Santa Cruz Bicycles Tallboy 29 D Complete Mountain Bike 2017

For several years now, the name Santa Cruz has been synonymous with the latest, sexiest tech trends in the enduro world. The 2017 Tallboy D Complete Mountain Bike demonstrates that the tech isn't just about six inch bikes, though, importing SC's revolutionary flip chip to the full suspension XC world. Santa Cruz has long touted the original Tallboy as its best seller, and it describes the bike as the ideal 29er: fast and fun. The 2017 model is the third iteration of this platform, and SC equips it with a host of features imported from its all mountain bikes. These include Boost axles, re designed linkages, and the brand's latest tech widget, a flip chip that adjusts the upper linkage to keep the geometry the same whether you're running 29in wheels or 27. 5. Those updates and the flip chip's degree of flexibility mean that the Tallboy's classic 29er geometry is virtually futureproof, making it a tall bar for the competition to meet. Considering its revered status among 29er enthusiasts, a new Tallboy is a big deal, but before we get into the changes it's worth dwelling briefly on the flip chip. The flip chip sits in the upper link and can be rotated to allow the shock mount to migrate. Being able to reposition the shock attachment point effectively accounts for the 9mm difference in radii between 27. 5 and 29in tires, keeping the geometry as static as possible across wheel sizes. SC first introduced this feature on the Hightower, but the brand seems to have perfected it for the Tallboy 3 flipping the Hightower's chip results in a slight change in head tube angle, but the Tallboy's head tube angle remains the same for 27. 5 and 29in wheels. Compared to the previous Tallboy, the Tallboy 3 takes just a bit off the top of the head tube, dropping 2. 2 degrees to fall from the standard 70. 2 to a moderately slack 68 degrees. Courtesy of the Flip Chip's slight geometry alteration, that number stays the same whether you're running the wagon wheels and 120mm fork ...