Santacruz Hightower Reviewed

This Spring, Santa Cruz sent us the new Hightower for testing. Now in its third iteration, the All Mountain bike is the brand's utilitarian offering - the most "one and done" bike in their lineup. Since there hasn't exactly been a ton of new developments in that category over the last couple of years, I was very much looking forward to trying it out on my local trails. With new kinematics, internal downtube storage and a slew of other updates the sum of those parts make it a much different machine than the last Hightower, even if it might not appear to be upon first glance. Let's dive in and see what all the fuss is about...
Long form article link: www.mtb-mag.co...

[@pgjudo]

Nice review! The previous version V2 actually had 145mm rear travel as well, it’s just the very first V2 Hightower in that came 140mm.

[@FRonTLinES10064]

$10,000 is a hefty price even for those components…

[@willskissick4100]

Great review and nice riding!! Where are these trails?

[@mjsmjs7905]

Maybe u can tell me, I see all these newer full suspension bikes that look really nice. I've never ridden a newer one but a trend I'm seeing is, the crank sets all look like they're being pushed back closer to the rear wheel. At a glance it looks like you'd only want to ride it standing up, or you're going to need a knee replacement within the first 20 minutes. But I've never ridden one so I don't know.

[@HeyBaumeister]

Uphill: mostly seated pedalling, maybe stand up for punchy climbs. Downhill: you always stand. So not quite sure what you mean? It may look like the bottom bracket is moving further to the back because the seat tube angles have been getting steeper, meaning the seat-tube/saddle area is more centered and closer to the front wheel.

[@mjsmjs7905]

@@HeyBaumeister it's probably an optical illusion I just have to get out and try one. What I was referring to it's like if you ever had your seat too forward puts a weird strain on your kneecaps when you're in the saddle.

[@mtb-mag]

To a certain extent, they effectively are due to the steeper seat angles. I've ridden a lot of bikes like that for many many miles and never had any problems.

[@ProMachineRider]

Would be helpful to provide comparison when you a day it’s pricey, relative to what? A yeti, ibis etc? I ride an sb130 with gx axs, i9 wheels that I put together for about $5k with a bit of effort and my road bike also about the same, SL7 with rival AXS and Zipp 303s. So my road and do-it-all SB130 cost the same as this Hightower - with a bit of work I admit. I’m not that bad off, but who is spending 10k of this bike?

[@323johnnybravo]

At 6’2 also I really wish the reach on these new bikes was more like 480. I opted for an XL with a short stem and seat pushed up.

[@mtb-mag]

Agreed. How does the XL fit? At 6'2" I'd imagine it's perfect, no?

[@jeremiemiller9165]

What tube are you fitting into the tiny purse? I can’t fit any of my current tubes in that bag. Even the wallet can barely hold my multi tool, as it is quite thick (and from early 2000s, I guess I need to buy a modern geometry multi tool) I am just under six foot one and I went with an XL. So far I am loving the bike. It climbs better then I was expecting, a lot better, and the rear shock does an amazing job smoothing out braking bumps in the corners. I’m still riding in my front fork.

[@RidetheWild]

Tubolito tube fits in the purse WITH a slim Lezyne pump. I use the wallet for a few little things and keep a OneUp tool in my steerer using the threadless carrier. 👍🏻

[@mtb-mag]

It's a Schwalbe Aerothan. Great for a spare, albeit kind of pricey.

[@mrfaffer-c3q]

yooo concourse !!!!

[@grantwilliams2912]

🙂👍

[@aaroncox539]

How did it climb?

[@mtb-mag]

Great overall. It has a little more movement than past models due to the reduced anti-squat - but that's what makes it that much better on the descents. I would say I reached for the climb switch an average amount.