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  • Santa Cruz Hightower Carbon C | R-Kit
  • Santa Cruz Hightower Carbon C | R-Kit
  • Santa Cruz Hightower Carbon C | R-Kit
  • Santa Cruz Hightower Carbon C | R-Kit
  • Santa Cruz Hightower Carbon C | R-Kit
  • Santa Cruz Hightower Carbon C | R-Kit
  • Santa Cruz Hightower Carbon C | R-Kit
  • Santa Cruz Hightower Carbon C | R-Kit
  • Santa Cruz Hightower Carbon C | R-Kit
  • Santa Cruz Hightower Carbon C | R-Kit

Santa Cruz Hightower Carbon C | R-Kit

C$6,349.00
Excl. tax

THE MOUNTAIN BIKE, DISTILLED

In stock (Delivery timeframe: 3-4 days)

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The newest version of the Hightower remains our greatest hits of engineering - now further refined and bottled into our most all-terrain of bikes. Big on wheels, medium on travel, short on fuss, this is the do-it-all model that does it over and over again thanks to a versatile balance of geo, spec and durability. If you’re not looking for extremes, just something extremely good, the Hightower is your elevator.

 

Key Features:

Available in: Carbon C and Carbon CC
Wheel Size: 29
Front Travel: 150mm
Rear Travel: 145mm

 

OUR ENGINEERS’ GREATEST HITS

Not all frames are created equal. Hightower represents Santa Cruz’s greatest hits, showcasing our design, engineering, and performance prowess.

LOWER LINK ASSEMBLY

The highly-sculpted and optimized Lower Link (A) houses a geometry adjusting Flip Chip (B) and beefy Pivot Axles (C) to virtually eliminate lateral flex.

UPPER LINK ASSEMBLY

We only use the highest quality Enduro MAX or TPX sealed, radial bearings (A) and premium fasteners (B) for our linkage assemblies. They’re easy to properly torque and maintain, plus we offer free replacement bearings for life.

ONE-PIECE SWINGARM

VPP suspension utilizes a one-piece swingarm that eliminates the need for pivots on the stays, creating a stout, bulletproof rear end for accurate tracking and superior performance.

C AND CC CARBON

Santa Cruz offers two grades of carbon—top-end CC Carbon and value-minded C Carbon. Though they have the same stiffness and performance, CC is lighter and comes paired with more premium suspension.

CARBON MASTERY

The Sag Window (A), Glovebox (B) and internal cable tunnels (not shown) demonstrate Santa Cruz’s expertise at combining practical function with carbon design and manufacturing artistry.

THE SUM OF THE PARTS

In isolation, all these things are great—together with fanatical suspension tuning, a premium build spec, and a meticulous attention-to-detail, they’re transcendent.

 

SRAM Eagle Transmission - stronger, better shifting, wirelessly

The next generation SRAM Eagle Transmission specced on our CC-carbon models is a radically robust, fully integrated and interdependent wireless transmission. Built around the universal constant of the wheel axle itself, the Full Mount hangerless attachment creates a far stronger connection to the frame and the super strong derailleur provides unprecedented strength. Shifting under load is made possible due to a combination of X-SYNC technology and cassette mapping, creating seamless shifts even during your hardest power output. The new AXS Pods are extremely ergonomic and highly customizable, so shifting gears is light and intuitive. It's simply the most advanced transmission and nearly as tough as the mountain itself.

 
S M L XL XXL
Reach | hi/lo 430/427 455/452 475/472 495/492 520/517
Stack | hi/lo 611/613 625/627 634/636 652/654 665/668
Head Tube Angle | hi/lo 64.8°/64.5° 64.8°/64.5° 64.8°/64.5° 64.8°/64.5° 64.8°/64.5°
Seat Tube Length 380 405 430 460 500
Front Center | hi/lo 752/752 783/783 807/807 836/836 867/867
BB Height | hi/lo 342/339 342/338 342/338 342/338 342/338
BB Drop | hi/lo 31/34 31/34 31/34 31/34 31/34
Wheelbase | hi/lo 1183/1183 1217/1218 1244/1245 1276/1276 1310/1311
Rear Center | hi/lo 431/432 434/435 437/438 440/441 443/444
Head Tube Length 100 115 125 145 160
Top Tube Length | hi/lo 571/572 599/600 626/627 647/648 674/675
Seat Tube Angle | hi/lo 77°/76.7° 77°/76.7° 76.7°/76.4° 76.9°/76.6° 76.9°/76.7°
Standover Height | hi/lo 706/701 708/703 711/706 714/709 719/714
 
 

Frame Sizing

If you're on the cusp between the recommended height range of two sizes, the absolute best thing is to try to ride them both. At a minimum, check the stack/reach measurements on your current bike and compare it to the new model you are looking at to get an idea of a fit you are already comfortable with. If riding the bike is not an option, consider the following.

The Hightower is available in sizes small - extra extra large (S-XXL).

 

Personal Preference

A larger size frame will be more stable, and will give you more room to move without upsetting the weight-balance of the bike. The larger size will put the front wheel further in front of you, which gives the feeling of security and conversely, it will require more significant body movements when you WANT to shift the weight-bias of the bike. Think hard about your riding style and how active/intuitive you want it to be vs stable and speedy. You'll need to work a bit harder to muscle the larger bike around.

 

Body Dimension

Not all bodies at a given height are the same. If you have longer legs and a shorter torso than the average person your height, that may push you towards the smaller of the recommended sizes. If you're all torso and arms, most likely you'll want to size up.

 

VPP™

VPP™ suspension can be optimized to strike the right balance between pedaling efficiency and all-out bump chomping prowess. That means wherever you see "VPP" you know it's tuned to perform exactly how it should for the purpose it's designed for.

 

145mm VPP travel

Looking for something good at climbing, and downhill, and going round and round your local trails? Say hello to Hightower. 145mm in the rear paired with 150mm up front is your perfect combo.

 

Suspension sensitivity

Compared to the last Hightower, we reduced the anti-squat in the first 40% of travel. This noticeably improves suspension sensitivity in both climbing and descending scenarios due to reduced chain influence on the suspension.

 

Suspension consistency

Hightower's leverage curve is relatively straight, with added progression towards the end of the travel. This provides improved bottom-out resistance with more consistent damping and support.

 

Glovebox

Place your ride essentials securely beneath a new high-quality latch and panel in the Hightower's downtube. The Glovebox comes with a fitted Tool Wallet and Tube Purse, tailored for the frame to keep your tools close to hand.

 

Sag window

A window allows easier suspension sag and setup. The details are completed by a neat mud flap to protect the rear shock plus tidy cable routing within the frame and swingarm, and rubberized DT protectors to shrug off strikes.

 

Flip chip

In the Low position, the shock rate becomes more progressive, particularly at the end of the stroke, and there’s some bottom-out resistance to be gained. In the High setting, the bike rides a little higher in its travel and supplies the rider with more mid-stroke support. Tweakers and finicky shredders can adapt the suspension feel to their needs and desire.

 

Proportional geometry

Chainstay length and seat angle is matched to the frame size so every rider, no matter their height, gets the same balanced geometry. Across all sizes however, the headtube angle has been slackened to help stability at speed, lowered the bottom bracket to compliment the better supported suspension, and increased stack in favor of modern handlebar setups.

 

29-inch wheels

Hightower features fast-rolling, bump-easing 29-inch wheels front and rear. On high-end builds we spec Reserve 30|HD carbon rims laced to premium hubs, which are built and hand-tuned in our Santa Cruz, Calif. factory. See Reserve 30|HD wheels

 

Hightower Frame Specifications

Suspension System VPP
Front Derailleur No compatibility
Headset/Headtube Integrated (IS41/52)
Seat Post 31.6mm
Seat Clamp 36.4mm
Eye to Eye length 210mm
Stroke 55mm
Fork Compatibility 150-160mm
Fork Offset 44mm
Brake Mount 180 PM
BB Shell 73mm Threaded
Max Tire Size 2.5"
Max Chainring Size 34t
Water Bottle Mounts 1
Shock Mounting Bushing Front 30x8
Shock Mounting Bushing Rear 30x8 (bearing compatible)

 

Material
Carbon C

Our C Carbon frames use the same proprietary processes of the highest spec CC Carbon frames to match the same legendary strength and stiffness standards. But the use of a different grade of carbon material results in a minimal weight gain.

Learn More
 
 

Travel
145mm

Wheel Size
29

Rear Shock
FOX Float Performance, 210x55

Fork
RockShox Lyrik Base, 150mm

Rear Derailleur
SRAM NX Eagle, 12spd

Right Shifter
SRAM NX Eagle, 12spd

Cassette
SRAM PG1230, 12spd, 11-50t

Chain
SRAM NX Eagle, 12spd

Bottom Bracket
SRAM DUB 68/73mm Threaded BB

Headset
FSA IS-2/47/42 ACB or Cane Creek 10 IS Integrated

Rear Tire
Maxxis Minion DHR II 29"x2.4", 3C MaxxTerra, EXO

Front Tire
Maxxis Minion DHR II 29"x2.4", 3C MaxxGrip, EXO

Front Hub
SRAM MTH 716, 15x110, Torque Cap, 6-Bolt 32h

Front Rim
RaceFace AR Offset 30, 29"

Rear Hub
SRAM MTH 746, 12x148, HG, 6-Bolt, 32h

Rear Rim
RaceFace AR Offset 30, 29"

Front Rotor
Avid Centerline, 200mm

Rear Rotor
Avid Centerline, 180mm

Brakes
SRAM G2 R

Crankset
SRAM Descendant Eagle 148 DUB 32t

Handlebars
RaceFace Aeffect R

Stem
Burgtec Enduro MK3, 42mm

Saddle
WTB Silverado, CroMo

Seatpost
SDG Tellis Dropper, 31.6

Grips
Santa Cruz Bicycles House Grips

Our House Grips have an aggressive knurl pattern for all-weather grip, finger ridges for added control and soft, yet durable rubber compound. They come in either 30 or 32mm width and have an inboard snap-on lock ring to keep them tight but no ring on the outboard side so they’re super comfortable. And they’ll do your taxes* *not true. But they are really good.

Learn More
 
 
 

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