Santa Cruz Hightower 4 Live Ride Reaction Review

Santa Cruz have just updated their Hightower all rounder and it's a faster, harder hitting badass than ever. But does it still have the all day all rounder legs I loved about the previous generation bikes? Find out as I hit some of my favourite natural enduro trails to find out.
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[bardame]

My V2 2020 hightower is looking at me all anxious and jealous now. "Are you going to leave me? Are you going to leave me? After all we have been through together??"

[stuartwilkes]

This review just makes me want to get out and ride, All of my bikes🎉

[johnnybravo]

I was so tempted to buy the V3 at a discount but the new one has me intrigued!!

[craigsteele]

Absolutely great content you produce Guy. I enjoy your passion for riding these great bikes you test. What part of Yorkshire are these trails in? It looks fantastic to ride? I too have travelled many countries riding my bike and would love to experience parts of Yorkshire. Many Thanks.

[octodadmtbmartyrichards]

Short back ends on 29er trail bikes are good 👍: manuals, smaller jumps and corners are great because it’s the 29er mullet effect 😂

[sirvince]

I just compared the geometry to the Bronson and the only difference is rear center. They use the same upper link (p/n 29-27474) and lower link (p/n 29-27473) part numbers. Maybe the only difference is the location of the front triangle pivot which might account for the rear center difference.

[naturaltrails]

still ride the v1, the riding that you show in the video is exactly what I do, but not as fast, all day epics etc, I love my v1, I am curious with more travel and the downhill bias, has it lost out in the climbing dept? I am not a bike expert but if I was to look at Santa cruz range now I would look more at the tall boy than the Hightower for all day fun.

[grantwilliams]

Sounds like you are loving the new HT far more than the Bronson V5.. I have the current 5010, and am keen to see if the updated VPP will form part of a new 5010..
The bike that still seems to of made you buzz the most in a recent live ride is the Druid V2.. 🙂👍

[marksandoval]

If I could only have one mountain bike, it would be the Trailbike with a 160mm fork (Fox 36 or Lyrik) and a 65-64* HTA. This is the most versatile bike made. With light fast-rolling tires, it's a long-travel Downcountry bike. With burly aggressive tires, it's a short-travel Enduro bike. The Hightower, Stumpy Evo, SB140 LR, Switchblade, and Ripmo are just a few. That the new Stumpy, Fuel Ex, and Spectral come with a 150mm fork is a disappointment.

[stuartthomasson]

Best thing Santa Cruz has done with the V4 Hightower is ditching the Reverb dropper post.

[simonbowlzer]

Love my V3 . The V4 Looks well tasty !. Santa Cruz are deffo going down the big and burly route now it seems . New tallboy? Mmmm 😊. Christ knows what the Megatower will be like! ?😮 .

[davidfoxton]

Nice video, riding looks great fun. Are you sure it’s Yorkshire? Where’s the rain and mud?

[alexcerutti]

I’d love a comparison between this & the ibis Ripmo V2, V3

[luccarrier]

How does it compare to the stumpy 15? Downhill and uphill…

[antoinebergeron]

This or the new Bronson? I don’t really care about my times but more about the fun my bike bring thank you

[rickmoz]

You can’t beat the quality of Santa Cruz I loved my 5010 V4 cc, but I do feel recently the range just looked a bit stale and clinical. Maybe it is because every bike looked the same and unless you knew what you were looking for, you didn’t know what you were looking at.

If the rumours are true, especially with the E-MTB I think it will bring the sexy back to the brand.

[girafingo]

Does this new VPP lose that famous SC pop factor? I used to ride a tallboy which was so poppy and moved to a stumpjumper for more travel and didn't like the mushy feel of the Horst Link

[daveatlossie]

Does it need the Admittedly I'm running my HT V2 + Cascade + MegNeg + F38's (Because I'm unforgiving on the front end) so it's pretty similar to the V4 geo and travel. However I run Hope E4's on 200mm and that's enough to stop me... Do the Mavens give it an even more digital feel? Question from a fellow Yorkshire Grit Tredder!

[YanDoroshenko]

Stumpy Evo 150/160 vs Hightower V3 145/150. Stumpy 15 145/150 vs Hightower V4 150/160. I find that deeply funny.

[alk]

When you say turning the taps on next week..is that for Santa Cruz content or just in general?