Santa Cruz Bicycles Tallboy Carbon 29 S Complete Mountain Bike 2017

A glance through any glossy covered cycling magazine might have you convinced that beefy all mountain and enduro bikes are the only trend to watch this season, but diving into the details shows that it isn't just the super slack, long and low sleds that are redefining expectations out on the trail. The 2017 Santa Cruz Tallboy Carbon 29 S Complete Mountain Bike pushes past the edge of traditional XC distinctions with spacious geometry and versatility to revel in the rough and rocky just as much as buttery smooth singletrack loops. This particular build gets kitted up to hit the dirt with SRAM's workhorse GX 1x11 drivetrain, Level TL hydraulic brakes, a dropper post, and a set of silky Race Face AR24 hoops. In addition to all of that, the Tallboy also has a flip chip now, which toggles to maintain the same geometry whether you're running 29 or 27. 5in hoops. This isn't the same Tallboy we've been abusing since 2009, though it was hit with the SC update hammer in 2016. Considering its revered status among 29er enthusiasts, the Tallboy's updates were a big deal, but before we get into the changes it's worth dwelling briefly on the flip chip included in this model. The flip chip sits in the upper link and can be rotated to allow the shock mount to migrate. Re positioning 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 changing the Hightower 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 whethe...