard, downtube protector, and ribbed chainstay protector Rear Travel 140mm Rear Shock RockShox Super Deluxe Select Ultimate Fork RockShox Lyrik Ultimate Fork Travel 150mm Head Tube Diameter Tapered Headset Cane Creek 40 IS, integrated 41/52mm Handlebar Santa Cruz AM Carbon Stem Race Face Aeffect R Grips Santa Cruz Palmdale Brakes SRAM Code RSC with Avid Centerline 180mm rotors Brake Levers SRAM Code RSC Drivetrain 1x Shifters SRAM X01 Eagle, 12-speed Front Derailleur N/A Rear Derailleur SRAM X01 Eagle, 12-speed ISCG Tabs ISCG 05 Chainguide N/A Cranks SRAM X1 Eagle 148 DUB Length: , 175mm Chainrings 30 tooth Bottom Bracket SRAM DUB 68/73mm threaded Pedals N/A Chain SRAM X01 Eagle, 12-speed Cassette SRAM XG-1295 Eagle, 12-speed, 10-50 tooth Rims Standard: Race Face ARC Offset 30 29" Upgrade: Santa Cruz Reserve 30 29" Carbon Hubs Front: DT Swiss 350, 15x110, Torque Cap, 28 hole Rear: DT Swiss 350, 12x148, XD driver, 28 hole Spokes DT Swiss Competition Race Tires Maxxis Minion DHR 29"x2.4", 3C EXO TR, front and rear with Stan's sealant Saddle WTB Silverado Team Seatpost RockShox Reverb Stealth, 1x lever, MatchMaker Seatpost Diameter 31.6mm Seatpost Clamp Standard single bolt Rear Dropout / Hub Dimensions Boost 12x148mm Max. Tire Size 29x2.4" or 27.5x2.8” Bottle Cage Mounts Yes: one inside front triangle Colors Blue, Desert Weight With Santa Cruz Reserve 30 Carbon wheels:29 lb 13.3 oz (13,530 g) Miscellaneous Lower-link mounted Virtual Pivot Point (VPP) suspension system Changeable between Low/High geometry positions via a flip chip in the lower shock mount 27.5+ compatible with flip chip in “Hi” setting Metric 210x52.5mm shock size with rear bearing mount Fits 36-tooth boost chainring (52mm chainline) or smaller

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