This bike has been used as a demo bike and therefore has some slight cosmetic damage to frame. The bike will be serviced before any sale and full warranty still applies. Detailed photos can be provided before purchase.
Hightower LT is designed for maximum speed in the biggest mountains. It’s truly race-bred, its design the result of the demands of racing at the EWS, Crankworx, and Andes Pacifico.
Midway through 2016, Mark Scott came to us with a request to eke more travel out of the bike. The stock 135mm wasn’t quite enough to maintain his speed on some of the rougher tracks. Our engineering team designed a new set of links that pushed travel to 146mm at the expense of some compatibility, but because Mark’s setup was a known variable, we could be very precise. We machined two sets on site, gave one to Mark, and the other to Iago Garay, a racer much more likely to take the fun line than tuck for speed.
The links went through a few iterations to find a balance of spring rate, travel, and shock compatibility. Toward the end of 2016, it became apparent that the best way to get the performance and travel required was to design a new swingarm to pair with the links, like we did with the V10. At this point the bike got a name—Hightower LT—and we pushed the travel to a full 150mm.
Starting from the Enduro World Series in Wicklow, the Santa Cruz | SRAM team have been racing on Wicklow Green production bikes—savvy internet commenters noticed the post-mount rear brake straightaway, and it's also been seen under the elusive Ratboy at Peaty's Steel City DH, Crankworx, and Megavalanche.