Santa Cruz launch the new Tallboy V6

Not one but two new mountain bikes for Santa Cruz this year! We’ve already seen the brilliant new Nomad 7 a few weeks ago (check out our first ride impressions on it here), and now it's the turn of Santa Cruz’s short travel trailbike, the Tallboy to get an overhaul. Unlike the Nomad which carried over much of the DNA of the previous model, the new Tallboy 6 is a more radical departure from the previous bike. There’s a fair bit to dig into but the big headlines are:

• 10mm more travel at each end taking the Tallboy 6 to 140mm / 130mm
• A completely different suspension design with the Tallboy following the Vala into a Horst link layout.
• Adjusted Geometry and updated frame features

The first thing that’s going to stand out at a casual glance and also the biggest change to the bike is a move away from the brand's iconic VPP suspension design to a Horst link platform. First debuted in the Vala and Bullit E-Bikes, many had assumed we’d only be seeing it on Santa Cruz bikes with a motor, so why has it made its way onto their much loved short travel platform?

According to their design head, the goal was to create a more consistent feeling and linear suspension platform (VPP is generally quite progressive) for the Tallboy. The increased linearity is intended to do two things. Firstly, it adds support to the first half of the suspension, keeping the bike naturally higher in the travel when climbing without needing lots of anti-squat and the pedal kick that goes along with it to compensate for a soft starting stroke. Secondly (as you might already have read if you’ve followed the recent RockShox launches), a more linear suspension can also make it easier to tune the shock to rebound consistently and make the bike more predictable through impacts.  

In the search for a good compromise, Santa Cruz tried quite a few different frame designs and links, including flex stay bikes but ultimately settled on the Horst version for the balance of traits it provides. In line with the design goal, the new Tallboy is indeed less progressive than before, which should mean there’s good support early in the travel when pumping, pedalling and jumping the bike. As with the E-Bikes, both Anti Squat and Anti Rise are reduced compared to VPP, which will also result in suspension that’s more active with improved traction both while pedalling over rough ground and when on the anchors under rear braking force.

Perhaps oddly, given it’s a design first tested on their E-Bikes, the change in suspension also happens to save some frame weight. Compared to the shock tunnel and dual links used on a VPP bike, the new layout needs less material, which results in a frame that’s around 300 grams lighter than the previous CC frameset and 500 grams lighter than the outgoing C frames. All new Tallboy 6’s are CC only. 

Travel is up by 10mm at both ends, taking the Tallboy to 140mm front and 130mm rear and the geometry has been slightly tweaked. No radical changes here, but the new version is just a touch slacker and taller than before with shorter seat tube lengths and lower standover heights. Elsewhere it’s a normal well balanced mix of numbers as we’d expect from Santa Cruz. There’s a High / Low geo flip chip to allow some adjustment and all 6 sizes (from XS to XXL) run on dual 29’ wheels. 

As with the E-Bikes, the updated layout improves dropper insertion enough that all sizes come with longer droppers (180mm on a Medium bike) and along with the revised glovebox design first seen on the new Nomad there’s also now an accessory mounting point under the top tube.

In the UK, there are two colours and just two build kits (plus frames to follow later) to pick from. There’s either a CC 90 spec bike for those who like their mechanical drivetrains, or the CC XT Di2 option goes wireless and with DT Hubs and Ultimate level suspension. Colour options are the striking Midnight Violet or the Stealthy Gloss Carbon.

We’ve a very limited supply of Tallboy 6’s coming between now and the end of summer. Give us a ring or message if you want to get your hands on one, or check out or website for live availability.

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