Rumors have been circulating for the past week or so about a new Santa Cruz Tallboy. The 5th generation of the bike was released in ‘22, with around a 3-year gap between previous versions, dating back to the original Tallboy, released in 2009.
Along with those rumors came a few sneak peeks at the bike. And, boy (feeble attempt at a “Tallboy” pun), did that new bike look different. As we saw in a few leaked photos and the video Santa Cruz put out over the weekend, they’ve moved away from its VPP suspension platform, synonymous with the brand, in favor of a four-bar design.
And while the move to 4-bar suspension is clearly the most significant change, that isn’t the only thing that’s new with the latest Tallboy. Let’s take a look at all the changes.
No More VPP
“Santa Cruz” and “VPP” have long been synonymous, despite some criticism of the suspension platform. However, we have seen Santa Cruz break away from the VPP platform in recent years. The Vala and Bullit were both recently released as four-bar bikes, moving away from the VPP platform.
The caveat? Obviously, both of those are e-bikes. And while Santa Cruz had to be aware of some of the criticism the VPP platform received, the move to four-bar on these bikes was mostly motor-related. Simply put, the VPP system didn’t leave much room for squeezing in a bike and battery.
Santa Cruz also mentioned that the move to a four-bar was to make their “best handling bike” yet. So maybe some acknowledgment..?
If there was any acknowledgment, it is fulfilled in the new Tallboy. Santa Cruz’s 6th-generation Tallboy ditches VPP Suspension for a four-bar design. Why? Santa Cruz felt like they’d gotten all they could out of the VPP platform on the Tallboy. To achieve their desired performance moving forward, they need to move to something different.
Despite testing a few different suspension platforms, including flex stays, they landed on a four-bar layout. They say this allowed them to more easily achieve the kinematics they were looking for, including lower anti-squat and anti-rise, and a bit less progressivity.
But, wait, didn’t they just release a new Nomad? Why not a four-bar there? Basically, the VPP platform still allowed Santa Cruz to accomplish their goals with the new Nomad. However, for shorter-travel bikes, like the Tallboy, Santa Cruz is clearly admitting that a different suspension design has won out for that travel bracket.
Ok, Four-Bar, But What Else Is New?
A lot, actually.
First, the Tallboy’s legs grow a bit. Suspension travel has increased by 10mm on both ends. The Tallboy now sits as a trail-ready 130mm machine, paired with a 140mm fork.
Santa Cruz did this partly in response to growing XC travel numbers, noting that the Blur now sits at 120mm. While the 5010 filled the gap between XC bikes like the Blur and longer travel offerings like the Hightower, there wasn’t a full 29er option. The new Tallboy now slots in between those other models.
Despite growing in travel, Santa Cruz also shed some weight on the new Tallboy. The latest iteration dropped 300g, a result of the simpler four-bar platform. Like the new Nomad, Santa Cruz only offers the Tallboy in their premium CC carbon. This not only sheds some weight but simplifies the lineup and helps reduce lead times.
And, like the new Nomad, they kept cable ports for cable-actuated rear derailleurs.
The bike also gets a couple of accessory mounts underneath the top tube, a geo-adjust flip chip, and the updated V2 Glovebox in-frame storage. There are six frame sizes (XS-XXL), and all frames have proportional sizing and stiffness. Plus, the seat tube is uninterrupted, allowing for longer dropper posts, with the largest frames easily fitting a 240mm dropper.
Santa Cruz also tweaked the Tallboy’s geo. The major standouts are a slacker head tube angle and a steeper seat tube angle. In the HI position, the HTA now sits at 65.1°, dropping to 64.8° in LO. The flip chip also changes the bottom bracket height by 3mm. Check the chart above for the rest of the details.
Tallboy 6: Builds and Pricing
Santa Cruz is offering the Tallboy in six builds, including a top-spec limited-edition build. All bikes use RockShox suspension, with a Pike fork and Deluxe shock. These, of course, increase in performance level as you go up tiers, starting with a Pike Base and Deluxe Select+ for the entry Tallboy, and hitting Ultimate-level at the top.
The limited-edition Tallboy features a Super Deluxe Ultimate rear shock and a Pike Ultimate fork, both equipped with Flight Attendant. All builds have claimed a weight between 29 and 31lbs.
See the rest of the build specs in the chart below:
So, how much? The Tallboy starts at $5,899 for the 90 build and tops out at $9,299 for the XO AXS RSV build. In the press materials, Santa Cruz didn’t disclose the cost of the lower Deore build, or the highest spec’d XX FA RSV build.
We’re hoping to get our hands on a test bike to see how it compares to the previous version, and we’ll certainly let you know about it if/when we do.
In the meantime, head to the Santa Cruz website to learn more about the redesigned Tallboy.
