Santa Cruz Bicycles

Hightower Carbon 29 S Complete Mountain Bike - 2017

29ers have gotten an undeserved rap as the old-person cars of the bike world—ponderous, squishy, and slow—but that’s a pretty outdated view, really. Consider the 2017 Santa Cruz Hightower Carbon 29 S Complete Mountain Bike. It’s an all-mountain sled inspired equally by the trail-ready Bronson, the enduro Nomad, and the XC Tallboy, capable of greasing big climbs and slaying hairy descents with the best of them.

The head tube is laid out at 67 degrees for a moderately slack feel that keeps you in control when you’re pounding through rock gardens and putting the hammer down on fast sections of trail. Combine that with the reworked VPP suspension and stiff Boost rear axle, and you’ve got a rig that can handle just about anything you feel like pointing it at.

The chainstays have been shortened, too, which makes the Hightower quick in the corners and nimble when the going gets tight. VPP allows a shorter standover height and more ground clearance, and you can even run a bottle cage and a piggyback shock at the same time, without worrying that they’ll destroy each other on big compressions. And, of course, Santa Cruz hooked the Hightower up with its Flip Chip technology, so you can switch between 29in and 27.5+ wheels if you’re looking for speed or grip, respectively.