Now that the Blur has made its way back into Santa Cruz's lineup as their premier cross-country race bike, the esteemed California company was free to fine-tune the Tallboy into the trail weapon it was always meant to be. So this year, the Tallboy Carbon S Mountain Bike gets a major overhaul, coming equipped with a host of updates that expand the bike's capabilities further than ever before. Changes start with 10mm extra travel, along with a new lower-link-driven VPP suspension platform inspired by Santa Cruz's longer travel bikes. This allows the fourth generation Tallboy to soak up rough terrain with newfound stability and cool composure. The bike also gets progressive new geometry, which is adjustable via a flip-chip in the linkage. The carbon frame itself is more refined than ever, delivering a responsive and quiet ride that makes you want to sprint both up and down the mountain. In short, you no longer have to hold back on fun and fast trails just because you're not on a bigger bike, because the new Tallboy redefines what short-travel bikes are truly capable of. Because Santa Cruz's Bronson and Hightower got makeovers in the suspension department, it doesn't come as a huge surprise to see the tweaks to the Tallboy went in the same direction. The new Tallboy follows the trends of its deeper-travel siblings, moving the VPP suspension down to a lower-link that offers improved stabilization in the roughest terrain, while an extra 10mm of travel helps soak up additional rocks and roots that the previous Tallboy would have shied away from. This makes the new ride more confident than ever, ready for bigger trails, rutted-out lines, brakes bumps galore, and even turning the odd set of rollers into doubles, but not at the cost of climbing. The new suspension is designed with the same engineering principles as the brand's longest travel bikes, making it just as at home riding cross-country as it is extreme backcountry. Santa Cruz's VPP suspension is designed to stabi...