![]() ![]() No hate to Santa Cruz there.Ĭlimbing is where the Hightower really shines. As for moving my front tire to something with more grip, that was just personal preference. Luckily, these can be changed pretty easily so it's not a huge deal. These would be my two "faults" I might mention about the bike, as a 150mm bike should already be coming with a 200mm front rotor, and at least an EXO+ rear casing tire. I changed the tires out to make my rear tire have an EXO+ casing instead of just the EXO, and changed my front tire from a 2.4 Maxxis Minion DHR II to a Maxxis Assegai 2.5 EXO+ front. ![]() On to my personal changes, I cut my bars down to 770mm and upped my front rotor to 200mm. Overall, a pretty great build kit, but definitely not the nicest one they make. The Fox 36 Performance Elite fork, Rockshox Super Deluxe + rear shock, and the RaceFace ARC 30 alloy rims with i9 1/1 hubs complete the kit. This kit is spec'd with the SRAM GX AXS drivetrain, Santa Cruz's carbon frame and carbon 35 handlebar, along with SRAM Code RS brakes. ![]() I picked the GX AXS C kit in a size large (I’m 6’1). However, it will perform the same in almost every scenario. To a lot of people, that means this bike has no allure. The Hightower doesn't excel in any category, it doesn't specialize in anything. These bikes are oriented to those specific kinds of trails, while the Hightower can do all of those almost equally. All of those bikes would perform better than the Hightower in those specific scenarios. The super relaxed fun flow trail? The 5010. Super rocky and rough trail, the Megatower or Bronson. If you were to only ride those park laps I was talking about, the Nomad would be better suited. Santa Cruz has many bikes in their lineup, and they are all very good at what they are meant for. Want to get super rowdy on some of the roughest rock gardens in the Wasatch? Well of course! How about park laps at Deer Valley or Park City Mountain? Every day. Go take it on some of the jump lines at I street or or your favorite park? That too. A five-hour adventure ride with a decent bit of pedaling? It can do that. Want to hit an after-work lap of a relaxed flow trail? It can do that. The Hightower is the “do-it-all” bike of Santa Cruz’s lineup. After spending some serious time on the bike, I am ready for a rad, raging, real-world ride review. Recently, I reviewed the tech aspects of the Hightower that influenced my decision to purchase it. I walked away wanting something I could push as hard as the Megatower on the descents, but something that would have more climbing capability. Compared to my XC bikes, I had no idea how hard I could push a bike on the downhill and how aggressive you could ride on super rough and chunky terrain. It also confirmed to me that a full 170mm enduro bike is a bit too much travel for me to enjoy day in and day out, especially with the more relaxed trails in our area and the bike’s slower climbing capability.Ĭoming off of owning almost nothing but 100-120mm XC/downcounty bikes, I found the extra traction, travel, braking power, and descending-oriented geometry to be a world of difference. I ended up doing a 43-mile adventure ride on the Megatower and absolutely loved it. Late last year, Contender hosted a Santa Cruz Megatower demo which gave me the opportunity to use a Megatower for a full day of riding. ![]()
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