![]() ![]() The Stumpjumper and the Hightower both have the same amount of front and rear travel, but there are some significant suspension and geometry differences. For somewhere like Whistler I’d want a a bike with a little more travel, or at the very least the option to run a coil shock in order to better handle the longer, rougher stages. I could see it working well at a location like Rotorua, NZ, where the trails are twisty and tight, and require faster bike maneuvering. ![]() Would the Hightower make a good enduro race bike? That depends. Granted, I've been spending a lot of time on fairly long bikes lately, but all the same, I didn't have any issues snapping through tight berms or making quick direction changes on more technical trails. I didn't have any trouble with the extra wheelbase length that the Hightower gained either. Yes, the front end handling may be a touch less snappy than the original, but if anything, it creates a calmer, easier to handle ride. Nowadays, it's fast becoming the norm, especially for this do-it-all category. I used all 140mm of travel when it was warranted, but there weren't any harsh bottom outs, or unexpected surprises at the end of the shock's stroke.Ī 65-degree head angle on a 140mm 29er would have been seen as extreme just a few years ago just take a look at the original Hightower's 67-degree head angle for proof. Dry summertime conditions meant that my local trails were running extra-firm and fast, and the spacer added a touch more support and bottom out resistance. I ended up adding one additional volume spacer to the Super Deluxe shock, bringing the total up to two. ![]() The shock tune felt perfectly matched to the bike's behavior - the rear wheel stayed glued to the ground when I wanted it to be, delivering a surprising amount of traction on off-camber roots and slippery, loose corners. It’s not ultra-gooshy, to use a technical term, but it does a great job of balancing comfort and support in rougher terrain. Imagine doing a cannonball into a pile of memory foam mattresses - that’s the sensation the Hightower delivers when faced with bigger hits. It's the type of bike that makes you want to toss in a little speed wheelie whenever possible, or try to double up features that probably weren't meant to be doubled. The Hightower has much less serious feel than the Megatower where the Megatower felt a little subdued when ridden at a casual pace, the Hightower has a much more eager, energetic nature. On paper they may not be that far off, but on the trail, the bikes have two distinct personalities due to the different travel amounts and shock tunes. I didn't look at the geometry chart for this Hightower until I had a handful of rides under my belt, and when I did I was surprised by how similar the numbers were to the Megatower. a 160) shifted my weight over the front a little more, and the reduced sag from the shock kept the seat angle a little steeper. The geometry is really close to that of the Megatower, but with a little less suspension squish, it handled a bit better on the climbs – the 150mm fork (vs. It's not wildly light, but it's not a pig either, and the well-balanced geometry makes it easy to power through the miles required to reach the top of a big climb. Otherwise, I was completely content leaving that blue lever alone.Įven though it's longer and slacker than the prior model, the Hightower is still quite maneuverable when things get tight and technical. There's also a climb mode that can be used to firm things up even further, but I only touched that when I was spinning my way to the trailhead on a paved road. I added four clicks of low-speed compression (from fully open) to the Super Deluxe shock, which added a touch more support for climbing, while still retaining plenty of small bump sensitivity for rougher sections of trail. The shock's light compression tune felt like a very good match for the Hightower's kinematics – it makes the compression dial a usable feature, as opposed to needing to run it all the way open without any room for adjustment. ![]()
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