The Tallboy is five years old — but it’s better than new.

I recently acquired a Santa Cruz Tallboy.  Like any red-blooded American man the first thing I wanted to do was add some upgrades

But nothing says, “You can’t get that bike part,” like a COVID-19 pandemic.

And by “bike part” I mean anything having to do with a bicycle — including the bicycle.

For instance, I ordered a new Kuat bike rack in July. It arrived a snappy six months later. Glad I wasn’t planning to go anywhere.

You know, the pandemic and all.

In this case, however, it means my 60th birthday present from my sons. They hooked me up with a custom set of Industry Nine mountain bike wheels.

These would have red spokes to match the graphics on the bike, with red hubs to boot. The carbon rims put these wheels in the ‘unobtanium” universe for me. But it would be about 8 weeks before I could get them.

Standard time for pandemic bike parts. And besides, I had other stuff to obtain as well.

Here is the video of the Tallboy Build!

Time to upgrade the drivetrain too.

There was nothing wrong with the Shimano drive train that came with the bike. The 2 X system had the range I needed and the XT rear derailleur shifted flawlessly.

But the new must-have is 1 X with only one chainring in front and a huge cassette in the back. Nothing else would do.

I mean, you wouldn’t want those flashy wheels hanging around with sub-par components, right?

So the boys added to my haul for Christmas with the cassette and a dropper post, while I added whatever else was missing, including a SRAM shift lever, some cable housing, front chainring and bolts, new chain, new tires, and assorted other needs.

Click here to see my video of all the cool parts.

We put all of this stuff in a pile, and once the wheels finally arrived, prevailed upon family friend and bike mechanic Stephen Sinnes to attach everything to the frame.

The result is one sweet five-year-old mountain bike.

Thanks boys.

Biking4Boomers Doesn't mean you can't ride a mountain bike.
Stephen Sinnes adds the new parts to my 5-year-old Tallboy.

By the way — If you’re looking for a nice trail to ride and use your mountain bike or your gravel bike, you might consider the famous Virginia Creeper trail. I rode my old mountain bike and was glad I did. Click here for my blog and info on Virginia Creeper.

Another option that is less well known is the Jackson River Scenic Trail. Another gorgeous trail that is relatively flat and perfect for a mountain or gravel bike.