Now in its sixth iteration, the ever-popular Tallboy arrives with a few tweaks and one big change. A handful of us headed to Bellingham for a preview.

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Eager consumers of bike rumors won’t be surprised that Santa Cruz is transitioning from its recent Nomad launch to an all-new, Horst link Tallboy. There’s been plenty of forum speculation, along with "spy shots" of lanky men stuffed with ginger fried rice abandoning unreleased bikes in plain sight. So yeah, there’s a new Tallboy. And its linkage is downright brachyuran, as opposed to the lower link VPP design that most other Santa Cruz meat bikes employ. On paper that’s the big news, but after riding the new Tallboy, I’ve come away much less interested in the speculation and drama around this move, and more focused on how this bike rides, and how that, in turn, reflects the broader category of lightweight trail bikes. We’ll cover the suspension platform change, but the focus of this review will be on the new Tallboy’s performance, because that shines brighter than some pivot movement. Santa Cruz Tallboy Details, Travel: 130 mm (rear) 140 mm (front), Wheel Size: 29”, Size Tested: Large, Build Tested: XO AXS RSV, Head Tube Angle: 65.1-64.8°, Measured weight: 29.49 lbs, 13.38 kg, MSRP: $9,299

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It’s not really a secret that a new Santa Cruz Tallboy is on the way - the versatile short travel machine was last updated in 2022, and it would make sense that a revised version would show up in the not-so-distant-future.

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