Details of new Santa Cruz Hightower 3

MAy well be expensive… but DAMN it’s nice… lovely !

£5.4k starting price – that can’t be for the SX-equipped ‘AL D’ model, surely not?

And yes, stereotypical first post about a new SC is mentioning price

Don’t forget the rockshox 35. On a 5 grand alloy bike. 🤨

£5.4k starting price – that can’t be for the SX-equipped ‘AL D’ model, surely not?

For the basic carbon model. Alu models not yet released.

Another down tube storage box; it’s the  next industry “must have” I think  I Have one on the Spesh Enduro, and hardly ever use it.

Santa Cruz are like assholes, everyone seems to have one now a days. Personally I don’t get their popularity as over on the west coast of the states, most people view them as mediocre.

The prices are ridiculous, more fool for the person who buys one. Better spec out there for a lot less money. Industry has gone completely bonkers.

Someone will probably be offended by my opinion 😏

so mid, as the yoof say

So expensive. But I guess they have to factor in all the warranty claims and bearings they are having to give away.

Really?

Kind of. Yanks/Canadians definitely have a slightly different perception of what is a ’boutique’ brand. When I was over there, they were very jealous of my Commençal which was rare and expensive over there (At the time it was cheap and common here), whereas SC were quite common there. Nowadays I feel like SC are pretty common here too.

Perhaps spending £7k on a well-equipped SC might make sense. But spending £5.5k on a poorly-equipped one absolutely does not IMHO (If the £5.5k price tag refers to the C R model). The S spec looks passable to me, but we don’t know how much that will cost.

I read on the SC website something along the lines of “An aluminium version of the V2 frame will continue to be available”. I can’t find it now. Since the Alu ones won’t come with a glovebox and the geo updates are so minor, it wouldn’t be too surprising if they just stuck with the same Alu frames (+/- new paint)…

Crikey, the flip chip is really for micro-adjustment, isn’t it?

Am I reading the charts wrong, or are you really getting 0.3 degrees of difference in head and seat angles, and a whole 3mm of bb drop difference?

I’m fairly sure I’d struggle to notice that.

thanks. Besides most S.C. owners I know have had warranty issues with them and had frames replaced. Granted they’re lovely bikes and warranty was good, but even so.

Thats why they are so expensive. They have to factor in the numbers they will end up warranty replacing

Yanks/Canadians definitely have a slightly different perception of what is a ’boutique’ brand. When I was over there, they were very jealous of my Commençal which was rare and expensive over there (At the time it was cheap and common here), whereas SC were quite common there

They are a triumph of marketing over substance, they are part of one of the biggest bike companies out there. It’s like suggesting Specialized or Trek are boutique. Hats off to them for managing to pull this marketing trick off.

down tube storage box

Is this code/flowery w*nk marketing for “where the battery goes on our e-bike version?

Travel hasn’t changed, originally came with a 52.5 stroke shock giving 140mm but the 2nd year was a 55 stroke giving 145mm so assuming it can be used with either size

Same shock, travel spacer removed AFAIK. That’s what I did with mine in any case..

They are a triumph of marketing over substance, they are part of one of the biggest bike companies out there. It’s like suggesting Specialized or Trek are boutique. Hats off to them for managing to pull this marketing trick off.

to be fair, they were a tiny company making and still frames in the USA while Spec and Trek were big companies. they’ve not been part of Pon for all that long. i think their cool reputation comes from their early days, rather than a marketing department fabricating a back story.

that isn’t to say the prices aren’t very high. i’m amazed that people pay what they pay for a specialized.

dont forget the US dollar has strenghened from $1 = 70p to $1 = 80p in the last 12 months hence oil and santa cruz bikes are now more expensive.

the Maroon aka ‘Translucent Purple’ colour looks great online, be nice to see it in the flesh

Is this code/flowery w*nk marketing for “where the battery goes on our e-bike version?”

A few bike brands are making their ebikes look normal by making their normal bikes look like ebikes. It’s a good tactic… it’s working on me anyway… having to look two or three times to identify which I’m looking at. Specialized are ahead of the game, but they are not alone.

It appears the Santa Cruz photocopier has been in overdrive again…

Looks the exact same as all the other bikes in their range save for the colour.

I like their bikes and the way they act as a company, but the last few years it looks like their design has gotten a bit lazy and they’re just resting on their laurels and using the name to keep sales going rather than producing fresh innovating designs like some of their competitors have.

How many halo product AXS reserve builds do they actually sell at RRP to support themselves and stif?

Truckloads.

Hungrymonkey,

For me, money isn’t an issue. I don’t know how you came to that conclusion mate. For what it’s worth, I’m in a well paid career earning significantly above the median salary. I’m grateful I can say that.

Santa Cruz have never interested me.I wouldn’t buy one simply because the components are average on most new models and they are too common for my liking. Reminds me of Burberry or G-Star raw in the fashion world.

For 4.7k I was able to build myself a 9.5kg xc rocket with Rockshox Sid worldcup ultimate race days, Sram XX1, AXS shifting etc. Narrative you ask? Shop around, you’ll get a lot more for your money.

If someone likes Santa Cruz and gets a Santa Cruz, that’s fine. Just not for me buddy. I prefer something custom built or not as common. Personally I like uniqueness.

THe carbon frames are made in the Far East like everyone else’s. For US made bikes the components are bolted on in the local market. Pon took over in 2015 so plenty long enough for them to have made all the changes they wanted to

sorry, i was meaning santa cruz’s cool reputation was made when they were a small company making bikes in the USA, as opposed to it being simply a marketing exercise.

prices are crazy, however.

I like their bikes and the way they act as a company, but the last few years it looks like their design has gotten a bit lazy and they’re just resting on their laurels and using the name to keep sales going rather than producing fresh innovating designs like some of their competitors have.

Sorry but that is BS.  SC moved to the lower shock mounted VPP in 2017 with the Nomad v4 which over 4 years was rolled out over most of the range (Nomad, Tallboy, Hightower, Bronson, 5010, Megatower).  They are now rolling out the second generation of these designs which are seemingly making notable improvements on the chassis (steeper SA, slacker HA, longer, suspension kinematics).  How is that lazy design?

Based on your school of thought you’d like to see a new design for each model / generation resulting in confused design principles, lack of opportunity to review and improve / evolve etc?  Let’s not go to Orange (another much more easy target), don’t ever see the ‘same lazy design’ accusation levelled at brands like Trek, Giant, YT, Whyte, Commencal etc whose silhouettes/suspension platform have been the same for far longer (or even ’boutique’ or smaller brands like IBIS, Transition, Geometron, Starling, RAAW, Bird).  I’m actually struggling to think of any sizeable brand which is continually chucking out brand new designs (aside from the handful chucking out the odd ‘on trend’ high pivot model).

Personally I want to spend my money on a design which is proven, works and is refined, rather than is a new great design just for the sake of keeping the internet happy.