Santa Cruz says this higher stack increase suits “modern handlebar setups.” As riders become more downhill-focused, their cockpit positions get higher, so Santa Cruz jacked up the Hightower’s front end to allow riders to get their desired bar height with fewer spacers. Stack height has increased by 10mm for small sizes, 5mm for XXL, and 15mm for all other sizes. I love everything about the Hightower’s evolved geometry except for one thing - the higher stack. In reality, there’s a good chance 2.6” tires will fit the Hightower just fine, but it’s a bummer that they don’t officially fit. But what if you want just a bit more width than that? There are a lot of fantastic 2.6” tires on the market, but if you ride the new Hightower, you might never get to try them. The Hightower is designed to clear 2.5” wide tires, which is more than enough for most riders. Two things I don’t like about the 2023 Santa Cruz Hightower 3 2.5” tire clearance. I like bikes that pop, and the flashy new Hightower is sure to turn a few heads. Well, the new Hightower is anything but boring thanks to the eye-catching colors like Translucent Purple and Matte Evergreen. Your options were a matte earth tone or black. If you ask me, Santa Cruz’s paint options have gotten a bit too safe and boring in the last few years. This provides initial sensitivity to absorb small bumps, consistent support and damping throughout the middle of the travel, and plenty of ramp-up to absorb bigger hits.Īs an added bonus, Santa Cruz also added a “sag setup window” to the frame so it’s easier to dial in the Hightower’s lower-link-mounted shock. To achieve this, anti-squat has been reduced in the first 40% of the Hightower’s travel and the suspension leverage curve is now straighter with more progression towards the end of the travel. Santa Cruz engineers wanted more from the Hightower’s modest 145mm of travel - more comfort, more support, and more bottom-out resistance. Small frames also have more front triangle flex to suit lighter riders while bigger frames are stiffer to suit heavier riders. Now, the Hightower’s chain stay lengths scale up proportionally with bike size from 431mm for small sizes up to 443mm for XXLs, increasing by 3mm per size. It turns out that riders need chain stays that match their bike size. Sure, they make a bike more agile and playful, but if you’re tall, short chain stays can leave you feeling off-center on the bike. Size-specific designįor years, short chain stays were all the rage. It’s now one of the slackest trail bikes on the market, which means it’ll be more capable on steep and gnarly trails. While many competitors have settled around 65 degrees, Santa Cruz has slacked out the Hightower’s head angle to a class-leading 64.5 degrees (low setting), matching many hard-hitting enduro bikes. Reach is only 2mm longer, and the bottom bracket 2mm lower. But Santa Cruz hasn’t gone crazy with the frame stretching. Evolved geometryĪs we’ve come to expect with every mountain bike update, the latest Hightower is longer, lower, and slacker. The included Tool Wallet and Tube Purse bags keep everything nice and organized behind the easy-to-open Glovebox door. Introduced earlier this year on the new Megatower, Glovebox repurposes the empty space in the Hightower’s down tube into a storage area for spare tools, tubes, and any other knick-knacks you can fit. Right now, only a few brands offer it, but Santa Cruz has finally joined the party with its new Glovebox system. In-frame storage is one of the best things to happen to modern mountain bikes. Shop Santa Cruz Five things I love about the 2023 Santa Cruz Hightower 3 Glovebox in-frame storage But is it perfect? Here are five things I love about the latest Hightower, and two things I don't. There are subtle updates to the geometry and kinematics, plus a couple of nifty new features make an already impressive trail MTB better than ever. Santa Cruz even has pithy taglines to describe it: “Refined, not re-defined” and “more evolution than revolution.” The new Santa Cruz Hightower is here, and I wouldn’t blame you for thinking it looks exactly the same as the previous version.
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