Santa Cruz Hightower 3 S-Kit Carbon 29er Mountain Bike

The mountain bike distilled.

The newest version of the Hightower remains Santa Cruz's greatest hits of engineering - now further refined and bottled into our most all-terrain of bikes. Big on wheels, medium on travel, short on fuss, this is the do-it-all model that does it over and over again thanks to a versatile balance of geo, spec and durability. If you’re not looking for extremes, just something extremely good, the Hightower is your elevator.

Engineering Details

Santa Cruz's Engineers’ Greatest Hits

Not all frames are created equal. Hightower represents Santa Cruz’s greatest hits, showcasing our design, engineering, and performance prowess.

Lower Link Assembly

The highly-sculpted and optimized Lower Link (A) houses a geometry adjusting Flip Chip (B) and beefy Pivot Axles (C) to virtually eliminate lateral flex.

Upper Link Assembly

Santa Cruz only uses the highest quality Enduro MAX or TPX sealed, radial bearings (A) and premium fasteners (B) for our linkage assemblies. They’re easy to properly torque and maintain, plus we offer free replacement bearings for life.

One-Piece Swingarm

VPP suspension utilizes a one-piece swingarm that eliminates the need for pivots on the stays, creating a stout, bulletproof rear end for accurate tracking and superior performance

Carbon Mastery

The Sag Window (A), Glovebox (B) and internal cable tunnels (not shown) demonstrate Santa Cruz’s expertise at combining practical function with carbon design and manufacturing artistry.

The Sum of the Parts

In isolation, all these things are great—together with fanatical suspension tuning, a premium build spec, and a meticulous attention-to-detail, they’re transcendent.