A film follows Ben Hildred and Ruth Holcomb riding New Zealand’s Old Ghost Road, an 85-kilometer route across alpine ridges with technical sections and cloudforest. The ride pairs dramatic scenery with impromptu geology lessons while also showing another story through the bikes used. Both riders appear to be on an unreleased Santa Cruz Tallboy. The bike shows a major suspension architecture change, moving from the brand’s traditional dual-link VPP layout to a Horst-link design. This four-bar setup likely improves packaging for a deeper seatpost insertion, better bottle clearance, and a rumored increase in travel. The soft launch suggests the next Tallboy is near release and remains focused on gravity-friendly cross-country riding.
"The film follows Ben Hildred and Ruth Holcomb as they tackle New Zealand's legendary Old Ghost Road, an 85-kilometer (52mi) ribbon of rugged alpine ridges, tech, and lush cloudforest. But if you look past the jaw-dropping vistas and Ruth's impromptu geology lessons, there's another story hiding in plain sight. Both riders are rolling on what appears to be the highly anticipated, unreleased Santa Cruz Tallboy."
"Eagle-eyed gear nerds will immediately notice a massive architectural shift for the iconic short-travel machine. Santa Cruz seems to have ditched its traditional dual-link VPP suspension layout in favor of a Horst-link design. Following the recent Vala e-bike, this marks a monumental pivot for the brand's non-motorized lineup. This new four-bar configuration repositions the shock, likely opening up coveted real estate for deeper seatpost insertion, better bottle clearance, and a highly rumored bump in travel."
"This isn't the first teaser of the new Tallboy, either, and we've been expecting the 6th-generation Tallboy for a little while, but the fact that it was soft-launched in this suggests that we should be seeing the new Tallboy any day now. Considering the terrain and nature of this ride suggests that this bike hasn't lost an ounce of its gravity-loving XC identity. It's a reimagining of the adventure machine built for those spirited power-hour loops or all-day backcountry spins."
Read at BikeMag
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