Peaty of course won the event (even though he raced in his fancy dress) with SPS rider James Swinden in second place and Saracen’s Sam Dale on the third step of the podium. The event was to raise funds for the Sheffield Wildlife Trust and this year was the third time the event has run.

Filmed by X Trail Films.

“World class DH veteren and newly acclaimed enduro champion, Neil Donoghue is frothing at the mouth for this season of racing. Continuing on with the enduro based riding and looking to defend his UK Gravity Enduro title, he sets out to achieve some big personal goals and reach new heights with all new World Enduro Series kicking off shortly! But its not all about racing, winning, and competing for Donny, most of the time he just likes to get out on his bike…and just have a dick around!”

Photography & Video: Laurence Crossman-Emms // laurence-ce.com

“Let Steve Peat, along with Cedric Gracia, Josh Bryceland and Greg Minnaar show you the 2013 Sea Otter ‘Downhill’ course… Fast, dry, loose.”

We’re only just getting this going for 2013 so if you are a shop owner and have a demo day, send it in and we’ll feature it here.

Event: Dalby Bike Barn Scott demo day

Brands: Scott (including 650b bikes!)

Date: Saturday, April 6th 2013
Venue: Dalby Forest Courtyard, Low Dalby, Thornton Le Dale, North Yorkshire, YO18 7LT
Phone: 01751 460049
Website:  Dalby Bike Barn

Details: 

Scott are masters at breaking new ground with their designs and bluring the lines drawn between one class of bike and another, and this is your invite to come along and try their fantastic range for yourself at Dalby Bike Barns mega SCOTT DEMO DAY, Saturday 6 April. Scott will be bringing along a bunch of 2013 models including the brilliant 29er full sus’ Spark 920: S, M, L, XL & Spark 940; L. Of course no Scott demo would be the same without the mold breaking 150mm travel 27.5in wheeled Genius and we have three versions available; Genius 730: M, Genius 720: M, L, Genius 740; M plus the 135mm travel 29er Genius 920: M, L; Also check out the lightweight Scale 930: S, M, L and the beautiful ladies Spark Contessa 900 RC : S, M. Demos start at 10am and run through to 4pm. We’ll be offering special on the day deals and much more. Don’t forget to bring your I.D and pedals.

See you there.

Event: Dales bike Centre demo day

Brands: Orange, Cotic, Trek

Date: Saturday, April 6th 2013 and Sunday 7th April 2013
Venue: Parks Barn, Fremington, Richmond, North Yorkshire DL11 6AW
Phone: 01748 884908
Website:  Dales Bike Centre

Details:

Three guided rides each day, over 30 bikes fantastic mountain bikes to choose from.
There is no cost but you’ll need to reserve the size/model of bike you want to ride and which time you’d like to ride.
Weekend deals to make it well worth ordering your new bike from Dales Bike Centre
Ride Times: 10am, 12 noon, 2pm

Contact us on: enquiries@dalesbikecentre.co.uk

The word from Santa Cruz:

Two decades of evolution at Santa Cruz brought us here. An entirely new frame, new wheel size and new perspective on what a 6″ travel bike can conquer.

Bronson is not some rehashed 27.5″ tribute act to anything else in our range. It stands alone as testament to the years of designing and refining at our old Bronson Street facility.

Locked up for months of secret testing, Bronson breaks straight onto the scene as the Syndicate’s race bike for their Enduro World Series campaign.

From Tazmon to Bronson… Santa Cruz continues to lead each new era. Welcome to our Group B. If you’re a spectator on track, please take a step back.

- 27.5″ (650b) wheels
- 142 mm rear axle spacing.
- New molded rubber swingarm and downtube protectors.
- 2 x bottle cage mounts.
- Forged upper link.
- Forged aluminum lower link with angled grease ports: offset for chainguide clearance.
- Collet axle pivots: lock in place without pinch bolts.
- Angular contact bearings: all pivots.
- Direct mount rear derailleur hanger option: standard hanger comes as stock.
- Full carbon dropouts and disk mounts.
- Co-molded aluminum hardware on frame pivots: no bonding.
- Carbon ISCG-05 tabs.
- Routing for Reverb Stealth.
- 73mm threaded BB: creak-free riding and easy installation.

www.santacruzmtb.com

The aluminium version of Santa Cruz’ revered Tallboy 29er trail bike gives nothing to its carbon stablemate except for a few grams a smaller hole in your bank balance. 

Santa Cruz’s first foray into the 29er world was the carbon fibre Tallboy, at a time when there was much more scepticism towards the bigger wheels than there is today. It’s fair to say it’s been well received and is one of the most popular 29ers in the UK right now. No wonder either that it’s their best selling model.

The carbon fibre version that it launched with was far from cheap though (£2,499), and this year they produced an aluminium version which at £1,749 is £750 cheaper. A significant saving and instantly putting the new frame into the realms of affordability for more people. We’ve been riding and racing one for the best part of the year and we can see why it’s such a hit. It’s one of the most refined and capable 29er full-sussers we’ve yet ridden.

This satin finish leaves the metalwork exposed

The suspension

Santa Cruz use the VPP linkage design to great effect on the Tallboy. There are two short linkages, one behind the bottom bracket and the other between the shock and seat tube. They work in unison to reduce rider-induced squat. This prevents the bike sinking too deep into the travel and bobbing when you’re giving it the beans on the pedals, so more of your energy helps to propel you down the trail and far less is lost in the suspension.

A very stable and pert suspension is the overriding feeling riding the Tallboy. It’s very active over the small stuff still, and takes everything from medium to bigger obstacles and drops in its stride. It may only have 100mm of travel, but it feels like a lot more. This is no flexy cross-country whippet. It’s tough and barrels through rough terrain with confidence.

Virtual Pivot Point prevents rider-induced pedal squat for great trail manners

Whether you’re in the saddle or out of it, hard pedalling doesn’t provoke the suspension into excessive bobbing. The rear axle follows an up and back path that helps it tackle steeps and sharp-faced rocks or roots with ease. With the Fox shock set in the light low-speed compression damping setting, the VPP controls the 100mm of suspension very well. It doesn’t soak up your energy when riding along and makes for a very sprightly-feeling bike.

The ride

We’re reviewing the frame here so won’t labour on the build kit too much, but it’s worth mentioning that our bike weighed in the region of 26.5-27.5 lbs throughout the test period. It varied from time to time as we used it as a test mule to review components and we experimented with lighter racier builds and burlier trail parts over the year. The kit we ran most often was a Shimano XTR group and race brakes, Mavic Crossmax ST wheels and Schwalbe Racing Ralph 2.25in tubeless tyres.

With a 120mm Magura fork plugged into the short tapered head tube the head angle is 70.5 degrees. The Tallboy provides 100mm rear travel so you could fit a matching fork, but Santa Cruz UK importer Jungle tell us that most people are opting for a longer 120mm fork. And it’s all the better for it, slackening the head angle a smidgen and giving you a bit more travel to play with.

Forged rocker linkage, one of two that make up the VPP suspension

To explore the capabilities of the Tallboy our riding took us right across the country and riding spectrum. There were a couple of 12-hour solo mountain bike races, a handful of cross-country races, and lots and lots of trail riding from Surrey to Wales to Dartmoor and a few other places in between. In every situation, whether it was a race or just a trail ride, the Tallboy proved thoroughly capable. It was light and offered a decent turn of speed for racing, yet it was rugged enough for throwing down the sort of trails where you weren’t quite sure what they’d throw up around the next blind corner.

We’ve been aboard a size large and ran it mostly with a 50 or 60mm stem, combined with 740mm bars, a combination that produced the level of control and handling we want. This fitted the 5ft 11in test pilot perfectly with plenty of reach for comfort over longer rides but still easy to sling through tightly packed trees on singletrack. With this short-stem-wide-bar set up the handling isn’t at all twitchy, instead it gives more leverage and lets you really tackle corners with gusto.

The lower linkage does collect a bit of mud. Greaseport makes it easy to service

It has been utterly reliable in the time we’ve been riding it. The bottom VPP linkage has a grease port and a couple of times we squirted some new grease in the bearings to keep well serviced. The rest of the hardware has been subjected to an occasionally sloppy maintenance routine but that doesn’t appear to have bothered it. The shock, as we mentioned in our review of the Fox RP23, provided smooth and well-mannered damping that suited the dynamics of Santa Cruz’s suspension design.

The Tallboy has gone a long way to convincing us of the merits of 29ers. We are converted, well and truly. It so well handles technical trails, root gardens, rocks, steps, obstacles of all sizes, that we find it ever harder to go back to 26in wheels. Never thought we’d be saying that a year ago. but here we are, saying it. A big surprise was how it absolutely loves air time and is supremely stable over jumps, more so than a 26er.

The frame in detail

Usually, a bike company will first make a new model in aluminium, then add a carbon version the year after. Santa Cruz did things backwards, by first releasing the Tallboy Carbon, and following up with the Tallboy Alu. Santa Cruz told us this meant the frame is actually heavier than it would have been if they had taken the normal route, and because they wanted the alu frame to deliver on the stiffness front meant that it carried a few extra grams.

Handy bottle opener. Just in case…

Frame weight for our size large is 6.3lb. That’s 1.25lb more than a similar sized carbon frame. Geometry is shared with the carbon Tallboy, with the same 71 degree head angle and 73 seat, short 444mm chainstays and 1108.7mm wheelbase. In all but material the Tallboy Alu is identical to the carbon version.

The frame here is finished in a beautiful satin coat finish. This clear coat finish exposes the brushed metal, it looks fantastic in real life. Unlike the many painted options Santa Cruz provide, this finish shows off the full beauty of the hard graft that has gone into producing the frame. The chunky but neat welds are exposed for all to see. The brush marks are clearly evident across the surface of each tube. Catch it in the right light, and this frame really stands out. It’s a classic.

A short, tapered head tube has a 1.5in lower diameter, which sets up the proportions for the rest of the frame. A huge square sided downtube follows a mostly straight trajectory towards the regular bottom bracket. No press-fit or BB30 here, a standard bottom bracket with outboard bearings.

Clean and simple cable/hose guides

The top tube drops quite steeply giving loads of standover clearance, and just before the kink is welded the shock mount The seat tube is curved to provide clearance for the rear wheel and carries the mount for the top VPP linkage, forged from aluminium. The linkage is a smoothly finished two-piece rocker that drives the shock from the rear triangle. Both linkages roll on sealed bearings with 15mm axles.

An asymmetric design sees a vertical truss connecting the seat stays to the chainstay on the non-drive side to delivery increased stiffness. There’s a short strut closer to the axle on the drive side to balance out the stiffness in the swingarm. The rear axle is a standard 9mm quick release and didn’t significantly affect the stiffness of the bike. A neat detail is the bottle opener atop the axle on the drive side. In case you get caught short with a six pack and not bottle opener to hand…

Which all results in a very stiff frame. Chucking the Tallboy around the trail and stamping on the pedals shows that it is very hard to get it to flex in any plane. It doesn’t quite have the zip and instantaneous response of the carbon version, but it’s very very close. If the small weight penalty is of little concern to you then then Tallboy isn’t just a close second to the carbon Tallboy, but a very good bike in its own right. And as our build shows, it’s possible to get an all-up weight of 27lb.

Summary

The one aspect we always take away from a ride on the Tallboy is how fast it is over all sorts terrain. It devours lumps and bumps. It makes a mockery of tight and twisty trails. Sure it’s a little stumped on longer climbs compared to the lighter carbon framed version of the Tallboy, but it’s far from heavy. And did we mention the saving?

We’re picking hairs though, the Tallboy in its aluminium guise is a fantastically well designed bike that just delivers rampant speed with control, stability and… and most of all it’s just bloody good fun to ride. And that’s what we all look for in a mountain bike isn’t it? We’ll be sad to see the Tallboy leave the Bikemagic long-term test fleet when it goes back.

Verdict

In making the Tallboy out of aluminium Santa Cruz not only made their successful 29er more accessible, but built a bike that isn’t second best, but is brilliant in its own right. Great handling, suspension performance and a lot of fun to ride, the Tallboy Alu is one hell of a bike

Pros

Great handling
Build quality
Suspension performance
Durabiliy
Reliability
Better value than the carbon Tallboy

Cons

Weight
Not as stiff as carbon version

Price: £1,749 (with Fox CTD shock). Complete bikes from £2,499
More information: Santa Cruz Tallboy
UK supplier: Santa Cruz UK

What Santa Cruz says about the Tallboy

Our Tallboy Carbon took the big wheel market by storm when it was introduced, earning praise from the 29″ faithful and skeptics alike, and also created a demand for an aluminum sibling. So along came the aluminum Tallboy; same 29″ wheels and award winning handling as the carbon bike, same 100mm travel, same velvety plush but crisp pedaling VPP® suspension, same angular contact bearings and oversized aluminum pivot axles. It is the value packed alloy clone of the trail bombing, racer friendly carbon Tallboy, identical in almost every way except for material choice and price tag.

1. 29″ wheels
2. Hydroformed aluminum tubing
3. VPP® suspension
4. 100mm travel
5. Grease ports, angular contact bearings
6. Frame weight with Float CTD shock – Approx 6.6lbs

All the details

Dalby Bike Barn is the new bike shop and hire centre in Dalby, run as a joint venture between Pace Cycles, who have been making bikes in the area for almost 25 years, and national cycling campaign body, the CTC.

It’s a lot more than a bike shop, though. The Bike Barn will be the base for a CTC National Centre of Excellence and will host a wide range of courses intended to get more people into cycling.

To mark the occasion, Saturday’s launch will include the Dalby 13, a Northern mini cycle show where you’ll be able to see the latest gear from companies such as Dalby Suspension Service Centre, DT Swiss, Fox, Hope, Lapierre, Lezyne, Maxxis, North Face, Osprey, Pace, Santa Cruz, Scott, Six Six One, SRAM, and Teva.

There will also be the opportunity to demo bikes. Dalby’s huge trail network and the new skills area provide a perfect test venue and of course the Courtyard Cafe is right next door.

Scott are bringing 2013 bikes including the new Genius 700 model with 650B/27.5 wheels, plus the Spark and Scale. Santa Cruz will have the latest Tall Boy LT 29er, plus the latest Heckler and Nomad and others from the range.

Lapierre will have six 2013 bikes including the latest Zesty although it’s not yet confirmed whether these will be demo or show bikes.

The Dalby Bike Barn hire fleet

Pace will have the latest 325.5 EXC as well as the steel RC129 29er and RC104.

Teva will have about 60 pairs of shoes to try, Osprey will have a range of backpacks that you can test and there will be lots of other parts and accessories. 

The CTC side has a new full-time development officer, 42 year old Mike Hawtin, from Pickering. Mike says that the centre, the first of its kind, will pioneer new ideas that will then be rolled out elsewhere.

“Sometimes people get a bit fearful when they hear the word ‘mountain’ in mountain biking, but in reality if you can ride a bike you can ride in the forest. My job is to break down barriers and encourage people to experience the thrill of exploring the forest on wheels, whatever their ability. There plenty of routes for all levels and biking is about fun as well as being good for you,” he says.

Santa Cruz bikes racked against the company van

The Sprinter van was parked up in Ilkley on the way back from a demo day when the smash-and grab artists struck.

The complete list of bikes is below, or follow this link if you prefer a Google Docs spreadsheet. Some of the combinations of model and colour scheme are unique, according to Jungle Products MD Dickon Hepworth.

The bike stolen include “custom colour Tallboy LT’s, plus all the Hope Pro2 hubs are etched with the Santa Cruz logo,” said Dickon.

Police are believed to be pursuing a number of leads.

If you have any information, or are offered one of the below bikes, contact Dickon Hepworth at Jungle Products on 01423 780088.

The stolen bikes 

Tallboy LT alloy
XL
Trans White/Red decal (custom)
XT AM 29
DT 350 rear/Chub front/WTB Frequency i23 29

Fox RP23 Kashima
Fox 34 Float29 140 RLC Taper Kashima black

Tallboy LT alloy
Lg
Trans White/Red decal (custom)
XT AM 29
DT 350 rear/Chub front/WTB Frequency i23 29
Fox RP23 Kashima
Fox 34 Float29 140 RLC Taper Kashima black

Tallboy LT alloy
Med
Trans White/Red decal (custom)
XT AM 29
DT 350 rear/Chub front/WTB Frequency i23 29
Fox RP23 Kashima
Fox 34 Float29 140 RLC Taper Kashima black

Blur LT2  alloy
L
Skittles Red
R AM
Hope Pro 2 hubs /WTB Laserdisc Trail
Fox RP23 Kashima
Rockshox Revelation RL 150 Taper black

Blur LT2  alloy
S
White
XT AM
Hope Pro2 hubs/WTB TCS XC
Fox RP23
Rockshox Revelation RL 150 Taper black

Tallboy alloy
M
Seabright Blue
XT XC 29 (2011)
Hope Pro2 hubs/Mavic TN719
Fox RP23
Rockshox Reba RL 29 Taper black

Tallboy alloy
XL
Lime Green
XT XC 29
DT 350 hubs/Mavic TN719
Fox RP23 Kashima
Fox F29 120 RLC Taper black

Tallboy Carbon
L
Gloss Blue
XT XC 29
Hope Pro2 hubs/WTB TCS XC
Fox RP23 Kashima
Fox F29 120 RLC Taper Kashima black

Juliana
S
White
R XC
Hope Pro2 hubs/WTB Laserdisc XC
Fox RL
Fox F120 RL OB black

Nomad Carbon
M
Matte Carbon/Blue
XT AM 29
Hope Pro2 hubs/WTB TCS Trail
Fox RP23 Kashima
Rockshox Lyrik RC2DH black

Nomad Carbon
M
White
XO / Avid / Reverb
Hope Pro2 hubs/Enve XC Carbon
Fox RP23
Fox 36 Float 160 RLC white

Its second-gen VPP suspension is ultra composed. Very little pedal bob is detectable, as the dual-link layout employs the pulling force of the chain and the force of pedalling to prevent pedal-induced bob. Even with the Propedal dial set to lowest setting, it pedals with great efficiency.

It is active over the small stuff, smoothing out all the small and medium sized bumps. I’ve been impressed with the Tallboy’s ability to take the bigger hits too. Despite ‘only 100mm’ of rear wheel travel, the Tallboy never really felt short on travel. The VPP suspension is so smooth through its stroke and the transition to a rising rate in the later stage of the stroke helps the Tallboy deal with bigger hits

On techy descents you realise how good the Tallboy is. And with the fitting of the 120mm Magura fork up front, we felt able to blast through rough trails with more confidence, while the 100mm rear travel never felt out of its depth.

The stiffness of the Magura TS8 fork with their unique 15mm bolt-thru axle and dual crown design is a match for the Tallboy’s aluminium chassis. It may not feel quite as stiff as the carbon version, but you’ll be hard pressed to really detect any shortcomings in the aluminium frame. But you will notice the £700 you saved in your bank account.

Luckily I managed to build up the latest long-termer for the recent spell of sunny weather, which means I’ve been able to get plenty of rides in already. These include a couple of local mid-week evening mountain bike cross-country races and riding some of the Erlestoke Twelve 12-hour race last weekend.

So far on each of these initial I’ve been blown away with how capable the bike is. But more than anything I’ve come away from every ride grinning from ear to ear. I just want to get back out and ride the Tallboy.

I’ve made a couple of changes to the cockpit since it first appeared on BM last week. The Gravity carbon 740mm bars and matching 60mm stem have gone on and this has resulted in a dramatic increase in the Tallboy’s capability. It is loads more fun too, and helps to get the Tallboy arcing through the tight singletrack turns that are the Achilles heel for 29ers.

www.santacruzbikes.co.uk

As soon as Santa Cruz released the eminently more affordable alu Tallboy, following the massive success of the carbon model, we were straight on the blower to Santa Cruz’s UK distributor Jungle.

As soon as it arrived we quickly set about building it, wanting to get it ready for the summer with a packed calendar of weekend rides and events to look forwards to. The Tallboy is going to be our pick of choice for these rides, with everything from 12-hour solo attempts to shorter cross-country evening races and long lazy trail blasts at the weekend.

Here’s the full detailed specification (some bits will change as we settle in with it, but this is our current setup)

Size large Santa Cruz Tallboy aluminium with Fox RP23 Kashima shock
Magura TS8 29er fork 120mm travel 15mm bolt-thru
Shimano XTR race groupset in 2×10 guise
Shimano XTR disc brakes with 180mm front rotor and 160mm rear
USE Sumo Carbon seatpost and aluminium 80mm stem
Mt Zoom carbon flat handlebar 690mm
Shimano XT pedals
Fulcrum Red Power XL wheels
Kenda Slant Six 2in tyres (currently fitted with inner tubes)
3T lock-on grips
WTB Vulcrum saddle
SRAM 10-speed chain
KCNC disc rotors
MT Zoom titanium bottle cage

The office opinion is that it looks great, and that it somehow manages to look a lot less like a 29er than some 29ers. We put that down to the well shaped tube profiles and nicely proportioned layout.

All that remains is to get riding it, and see if, in the transition to aluminium, the Tallboy loses any of the incredible performance that has made its carbon sibling one of the sought after bikes around at the moment.