Sure, 10mm more travel might only seem like one small step—but coupled with a lower link-driven VPP suspension design this is one giant leap for the Tallboy.
It’s the kind of bike that makes you sprint while going up, along, over, or down due to the maximum efficiency of the VPP design and responsive, lightweight chassis. But because it shares the same engineering principles as our longest travel bikes, the progressive lower link-mounted shock feels equally at home doing crosscountry as it does in extreme-country. Paired with a 130mm fork the new Tallboy becomes ever more appealing to riders who like to open it up. And the geometry, that's a big part of what's going on...
Established theory suggests shorter travel bikes get ridden slower, therefore require steeper and more conservative geometries. In reality though, when was the last time you ever throttled back on a fun trail because you weren’t on a bigger bike? Caution to the wind and all that. So we’ve done the same here and mimicked our longer travel geometry to create a bike with a 65.5-degree head-angle, generous front center, and short offset fork. Something rarely seen on a bike of this ilk.
And the radical thinking doesn’t stop there. The Tallboy’s shortshort 430mm chainstays have +/- 10mm of rear axle adjustment to ensure riders of all sizes and styles feel equally at home. Match that to a relatively low BB (335mm and 37.5mm drop) and you’ve got a combo that’s ready to haul into every pocket turn and launch out the other side.
There’s no label that quite fits what this bike is. But the name Tallboy says it all. Have at it.
Rocksteady Yellow
Stormbringer Purple
Key features
- Available in Carbon C and CC
- Colours: Rocksteady Yellow and Stormbringer Purple
- Travel: 120mm VPP® lower link driven rear travel, 130mm fork
- Compatible with 29" wheels
- Santa Cruz Reserve 27 carbon wheel option
- 65.5-degree head angle
- Adjustable chainstay length
- XS to XXL sizes
- Lifetime warranty
Build options and availability
- Tallboy C | S Kit | SRAM GX | Alloy
- Tallboy C | S Kit | SRAM GX | Reserve 27
- Tallboy CC | X01 Kit | SRAM X01 | Alloy
- Tallboy CC | X01 Kit | SRAM X01 | Reserve 27
- Tallboy CC | XTR Kit | Shimano XTR | Reserve 27
- Tallboy CC | XX1 Kit | SRAM XX1 | Reserve 27
- Tallboy CC | Frame-set
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Odinson, Aug 20 2019 12:53
Shaw stylish AF on that bike.
Pricing will most likely be astronomical.
Grease_Monkey, Aug 20 2019 12:57
This geo + travel numbers will make for a seriously fun and fast bike for SA trails. Puts it squarely in the same ball park as the Tranny Smuggler and Evil The Following MB - not bad company to keep.
Headshot, Aug 20 2019 01:12
Ouch, 8200 dollars with carbon wheels and near top Eagle.
Hairy, Aug 20 2019 01:15
dentists petty cash .............. damned ... I should have studied dentistry
Hairy, Aug 20 2019 01:36
love how cheeky they are to slip in clips with Neff on her Trek in the vid!
RT 128, Aug 20 2019 01:49
At 12.5kg for top of the range model it is not the lightest..
Pieterlab1, Aug 20 2019 02:17
A thing of beauty!
Maybe it's time for an upgrade...
Stevief, Aug 20 2019 03:13
I know they great bikes and i know they ride well, but i think they ugly as hell. Oh and there is the small matter of price
splat, Aug 20 2019 05:19
Good Lawd! So much of want. Despite those colours...
greg_sa, Aug 20 2019 06:04
Seems to be a fair number of short travel trail bikes now, with similar geometry, like the Giant Trance 29.RiverInTheRoad, Aug 20 2019 07:05
Damn now I need to sell my carSCD, Aug 20 2019 09:40
Compared to? Mind that it is not a paper thin cross country racer with 100mm travel. Pike vs Sid, sturdy carbon vs paper carbon wheels, tyre choice, dropper post....
It went the superlight route. But it is not so much fun over time if things don't last, and you cannot shred like you want to. My Rocky Element is back up at 11.5kg. Only daring bit is still the wheelset, broken once, let's see how long this one lasts
I find this new slack design of the TB4 very very appealing btw... would love to give it a spin!
Baracuda, Aug 21 2019 07:56
Quite similar in geometry to a Pyga Stage Max.
dirtypot, Aug 21 2019 10:27
Obviously I haven't ridden this one, but is the the fork geo not getting a bit too slack now? On my enduro bike the fork is 65 degrees and its not great over flat ground - the forks just don't absorb small bumps and stones properly which makes it a bit of a vibey ride transitioning between trails. It's an entirely different story going down though. But for this bike which is meant to be kinda XC, is it not a bit too slack?
/getting my flame suit ready...
stefmeister, Aug 21 2019 02:47
In what universe?
Aren't you comparing it with the TB3's geo?
stefmeister, Aug 21 2019 02:49
We can't turn around now, even if we're wrong, because XC bikes are now hovering around 67-68 deg HTA.
Bizkit031, Aug 21 2019 03:42
Weigh weenies,clearly you don’t see that it is now more trial oriented and not a XC machine.You want light go buy a Blur.BLACK96, Aug 23 2019 10:12
Ooooh yes, hold my beer!
Mohs, Sep 15 2019 12:58
GT and its AOS suspention...been there done that....back to swing arm