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First Look! Santa Cruz Superlight 29er & Highball Alloy 29er Mountain Bikes

Santa Cruz Superlight 29er mountain bike
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Santa Cruz Superlight 29er mountain bike

Santa Cruz has added two new alloy 29ers to their lineup, bringing the venerable Superlight to the big wheel party and giving hardtail fans a value-oriented option. Oh, and the new Highball-a will have optional singlespeed dropouts!

Both models will come in Small through XL sizes, and Santa Cruz is claiming their Small frames offer a shorter top tube and lower stand over height than most other brands’ extra-small offerings. Both bikes pictured here are Small frames, and they do indeed look plenty compact. In fact, the stand over on the Small Superlight is lower than the tire height. They were getting a lot of demand for smaller sizes, so they added the size to these new bikes. Depending on how sales go, they may add a small size to the Tallboy lineup. That said, engineer Joe Graney said designing a VPP suspension to span small to XXL would basically require two entirely separate suspension designs, so don’t hold your breath.

Other shared characteristics are hydroformed top- and downtubes and asymmetrical stays, although the reason for that is different on the two bikes. They also share very common standards like a threaded bottom bracket and standard IS rear brake mounts. While these may not provide drool inducing bullet points, marketing front man Mike Ferrentino says they’re easily serviceable and parts are widely available without having to figure out any proprietary standards.

Now, let’s see what’s new…

Santa Cruz Superlight 29er mountain bike

Up front, the Superlight has a stout looking tapered headtube designed with an external lower cup in mind. Graney says you’d have to make it even bigger to run an internal bearing and use thinner walls. The downtube meets the headtube a bit higher than the headset in order to provide ample fork crown clearance without putting a severe bend in the downtube.

Santa Cruz Superlight 29er mountain bike

Standard external cup bottom bracket keeps it simple and relatively inexpensive. So does the tried and true single pivot design. The Superlight has been one of Santa Cruz’s best sellers since being introduced into its lineup in 1997 (originally called the Heckler, became the Superlight in ’99) largely because a) it works and b) it offers Fox suspension at entry level price points.

Santa Cruz Superlight 29er mountain bike

Like their new “APP” bikes, the Superlight 26″ got the Collet Axle upgrade for it’s pivot in 2010 and the 29er does, too. It uses angular contact bearings. The axle is adjusted from the driveside, but access isn’t hindered by the chainrings.

The small has one bottle cage on the underside of the downtube, the medium, large and XL have another mount inside the front triangle. Front derailleur mount is a standard clamp around the seat tube.

Santa Cruz Superlight 29er mountain bike

Travel is 100mm (4″) and the geometry is designed primarily around a 100mm fork, but it can be run with a 120mm fork.

Like the 26″ version, the stays are asymmetrical in that the drive side chain stay is a bit higher to allow proper chain clearance. The non-drive side is lower to give it better triangulation and make it stronger overall. The small and medium Superlight 29ers share the same smaller rear triangle and a custom tuned Fox Float RL shock with 1.5″ stroke. They designed it with a higher leverage ratio and lighter tune to make it supple under smaller, lighter riders. The large and XL get a 2″ stroke shock and larger rear triangle.

Santa Cruz Superlight 29er mountain bike

Dropouts are standard QR with IS brake mounts and a replaceable derailleur hanger.

Santa Cruz Superlight 29er mountain bike

The seat tube has dual front derailleur cable guides to make it friendly with either Shimano or SRAM mechs. All of Santa Cruz’s stock build kit options use Shimano derailleurs, but the option’s there. The top tube has guides for a dropper seat post remote.

Claimed frame weight is 5.9lbs for a medium with shock.

Frameset with shock is $1,050, and it’s available with any of their stock or custom build kits. Complete bikes start at just $1,850 for the D/XC build (Shimano Deore, Avid Elixir 1, Easton cockpit with WTB saddle, Rockshox Recon Silver fork). The R/XC with a Deore/XT/SLX mix with Reba RL fork is $2,350, and it goes up from there. All of the builds use name brand components, making the package deals even more attractive. No house-branded generic parts are on the list. Frame colors are black with green (shown) and orange with white.

Initially, only complete bikes will be available. The good news? They’re available now for both of these models. The bad news? Framesets won’t be available until all initial complete bike orders are fulfilled. Santa Cruz’s website should be updated to offer these models any time now.

SANTA CRUZ HIGHBALL-a 29er HARDTAIL

Santa Cruz Highball-a 29er alloy mountain bike

The Highball-a follows the footsteps of their Tallboy, taking the initial carbon frame and giving a wallet-friendly alloy option. And while the carbon Highball remains a super stiff, race-oriented geared bike, the alloy model has replaceable dropouts and a singlespeed option. Other wise, geometry is the same.

Santa Cruz Highball-a 29er alloy mountain bike

It shares the same tapered headtube with external lower headset cup. The top- and down tubes on both of these bikes are squared off where they meet the headtube. The downtube rounds off, but the top tube remains square-ish while getting a bit thinner as it goes back.

Santa Cruz Highball-a 29er alloy mountain bike

Cables are hidden under the top tube using a nice triple stop routing.

Santa Cruz Highball-a 29er alloy mountain bike

The seat tube is slightly bent to tuck the rear wheel up closer and maintain a tight wheelbase. Chainstay length is 17.3″ and wheelbase on the small is 44.5″ (1063.2mm) and goes up to 44.5″ (1129.2mm) on the XL. The seat stays get a wishbone curve and monostay upper section.

Santa Cruz Highball-a 29er alloy mountain bike

Simple standard external cup threaded BB. Both the Highball-a and Superlight are designed for use with either a double or triple crankset.

Santa Cruz Highball-a 29er alloy mountain bike

The chainstay yoke is asymmetrical to give it proper chainring clearance. The drive side is a forged piece and a small bridge keeps it all stiff without comprising tire clearance too much.

Santa Cruz Highball-a 29er alloy mountain bike

The non-drive side has a brake brace between the stays to stiffen it up and reduce (they say eliminate) brake chatter. I haven’t been able to ride it thanks to injury, but I also haven’t heard any brake chatter on any of the bikes here all week. The Highball-a will ship with standard geared dropouts as shown here. The derailleur hanger is built into the dropout, so should things go wrong you would need to replace the entire dropout for about $25.

Santa Cruz Highball-a 29er alloy mountain bike

The singlespeed swinger-style dropouts will be available aftermarket for around $80, and they’re pretty trick. The top bolt threads directly into the dropout and acts as the pivot. The lower bolt threads into a semi-captive square nut to hold things in place once you’ve got your chain tension set.

Santa Cruz Highball-a 29er alloy mountain bike

To adjust tension, you insert a 4mm allen key and twist. That bolt is captured by a larger 6mm bolt (center pic) The tension bolt threads through a barrel that has it’s own little nest in the frame (right). We’d like to see the square nut be more captive so it wouldn’t get lost if things get loose on the trail, but overall it’s a pretty nice looking design. Total adjustment is 13mm, which equals one chain link length.

Frames are $649 and come in two stock colors: Blue with orange (shown) and white with black. This one will be available through their custom color program for an additional charge, which should be going live on their website anyway. Complete bikes start at $1,499 (D/XC kit) and $2,099 (R/XC) and go up from there. Claimed frame weight is 3.9lbs for medium with geared dropouts.

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14 Comments
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Vodalous
Vodalous
12 years ago

That blue Highball looks so trick! makes me miss my old Chameleon.

Mindless
Mindless
12 years ago

The answer for the need of two suspension designs – 650b

Brattercakes
Brattercakes
12 years ago

My God… too bad our shop doesn’t carry Santa Cruz.

mmmmHmm!!!

Blooseville
Blooseville
12 years ago

Yeah! I was waiting the HB alloy since the carbon was released. Better than I expected (especially the price!).

Harlan
Harlan
12 years ago

I’ve been testing the Highball A as a SS for a couple months and it’s a sick ride. With a 120mm fork and a short stem it blasts through everything. What surprises me about the bike is that even with the combination of a short wheelbase and relatively slack head-angle. It still rides the tight and twisties like a champ.
Cheap, strong and fun. Score one for aluminum.

BillyRay
BillyRay
12 years ago

Wonder how much that Highball frame weighs, and how much rearward adjustment the singlespeed dropouts give you. Doesn’t look like a ton of rearward adjustment, but it’s hard to tell.

Oscar
Oscar
12 years ago

@BillyRay- Those dropouts get good reviews on Black Cat’s, which is who SC copied them from.

harlow farnsworth
harlow farnsworth
12 years ago

man, i wish they’d do the slotted dropout or some other singlespeed solution on the carbon highball. spending that much on a bike that is missing the versatility is a pill i’m having a hard time swallowing. the alu highball looks slick, especially in that blue color.

JOhn
JOhn
12 years ago

Those drop outs do look like Black Cat’s. Come to think of it those welds look a lot like the welds used on the 1996 Yeti arc. And that tubing is aluminum, just like early Cannondale’s. Probably copied them too.

Oscar
Oscar
12 years ago

^Who wouldn’t want to copy welds and tubes that are guaranteed to crack?

JOhn
JOhn
12 years ago

I had a 1978 Free Spirit from Wards. I tell people it was a mixte, but really it was a ladies bike. Its frame cracked. Cannondale, Yeti and Santa Cruz are probably just copying them.

Oscar
Oscar
12 years ago

I appreciate your sarcasm….facts are soooooooooooo boring sometimes. LOLZ.

JOhn
JOhn
12 years ago

I would have gone with only 6 “o”s after that “s”. I guess exaggeration can’t really hurt when making a point, but other wise we are in complete agreement.

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