Santa Cruz Tazmon 1995/96

Santa Cruz Tazmon

Ever since seeing this picture below of a Santa Cruz Tazmon I’ve always thought ….phwoawwwww ….that’s a good looking bike and I must do a build on one close to this spec.

So after a bit of a hunt for seven months ….one turned up on ebay in the size I wanted. I pulled the trigger immediately and the deal was done. When the frame arrived I did my usual thing of just hanging it up then forgetting about it!!

After about a year I pulled it down from the rack and began to throw a few parts at it. The plan was to get the main frame resprayed black and get some new gold Santa Cruz decals but the blue grew on me the more I looked at it. And I thought if I get it looking mint I might not ride it. So I’ve stuck with the blue.
The shock was sent over the pond to Risse for a full strip and service.

So the shock is plush and feeling really good again now. The Rock Shox Mag 21 SLTI’s I’ve had for around 5 years. They were bought with this exact build in mind. The forks been serviced by fellow retrobiker Wadsy. So they’re in great shape now too.

More to follow soon…..

This is so great to see someone doing a Tazmon build! I was a cross country racer back in the day (not pro) and always thought these were a revolutionary addition to a largely rigid XC world. They had glowing reviews of being fantastic climbers without the bob and energy suck of most full suspension. And Mag 21SL's on a full susp rig....that's commitment to XC ( and my favorite fork of all time). Really looking forward to this build and a ride report!

Nice I had a Santa Cruz super light around 99 maybe 00 it was a great bike. Few years after the Tazmon but you can see the similarities.

Nice one, I can see why you were inspired by the first pic. Although I must admit my back hurts just looking at the stem.

The blue frame will look ace with some skinwalls, nice contrast between cool/warm colors and the condition seems to be perfect for a rider (used, but not abused).

what a bike

i do have that first picture in many variants and still adore it.


just an nice other build

with that i would try to build it with classic parts ~ 1995, fitting also to nice fork and wheel set you have used already.

Dr Dremel said:

Nice one, I can see why you were inspired by the first pic. Although I must admit my back hurts just looking at the stem.

The blue frame will look ace with some skinwalls, nice contrast between cool/warm colors and the condition seems to be perfect for a rider (used, but not abused).

Click to expand...

Yeah ...don't you worry .....I've gone for a shorter Controltech stem for it

A few more pic’s

ah... another crazy SC fan . Could you give me some more details of the shock service by Risse (costs, how long does it last,...).
I have to do the same...


Thanks a lot

This is great. The inspiration pic is a sweet looking bike. Looks like you'll do it justice.
I'd love to do a Tazmon or original Heckler restoration. Just need to find a frame in XL....

Hello, New guy here from central Oregon. It's great to see the old Santa Cruz bikes popping up. I've been a fan for a long time and have been renewing several old Superlight and Heckler frames this last winter. I'm currently bringing back a Bullit 1, but am super excited about my latest find...a first year Tazmon 1, large 20" frame, number 173! It has the original paint and decals, and several oddities such as the headset, integrated seatpost clamp and rear canti brake pully. I think the forks are 1995 Rockshox Judy SL's or XC's...can't tell because they're painted over. The aftermarket disc brake, a ProStop, got pretty mixed reviews back in the day. It's going away, as are the wheels. The Risse Racing shock is in good shape. Risse is here in Redmond, Oregon, where I live, and they're a great group of people with expertise in all things bike suspension related. At age 70, most of my riding is high desert cross country, between 3,000 and 6,000 feet of elevation. The old Santa Cruz bikes are perfect for this.