Hot on the mixed wheel heels of the Santa Cruz Bronson relaunch comes the release of the latest twin 29er Hightower, an MTB that’s always been one of our favorite all round mountain bikes. Despite a lot of shared chassis, geometry and tech between the two bikes they deliver a surprisingly different ride. I hit some of my favorite wild trails to explore exactly what it could do and it felt like I’d never ridden them better.
Design and geometry
The new Hightower front end is the same as the Bronson. That means the shock is now inset into the scooped-out downtube belly. The lower linkage (also the same as the Bronson) is moved slightly down and forward in relation to the bottom bracket too. This reduces anti-squat – the amount the suspension pulls back on the pedals as it compresses – but not as much as on the Bronson. Rear wheel travel bumps up to 150mm from 145mm and it’s coil shock compatible – although all complete bikes and frames come with a Fox Float X air shock.
The lifetime warrantied frame gets tailgate and underbelly armor and big rubber flap chain quieteners on the top and underside of the rear stays. The collet pivots for the suspension linkages are still user-serviceable with lifetime warranty on replacement parts and a grease gun injection port for relaxing between strip downs. The Glovebox internal storage hatch gets a new latch and top-spec CC frames have wireless-only control holes. The cheaper C bikes and frames are wired gear compatible though and have all the same frame features and two color options of the CC bikes. C frames are around 200g heavier than CC bikes which at 3.7kg are around 180g heavier than the previous V3 Hightower frame.
As you'd expect, there are geometry changes over the previous bike too, with a 0.6 degree slacker 63.9 degree head angle, a degree steeper effective seat angle at 77.9 and 6mm longer reach on the large I tested. Size proportionate rear center lengths are 2mm longer too. Interestingly, that’s still 3mm shorter than those on the Bronson, despite that bike having a smaller 27.5in rear wheel. Otherwise, geometry is identical to the Bronson apart from a lower effective BB drop at the rear wheel.
Components and build
Apart from the different-sized rear wheel swapping to a MaxxGrip Minion DHF front tire and 180mm rotor for the Maven front brake from a MaxxGrip Assegai tire and 200mm front brake rotor are the only spec changes from Bronson. The XO AXS RSV is a sweet spot balance between top-level Fox Factory suspension (36 Grip X2 fork up to 160mm from 150mm and Float X rear shock) and all-metal SRAM XO transmission. Burgtec stem holds a Santa Cruz carbon bar, with a solidly reliable OneUp V3 dropper doing the office chair thing. Fans of super long seat post strokes should note it’s ‘only’ 180mm on the large frame, although XL and XXL get 210mm of raise/drop. EXO+ tires give extra protection and low-pressure stability and Reserve HD carbon rims are the stiffer, stronger option for only a few grams more than the SL. They get a proper, 'you kill 'em, we’ll rebuild them' lifetime warranty too which is reassuring when you’re charging headlong into the random rocks of Ilkley Moor.
Ride, handling and performance
That’s not the only thing on your side when you’re flat out in sketchy situations. 10mm more fork travel and the slacker head immediately made me happier to straight-line sections. Taking out the ring leader rocks head on, rather than getting tangled up trying to find gaps. With less pull back through the pedals and 5mm more travel, the rear end of the V4 is noticeably smoother than V3 in terms of foot feel. Santa Cruz hasn’t totally pushed out the back end though and 120 percent anti-squat at the sag point is still high for a contemporary trail/enduro bike. It creates a rearward initial axle path that sucks up slap hits better than a single pivot or four-bar set-up that gives a more upward rear wheel trajectory. The bigger back wheel reduces frontal impacts and drops into holes less than a 27.5in rear wheel too. As a result, it carries speed noticeably better through chunk than Bronson which also has a 10 percent lower anti-squat figure on average.
The broad tubes of the front end and heavily damped new Grip X2 fork make the front end laser accurate and stiff so you can really make the most of that sticky front tire and slacker steering. The relatively slim lower linkage helps the rear end twist and conform to the trail for impressive off-camber and cornering ‘auto traction’. There’s more flow and grip in the suspension than Hightower V3 when pedaling too, so you’re less likely to get bumped and jacked trying to get the power down in the saddle. There’s never sense that the shock throws away its travel though, preferring to sit accurately in the mid-stroke ready to push through berms and carve turns with a supported, heels down, head up hunter vibe rather than crushing underneath you and losing its shape and poise.
Straight from the car park it was clear that Hightower’s ability to hustle under power is also still very much there. Specifically there’s still a direct connection from your muscle fibres to the blocks of the Minion DHR tires. That not only gives excellent feedback for when you can max out torque or tempo it to clear techy sections. It also feels responsive and positive rather than soft and wallowy when you press the pedals, encouraging stand up cranking. The efficient, stable feel meant I never bothered to use the ‘firm’ lever on the shock and I left the low speed compression on the shock fully open to let it breathe. I did run high speed compression halfway closed to better match the fork, but the more ‘lifted’ rather than ‘sinking’ feel of the rear end naturally balances the bike well anyway. Reducing the front rotor size on the monster SRAM Maven brakes reduces their ‘stick through the spokes’ grab and keeps the Hightower more settled in steep, loose or otherwise sketchy situations. Exactly the same moments you’ll be glad you’ve got a Maxxgrip front tire that’s predictable and sturdy enough to run at teen pressures.
While that sticky compound front tire definitely adds drag, the easier roll of the 29er rear wheel is very evident when it comes to overall speed. Although the frame is a kilo heavier than the Specialized Stumpjumper Pro with similar travel and spec, the complete build is only 500g heavier. That’s close enough for the mechanical advantage of more anti-squat to close the gap on climbs and the Hightower was always as keen as I was to get to the top rather than slugging along like a sulky teenager. The steeper seat angle sets up a great position for steep, techy climbs too, helping me clean sections that were more trials than trail and leaving softer feeling bikes like Canyon’s Spectral struggling in its wake. The extra feedback through feet and front end does make it less forgiving and more fatiguing over time though so it’s better suited to aggressive pilots than apathetic passengers.
Verdict
While this category of bike is increasingly under threat from so-called ‘SL’ e-MTBs, there’s still a lot of pedal-powered competition in the trail/enduro space. Compared to Canyon's Spectral and the Specialized Stumpjumper, you’ve only got 0.3 degree of geometry adjust and conventional shock tuning compared to the ultra adjustable geo and Genie shock Specialized too. Both Specialized and particularly Canyon are significantly better value for similar spec levels as well. The Hightower V4 is £800 less than the equivalent V3 when it came out, however, and comes in a lot cheaper than the Yeti SB140 and Pivot Switchblade we tested recently considering neither have carbon wheels or internal storage.
Where Hightower V4 really wins though is bringing its attacking character to every part of the hill in an outstandingly balanced and enabling way. The suspension and geometry changes make it ready to rally the toughest enduro descents properly hard without losing control or confidence. There’s still enough pedal kick and effort return to make a very rewarding hustler on rise and fall trails though and it’s a tenacious and efficient climber too. Add in an excellent warranty package, a ton of easy, extended life details and an unmistakeable sense of premium quality in everything from frame feel to the new internal storage latch, and the Hightower is definitely still right up there as an awesome, aspirational all-rounder I’d be delighted to run as my only ride for bigger, techier trails.
Test conditions
- Surface: Loam, hard pack, rocks, roots
- Trails: Moorland singletrack, Enduro descents and off-piste play trails
- Weather: Warm and mostly dry trails
Tech specs: Santa Cruz Hightower 4 XO AXS RSV
- Discipline: Trail/enduro
- Price: $8,999 / £8,799
- Head angle: 63.9/64.2º
- Frame material: CC carbon fiber
- Fork: Fox 36 Factory GripX2 160mm travel
- Shock: Fox Float X Factory 150mm travel
- Size: S, M, L (tested), XL, XXL
- Weight: 14.61kg
- Wheel size: 29in
- Chainset: SRAM XO with DUB bottom bracket.
- Rear mech: SRAM Eagle AXS XO, T-Type
- Shifter: SRAM Eagle AXS XO
- Cassette: SRAM Eagle XO CS-1275 12-speed 10-52T
- Brakes: SRAM Maven hydraulic disc with 180/180mm rotors
- Tires: Maxxis DHF MaxxGrip EXO+ 29 x 2.5in front and Maxxis DHRII MaxxTerra 29 x 2.4in rear
- Wheels: Reserve 30iHD carbon rims with Industry Nine 1/1 hubs
- Bars: Santa Cruz Carbon 800 x 35mm riser
- Stem: Burgtec Enduro 42 x 35mm
- Grips: Roval SL
- Seat post: Roval Control SL carbon rigid
- Saddle: Body Geometry S-Works Power Carbon
