Vital's Mixed-Wheel HIGHTOWER Project Bike 18

When Vital wrapped up its long-term test of the new Santa Cruz Bronson, we were rather smitten. We were massive fans of the prior Bronson and found the latest edition to be nothing but an improvement. Still leary of mountain biking's proclivity for fads, we kept a watchful eye on this mixed-wheel trend that seemed to be growing. Bikes like the Bronson have assuaged those concerns. Mixed wheeled bikes are not for everyone but they do have their distinct advantages. As it so happens, Vital has the perfect 29er in our shed for a conversion. After all, the bike you have is better than the one you don't. See also: save your money.

Project Overview

Vital uses the Santa Cruz Hightower as its 29er test mule. We like the Hightower for its somewhat neutral makeup - 150mm of travel front and back, moderate trail geometry, and friendly handling. When it comes to hanging test products off bikes, you can't do much better than the Hightower. Recognizing the popularity and lifespan of the Santa Cruz 29er, we decided to make a special project with the Hightower - meet the Hightower MX.

Mountain bikes are neither cheap nor at the ready for many shop-goers. With us swooning over the Bronson, we had to wonder - what if someone wanted to join the mixed-wheel party and were among the masses that already owned a Hightower? Vital contacted Cascade Components ($331) to get an MX link for our Hightower and Hunt Wheels ($469) to get a set of V2 Trail Wide 30s. For about $800 our existing Hightower converted to a mixed wheel setup. Riders can shave some cost off that by purchasing just a rear wheel, so keep that in mind. Either way you slice it, right away this is a cheaper option for those that are mixed-wheel curious.

Cascade Components' link does change the leverage rate and bottom-out resistance of the Hightower. Additionally, it adds 10mm of travel, 155mm up from 145mm. Though Santa Cruz does not publish its suspension charts, we will say that the Cascade link is a bit of an improvement over the stock Hightower. Conversely, the new Bronson's stock configuration is better still. We'll dig deeper later.

Setup

Installation of our link was straightforward and took only a few minutes. Right before we sent our Bronson back to Santa Cruz, we performed the link swap so we could have our two bikes lined up side by side. Just for fun, we put the 160mm FOX 36 on the front of the Hightower and speculated how it may change the bike's performance. That was as far as we got on that topic though. If riders so desired, we have no doubt a 160mm air spring could be tossed in the stock fork to make the Hightower a little more of a bruiser. Aside from the 10mm travel difference in the forks, every single part and piece of the two bikes were identical.

When it comes to geometry, the Cascade Link does create some adjustments to the Hightower. Though Cascade tried to keep the geo preserved and comparable to the stock Hightower in low mode, it does still ride a little lower and slacker.

Even with the modified geometry, there are some key differences between our Hightower MX and the Bronson. Namely, the seat angle and front-center. The Hightower runs a more slack seat angle around 76.4-degrees with the Cascade Link and the Bronson is at 77.1-degrees. It isn't a massive difference but is slightly noticeable on the trail, particularly when things get steep. For reach, the Hightower is just about 450mm while the Bronson is 455mm. Again, very slight difference but somewhat noticeable on the trail. Neither of these changes are things we would put in the "negative" category as they both lend toward preference and the size of the rider.

As mentioned, the Cascade Link alters the leverage rate a bit. We added a little over 20psi to our RockShox Super Deluxe shock in order to keep proper sag. After some time in the saddle, we also tossed a third volume reducer in the FOX 36 fork. We don't typically find it necessary to go this far with the 36 but our Hightower MX had taken on some new character and we felt the additional reducer better matched the new rear end feeling and the bike's overall ride qualities.

The only other change we made to our Hightower MX was the move from the stock 30T chainring to a 34T. With the smaller rear wheel and the Boise area's higher-speed trail network, we found ourselves shifting less and still having plenty of range with the larger chainring.

On the Trail

Once we were done messing about in the shop, it was time to hit the trails with our new Hightower MX to see how it stacked up to the Bronson.

Our only immediate sacrifice comes with pedal performance. When we tested the Bronson, we raved about how well it pedaled. So much so that we boldly declared the climb switch to be for decorative purposes. Frankly, all of the revised Santa Cruz bikes benefit from this. Both the new Nomad and 5010 that we've had in for testing pedal remarkably well in their own right and are improvements on their predecessors. While the Cascade Components link alters the Hightower's leverage rate it does not emulate the redesign that Santa Cruz has been pushing through the lineup.

On longer climbs, we found the climb switch to be our friend. At the risk of being obvious, this is why shocks have a climb switch, so having to use it isn't such a bad thing. Where we noticed the difference most was in technical climbing, where the Hightower may get bogged down a tad or suckered into ledges with the shock fully open.

The Boise, ID trail network, where most of our testing took place, prides itself on high-speed descents. Much of the trails are wide open and squeezing the most of them means maintaining that speed at all times. In this arena, we absolutely adored our Hightower MX. A full 29er may get the nod when it comes to out-and-out speed (has anyone truly confirmed this?) but our shorter-legged tester took a great deal of physical comfort from the smaller rear wheel.

Additionally, in sharper turns, even at speed, the Hightower MX was easier to manage. We were quite comfortable letting the back of the bike hang out a bit as our Hightower never really seemed too fussed and carried its momentum quite well. Every one of these traits was a direct carry-over from our Bronson.

This was the sort of character we mentioned previously and was better addressed with an additional volume reducer in the FOX 36. Keeping the front end a tad higher, with firmer bottom out allowed us to lean into the marketed charm of a 29-inch front wheel - let it smash into everything.

From water bars to jump parks, the Boise area will give you more lip than a sixth-grade classroom with a substitute teacher. It was in this arena that the Hightower's ever so slightly more conservative geo outshone our Bronson. Cue the shot of Logan doing the big sui. Sure, the Bronson threw down but our Hightower MX almost had us feeling like a larger 5010. Cue Butters' back wheel clip. With just a tad smaller wheelbase and reach, the Hightower MX was a corner-slapping, lip-popping machine and we loved it. Pushing into the increased ramp at the end of the stroke produced plenty of loft and often sent us farther down the trail than we anticipated.

At times, we felt like our Bronson was encroaching on Nomad territory. It's a hard-charger for sure but taking it to the bike park showed that the Nomad still has its place among the more heavy-hitting crowd. Because we took a 150mm travel trail 29er and made it a wee bit more aggressive, there was still some trail smashing pedigree to the Hightower MX. The Hightower MX is plenty comfortable at speed and the rear end may have been slightly less harsh than the Bronson. Regardless, we could see it being a better compliment to a Nomad, more than an out-and-out replacement.

What's the Bottom Line?

If you are a current Hightower owner and are curious, or even lusty over the new Bronson, the MX setup will get you very close to that new bike experience. If you want to get a little more pep out of your current Hightower or have fantasized about that 5010 life, we'll once again give the MX setup the nod. The tradeoffs are minimal and compared to most things in mountain biking, so is the cost.

We have quite a few new products floating into the Vital office for testing and they are getting hung off this Hightower. Don't be surprised when you see us still running the mixed-wheel configuration. For our style and anatomy, we see no reason to go back.

Check out Cascade Components if you want the link.

See the Hunt Wheels line.

Get details on the stock Hightower at SantaCruzBicycles.com