You have to give the Americans credit for this: The add-on parts leave nothing to be desired. Which other complete bike manufacturer installs classy Industry Nine hubs with super fine-toothed freewheels? The in-house carbon rims survived the ride through the scree fields in the middle section of the race track without any problems and even wiggled through the rear triangle when a spoke lost the battle against a branch. Well, the equipment issue is more a comparison of status symbols. Ultimately, what counts for us is how the bike rides on the trail. And the test crew was quite surprised. Because the new Santa Cruz High Tower LT disproves all the prejudices we had because of its large 29er wheels. With its super short wheelbase, it is almost as playful as the Rocky Mountain on the trails. The low weight of the bike, but also of the wheels, makes you almost fly up the counter-climb on the way to Allemont. Carrier acceleration? Not a trace. Even if the large wheels roll better over small obstacles, the 29er effect can't quite make up for the limited suspension travel. If you step on the gas in the rough terrain of the French Alps or venture over larger jumps, the rear suspension reaches its limits faster than, for example, on a Canyon or Cannondale. At a moderate pace, the linear characteristic curve of the shock provides a lot of comfort. The rebound was too slow on our model.
Jonas Perfoll, BIKE test rider: What I particularly liked about the Santa Cruz was the playful handling in combination with the good rollover behaviour of the 29er wheels. Sit on it, have fun. On the Megavalanche, however, one or two millimetres more travel wouldn't have hurt.
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