Santa Cruz Tallboy

Santa Cruz Tallboy

The Santa Cruz Tallboy was first released in 2009 and is positioned as both a cross-country and short-travel trail bike, aka downcountry. The bike is available in a number of build configurations, in a carbon frame only.

Bike specs

Suspension travel: 130/120mm front/rear
Type: Short-travel trail, downcountry
Price: Builds from $4,799. Frame price: $3,799 (shop and compare prices)

News

Cross Country Bikes

5th Generation Santa Cruz Tallboy Keeps Similar Geo, Adds Frame Features

For the latest generation of the Tallboy, it's clear that the updates Santa Cruz wanted to make aren't primarily in the geometry but rather in frame features and suspension feel.

Sep 20, 2022

Culture

New Santa Cruz Tallboy V4 Link From Cascade Components Bumps Progression to 32% and Travel to 128mm

Cascade Components just added a replacement link for the Santa Cruz Tallboy V4.

Oct 29, 2020

Cross Country Bikes

Santa Cruz Updates the Tallboy, Adds 27.5+ Compatibility

The third generation Santa Cruz Tallboy officially adds 27.5+ compatibility and goes longer, lower, and slacker.

Apr 26, 2016

Reviews

Trail Bikes

Santa Cruz Tallboy: The perfect bike for my BC Bike Race

I modified my Santa Cruz Tallboy to make it the ultimate bike for BC Bike Race. And for the most part, everything worked out.

Jul 26, 2024

Cross Country Bikes

First Ride Review: The 2020 Santa Cruz Tallboy Rethinks Trail Bike Capability

Santa Cruz veers the Tallboy mountain bike away from the XC category and into a pedal-efficient machine, hungry for steep lines.

Aug 20, 2019

Cross Country Bikes

Updated Santa Cruz Tallboy 3 29/27.5+, Reviewed by First-Generation Tallboy Owner

Singletracks tests the third generation Santa Cruz Tallboy in North Carolina.

Nov 2, 2016

Share your Santa Cruz Tallboy review

Tried it? Tell us what you think about it.

Santa Cruz Tallboy Geometry (Gen 5)

	XS	S	M	L	XL	XXL
Reach \| hi/lo	405/403	430/428	455/453	475/473	495/493	520/518
Stack \| hi/lo	601/603	610/612	619/621	628/630	646/648	656/658
Head Tube Angle \| hi/lo	65.7/65.5	65.7/65.5	65.7/65.5	65.7/65.5	65.7/65.5	65.7/65.5
Seat Tube Length	370/370	380/380	405/405	430/430	460/460	500/500
Front Center \| hi/lo	708/708	737/737	766/766	790/790	818/818	847/847
BB Height \| hi/lo	335/332	335/332	335/332	335/332	335/332	335/332
BB Drop \| hi/lo	38/41	38/41	38/41	38/41	38/41	38/41
Wheelbase \| hi/lo	1138/1138	1167/1167	1199/1199	1227/1227	1257/1258	1290/1291
Rear Center \| hi/lo	430/431	430/431	433/434	437/438	439/440	443/444
Head Tube Length	95/95	105/105	115/115	125/125	145/145	155/155
Top Tube Length \| hi/lo	555/556	579/580	602/603	622/623	644/645	671/671
Seat Tube Angle \| hi/lo	76/75.7	76.3/76	76.7/76.4	76.8/76.6	77/76.8	77.1/76.8
Standover Height \| hi/lo	680/676	693/691	696/693	698/695	698/695	701/698

Launch dates

It’s been two years since the last update to the Santa Cruz Tallboy. The next generation is expected to be announced in late 2025.

2022: Gen 5 (Current generation)
2019: Gen 4
2016: Gen 3
2013: Gen 2
2009: First generation

Awards

2017 Readers Choice Award

Santa Cruz Tallboy photos

CERES – March 23 2016 – during the TB3 photoshoot with Greg Minnaar in Ceres, Koue Bokkeveld in South Africa.

Similar bikes

Mountain bikers considering the Santa Cruz Tallboy should also consider these similar trail bikes.

Cross Country Bikes

The Trek Top Fuel relies heavily on its climb switch for a ride that's more XC than DC [Review]

The Trek Top Fuel is a short-travel mountain bike that tries to do a lot of things, though I found it's really an XC bike at heart.

Cross Country Bikes

The 2024 Rocky Mountain Element Blurs the Lines Between XC and Enduro [Review]

The Rocky Mountain Element manages to fuse elements of XC, trail and enduro genetics into one incredibly fun and capable mountain bike package.

29er bikes

Evil Bikes' The Following Leads the Way Downcountry [Review]

Like a great punk rock band, Evil's The Following is a downcountry bike that's much more powerful than the sum of its parts.