Santa Cruz Hightower Carbon C S

The Mountain Bike, Distilled

The newest version of the Hightower remains our greatest hits of engineering—now further refined and bottled into our most all-terrain of bikes. Big on wheels, medium on travel, short on fuss, this is the do-it-all model that does it over and over again thanks to a versatile balance of geo, spec and durability. If you're not looking for extremes, just something extremely good, the Hightower is your elevator.

Engineering Details:

- OUR ENGINEERS’ GREATEST HITS
Not all frames are created equal. Hightower represents Santa Cruz’s greatest hits, showcasing our design, engineering, and performance prowess.

- LOWER LINK ASSEMBLY
The highly sculpted and optimized Lower Link (A) houses a geometry-adjusting Flip Chip (B) and beefy Pivot Axles (C) to virtually eliminate lateral flex.

- UPPER LINK ASSEMBLY
We only use the highest quality Enduro MAX or TPX sealed, radial bearings (A) and premium fasteners (B) for our linkage assemblies. They’re easy to properly torque and maintain, plus we offer free replacement bearings for life.

- ONE-PIECE SWINGARM
VPP suspension utilizes a one-piece swingarm that eliminates the need for pivots on the stays, creating a stout, bulletproof rear end for accurate tracking and superior performance.

- C AND CC CARBON
Santa Cruz offers two grades of carbon—top-end CC Carbon and value-minded C Carbon. Though they have the same stiffness and performance, CC is lighter and comes paired with a more premium suspension.

- CARBON MASTERY
The Sag Window (A), Glovebox (B), and internal cable tunnels (not shown) demonstrate Santa Cruz’s expertise in combining practical function with carbon design and manufacturing artistry.

- THE SUM OF THE PARTS
In isolation, all these things are great—together with fanatical suspension tuning, a premium build spec, and meticulous attention to detail, they’re transcendent.