Saturday 25 April 2015

Santa Cruz Carbon Highball build

 So I have just finished building a new bike. I have been riding an '13 Santa Cruz Highball aluminium for the last couple of years. I had always been interested in a carbon version of this frame, but the price was steep! A casual browse on eBay one weekend was my undoing - a new '14 frame being sold cheep as the new version of the frame was coming out within weeks. I decided to spring for it.




I already had carbon wheels I had built up for the aluminium bike, and a spare fork I had bought as a backup. So over a couple of months, I collected the rest of the parts (after spending too much time over analyzing what to get, as per usual!)





I still have some tweaks to do. The seatpost is from the aluminium bike, I have got a Crank Brothers carbon post that is not playing with the S-Works seat, so I may push the boat out and get a POP post. I am running an XT cassette at the moment, as I know I wear them out fairly fast, especially running the 28 tooth chainring, where I am in the highest gears a lot when not truly 'in the hills'. A SRAM XX XG1099 is tempting, I'd drop a bunch of weight, but I don't think I can bring myself to use a cassette like that for daily riding... maybe for bigger events! The 10 speed XT cassette is so cheep now, and the individual high gears can be changed,



I am also thinking of colour coordinating things. Red would be the easy choice, as all the DT Swiss parts carry that colour, but I may possibly go with orange and make life difficult for myself!


I'm quite happy, the bike has come in at just under 9 kilos (19.8 pounds) in it's present build. The intention is for it to be a lightweight trail / long distance touring / racing bike, so 12+ hour days as well as everyday XC and trail centre fun.

The bike rides great. It is hard to put my finger on what the difference is with my aluminium version. This one feels tighter, and a bit more direct, but some of that is because it is new components, and the aluminium bike is no slouch. Obviously when I pick the bike up, it feels a lot lighter (the alu version is about 10.5 to 11 Kg depending on tyres etc), and I'll be interested in how that translates during longer days.


ComponentPart nameWeight
FrameSanta Cruz Highball Carbon Large1130
ForksDT Swiss XMM 120 Carbon Tapered, 15mm1610
ForkSteerer PlugDT Swiss Carbon Steerer Plug47.7
Fork Rem L/out LeaverDT Swiss lockout12.1
Fork Rem L/out Cable (uncut)Lockout cable34.2
Fork Rem L/out AdjusterLockout adjuster3.7
WheelsLight Bicycle Hookless Rim/DT Swiss Straight 240 hubs1562
Front Skewer / axleDT Swiss 15mm axle71.9
Rear Skewer / axleDT Swiss RWS 12mm thru axle63
Tyres2 x Continental XKing RaceSport 29x2.4609.8
Tyre 22 x Continental XKing RaceSport 29x2.4613.3
Tubeless kit / Tubesstrip, valves, minimal sealant160
Headset BottomCane Creek 110.EC49/40.Bottom Assembly70.3
Headset TopCane Creek 110.ZS44.Short.Top Assembly44.5
StemRichey WRS C260 80mm98
HandlebarsMt Zoom Ultralight Flat Bar126.5
GripsLizardSkins DSP grips22
Bar PlugsSpecialized Alu Bar Plugs23.7
BarendsXon Bar Ends 53.4
SeatpostThomson Masterpiece 30.9mm 350mm black192
Seatpost ClampSanta Cruz clamp20.8
SeatS-Works Phenom Carbon150.3
Bottom BracketBOR External BB3091.4
Cranks + chainringRaceface Next SL424
PedalsCrankbrothers Eggbeater ti183
Rear mechShimano XTR M986 Shadow+ 10 Speed Rear Mech214
Shifter + InnerShimano XTR M980 (119.4 - 18.6 orig clamp) inc inner100.8
OuterOuter (uncut)58.8
CassetteXT 10 speed 11-36330
ChainKMC X10-SL240
Brake mount adapter front

Brake mount adapter rearShimano Rear IS 160mm to 160 post15.3
Brake mount adapter bolts rearShimano steel bolts x 29.1
Front Brake inc Leavers + CalliperHope Stealth Race Evo X2200.5
Matchmaker Shifter MountMatchmaker Shifter Mount dif (11.9 total)5.5
Rear Brake inc Leaver + CalliperHope Stealth Race Evo X2 rear212.8
Rear DiscHope Floating Race Rotor 160mm81.5
Front DiscHope Floating Race Rotor 160mm81.3
Front Disc BoltsHope Titanium Bolts7.3
Front Caliper Bolts + WashersHope Titanium Bolts8.1
Total Weight Kg
8.9826
Total Weight Lbs
19.80321961

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