As Santa Cruz's longest travel offering with 29-inch wheels, the Hightower LT has to live up to some high expeditions, but just throw a leg over it, pedal it up to the top, drop the post and hit some rugged lines at high speed and you'll quickly realize why the bigger wheels are chosen by its Enduro World Series riders. Simply put, the Santa Cruz Hightower LT Carbon R Complete Mountain Bike is built in the likeness of its critically acclaimed Hightower, but it supercharges it with a touch more travel and slacker angles for more composure on brutal enduro race courses while still pedaling with enough urgency up extended climbs and across ridgeline trails. If you're after a bike that's no slouch on mellower after work hot laps on your closest trail network but still has the chops to tame the most demanding trails on planet earth, this is your ride. The original Hightower defined versatility whereas the Hightower LT hit the gym and bulked up and was born of the needs of Santa Cruz's Enduro World Series racers. It started off by bumping up the travel to 150mm which required a new rear triangle and linkage, and during that process, it forgoes the Hightower's 27. 5 Plus compatibility. Considering that Plus tires lack the durability and thus hasn't found acceptance with racers at the sport's top levels, we're inclined to agree that the Hightower LT's move to a dedicated 29-inch chassis is the correct choice for a bike of this nature. This dedication to 29-inch wheels also means that the LT does away with the Hightower's adjustable geometry, again courtesy of that flip chip, in favor of a fixed position upper link that's been updated to provide the aggressive geometry and stiffness demanded by some of the fastest enduro racers on earth. The LT's 150mm of travel has been painstakingly refined, drawing lessons from every aspect of Santa Cruz's enviable racing organization. As with all VPP bikes, the LT's counter-rotating links are carefully arranged to resist activation ...