The many lives of a Tallboy

hifiandmtb

Sphincter beanie
Riding this thing today with the new dropper, I realised she's still absolutely delivering & has had quite a few setup iterations in the last seven years.

Got the frame from Kerry at Phantom Cycles - paid $3k back then, still a lot just for a frame...and a bike I'd never test ridden:

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The original build is worth commenting on:

  1. Yeah, front derailleur...this was seven years ago!
  2. Hope SS hub with six cogs out back - so I'd created a 12 speed bike!
  3. Long stem, Stans Crest rims, 170mm cranks (low BB), 120mm fork
I rode it like this for probably four years or so. They say the TBc is possibly the first sorted 29er...and it certainly rode beautifully.

After a while, I found a Pike & read a lot about peeps turning the OG TBc into more of a trail bike. So I built up some LB carbon rims, fitted the Pike @ 130mm and swapped out the rear shock for a Monarch:

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As you can see, now a 1x, running Minions, wider Thomson bars & yeah I left the Pike steerer long. The TBc has a very short HT leaving it that long paid off...

...for when I picked up the Ripley & moved all the components to that bike. The TBc then inherited the parts off my Specialised SJ HT Marathon, including the 142+ wheelset & 100mm forks:

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Which brings us to the present day where I drilled a hole in the damn frame to fit a dropper!

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She's a twitchy thing, 71 HTA, 73 STA, short wheelbase, short reach...but yeah laterally stiff frame, the Rovals work well on this bike as they are muted, light & quite flexy despite carbon.

Always rode quietly, never a creak or peep from her ever. There's something to be said for SC build quality.

Other tweaks over the years include a direct mount derailleur hanger & that 142+ hub precluding using the smallest rear cog. Some more modern stick-on chain area frame protection from SC, thick helicopter tape protection where needed & that SWAT kit installation (took some working out, that).

I doubt I'll ever sell her...I'd be lucky to get $1.5k & what on earth would I replace her with.

#lovethisbike

[edit] Oh, and rear triangle replacement years ago when a stick hit HARD:

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Rear triangle cost me $500 through SC crash policy - I didn't even bother doing anything about it for six months, just rode it like that. No change in how it rode!
 
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Dales Cannon

lightbrain about 4pm
Staff member
How does it point? I was torn and went with the Bronson which is more bike than I can use but I was nervous because of the few 29ers I had ridden. The XTC has changed my mind.
 

wkkie

It's Not Easy Being Green
Nice. Good write up too and good to see a frame hanging around for so long.
 

hifiandmtb

Sphincter beanie
How does it point? I was torn and went with the Bronson which is more bike than I can use but I was nervous because of the few 29ers I had ridden. The XTC has changed my mind.
You can't buy a 29er with these numbers any more, she's twitchy but as she has basically benign manners it's fine.
 
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