Today, we’re talking about the Santa Cruz Hightower V4. We haven’t done a full ride review because our bike reviewer (me) is an idiot and is still nursing a broken collarbone back to health. But don’t worry—we should be throwing a leg over this one in the next few weeks for a full review.
Sant Cruz Hightower v4: The Big Picture
So here’s your primer on the Hightower V4. We’ll discuss geometry, suspension refinements, and high-level talking points. Starting with the big picture, this new Hightower looks a lot like the new Bronson V5. Essentially, it’s the dedicated 29” version of that bike. The Hightower now has the same travel lengths as the Bronson, with 150mm rear and 160mm front. The shock and pivot locations see changes like the new Bronson, being lower in the frame for a refined suspension kinematic. There’s less anti-squat, giving you more traction and control while reducing pedal feedback.
Geometry
Jumping into the geometry, the Santa Cruz Hightower V4 gets a little bit slacker with a 64° head tube angle, the seat tube angle is steeper, the front end gets taller, and the wheelbase grows by about 20mm in each size. Interestingly, the wheelbase is shorter than the new Bronson’s. Typically 29ers have had longer wheelbases than their MX counterparts, but recently MX bikes have been seeing increases in chainstay length to help with body position and weight distribution. The Hightower’s chainstays are a few millimeters shorter than the Bronson’s, leading to that ever so slightly smaller wheelbase. I’d be curious to see which one handles tight terrain better.
Other updates include better shock compatibility including coil shocks. This was a bit of a sticking point for the previous generation of Hightower. Not only does the frame have better clearance for coils, but you’ll be able to fit air shocks like the Fox Float X2 and Rockshox Vivid.
This frame has cable drivetrain options in C models, but the CC frame is wireless only.
That’s going to do it for the primer. Give us a few weeks, and we’ll get some good riding time on this one. Stay tuned.
Leave a Reply