2017 Hightower Vs. Bronson (a survey)

Yes... Don't forget your shoes. That was a bad day. I mean... We salvaged the day after you left, but this was no fun to witness.

 

I don't really like the "feel" of the guide brakes, but oh my! One bolt on each side, leave the clamp and switch the units. They are universal! Very cool!

 

Pedals on, shoes in bag, saddle adjusted, Seat Post adjusted, brakes swapped and adjusted, steering stem straightened and torqued to 70 inch pounds, chain lubed, tire pressure adjusted, and fork and shock air pressure adjusted.

What's your vector Victor? Ready to launch... I'm excited to try some strange...

 

...You're Doomed


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@Mikie How was the climbing? That's where you weren't diggin' it at GE. Getting it dialed in more?

 

Hey @Mikie Do u have a plus front and reg rear? Interesting!

 

Maxxis Rekon front and rear on the Arc 40s. I think he needs to try standard 29ers...

 

Got it dialed in at Wrightwood today. Oh. My. Gosh! On Saturday it could descend... Now it can climb and descend.

No Sir. 27.5+ front and rear. This bike is like cheating... Bike Review on it's way.

 

So you may have found your new one....sahweet!!!

 

Please please please whatever you do please don't buy one. I mean that bike is totally all wrong for you(or umm you having one is completely all bad for me). You even said yourself that the top tube wasn't the most comfortable to sit on remember? OK whatever I guess I'll just have to get stronger & up my game or something. Guess the real question is what build kit and what color...?

 

I remember him squinting at the bike at GE and saying something about being blinded by the reflected light....

 

LOL, Tom. I predict mango. Sorry about that! : )

+1

 

This, Mikie! Like @Voodoo Tom said, the bar is raised again! Wooo! I told @burt, I told him you were attacking!

 

Santa Cruz Hightower 27.5+ Bike Review​

I finally demo'ed another bike brand. I have always thought of myself as a Yeti guy. I own a 2012 Yeti ASR5c. It has been a phenomenal bike, well... how could it not be I rode a 1997 Proflex prior to that bike so I can imagine most any bike would be a great bike after that much change in technology! I did however try a Yeti 575 as my first modern demo. But fell in love with the ASR5c. So naturally I demo rode two more Yeti's as I got the 5 year itch for a new bike. Rode the Yeti SB5, and the Yeti SB4.5.

I was impressed with the climbing on the SB5 but was not wowed by it's descent. I was not impressed with the climbing of the SB4.5 but wowed by it's descent. So I let the thought of demo's pass me by. I'm not much for dating.

Been dreaming about New Bike Day again, but funds were short due to old debts from a long defunked construction company. But very resent developments has lit my life back into dreaming and so here we sit today!

Enter the 2018 Santa Cruz Hightower.
Never owned one but they have always been on my "favorite" list as well as Ibis and Yeti. Most likely due to their boutique persona. Plus these three have been up to recently a threaded bottom bracket trio. Yeti has recently sold out to press fit. Big strike for me. As well, none of these three have "yet" sold out to eBike manufacturing.

I got the Large. I'm 5' 10 1/2" tall currently weighing in at 200lbs ready to ride with a Camelbak. I rode the S+ Kit with the Fox 36 150mm Performance.

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My Set Up

• After swapping rear brake from right to left, VERY easy with Sram Guides.
• Fully opened the Fork dampening up, dropped the PSI from 100 to 70.
• Dropped the Rear Shock PSI from 200 to 150
• Kicked the saddle way back! (mistake)
• Raised the dropper significantly
• Lowered tire pressure to 18 psi rear, 17 psi front
• Added my Speedplay pedals

Ride #1
Golden Eagle
Ride one was with my imtbtrails family on a very special day. We group rode Golden Eagle, my home trail. I had only got one ride in within the last two weeks so I was not spunky. It was hot and I was distracted with trying to be a good host. Climbing the Hightower was... eh. It felt sluggish and heavy. I felt a little uncomfortable, I was not wowed. I even thought at one point I wanted to turn around but @Voodoo Tom talked me in to finishing the ride. I was thinking it was the bike and the heat. The rollers up on top were fun and there was moments of agile singletrack fun. But I was not really in tune with the bike. The rear shock has three settings. For all the climbing and rollers I had it set to the hardest setting close to being a hardtail. It worked great in that setting (as a hardtail). Moved to the middle setting and it was too plush. The soft setting was completely out for cross country. I was thinking this was not the bike for me.

When we finally got back to the top of the final drop to the trailhead, I was feeling better and a little cocky (mostly as I was jacked that a lot of guys were going to experience the GE Downhill).

I led as I knew the trail. It started out slow as I was trying to feel out the bike geometry. As I picked up speed, the bike became more agile. The bars still seemed too wide, and the rear shock too soft, the fork was too harsh. But the bike... flew! The plus tires grabbed at every chance, but I felt like the rear drifted or even hydroplaned. Too much air pressure?
But because the bars were so wide the high speed sections felt very stable.

At the bottom I was much happier, though not too excited due to the climbing. I felt it to be an average run. @burt who chased me thought it was a solid run. That made me very happy, especially coming from Burt.

Ride #2
Wrightwood
On Monday (today, a holiday), Voodoo Tom and I drove up to Wrightwood to surprise @scan and @Maddog. Maddog brought a friend who was relatively new to mountain biking named Rich. The guy did great!
Sunday the night before, I tweaked the Hightower some more.

• kicked the saddle forward a good 3/4"
• Dropped another 20 psi in the fork to 50 psi
• Increased the psi in the rear shock another 25 to 175 psi
• Lowered the tire pressure to 15.5 psi front and rear

We climbed the fire road to Boyscout Trail. Once we got there I could tell I still needed to raise the saddle. Raised it an additional 3/4". We hit the trail and that was the magic! I was sitting too far behind the pedals. By moving the saddle much further (a total of an inch!) forward and raising the seat post I had obtained the right combo of knee to spindle and proper leg extension. This bike took off. It rolled so easily and with big wheel momentum I was pedaling a way higher cadence then I ever would on my 26'er. The plus tires at 15.5 psi seemed to roll uphill never losing traction no matter how far I leaned up over the bars... WOW! All I had to do was maintain the inertia. I have hammered that climb on my Yeti before and at the top of the trail had barely anything left and needed to recover. Today I was totally fresh and PR'ed it. In fact, our second time up Boyscout I was faster than my best time on my Yeti.

Dropping down Middle Jackson Lake Trail was epic. Fastest run ever. Totally in control and not anywhere near red lined or outside my comfort zone. With a couple more runs, I'm confident I would have very competitive times. Rear suspension though was still a little too soft but was working closer with the front forks. Forks may need to lose a puck or two to not ramp up so fast. I could not use all the 150mm's of travel no matter how I tried at 50 psi (more air in the rear, and lose a puck or two in the front).

The wide bars were now comfortable sitting closer to the stem and stabilized very high speeds for me, the plus tires were traction extraordinaire! The combo of bar stability, 27.5 plus height and width devoured the chunk. Some corners I used the high bank not needing to scrub brakes to the point It slung shot me out the other side and was somewhat intimidating. Over time? Oh my! I have to admit, the Guide brakes, even at the lower quality level had a great modulation. Shimano XT Ice Tech tend to be all on or all off for me. The combo of the guides and plus tires had a nice "in between" that prevented the rear tire from breaking loose when I was heavy braking. The float or hydroplaning on loose rocky over hard pack was completely gone.


Things I Love...

• Bike is well balanced and suspension worked incredibly well. I have never "popped off" any feature and this bike catapults with fun. Fast and stable in the air.
• Suspension devoured the fast chunk keeping the plus sized tires glued to the ground
• Plus Tires... Who would have thought I would be one of those guys. Totally sold!
• Wide Bars. Though I have a legitimate fear of snagging foliage at high speed, especially on the scruffy trails I like to ride, at first they were too wide, now I'm not thinking so.
• Climbing traction was amazing. I can't wait to try 29'ers to feel the difference.
• Two in One Bike. I'm a One Bike Guy. With the Hightower having the option for 27.5 plus AND 29'er option, this is a closer for me as I can have two bikes in the same bike with a simple wheel switch out.

Things I Don't Like...

• Low Bottom Bracket. That is something I'm going to have to work at getting used to. I had multiple pedal strikes on both rides. I know it's a matter of time before I train myself to work planned technical pedaling. I had to do it on my Yeti when I first got it as well.
• Color Options. Macaroni and Cheddar Cheese or Off White Grey and Royal Blue... Yuck!

Things I Hate...

• The Santa Cruz head tube emblem is by far the cheapest and cheesiest I have ever seen. To buy a bike of this caliber I would expect a classy emblem like a Yeti (which is first class by the way.) This is petty I know, but I really hate the current emblem.

Bottom Line
I don't know what art is... but I know what I like. This bike is the new me.
Some of you are going to say... NO! Try more bikes! I tried a couple of bikes when I bought my ASR5c and once I rode it I knew. I dialed this bike in, and I know. I'm just not that kinda guy to go search for the Holy Grail. This bike was that much fun.
Many support this bike and I can totally see why. Voodoo Tom made a very impactful statement today when he said, "I know a lot of guys who can easily afford $10k bikes and they ride Hightowers." That hit home with me.

I'm ordering the Grey and Royal Blue model. I tried to convince myself of the other color but I'm still not going through mid life crisis!

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This would not be possible if it were not for you guys. I am so blessed and so stoked. You guys breathed new life into me.

Mikie

 

Again...you earned it; you deserve it; go tear it up. Someday I hope to keep you in sight on a descent.

 

AYE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks for the review. Nice ending to an impressive group effort and brainchild of DangerD.

 

Welcome to the Santa Cruz family!

Plus and 29er really is the best of both worlds.

 

Sweet write up @Mikie

Low BB is part of the long/low/slack geometry these days. Kinda sounds like they all have low BB's.

The grey/blue color is really sharp....it would be my choice.

Rear shock can always be tweaked.

Curious to hear what you think with the 29er's on it.

Oh, yeah......congrats.

 

Great color choice, and yes, you will get it dialed in.

FWIW - I think 800 mm is too wide for most people in most applications, and even the top enduro riders are staying under that threshold. Love my 780s and I believe my chest is wider than yours. Just a thought.

Congratulations and I can't wait to hear (and occasionally see) your progression as you and the bike become one! You will be even more of a beast than you are now!

 

XO1 Plus... in Grey and Blue...
I had to!

 

Bars are indeed 780's once I looked up the specs. And you have a manly chest...

 

Awesome choice. My wife doesn't like the color, I filed for divorce. Lol. Anyway your new ride will treat you well. Have fun!

 

After a few weeks on the new steed, you need to jump back on the Yeti and go for a spin! That will be an "oh Sh!t" ride.

"I rode these kids wheels for how long... $)@$&(@;@!"

 

Congrats @Mikie, great choice! It's a great looking and performing bike.

 

Awesome Mikie! Can't wait to see yours! (Bike)

 

Congratulations, great choice! I can't wait to hear more about it as you get it dialed in and play with the wheel sizes!

 

Yeah!!! Great that that second ride sealed the deal! Although your time " just cruising" down GE was a bit of foreshadowing I believe!

 

Saw a guy doing an admirable job of *climbing* TnA on a Hightower today. Congrats!

 

Congrats finding your new ride. You will love the Hightower.

PS: with the 29 wheels you gain around .122" (3.1mm) BB clearance over the Plus wheels (given the "high" setting and 150mm fork remains the same).

 

sawheet. I'm glad you enjoyed the ride Mikie. I keep getting faster and faster with mine as I become more comfortable. If you ever want to pop down to OC for a ride, you can borrow my 29r wheelset setup and try the bike out with that as well. Let me know as it's easy for me to swap back and forth between my + setup and my 29r setup.