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New Santa Cruz Hightower v4 29er Blurs Lines with 150mm Travel & Better VPP

2024 Santa Cruz Hightower longer travel 150mm new VPP carbon 29er all-mountain bike, creek crossing
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This new 4th-generation evolution of the Santa Cruz Hightower is more capable than ever. Shifting the 29er all-mountain bike a little further towards enduro, and blurring lines between disciplines. Just like the recent Bronson overhaul, the new 4th-generation Santa Cruz Hightower gets a completely reshaped VPP for a burlier ride, plus a longer travel boost.

Sure, it might now be harder than ever to pick between the Bronson and this new Hightower. But 29er fans will be pretty psyched to get a more capable all-mountain bike!

2024 Santa Cruz Hightower carbon 29er all-mountain bike updates

2024 Santa Cruz Hightower longer travel 150mm new VPP carbon 29er all-mountain bike
(Photos/Santa Cruz)

If you loved the updates to the latest playful do-it-all-mountain Bronson gen 5, but still feel like you really need big 29″ wheels for a faster enduro-tastic ride, this gen4 Santa Cruz Hightower is going to be right up your alley. Now, the Hightower gets the same 150mm rear wheel & 160mm fork travel as the Bronson. It’s really just the wheel sizes that set the two bikes apart.

2024 Santa Cruz Hightower longer travel 150mm new VPP carbon 29er all-mountain bike, blur

With slacker geometry than before and a lower-slung and more efficient VPP suspension design, this is the one bike to rule them all for wagon wheel fanatics. Think of it as a shorter-travel, more realistic Megatower… the solution for mountain bikers looking for the “mythical do-it-all bike”.

What’s new?

2024 Santa Cruz Hightower longer travel 150mm new VPP carbon 29er all-mountain bike, angled

The real big shift here is from the 145/150mm travel of the gen3 29er Hightower to 150mm out back & 160mm up front for the Santa Cruz Hightower gen4, still with 29″ wheels. 5mm more at the rear wheel, and 10mm more at the front wheel. More travel simply means more capability on the steepest and most technical trails. This is a fast-rolling bike meant to fly over all sorts of terrain. And more travel means more fun – whether on all-day adventure rides or trips to the bike park.

MY25 Santa Cruz Hightower 150mm VPP carbon all-mountain bike,  lower VPP layout

Then, exactly like on the Bronson, Santa Cruz reconfigured the Hightower’s long-running VPP (virtual pivot point) suspension layout. By moving the key lower link forward and the main pivot slightly down, Santa Cruz says they’ve lowered the bike’s anti-squat. The result is a more supple bike that can soak up the big bumps even when you are standing on the pedals and filter out trail chatter even when you are pedaling. There’s also a side benefit that the new bike is approved for coil shocks too, with more room to fit everything low in the frame.

MY25 Santa Cruz Hightower 150mm VPP carbon all-mountain bike,  lower anti-squat

Santa Cruz calls it all-around better VPP performance for a better all-rounder bike…”Reduced pedal kickback on square-edge hits. Remains active while pedaling up and across rough, technical terrain. Less anti-squat benefits descending sensitivity due to the reduced pedal kickback associated with standing on the pedals.

New 29er All-mountain geometry

MY25 Santa Cruz Hightower 150mm VPP carbon all-mountain bike, updated geometry

With longer travel, the new Hightower also gets slacker geometry at around a 64° headtube angle – depending on flip-chip position. The change is relatively small, just 0.6° slacker than the previous generation, but it pairs to almost 2° steeper seat tubes and slightly longer (+5mm) frame Reach to shift weight forward for more control going up and down.

The new bike also gets slightly longer chainstays, again sticking with size-specific rear center dimensions to provide a consistent balanced ride feel to mountain bikers of all sizes.

Tech details

MY25 Santa Cruz Hightower 150mm VPP carbon all-mountain bike, frameset
  • 5 sizes (S-XXL) with proportional geometry
  • Glovebox secure internal frame storage in the downtube under the bottle cage mount
  • enclosed fully-guided internal cable routing from the sides of the headtube
  • C carbon frames are compatible with mechanical shifting
  • now CC carbon frames only include internal routing for a rear brake & dropper post – wireless electronic shift-only
  • 2.5″ max tire clearance, front & rear
  • Boost 148mm spacing
  • Post Mount brakes with 200mm front /180mm rear rotors
  • ISCG05 chain guide mounts
  • BSA Threaded bottom bracket
  • Santa Cruz UDH
  • IS 1.5″ tapered headset
  • Lifetime frame warranty
  • Easy-to-source, easy-to-service bearings

2024 Santa Cruz Hightower – Options & availability

MY25 Santa Cruz Hightower 150mm VPP carbon all-mountain bike, complete bike build specs

The new Hightower now comes in two colors – Old Growth green and Matte Deep purple – and in 6 complete bike build options. Or as a $3900 frameset.

Three builds – a $4800 R, $6000 S & the $7000 / 7400€ GX AXS get the more affordable C carbon frame.

While the top three $8000 X0 AXS, $9000 X0 AXS RSV, and XXAXS RSV specs get the top-tier CC carbon frame.

MY25 Santa Cruz Hightower 150mm VPP carbon all-mountain bike, riding

As for spec updates, those top 4 new SRAM AXS bikes all get Maven brakes, all but the entry build get Fox 36 forks and Float X piggyback rear shocks. And all bikes get classic all-mountain-ready Maxxis DHF EXO + DHR II EXO+ triple compound tire combos.

SantaCruzBicycles.com

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nooner
nooner
16 days ago

This improvement is a move in the right direction. This just validates what i have been saying all along about all these semi active SRT designs.

theKaiser
theKaiser
14 days ago
Reply to  nooner

“SRT”? Is that Solid Rear Triangle? If so, how is a high anti-squat SRT any different than a Horst 4-bar or a single pivot that is configured for similarly high anti-squat levels? You can make them all “semi active” in response to chain forces or not.

seraph
seraph
16 days ago

You didn’t list the price for the top-tier XXSL Reserve model.

Bumscag
Bumscag
16 days ago
Reply to  seraph

A kidney plus naming rights to your firstborn child

Bumscag
Bumscag
16 days ago

I’ve got a HT2, and this feels like a proper upgrade. Just wish it had two bottle bosses…

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