Comments on: Santa Cruz Tall Boy: Final Review & What Others Have To Say

By: todd conner

todd conner — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 17:28:51 +0000

I’d like to hear from some guys who weigh in the 170-180 lb range and ride aggressive trail riding with overlapping XC and AM riding on one rig. Reviews are great, but one of the reviewers weighs nearly 90lbs more than me. I can’t imagine a bike riding similarly for that weight difference. That’s like me strapping on two 45 lb. plates before a ride, eek!
My heaviest riding buddy on the front range is a lean 200lb machine….we battle across Colorado many weekends on completely different rigs FS vs. HT. He is on a 29er H.T. now and leaving me and my Team Dragon 26″ bike for SPAM….I need an equipment and engine upgrade;)

By: JDZ

JDZ — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 04:56:39 +0000

Thanks for all the good info on this thread on the Tallboy. You guys helped me decide on an XL vs the L. I am 6’1″ 34″ inseam and 76″ monkey ass arms. I currently have a L purchased with the option to get an XL frame and swap the parts. The L did feel like I was “humping a football” Thanks to Tim for a good laugh.

By: Downunder

Downunder — Fri, 18 Mar 2011 06:02:41 +0000

Great review….I’m about to get the parts for my XL Tallboy build. I’m 6’2 and 88 kgs. I noted your point about the Monarch provides better platform due to the light valving on stock RP 23. But then you say that the 120 mm Fox fork would be better matched with an RP23. Why is that? I’m thinking Fox 120 mm Talas RLC up front and Monarch 3.3 at the back to get the platform effect.

Any comments?

By: Dan1502

Dan1502 — Sun, 06 Feb 2011 11:29:38 +0000

Having now looked at a lot of other geometry tables for XL bikes and given Tim has longer arms than me, I’m fairly confident the XL will be fine for me and it did feel fine on my brief test ride. I’ll build it up and feedback once I’ve ridden it and experimented with stem length a bit. I’m fitting the talas forks as well so will try and include a bit on them (at least I didn’t have to decide between 100mm and 120mm forks with them!).

By: Tim

Tim — Sun, 06 Feb 2011 00:49:14 +0000

I went for a repeat test-ride today to make sure I’m getting the correct size… and yes, the XXL is for me. It had a 120mm stem on it, too. I’m Tim from above (response 40). Top tube too short on XL for my tastes. I flicked the XXL all over the place on the test ride, jumping and hopping whatever was around, did some hurried dismounting, and rode fast, too. These things would tell you if the bike size is correct. And, it is, for me. Like I said, I’m 6’2”, 35″ inseam, 78″ wingspan. Hope this helps!