Reviewing the 2020 Santa Cruz Tallboy CC X01 – Short on travel, big on fun
The Santa Cruz Tallboy isn’t perfect at any single discipline but it’s a great bike nonetheless. Having ridden all of the trail and enduro bikes in the American brand’s portfolio, it turns out their diminutive 120 mm travel 29er is our favourite. How come?
What comes to mind when you hear riders talking about a 120 mm travel bike? You’re likely to think of weight saving, pedalling efficiency and climbing prowess. What you’re less likely to think about is plush suspension, a low slung top tube for maximum freedom of movement and having fun on the descents. However, that’s exactly what the Santa Cruz Tallboy offers, which is why the Californian brand advertises it as an XC bike for downhillers. It rolls on 29” wheels, with 120 mm travel at the rear and 130 mm up front. Like all of Santa Cruz’s latest bikes, it adopts the redesigned lower-link VPP system.
The shock is positioned low in the frame, which Santa Cruz claim allows them to achieve the best possible compromise between climbing efficiency and downhill capability while keeping the centre of gravity as low as possible. As usual, the frame is available in two carbon grades, either the high-end, lighter weight CC version or the slightly heavier C version. An aluminium version is also available. Santa Cruz offer a lifetime warranty on the frame and the bearings and in further nods to everyday practicality, sleeved internal cable routing together with the ribbed chainstay protector keep the bike nice and quiet.
Fancy and expensive – the componentry of the Santa Cruz Tallboy CC X01 Reserve
Santa Cruz offer the Tallboy in seven builds at prices ranging from € 3,199–10,699. Our CC test bike with the X01 spec and Reserve wheels comes in at € 8,399, leaving nothing to be desired. The suspension consists of a RockShox Pike Select+ fork and a FOX FLOAT Performance Elite DPS shock. The lower shock mount runs on bearings for an even more sensitive response. Keeping your speed in check is a pair of SRAM G2 RSC brakes with 200/180 mm rotors and the X01 Eagle drivetrain ensures fast and precise shifting. One thing that immediately stands out is the 2.3″ Maxxis Minion DHF/DHR II tire combination. While other bikes in this category rely on less aggressive tires, there’s no denying what the Tallboy was designed for. Rounding off the build are an 800 mm wide carbon handlebar, which we shortened to 770 mm during the course of our review, and a 50 mm stem. With the wheels set up tubeless and a size L frame, the scale reads out 12.8 kg for this build.
Das Santa Cruz Tallboy
€ 8,399
Specifications
Fork RockShox Pike Select+ 130 mm
Rear Shock FOX Float Performance Elite DPS 120 mm
Seatpost RockShox Reverb 170 mm
Brakes SRAM G2 RSC 200/180 mm
Drivetrain SRAM X01 Eagle 32
Stem Race Face Aeffect R 50 mm
Handlebar Santa Cruz Carbon
Wheelset Santa Cruz Reserve 29"
Technical Data
Size XS, S, M, L, XL, XXL
Weight 14.0 kg
No matter how rough the trail, the Tallboy doesn’t make a sound! All thanks to the ribbed chainstay protector and smart cable routing.
The Tallboy offers plenty of room to move around thanks to its low slung top tube and 170 mm dropper post.
Setting up the Tallboy would be super easy if it wasn’t so difficult to see the sag indicator on the shock.
Yeah, Santa Cruz’s bikes are expensive. However, you also pay for peace of mind, knowing that you’ll get help quickly and without bureaucracy in the event that your bike gets damaged. The lifetime warranty on the bearings and production defects on the frame let you ride assured.
Unfortunately, fun on the descents comes at the cost of climbing efficiency – the suspension is very active, wallowing and bobbing noticeably as you winch yourself up the climbs. Unfortunately, the climb switch is difficult to reach.
We hardly used the Tallboy’s flip chips. The low and short party setup convinced us from the start. In this setting, the bike remains balanced enough while also being very playful. If you want to trim the bike more towards climbing efficiency, put it in the steep and high setting instead.
The 2.3″ MAXXIS Minion DHR and DHRII tire combination perfectly suits the overall concept of the bike.
En vogue and slack – the geometry of the Santa Cruz Tallboy
If you compare the geometry of the Tallboy with that of the Megatower or Hightower, Santa Cruz’s other 29” trail bikes, the differences are only marginal, giving the Tallboy extremely progressive and modern geometry for a short travel bike. The 468 mm reach in size L is roomy without being too extreme and the 65.5° head angle is comparatively slack for a bike in this category. The geometry can be adjusted with a flip chip in the lower shock mount to adjust the angles and bottom bracket height, as well as the chainstays to adjust chainstay length. At 430 mm in the shortest setting, the rear end is very short while the 41 mm bottom bracket drop is generous for a 120 mm travel bike. We rode the Tallboy almost exclusively in this setup.
| Size | XS | S | M | L | XL | XXL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seat tube | 370 mm | 380 mm | 405 mm | 430 mm | 460 mm | 500 mm |
| Top tube | 540 mm | 568 mm | 597 mm | 622 mm | 647 mm | 679 mm |
| Head tube | 90 mm | 100 mm | 110 mm | 120 mm | 140 mm | 160 mm |
| Lenkwinkel | 65,5° | 65,5° | 65,5° | 65,5° | 65,5° | 65,5° |
| Seat tube | 76.5° | 76.4° | 76.3° | 76.2° | 76.0 | 75.8° |
| Chainstays | 430 mm | 430 mm | 430 mm | 430 mm | 430 mm | 430 mm |
| BB Height | 332 mm | 332 mm | 332 mm | 332 mm | 332 mm | 332 mm |
| BB Drop | 41 mm | 41 mm | 41 mm | 41 mm | 41 mm | 41 mm |
| Wheelbase | 1,128 mm | 1,157 mm | 1,187 mm | 1,211 mm | 1,239 mm | 1,272 mm |
| Reach | 389 mm | 423 mm | 448 mm | 468 mm | 488 mm | 513 mm |
| Stack | 593 mm | 603 mm | 612 mm | 621 mm | 639 mm | 657 mm |
Upside down – The Santa Cruz Tallboy on the trail
When you climb aboard a short-travel bike, you instinctively expect it to sprint forward the moment you turn the cranks. The Tallboy doesn’t behave that way. It is not the type of bike that motivates you to sprint up the climbs and keep your heart rate in the red zone. Instead, the keywords here are comfort and traction. The riding position is central and slightly stretched. The seat tube angle could be slightly steeper but it’s nothing that can’t be remedied by pushing the saddle all the way forward, allowing riders around 180 cm tall to sit very comfortably on the size L bike. However, you’ll definitely want to increase the damping of the shock on steep climbs to keep the rear end in check. With the climb-switch in trail mode, the rear end stops wallowing without compromising traction. On technical climbs, the Tallboy generates a lot of grip and handles predictably, allowing you to navigate even the tightest of sections. There’s no doubt that there are more efficient bikes out there, but the Tallboy’s strength lies not so much in sprinting and efficiency as it does in offering lots of comfort for all-day epics.
More trail than XC bike – the Tallboy is definitely made for the descents!
You can’t help but smile the moment gravity takes over and the trail heads back down. Having noticed how sensitive and plush the rear suspension feels on the climbs, you can make full use of all the traction it generates on the descents even with the short 120 mm travel. If you’re riding on familiar trails, the Tallboy won’t hold you back. It doesn’t shy away from steep terrain thanks to its slack geometry and you never feel like you’re teetering over the handlebar. Instead, the enormous freedom of movement keeps you feeling secure, benefitting you in almost every situation. Cornering, the Tallboy feels nicely balanced even in the shortest chainstay setting. It offers a lot of grip up front without the rider having to throw their weight forward. Whether you’re riding nasty off-camber sections full of roots or railing through berms, the Tallboy never fails to deliver traction, support and lots of fun. It rewards an active riding style though it doesn’t demand it. It’s handling is lively yet also composed, perfect for flowing and less demanding trails. The only time the bike is likely to reach its limits is when you blindly follow your buddies on long-travel bikes, sending it off a ledge into a rough landing. Here, the Tallboy quickly reaches the limits of its 120 mm travel and in demanding, rough terrain it is the power of the rider that determines the speed. However, it doesn’t bottom out harshly and offers enough progression to gently let you know when it’s time to slow down.
Tuning tips: choose the longer chainstays and steeper geometry setting for improved climbing capabilities
How does it compare to the YT IZZO or the Norco Optic?
We rode the Santa Cruz Tallboy in direct comparison with the new YT IZZO CF PRO Race and the Norco Optic. Uphill, the Santa Cruz lags behind both bikes. The Optic offers the most central riding position and the firmest suspension while the YT is generally more efficient and light-footed than the Tallboy. It’s always worth reaching for the climb switch on the Tallboy. It’s a different story on the descents. Here, the Tallboy proves to be the more versatile bike. You’ll feel more integrated onboard the long frame of the Norco, but you really have to push it hard to use all of its travel. Over roots and on fast impacts, the bike is much firmer and thus offers less traction. The YT sits somewhere between the two. It doesn’t generate as much traction as the Tallboy but offers its travel more readily than the Optic.
Conclusion
The Santa Cruz Tallboy isn’t a bike for riders out to set the best time uphill, placing an emphasis on traction and comfort instead. Its suspension offers a lot of comfort on long rides but you’ll need the adjustment lever on the shock to stop it from wallowing on the climbs. It is precisely this active suspension combined with the progressive geometry that makes the bike so good on the descents. The Tallboy is guaranteed to put a smile on your face and despite having just 120 mm rear travel, it’s an excellent all-rounder capable of excelling in almost every situation.
Tops
- capable descender
- lots of traction
- versatile despite short travel
- sluggish climber
- hefty price
Flops
- bergauf eher gemütlich
- hoher Preis
For more info head to santacruzbicycles.com