For years Santa Cruz Bikes has stated their bikes didn’t need a through axle rear end, as they were already quite stiff. When they released the Tallboy LT, they debuted their new 142mm rear axle, something Santa Cruz fans have been clamoring for. Santa Cruz has long claimed the through axle only increases the rear stiffness by a few measly percent. However, it turns out their numbers were measured using a DT Swiss 10mm thru bolt set up. Hmm. My Carbon Nomad and TRc are currently both set up with conventional quick releases.
Bike Magazine just posted a clip showing off the latest color way of the TRc with our first view of the 142mm rear end. I love riding the crap out of these bikes, and thinking about the security of a bolt on system gives me a warm happy feeling inside. I’m pretty hot to swap my frames out to the latest rear ends, but in the meantime I’ll be looking into adapters for my rear hubs and picking up a 10mm bolt from DT. If you’re looking into a new Santa Cruz frame though, you’ll definitely have a few more options to choose from. The new dropouts are already available on the Santa Cruz store. In the meantime, my current set up has some upgrading to do.