29-Inch Wheel (29ers)

The Megatower is the fusion of big wheels and the biggest-hitting suspension system. It’s a modern day brawler, as suited to diehard racers as it is to riders wanting to conquer their hometown trails. Tracing its roots to the Hightower, and now featuring the lower link-driven VPP suspension derived from the V10, the Megatower is the most capable, confidence-inspiring 29er trail bike in our line-up. The lower-link mounted shock configuration – designed for compatibility with both air and coil shocks – provides a progressive shock rate that has unmatched traction and bottom out resistance, making it ideal for taming the longest descents and rowdiest hits. In order to make the Megatower stride confidently across the globe it has an enormous amount of clever adjustability hidden in its bones. A tidy and concealed flip chip in the lower-link adjusts bottom bracket height and changes progressivity of the rear suspension. A second, in the rear dropouts, allows for a 10mm fore-aft adjustment in chainstay length to dial in the rider’s rearward weight distribution - either set for play or for stability. The flip chips are a robust mechanism for riders looking to tune their ride according to their needs without compromising reliability and durability. No wackadoo mousetraps and frail proprietary shocks here. The Megatower isn’t all fight and fury, it’s smart and savvy too. It has a sharp, 76-degree seat tube angle for winching to the top of the kinds of descents where having a roomier cockpit and a 65-degree head tube angle will come in handy. And, you can still carry around a full water bottle inside the frame (even with a piggyback shock), and the frame is well protected with a shock fender, shuttle guard, downtube protector and ribbed chainstay protector. - Carbon CC frame - Fox 36 Float Performance Elite 160mm fork and - Cruz Reserve 30 Carbon Rim rims - 12-speed SRAM X01 Eagle drivetrain - RockShox Reverb Stealth dropper post - MRP AMg V2 Alloy chainguide

The Megatower is the fusion of big wheels and the biggest-hitting suspension system. It’s a modern day brawler, as suited to diehard racers as it is to riders wanting to conquer their hometown trails. Tracing its roots to the Hightower, and now featuring the lower link-driven VPP suspension derived from the V10, the Megatower is the most capable, confidence-inspiring 29er trail bike in our line-up. The lower-link mounted shock configuration – designed for compatibility with both air and coil shocks – provides a progressive shock rate that has unmatched traction and bottom out resistance, making it ideal for taming the longest descents and rowdiest hits. In order to make the Megatower stride confidently across the globe it has an enormous amount of clever adjustability hidden in its bones. A tidy and concealed flip chip in the lower-link adjusts bottom bracket height and changes progressivity of the rear suspension. A second, in the rear dropouts, allows for a 10mm fore-aft adjustment in chainstay length to dial in the rider’s rearward weight distribution - either set for play or for stability. The flip chips are a robust mechanism for riders looking to tune their ride according to their needs without compromising reliability and durability. No wackadoo mousetraps and frail proprietary shocks here. The Megatower isn’t all fight and fury, it’s smart and savvy too. It has a sharp, 76-degree seat tube angle for winching to the top of the kinds of descents where having a roomier cockpit and a 65-degree head tube angle will come in handy. And, you can still carry around a full water bottle inside the frame (even with a piggyback shock), and the frame is well protected with a shock fender, shuttle guard, downtube protector and ribbed chainstay protector. - Carbon CC frame - Fox 36 Float Performance Elite 160mm fork - RockShox Super Deluxe Coil Ultimate rear shock - Race Face ARC Offset 30 or Santa Cruz Reserve 30 Carbon rims - 12-speed SRAM X01 Eagle drivetrain - RockShox Reverb Stealth dropper post - MRP AMg V2 Alloy chainguide

If ever there was a gravity riders’ XC bike, the Tallboy is it. The new 120mm Tallboy takes a leap further into what short-travel bikes really are capable of. With kick-ass lower-link VPP suspension, a streamlined design, the typical Santa Cruz refinement, and rather radical geometry, the Tallboy is back to being a genre-bending folk hero. 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 cross-country 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? Knowing your answer, we 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 short-short 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. Build Highlights - Carbon CC frame - RockShox Pike Select+ 130mm fork - FOX Float Performance Elite DPS rear shock - Santa Cruz Reserve carbon 29-inch rims - Maxxis Minion tires - 12-speed SRAM X01 drivetrain - RockShox Reverb Stealth dropper seatpost

At the 2017 World Cup season opener in Lourdes, Loris Vergier, Luca Shaw, and Greg Minnaar qualified 1, 3, and 6 aboard the ‘controversy machine’—a V10 with a new swingarm rolling on 29-inch wheels. The clouds broke open before the top qualifiers, soaking the track, and the question of technological supremacy would have to wait…for five weeks, when Greg Minnaar climbed to the top step at Ft. William for the seventh time. Over the next winter, using what we learned during the 2017 race season, we set about designing an entirely new V10—longer reach, better shock rate, and better frame and cable protection. All three frame sizes (and Reserve carbon DH wheels) were designed and manufactured in time for a week of testing before the Ft. William World Cup in 2018. Greg crashed in those sessions, breaking his arm, and effectively ending his season. A few days later, Luca qualified first and Loris third on the new bike. Loris put down a scorcher in the finals that only fellow Frenchman Amaury Pierron could top, but Luca flatted high on course and had to cruise down. The new school had arrived, and they had new wheels. Testing continued throughout the 2018 season, usually in the form of link sets designed to tweak the shock rate or make minor alterations in geometry. We had the big variables figured out, but fine-tuning the suspension under the Syndicate during World Cup season guaranteed regular, high-level feedback and lots of high-stakes puzzling. The result is perhaps the most refined suspension performance available outside of a World Cup pit. That brings us to now—kind of. Pairing 29-inch wheels with 215mm of travel makes a juggernaut of a race bike, but racing isn’t everything. Depending on the type of trails or riding style you’re into, breaking out the biggest artillery might not be ideal. Rider height also looms large when deciding which wheel size is optimal and a lot of people may opt for smaller wheels. So we decided to make a 27.5 V10, too. No compromises, no gimmicks, no shortcuts—it was designed in parallel to the 29er V10 as an original suspension platform and chassis. The 27.5 bike comes in Small, Medium, and Large, while the 29 comes in Medium, Large, and XL. Make your choice according to your size or riding style, and you’ll be the recipient of every bit of work and puzzling that’s gone into the Syndicate’s race bikes. The most successful bike in downhill history shows no signs of slowing down.

The ultimate power-wheeling, bump-chewing sidekick. The Megatower is the fusion of big wheels and the biggest-hitting suspension system. It’s a modern day brawler, as suited to diehard racers as it is to riders wanting to conquer their hometown trails. Tracing its roots to the Hightower, and now featuring the lower link-driven VPP suspension derived from the V10, the Megatower is the most capable, confidence-inspiring 29er trail bike in Santa Cruz's line-up. The lower-link mounted shock configuration — designed for compatibility with both air and coil shocks — provides a progressive shock rate that has unmatched traction and bottom-out resistance, making it ideal for taming the longest descents and rowdiest hits. In order to make the Megatower stride confidently across the globe, it has an enormous amount of clever adjustability hidden in its bones. A tidy and concealed flip chip in the lower-link adjusts bottom bracket height and changes progressivity of the rear suspension. A second modular point in the rear dropouts allows for a 10mm fore-aft adjustment in chainstay length to dial in the rider’s rearward weight distribution — either set for play or for stability. The flip chips are a robust mechanism for riders looking to tune their ride according to their needs without compromising reliability and durability. No wackadoo mousetraps and frail proprietary shocks here. The Megatower isn’t all fight and fury, it’s smart and savvy too. It has a sharp, 76-degree seat tube angle for winching to the top of the kinds of descents where having a roomier cockpit and a 65-degree head tube angle will come in handy. And you can still carry around a full water bottle inside the frame (even with a piggyback shock), and the frame is well protected with a shock fender, shuttle guard, downtube protector, and ribbed chainstay protector. The Megatower 2.0 Carbon CC X01 Reserve features an upgraded wheelset built with Santa Cruz Reserve 30 carbon rims, for superior stiffness and weight savings.

The ultimate power-wheeling, bump-chewing sidekick. The Megatower is the fusion of big wheels and the biggest-hitting suspension system. It’s a modern day brawler, as suited to diehard racers as it is to riders wanting to conquer their hometown trails. Tracing its roots to the Hightower, and now featuring the lower link-driven VPP suspension derived from the V10, the Megatower is the most capable, confidence-inspiring 29er trail bike in Santa Cruz's line-up. The lower-link mounted shock configuration — designed for compatibility with both air and coil shocks — provides a progressive shock rate that has unmatched traction and bottom-out resistance, making it ideal for taming the longest descents and rowdiest hits. In order to make the Megatower stride confidently across the globe, it has an enormous amount of clever adjustability hidden in its bones. A tidy and concealed flip chip in the lower-link adjusts bottom bracket height and changes progressivity of the rear suspension. A second modular point in the rear dropouts allows for a 10mm fore-aft adjustment in chainstay length to dial in the rider’s rearward weight distribution — either set for play or for stability. The flip chips are a robust mechanism for riders looking to tune their ride according to their needs without compromising reliability and durability. No wackadoo mousetraps and frail proprietary shocks here. The Megatower isn’t all fight and fury, it’s smart and savvy too. It has a sharp, 76-degree seat tube angle for winching to the top of the kinds of descents where having a roomier cockpit and a 65-degree head tube angle will come in handy. And you can still carry around a full water bottle inside the frame (even with a piggyback shock), and the frame is well protected with a shock fender, shuttle guard, downtube protector, and ribbed chainstay protector. - Shimano XTR 12-speed drivetrain - Santa Cruz Reserve 30 carbon rims laced to I9 hubs - Cane Creek 110 headset - Race Face Turbine stem

If ever there was a gravity riders’ XC bike, the Tallboy is it. The new 120mm Tallboy takes a leap further into what short-travel bikes really are capable of. With kick-ass lower-link VPP suspension, a streamlined design, the typical Santa Cruz refinement, and rather radical geometry, the Tallboy is back to being a genre-bending folk hero. 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 cross-country 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? Knowing your answer, we 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 short-short 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. Build Highlights - Carbon CC frame - RockShox Pike Ultimate 130mm fork - FOX Float Factory DPS Kashima rear shock - Santa Cruz Reserve 27 29-inch carbon rims - I9 Hydra hubs - Maxxis Minion tires - 12-speed Shimano XTR drivetrain - RockShox Reverb Stealth dropper seatpost

Light enough to scorch hot laps and tough enough to endure a long-distance beating, the Blur does it all without compromise. No matter how demanding your next XC endeavor, the Blur is ready to go full gas, 24/7. Make no mistake, at just 2060g, this is our lightest-ever 100mm full suspension frame. The ultra efficient VPP suspension design, complemented by a dual remote lockout and super stiff carbon frame, means you’ve got more thrust-on-demand than SpaceX. The one-piece carbon VPP rear triangle shares a similar twin upright architecture to our World Cup-winning downhill bikes. Paired with a one-piece carbon front-end it delivers a lateral stiffness and tracking ability you just don’t see on featherweight bikes of this genre. Confidence-inspiring geometry and components worth their salt allow you to shoot through those sketchy overtaking lines that are the difference between getting on the podium or ‘winning’ the wooden spoon. - Carbon CC frame - FOX Step-Cast 32 Factory, 100mm fork - FOX Float Factory Kashima DPS rear shock - Santa Cruz Reserve 25 Carbon Rims with DT 240 hubs - Maxxis Aspen tires - 12-speed SRAM XX1 AXS electronic drivetrain - Syntace P6 Carbon HiFlex seatpost

The Megatower is the fusion of big wheels and the biggest-hitting suspension system. It’s a modern day brawler, as suited to diehard racers as it is to riders wanting to conquer their hometown trails. Tracing its roots to the Hightower, and now featuring the lower link-driven VPP suspension derived from the V10, the Megatower is the most capable, confidence-inspiring 29er trail bike in our line-up. The lower-link mounted shock configuration – designed for compatibility with both air and coil shocks – provides a progressive shock rate that has unmatched traction and bottom out resistance, making it ideal for taming the longest descents and rowdiest hits. In order to make the Megatower stride confidently across the globe it has an enormous amount of clever adjustability hidden in its bones. A tidy and concealed flip chip in the lower-link adjusts bottom bracket height and changes progressivity of the rear suspension. A second, in the rear dropouts, allows for a 10mm fore-aft adjustment in chainstay length to dial in the rider’s rearward weight distribution - either set for play or for stability. The flip chips are a robust mechanism for riders looking to tune their ride according to their needs without compromising reliability and durability. No wackadoo mousetraps and frail proprietary shocks here. The Megatower isn’t all fight and fury, it’s smart and savvy too. It has a sharp, 76-degree seat tube angle for winching to the top of the kinds of descents where having a roomier cockpit and a 65-degree head tube angle will come in handy. And, you can still carry around a full water bottle inside the frame (even with a piggyback shock), and the frame is well protected with a shock fender, shuttle guard, downtube protector and ribbed chainstay protector. - Carbon CC frame - Fox 36 Float Factory 160mm fork - RockShox Super Deluxe Coil Ultimate rear shock - Santa Cruz Reserve 30 Carbon rims and i9 Hydra hubs - 12-speed Shimano XTR drivetrain with E13 LG1r crankset - RockShox Reverb Stealth dropper post - MRP AMg V2 Alloy chainguide

The Megatower is the fusion of big wheels and the biggest-hitting suspension system. It’s a modern day brawler, as suited to diehard racers as it is to riders wanting to conquer their hometown trails. Tracing its roots to the Hightower, and now featuring the lower link-driven VPP suspension derived from the V10, the Megatower is the most capable, confidence-inspiring 29er trail bike in our line-up. The lower-link mounted shock configuration – designed for compatibility with both air and coil shocks – provides a progressive shock rate that has unmatched traction and bottom out resistance, making it ideal for taming the longest descents and rowdiest hits. In order to make the Megatower stride confidently across the globe it has an enormous amount of clever adjustability hidden in its bones. A tidy and concealed flip chip in the lower-link adjusts bottom bracket height and changes progressivity of the rear suspension. A second, in the rear dropouts, allows for a 10mm fore-aft adjustment in chainstay length to dial in the rider’s rearward weight distribution - either set for play or for stability. The flip chips are a robust mechanism for riders looking to tune their ride according to their needs without compromising reliability and durability. No wackadoo mousetraps and frail proprietary shocks here. The Megatower isn’t all fight and fury, it’s smart and savvy too. It has a sharp, 76-degree seat tube angle for winching to the top of the kinds of descents where having a roomier cockpit and a 65-degree head tube angle will come in handy. And, you can still carry around a full water bottle inside the frame (even with a piggyback shock), and the frame is well protected with a shock fender, shuttle guard, downtube protector and ribbed chainstay protector. - Carbon CC frame - Fox 36 Float Factory 160mm fork - RockShox Super Deluxe Ultimate rear shock - Santa Cruz Reserve 30 Carbon rims and i9 Hydra hubs - 12-speed Shimano XTR drivetrain with E13 LG1r crankset - RockShox Reverb Stealth dropper post - MRP AMg V2 Alloy chainguide

Light enough to scorch hot laps and tough enough to endure a long-distance beating, the Blur does it all without compromise. No matter how demanding your next XC endeavor, the Blur is ready to go full gas, 24/7. Make no mistake, at just 2060g, this is our lightest-ever 100mm full suspension frame. The ultra efficient VPP suspension design, complemented by a dual remote lockout and super stiff carbon frame, means you’ve got more thrust-on-demand than SpaceX. The one-piece carbon VPP rear triangle shares a similar twin upright architecture to our World Cup-winning downhill bikes. Paired with a one-piece carbon front-end it delivers a lateral stiffness and tracking ability you just don’t see on featherweight bikes of this genre. Confidence-inspiring geometry and components worth their salt allow you to shoot through those sketchy overtaking lines that are the difference between getting on the podium or ‘winning’ the wooden spoon. - Carbon CC frame - FOX Step-Cast 34 Float Factory, 110mm fork - FOX Float Factory Kashima DPS rear shock - Santa Cruz Reserve 25 Carbon Rims with DT 240 hubs - Maxxis Rekon tires - 12-speed SRAM XX1 AXS electronic drivetrain - RockShox Reverb Stealth dropper seatpost

If ever there was a gravity riders’ XC bike, the Tallboy is it. The new 120mm Tallboy takes a leap further into what short-travel bikes really are capable of. With kick-ass lower-link VPP suspension, a streamlined design, the typical Santa Cruz refinement, and rather radical geometry, the Tallboy is back to being a genre-bending folk hero. 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 cross-country 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? Knowing your answer, we 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 short-short 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. Build Highlights - RockShox Pike Ultimate 130mm fork - FOX Float Factory DPS Kashima rear shock - Santa Cruz Reserve 27 29 carbon rims - I9 Hydra hubs - Maxxis Minion tires - 12-speed SRAM XX1 AXS electronic drivetrain - RockShox Reverb Stealth dropper seatpost

The ultimate power-wheeling, bump-chewing sidekick. The Megatower is the fusion of big wheels and the biggest-hitting suspension system. It’s a modern day brawler, as suited to diehard racers as it is to riders wanting to conquer their hometown trails. Tracing its roots to the Hightower, and now featuring the lower link-driven VPP suspension derived from the V10, the Megatower is the most capable, confidence-inspiring 29er trail bike in Santa Cruz's line-up. The lower-link mounted shock configuration — designed for compatibility with both air and coil shocks — provides a progressive shock rate that has unmatched traction and bottom-out resistance, making it ideal for taming the longest descents and rowdiest hits. In order to make the Megatower stride confidently across the globe, it has an enormous amount of clever adjustability hidden in its bones. A tidy and concealed flip chip in the lower-link adjusts bottom bracket height and changes progressivity of the rear suspension. A second modular point in the rear dropouts allows for a 10mm fore-aft adjustment in chainstay length to dial in the rider’s rearward weight distribution — either set for play or for stability. The flip chips are a robust mechanism for riders looking to tune their ride according to their needs without compromising reliability and durability. No wackadoo mousetraps and frail proprietary shocks here. The Megatower isn’t all fight and fury, it’s smart and savvy too. It has a sharp, 76-degree seat tube angle for winching to the top of the kinds of descents where having a roomier cockpit and a 65-degree head tube angle will come in handy. And you can still carry around a full water bottle inside the frame (even with a piggyback shock), and the frame is well protected with a shock fender, shuttle guard, downtube protector, and ribbed chainstay protector. - SRAM XX1 Eagle drivetrain - SRAM Code RSC brakes - RockShox Reverb AXS dropper seatpost

The Megatower is the fusion of big wheels and the biggest-hitting suspension system. It’s a modern day brawler, as suited to diehard racers as it is to riders wanting to conquer their hometown trails. Tracing its roots to the Hightower, and now featuring the lower link-driven VPP suspension derived from the V10, the Megatower is the most capable, confidence-inspiring 29er trail bike in our line-up. The lower-link mounted shock configuration – designed for compatibility with both air and coil shocks – provides a progressive shock rate that has unmatched traction and bottom out resistance, making it ideal for taming the longest descents and rowdiest hits. In order to make the Megatower stride confidently across the globe it has an enormous amount of clever adjustability hidden in its bones. A tidy and concealed flip chip in the lower-link adjusts bottom bracket height and changes progressivity of the rear suspension. A second, in the rear dropouts, allows for a 10mm fore-aft adjustment in chainstay length to dial in the rider’s rearward weight distribution - either set for play or for stability. The flip chips are a robust mechanism for riders looking to tune their ride according to their needs without compromising reliability and durability. No wackadoo mousetraps and frail proprietary shocks here. The Megatower isn’t all fight and fury, it’s smart and savvy too. It has a sharp, 76-degree seat tube angle for winching to the top of the kinds of descents where having a roomier cockpit and a 65-degree head tube angle will come in handy. And, you can still carry around a full water bottle inside the frame (even with a piggyback shock), and the frame is well protected with a shock fender, shuttle guard, downtube protector and ribbed chainstay protector. - Carbon CC frame - Fox 36 Float Factory 160mm fork - RockShox Super Deluxe Ultimate rear shock - Santa Cruz Reserve 30 Carbon rims and i9 Hydra hubs - 12-speed SRAM XX1 Eagle AXS drivetrain - RockShox Reverb Stealth dropper post - MRP AMg V2 Alloy chainguide