What is it about Santa Cruz and the bikes they make that have gathered such a rabid following? (us included) With the release of their new iteration of their 29er, folks are all talking about picking up a wagon-wheeled steed of their own. I’ll be the first one to admit, the big wheels done right can lay down some rubber in the dirt. My personal adventures on my retro custom steed attest to that. I hate that the trails here can often be negotiated faster on the big wheels, and am resisting the urge to get a dual sprung ride. Sometimes I dwell on it though- just so I can level the playing fields and put the hurt back on the spandex-wearing guys. But just about everyone that makes bikes does a 29er now, and you can even get one for under a grand complete. What is it about the bikes from the brand that was once known for surf and skateboards? I’m not quite sure, but we now have three rigs here, and although I certainly don’t need one, see the complete bike price of $1500 and think, “hmmm.”
It reminds me of back in the day, when you’d see a Cannondale, and you’d be like, “that dude’s got a nice bike.” Of course, that was before all the proprietary headshock/ lefty/ press-in bb nonsense. With the Highball, Santa Cruz doesn’t subscribe to any of the ongoing me-too trends that other manufacturers have. The bottom bracket is an old school threaded bb, and it will fit any crank left over in your garage from the 90s, even those wacky multi-colored Kooka cranks with their square-tapered JIS bbs, that bend faster than you can say, “rock drop.” It has a tapered headtube which makes the frame stronger and you can run any 29er fork you can find, and if you want to monkey around with the geometry, you have the option via an angle adjustable headset.
Like I said, I don’t need one, but if I was about to start lining up at the start of a short track or torture myself in a local XC race, for the money (and mystique) I’d be tempted to pick one of these bad boys up, all ready to go for less than the cost of their carbon frame-only option. (the bike henceforth known as the “skinny-daddy” Highball C) You can always upgrade the chassis later…