Afternoon all,

are there any owners of a 2013/14 SC Tallboy LTC…. Thinking of taking the plunge into the 29er world and wanted to hear some owners views? preferably if there are any negatives.

Also any comparable bikes.

I mainly ride trails and all day with the odd trail centre thrown in.

Cheers

My mate has one – he says it’s the best bike he’s ever ridden. Candodavid off here.

Thought this bike was now obsolete as SC have gone all 650B? Mind it could be a very cheap purchase being as it’s out of date (see giant scrap 29er thread).

Pretty sure they are not obsolete… my other alternative was the New Bronson Carbon

only negatives I could think of when I tried an alloy one was the cost ( the carbon more so) and it being too short (I think they are longer now)

yeti?

stumpjumper carbon is very good

I had toyed with the Idea of a SB66? but i cant decide whether to go 160mm travel all round or go 29 LT?

If I spent that much on a bike ….I’d say it was the best bike I’d ever ridden as well 😆

I have a 2013 LTc in black/orange and it is superb, still just a bike but a superb bike. I have a Nicolai that is being dismantled due to lack of use as this is now my real do it all bike. Taking it to Morzine in a few weeks which should be interesting. I am 5′ 8″ and the medium is spot on with a 70mm, 0 deg stem. Feel free to contact me directly if you have specific queries, address in profile.

My build is pretty bling, full xtr 2 x 10, ck wheels Not carbon, reverb, tech m4’s etc etc.

Cheers
shiny

I’d say make sure you get a test ride beore you buy. From my reaserch, I thought the TB aluminium would be just the bike for me, but I had a test ride and really didn’t like it. It was a large but I asked the shop (mountain trax) to fit an inline post and 70mm stem. They reccommeded setting pro-pedal on (except for descending). They were really helpful and let me take it away for a couple of days to ride my usual trails. Despite all this, I felt it was saggy, hard work to pedal, and slow to steer. I suspect part of the problem was the large size. I’m still puzzling over it as I really was expecting to like it.
I’m not knocking the Tallboy (Remember this was the aluminium version), I’m just saying Test Ride before you jump in.
Tim

For all day riding I can say I have never ridden anything that comes near it ( riding mtb for over 20 years)
It just is a sorted geometry pretty much capable of coping with anything.
Took it for a week in Sierra Nevada, it was never out of its depth.
I think of it as a long term investment that I know I’m going to ride till it can’t be ridden any more, to replace it, it is going to have to be even better, at the moment nothing comes near.
It looks awesome too

Rather than looking at the SB66C, why not look at the Yeti alternative to the Tallboy, the 95C?

By all accounts, those that have ridden both suggest the Yeti is the better bike, but they are splitting hairs.

If its anything like as good as the 66C, then it will be great. And that’s from someone who works for another manufacturer.

It looks awesome too

Shame about the rider 😉

I intend to have a test ride on both the tall boy ltc and the Bronson. As much as I’d like to think I’d use a 160mm all mountain set up I’m more likely to be found out across the country side!

Obviously the direct comparison for the yeti would be the 95c. However I’ve just sold a ASX and fancy a break from the brand more than anything.

It would definitely be more of an investment purchase for me so it has to be right and upgradeable!

Shiny do you have any niggles with the bike in general?

I’ve had one for a while now.
It seems to have replaced my Nomad now it’s 2.5 degrees slacker. 😀

Climbs well and descends well.
Taken it to the Pyrenees and the Alps and it performed brilliantly.

I’m a bit partial since I own one, but basically it’s a great bike!

I came from a Tallboy which I really liked, and switched to the LTc in January: the LTc has everything that the tallboy had but is much more capable on the downhills.

I ride in the South of France, my trails are rocky and I’m tall, 29″ and 135mm of travel fit the bill for me. I don’t have much high speed tracks, so head angle wise, it’s slack enough for me.

The frame is light, 2.5 kg in XL, which is good, total build came at 12.6 kg with descent tires.

I also have a Mojo HD, which is now less used!
Hope that helps!

I’m still torn between this and a Bronson! Do I need the extra travel or do I go for the larger wheels ?

I’ve demo’d the aluminium Bronson and thought it was amazing.
It rolled really well and climbed like nothing else even with the shock fully open.
My current bike is a Blur LT carbon which is an awesome bike but I am sorely tempted to upgrade to the Bronson.
Would recommend you try both TB LT and the Bronson and see which you prefer.

Joe Rafferty from Pro Ride Guides had the first 140mm travel LTc one that came into the country on Demo a few years ago (he’s a pal of Guy K from MBUK/WMB mags). I think he had it for a few days for feedback to the mags for reviews/write ups etc. We met him in the car park at Stainburn one evening and had a good long chat with him about it. Firstly, it looked really amazing. He was raving that he’d knocked a massive margin off his regular timed training lap and I think he was saying he’d done it repeatedly, which he genuinely looked to be amazed at (he’s a super fit, super skilled rider). He was massively impressed with it, but did comment that it wouldn’t replace his 26er (smaller wheeled bikes better suited to his riding, I presume).
I dare say he’d give you some feed back if you got in touch with him thru his website. He’s very likely to have ridden the Bronson as well as he’s mates with all the guys at Stif/Jungle.
vid of him riding it in Spain
[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ufWDFpqfFtc[/video]

Stumpy Evo 29 is a degree slacker.

Does it make it better?

I think so. I’d actually like it about a degree slacker. The LTC definitely feels more “XC”. I also think the suspension on the Stumpy is more supple which I prefer. 29’ers in general don’t need as much anti-squat or shock platform like a 26″ does. It’s just the little bit better bike IMO.

29’ers in general don’t need as much anti-squat or shock platform like a 26″ does

Interesting. Why?

Interesting. Why?

Because they handle square edged bumps like they’re on rails, or something.

My money would go on the Stumpy Evo Carbon to be honest 🙂 I’ve got a regular alloy one (which is still slacker than the Tallboy LT), absolutely loving it.

http://www.bikeradar.com/mtb/gear/category/bikes/mountainbikes/29er/product/review-specialized-stumpjumper-fsr-expert-carbon-evo-29-14-47453

Ooh, infact, that one! Shocking that I look at a £4500 bike and actually think it looks quite good value.

I intend to ride both (hoping to have the wires out of my finger this week),

So the main think for me is will the tallboy ltc suit my riding more, chances of me hitting bike parks every week are limited…? But I don’t want a bike that won’t handle them. :-/

Interesting. Why?

Due to the BB drop and the roll centre being higher. Your weight transfer rearward when climbing is reduced. Less pitch sensitivity. The longer rear centre also has a positive effect too.

chances of me hitting bike parks every week are limited…? But I don’t want a bike that won’t handle them. :-/

tbh, the way I’ve seen it ridden I think you’ll be it’s limiting factor. 😉

That’s what I was hoping!

Due to the BB drop and the roll centre being higher. Your weight transfer rearward when climbing is reduced. Less pitch sensitivity.

I didn’t think you’d get out of that one, but that actually makes sense. You’d still think most climbing bob would would vertical forces, very small amount being horizontal?

I didn’t think you’d get out of that one, but that actually makes sense. You’d still think most climbing bob would would vertical forces, very small amount being horizontal?

Think about the position of mass (the rider) rather than the drivetrain forces. All things being equal (suspension kinematics, rear centre length) a 29″ can have a 20mm or so lower BB/saddle relative to the rear axle than a 26″. There is a force moment going on but basically, on an incline, your weight isn’t pivoting rearward and actuating the suspension to the same degree.