Climbing ace: The Santa Cruz Tallboy from ultrabiker Ben Hildred in a quick check

Ben Hildred's fascination with collecting metres in altitude began in 2018 with his first Everesting. Since then, he has gone one step further every year. In 2019, he made his way to the stratosphere in 30 days (55,000 vertical metres). He then scaled the height of the highest mountain known to us - the 22,000-metre Olympus Mons on Mars - in just three days.

2021: 300,000 metres of altitude in 200 days. 2022: Ben climbs K2 (8611 vertical metres) in under 24 hours. 2023: first double Everest with the mountain bike. His greatest success followed last year. He climbed the almost 22,000 metres of altitude on the Olympus Mons again - but this time in one go. No mountain biker had ever managed that before.

At the time of our interview, Ben was currently on his biggest challenge to date: 305,000 metres of altitude in just 100 days. That's around 3000 metres of altitude per day! This extreme and extraordinary range of use places special demands on the material. Which ones? We found out for you in our pro bike check.

The key data for Hildred's Santa Cruz Tallboy

• NameSanta Cruz Tallboy CC
• SizeXL, 495 millimetre reach
• Weightno idea, doesn't matter to me
• Spring travel140 / 120 millimetres
• Special feature: nothing special apart from a few components that have not yet been presented to the public
• Price: no idea
• Suspension forkRockshox Pike Ultimate Flight Attendant / 85 psi / 1 Token
• DamperRockshox Super Deluxe Ultimate Flight Attendant / 195 psi / 1 Token
• ImpellersReserve 30SL rims, Oneup hubs / 29 inch / Tubeless / Reserve Fillmore Valves
• Tyres/air pressure: front Maxxis Forekaster EXO+ MaxxTerra 29x2.4; 1.4 Bar / rear Maxxis Recon EXO+ MaxxTerra 29x2.4; 1.6 Ba

The basis: a question of principle

Ben Hildred: Yes, there are lighter and more powerful bikes than my Santa Cruz Tallboy. But when people ask me why I don't ride a marathon or cross-country bike, they forget that the Challenge also involves almost 300,000 metres of descending (!). And I'm not covering them on tarmac, but on the steep and challenging trails around Queenstown.

I prefer to trust the handling qualities, comfort and, above all, the riding fun of a trail bike rather than "destroying" the hard-won downhills on a cross-country bike. Also important: if you sit in the saddle day in, day out, comfort plays a major role. And I'm simply more relaxed on a trail bike.

Pedals: Against the current

Ben Hildred: Ultra-cycling and flat pedals don't go together in the minds of many. However, I firmly believe that flats are no less efficient than clickies, provided the technique is right. I also grew up in the era of Sam Hill, Chris Kovarik and co. and like to play with the terrain downhill. I also like to put my foot down in corners.

Seating position: On a high horse

Ben Hildred: I always push the saddle as far forwards as possible. Coupled with the extreme tilt of the saddle towards the handlebars, my set-up looks pretty wild. However, I have the feeling that the extremely short riding position allows me to optimise power transfer. My cockpit is also out of the ordinary. An extra high headset cover, a 25 mm spacer and on top a one-up handlebar with a 50 millimetre rise - this makes my front end quite high. This helps me to keep my centre of gravity as central as possible on the sometimes very steep descents. Handlebar width: 760 millimetres. The high front also gives me a maximally comfortable riding position uphill.

Wear parts

Ben Hildred: At the time of the interview, I'm on day 72 of the 100-day challenge. That's 425 hours of pure riding time. This workload is just wearing out the material. So far I've used four rear tyres, four pairs of sintered brake pads, two pairs of grips, two chains and a set of pedal and hub bearings.

Setup: The big confession

Ben Hildred: Quite honestly, the fact check (s. Key data aboveI lied about the tyre pressure. I have no idea exactly how many bars are in my tyres. I just check every few days with my thumb and, if necessary, top up the tyre pressure so that I don't risk a puncture on the downhill. That would mess up my schedule. There's no rocket science behind my suspension set-up either. I simply ride the values I found online for my suspension elements and my weight. That works wonderfully!

Impellers: Fabric softener

Ben Hildred: My Impellers I have built my own wheels with Sapim blade spokes. This elicits significantly more flex from the carbon wheels. This gives me more downhill traction and riding pleasure, and is less tiring in the long run.