Santa Cruz Hightower VS Intense Primer | Californian Dream Bike Test | Mountain Bike Rider

Two well-matched rivals from the Golden State go head-to-head in our boutique trail bike shoot-out – which will shine the brightest?

Closely matched in almost every facet, both these boutique bikes boast 140mm of rear wheel travel, 150mm forks up front and full carbon frames. They both come with flip chips to adjust the geometry and suspension feel, grease ports for lubricating the bearings, threaded bottom brackets, internal cable routing and usable bottle cage mounts. Hell, they even share the same counter-rotating link suspension design, even if it's labelled VPP on the Santa Cruz and JS Tuned on the Intense.

Intense Primer Pro 29 £5,599
Santa Cruz Hightower CC X01 £6,599

More at:

[trevornelson]

I love reviews that are brutally honest!!!

[mtbsavant]

There's an elegance and professionalism to your reviews that I find refreshing

[jjr]

2020 Primer 29 checking in! I have had this bike for a few months now. Probably one of the first in my region to own one. It is Expert build. I have to say while part of me wishes I had the 36 on the front, it is only the part that watches reviews on Youtube. The larger part of me, the part that rides all kinds of trails, says the 34 was taylor made for this TRAIL bike. This is not an enduro bike. If it were an enduro bike it would have the 36. This is the type of bike that you can pedal all day and still shred the downhill keeping up with and even passing peeps on enduro bikes. I am continually impressed with the form and function of this bike. Regardless of this review, I am a fan of the primer.

[luukarends]

I really liked this way of reviewing, so detailed! Love how its focused on what makes the bikes unique and not wich components they use. This really clearifies things in a world where u only hear ow i love this suspension.

[TheGeneralPractition]

I just bought a 2021 Primer 29 and honestly, I absolutely love it. His complaint about the fork as been resolved in 2021 (now comes with fox 36s) and the rear suspension feels awesome on my butt (I'm a heavier rider and feel I am getting full travel). It climbs exceptionally well and the dropper is the perfect length for my height. I also got a great price at my local bike store and honestly, I'm lucky to found any bike at all during the pandemic.

[literbiker]

I have the primer and it’s a trail bike. Efficient on the climbs and plenty on the descents. Planted and lots of fun. If you want the full enduro get one, oddly enough the company makes one. Riding east coast chunk I’ve never felt the fork to be less than enough, and after running Xt brakes on three bikes I haven’t approached the limits of them, ever. The fork has yet to show signs of flex and I’m confident I am a larger fellow, and I ride hard. Sounds like you made the choice before the review started. Not too much of a surprise given the prior reviews here. Be passing up your channel from now on.

[johnmeyer]

Bought my 2019 Hightower last spring, before they made the rear shock mount change. I love the bike, well worth the investment. Tempted to try the new version, but not willing to change now.

[BleakCosmicVoid]

A few years late but I’m getting this intense next dreams have come true 👌🏼❤️

[bangwen]

I bought a brand new 2021 Primer 29 and love it!

[HenleyHenderson]

Santa Cruz was boutique at one time... when they were made in the USA. Now they are huge, and very common. Still a great bike though.

[pauljohnson]

Just watched this review after The Hightower I knew I'd made the rite choice, but this just confirmed it.
Thanks guys. 👍 Top review.

[SCnative]

I really appreciate this valuable review and comparison. This folks, is why we do our homework before spending hard earned money on a bike.. This saved me from potentially making a purchase mistake. I did own the 2018 Primer, just sold it, and am looking.

I asked Intense about this, since I was considering a 2022 Primer or 951. I want to make a good purchase decision and be stoked and not bummed! This is their response:

Stephen K. - USA (Intense Cycles )
Mar 23, 2022, 12:46 PM PDT

Hi Daryl,
Thanks for reaching out! The redesign of the Primer in 2020 brought the new JS tuned trail suspension. The design is intended to increase small bump compliance without sacrificing pedal efficiency. My personal experience with the primer (which is my current bike of choice) is it can be finicky to dial in suspension settings right off the bat. I've spent a bit of time playing with air pressure, clicker settings, and different volume spacers. That being said, once you find a good spot the bike rides really really well! I tend to focus on the downhill stuff so small bump and big impacts are important but I also like technical climbing so I'm very particular about sag and bb height. Long story short, I believe if you take the time to perfect your settings, you can tune the bike exactly how you want it. Hope this helps!

Stephen

[anthonyshillingford]

Sounds like the only thing the Intense has got over the Santa is cost. The reviewer kept saying if cost is your main consideration, the Intense is guess what, so is a bike from Halfords or think it's safe to say, if you're looking at bike comparisons between Santa Cruz and "something else" then price isn't your main consideration.

[combatmedic]

I ordered my High Tower last Friday and can't wait for it to come in. I do wish Santa Cruz would do more with their paint/decal designing it is a bit boring to look at, especially in the desert color. I also wish there was more clearance behind the rear shock guard and the rear tire, the tire is really close to that guard and rocks will get caught up in there. Other than that I'm ok with everything else as it is.

[demomike]

I just purchased the 2020 Intense Primer 29 frame and will be selecting the parts for a custom build. Although I have already planned to put a Fox 36 on the bike, explaining how the 34 reacted with the bike, how the rear shock reacted were great topics covered since suspension is a huge part of the bike. Great review video and I already see some things I can improve when building my bike. Thank you for creating the video.

[chm]

What an excellent test. Very clear and well presented and it just goes to show, that price isn’t always the only factor. You do get a really good bike with the direct sales bike, but it’s not always the best compared to dealer sold bikes based purely on cost. Certainly in this case, anyway.

[taunir]

Great test, Thank you! Hightower for me.

[pete]

Very accurate review on the hightower. I have the 2020 and it does everything perfectly. The only bike I will need for the next few years!

[waynee.]

I like the design shape and color scheme of the Intense but I like the frame shape of the High Tower better.I bought the Hight Tower last April and love it. I also love the lifetime warranty on the frame and bushings. If I had to pick a something negative about the High Tower, it would be the low BB height and I wish Sant Cruz would have put more into the paint/decal design just to give it some extra character. I get a lot more pedal strikes than I did on my Scott Spark. This bike is better than my Spark in every way other than BB height and weight. It is a heavy bike but I think that is what helps it to ride and climb better than my Spark, it makes it more stable and keeps it planted. I can manual this bike way easier than I could my Spark. I love my Santa Cruz and have no regrets with my purchase.

[cyclicalcycler]

To battle the midstroke support issue on earlier designs, ill say ditch the spacers and go for higher springrate. The Older SC vpp works very well with a high springrate coilshock, 30% sag is way too much for those designs and SC even recomends between 14 and 18% sag for lets say the earlier Bronson