Santa Cruz unveils revised Highball carbon hardtail
Features include a direct mount front derailleur, 27.2mm seatpost, 15mm thru-axle fork, full carbon dropouts and disc mounts, two bottle cage mounts, 142mm rear axle spacing, and a threaded bottom bracket shell.
Santa Cruz has launched a revised version of its 29er Highball carbon hardtail, and added a 27.5-inch Highball to its line-up. Geometry has been adjusted from the previous iteration, with a longer front end and shorter chainstays, the goal being a snappier, more nimble ride. They claim to have tuned the seat stays and seat tube layup to provide more vertical compliance and a more comfortable ride than the previous generation. Cable routing has also been updated, and is now fully internal with easy-to-route guides and cable tunnels.
“We felt the time was right to apply some of the cabling conveniences we debuted on the Nomad to our lightweight XC hardtail,” said Santa Cruz product manager Josh Kissner. “We also wanted to give riders the option of a 27.5-inch version and tweak the geometry a bit.”
The bikes share similar geometries with slight alterations to accommodate wheel size variations. The 29-inch version has a 70.5-degree head tube angle and 71-degree seat angle, while the 27.5 has a 69-degree head angle and 72.5-degree seat angle.
Santa Cruz also released a new carbon cyclocross bike today. Read that story here.
The Highball features full internal cable routing like we’ve started to see on more of Santa Cruz bikes. Internally, there are cable stops that reduce weight versus full housing run.
Sizing on the 29er runs M-XXL, while the 27.5 version comes in S-XL, the idea being that shorter riders will need smaller wheels, while tall riders will want bigger hoops.
“On the small end it really comes down to toe overlap. The smaller wheels offer more clearance,” explained Kisser. “We wanted to give people a choice; smaller wheels and a little more playful ride, or bigger wheels for more stability.”
The bikes are available in both Santa Cruz’s premium, lighter weight CC carbon or the less expensive C carbon. Complete C carbon bikes start at $2,799. The Highball is available as a CC carbon frameset for $1,899. There’s also a alloy version of the 29er frame.
The rear brake hose is internally routed on the Highball’s stays.
Other features include a direct mount front derailleur, 27.2mm seatpost, 15mm thru-axle fork, full carbon dropouts and disc mounts, two bottle cage mounts, 142mm rear axle spacing, and a threaded bottom bracket shell. Available colors are gloss aqua and matte black.
Claimed weights for the Highball 29 are as follows:
CC carbon size M matte black w/XX1 Enve: 19.5 pounds
CC carbon size M matte black frame only: 2.63 pounds
C carbon frame weighs 3.02 pounds
Claimed weights for the Highball 27.5 are as follows:
CC carbon size M matte black w/XX1 Enve: 19.27 pounds
CC carbon size M matte black frame only: 2.58 pounds
Bikes and frames are slated to hit dealer floors next week. For more info visit www.santacruzbicycles.com, and scroll through the expansive photo gallery below, which includes full build spec options, geometry measures, and sizing info.
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