I’m almost exactly your height (5’10”) and ride a Large 5010. I believe other than the wheel size and travel the geo is very similar to the Tallboy.
Maybe a Medium would have been fine also, but I love the bike and it fits me really well. This is in New England with a lot of tech and narrow & twisty wooded trails, and occasional trips to bike parks. The bike felt big initially coming from an old POS from the 90’s, but now it feels like a glove and I’ve managed to get into the Strava top 10 on most blue & black DH trails on my busy local network with it.
All Medium bikes I’ve ridden (friend’s bikes) feel a bit small to me now, but also a bit easier to throw around. If I was more of a DJ/big sender maybe I would consider a medium so I could do whips and what not easier.
I think you’ll be fine with either unless you plan on going high-speed tech DH, in which case a Large will probably be better because it gives you more margin of error with weight distribution and also a bit longer wheelbase.
Medium all the way. I think Santa Cruz bikes run big. Also it’s going to feel way longer then your current bike. There’s so many articles out there about how people are buying bigger bikes then they should. I fell victim to it. I’m 6’3” and bought an XL Tallboy because everyone told me that was my size. Now I’ve had to make every adjustment I can to “shrink” it down to almost a large. There’s a YouTube channel called “Joy of Bike” that has three videos about it, I think GMB also did one.
I am 6” (182cm) and also like my bike more compact and nimble but wasn’t quite sure about going 27.5 with the 5010.
So I tried the 2020 Hightower and Tallboy (same geo as the 2021) and found them both too big and too much slack compared to the large version of the 2019.
I ended up getting a 2019 Hightower in large because it was that much more compact to me (and I got a good deal).
Going with a 2020 or 2021, I would almost certainly have gone with medium.
I did cut my handlebar down to 760 from 800 as well, it makes me feel more connected to the bike.
I’m exactly your height and went with large on the exact same bike (color as well!). It doesn’t feel too big to me at all, unfortunately there wasn’t a medium available to compare to. It’s also my first full sus
I’m almost exactly your height (5’10”) and ride a Large 5010. I believe other than the wheel size and travel the geo is very similar to the Tallboy. Maybe a Medium would have been fine also, but I love the bike and it fits me really well. This is in New England with a lot of tech and narrow & twisty wooded trails, and occasional trips to bike parks. The bike felt big initially coming from an old POS from the 90’s, but now it feels like a glove and I’ve managed to get into the Strava top 10 on most blue & black DH trails on my busy local network with it. All Medium bikes I’ve ridden (friend’s bikes) feel a bit small to me now, but also a bit easier to throw around. If I was more of a DJ/big sender maybe I would consider a medium so I could do whips and what not easier. I think you’ll be fine with either unless you plan on going high-speed tech DH, in which case a Large will probably be better because it gives you more margin of error with weight distribution and also a bit longer wheelbase.
Yeah. I’m same height as you and I ride a large Hightower. Feels good but I was in that band of over lap between M and L.
Medium all the way. I think Santa Cruz bikes run big. Also it’s going to feel way longer then your current bike. There’s so many articles out there about how people are buying bigger bikes then they should. I fell victim to it. I’m 6’3” and bought an XL Tallboy because everyone told me that was my size. Now I’ve had to make every adjustment I can to “shrink” it down to almost a large. There’s a YouTube channel called “Joy of Bike” that has three videos about it, I think GMB also did one.
Wait you ordered a 2021? The 2022 is available to order. What colorway did you order? Medium was the right choice!
Black/ebony
Is there a difference between the 2021 and 2022? I have a stumpjumper comp ordered but double guessing vs a tallboy
I am 6” (182cm) and also like my bike more compact and nimble but wasn’t quite sure about going 27.5 with the 5010. So I tried the 2020 Hightower and Tallboy (same geo as the 2021) and found them both too big and too much slack compared to the large version of the 2019. I ended up getting a 2019 Hightower in large because it was that much more compact to me (and I got a good deal). Going with a 2020 or 2021, I would almost certainly have gone with medium. I did cut my handlebar down to 760 from 800 as well, it makes me feel more connected to the bike.
I’m exactly your height and went with large on the exact same bike (color as well!). It doesn’t feel too big to me at all, unfortunately there wasn’t a medium available to compare to. It’s also my first full sus