Would it be disadvantageous to have a Santa Cruz Tallboy as your only bike while living in Vancouver?

I'm likely going to be moving to Vancouver after next year. Between now and then I will be doing one last season XC racing on my chill hometown team. For an upgrade from my current bike, I've been debating between the Hightower 29 and Tallboy 29 (both S builds). I'm planning on buying the new bike this summer, after the new SC bikes come out (new colors only on 29ers this year so I've been told).

I actually raced my last XC race of this season on a demo 2018 Hightower 29. The race was a long gradual climb, then a consistent downhill with a bunch of switchbacks. The bike was phenomenal on the downhill and flat sections, but it wasn't too quick on the long uphill switchbacks, which resulted in me placing slightly higher than usual.

I demoed the Tallboy at Duthie Hill MTB Park and I loved how playful and fast it was, however I noticed that it didn't feel nearly as confidence inspiring as the Hightower on the bigger roots/rocks. Unfortunately I was unable to test the tallboy on a long consistent downhill due to Duthie Hill's terrain constraints, so I didn't get a feel for how the Tallboy handles that type of terrain.

I know that the Tallboy would be way better for XC racing and is a faster bike on flats and uphills, but I am worried that it would:

* Limit me to the tamest of the North Shore trails

* Limit me to the tamest of the Squamish Trails

I know that the Hightower will be much more confidence inspiring for these trails, but I also don't want my final season of XC racing on my hometown team to be one that I don't do as well.  

Any recommendations? I'd especially like to hear from:

* Anyone who rides a Tallboy

* Anyone who does chill XC races on a Hightower 

Thanks in advance!

I've not ridden either bike - however, there are alot of Hightowers on the Shore - take that for what you will.

There are trails for everyone here - you will have fun no matter what!

One season there as opposed to how long here?

Hightower LT

There aren't many XC trails on the Shore - basically all the good trails would be classified as All-mountain/Enduro. In Squamish there is more XC than the Shore, but even there, all the main go-to trails would be in the AM/Enduro category. Hightower would be much more suitable IMO.

Bottom line is, can you ride? and what ride are you looking for?

I ride a Ti Honzo with 130mm fork on everything and that was my upgrade. My old rig is a Surly Karate Monkey with no suspension. Worked well enough on trails like the CBC, 7th secret, pingu-pangor etc. I'm not looking to do the double blacks. The drawback to less suspension is not that you can't do tech or steep - you can, it is that fast flowy trails that knock the shit out of you. I rode everything in Squamish on my rigid Surly without troubles but the seven summits made me want to chuck the bike off the fifth summit as my hands were about to fall off from all the screaming fast chatter. Finally if it is the bike/suspension that is going to allow you to get down a trail, go practice on something easier.

Tips for buying your bike.

Headtube angle matters as much as inches of travel. Something with a slacker headtube than the tallboy would be good but that being said the Honzo is 68deg and I like that fine.

Longer travel is not always better. There is lots of pedaling as well as super tight twisty terrain on the shore and a longer travel bike with a longer wheelbase is not necessarily an advantage.

In short, although you will not be hucking the hugest drops, a tallboy will be an excellent all around bike for the BC coast. If you are looking to compete in some enduros, ride the whistler park often or huck big shit on the shore then you will probably want something bigger. Also, don't forget that tires, tire pressure and suspension set up play a bigger role in how confident you feel sticking a line as does and extra inch or two of travel. The right bike for you will depend on what ride you are seeking. If you have been watching videos of people shredding the shore and want to do that and leave your XC life behind then go with the hightower LT. If you want something to enter an XC race on, that can handle anything you throw at it and take you up and down equally well, the tallboy may be for you.

Thank you so much for all the detail.  How do you think a Tallboy would do on the Seven Summits and other trails near Rossland?

I would get the bike you want for right now. You can always sell it and get a different one later if needed.

If you go Tallboy, you could always bump up the fork travel if/when you move here to give it a bit more prowess on the steep and rough stuff. An over-forked Tallboy would likely be a fun bike.

Some people ride hardtails here. I don't think the Tallboy would be too little bike. It would make your life harder in some situations but would be more fun in others.

...also I would caution against having either one of those as an "only bike" in Vancouver.  If you need a bike to go to the grocery store, you need a beater that you can lock up without a fear of it getting stolen.

Rossland doesn't have a lot of gnar or big drops so you are fine with anything. Nelson is pretty rowdy and steep but again, I lived in Nelson for two years, rode everyday on my honzo and never felt like I would have more fun if I had a bigger bike.

This all being said, I recently started riding in Cumberland a lot and found that I wanted a second bike to leave over there rather than shuttling a bike back and forth from Vancouver. I went with an evil insurgent with a 150 fork. It's overkill for most of the trails over there but the frame designs are so good that they all pedal well and weigh about the same independent of travel. Although I think in 29ers, my limited experience on an evil wreckoning made me wary of these huge bikes. The wreckoning would absolutely crush the shore but it was a much bigger feeling bike than the insurgent which is identical except for the wheel size. 

Again, I think it comes down to riding style. If I was going to buy a full suspension 29er I would get something with 5x5 inches as the steeper head tube and shorter wheelbase would maintain the maneuverability of the bike. That would be my preference in a 29er. I think the smaller wheels of 27.5 opens up the geometry a lot. It sounds like you need to get a short travel 29er with boost spacing so you could swap another set of wheels 27.5 boost with 3.0 tires. If you really wanted a one bike quiver that might do. does the tall boy have a Geo flip that allows you to slacken the head tube? Cause that would be another killer option. Shit, maybe I should have done that..... Oh well. If I was looking for what you are I would buy the evil following MB. You can flip the linkage and go to a 66.8 head tube angle. As well, the travel feels bottomless.

The Tallboy has a chip flip.

I responded to you on reddit with : Hightower.

Hightower because when it comes time to sell, nobody around here will buy a Tallboy.

Posted by: T-mack

Hightower because when it comes time to sell, nobody around here will buy a Tallboy.

Came here to say this... if you go Tallboy you should sell it before you move here IMO.

I'm also considering the Transition Smuggler Carbon, now that it is 15% off on their website.  Would this be a good compromise between the Tallboy and Hightower?