Santa Cruz Release New Hightower
The Hightower is just a bike designed for all-terrain riding. You know, going up, down, along, around and over on trails, tracks and anything gritty, dirty, rough and fun. 145mm rear travel (150mm-travel fork), easy rolling 29-inch wheels and confidence-inspiring geometry means anywhere tires will roll then so will this bike. No fussing, no nonsense, no silly category names.
The Hightower’s geometry changes help modernize the bike without overstepping its intentions. We increased reach numbers to match the fit of our recent models, while also implementing our size specific chain stays for a better fore/aft balance across the size range. We slackened the head tube angle to help stability at speed, lowered the bottom bracket to compliment the better supported suspension, and increased stack in favor of modern handlebar setups. Our size-specific frame stiffness standards help tie together our ride quality goals by achieving a tailored front triangle flex characteristic for every size.
Balancing stiffness and weight saving in all the right places is a hallmark of all Santa Cruz carbon frames and the Hightower flies the flag yet higher. Our size-specific frame stiffness standards help tie together our ride quality goals by achieving a tailored front triangle flex/stiffness characteristic for every size, and this feature is found on both C and CC carbon.
The leverage on Hightower is more linear and more progressive than its predecessor. The straighter leverage curve helps improve the consistency of the stroke feel and quality of damping, while the progression increases support and bottom out resistance.
The frame also features a Glovebox and comes with two handy bags – Tool Wallet and Tube Purse. The water bottle cage is located inside the main frame, there’s a threaded BB and the refined cable routing makes for better shifting performance, simpler installation, and less frame wear. And now a sag window that will help riders see where the red ring is sitting on their rear shock.
A lifetime frame warranty and lifetime pivot bearing replacement policy should reassure riders that a Santa Cruz is designed to keep going and going.
