Sklar Tall Tale Pre-Order Open Today

If you haven’t read our recent Sklar shop visit article highlighting the small brand’s last 10 years of custom framebuilding, allow me to summarize. In short, Adam Sklar of Sklar Bikes stopped taking custom, handmade frame orders in early 2019 and is transitioning to Taiwan-made production bikes moving forward. It’s an exciting next step for Adam, and I suggest digging into the article linked above if you’re curious to know why.

Adam kicked off his production line with the Super Something gravel bike in 2023 and is now ready to launch the first Sklar production mountain bike, the Tall Tale. The Sklar Tall Tale is inspired by the previously offered US-made Sweet Spot and is influenced by everything Adam has learned about progressive geometry and frame design, all packed into a versatile steel hardtail. It features Sklar’s trademark curved/ovalized top tube, an in-house designed chainstay yoke, asymmetrical chainstays, size-specific fork travel ranging from 130mm to 150mm, and a frame optimized for 29 x 2.6″ tires.

As Adam puts it, the Tall Tale is designed around “modern yet familiar geometry” that’s suited for everyday trail rides, long bikepacking trips, and everything in between. It has short 427mm chainstays, a 64.7° to 65.4° head tube angle depending on the size, a ~73.5° seat tube angle, and a long wheelbase. A complete unsagged geo chart can be found below. Rear rack converts will be happy to see dedicated rear rack mounts, triple pack mounts under the downtube, and every frame size gets two bottle mounts inside the main triangle.

“Over the past decade of designing and building custom mountain bikes, I got to hear firsthand what riders are actually looking for in a hardtail,” said Adam. “It is really satisfying to see those ideas and design philosophy brought to a more approachable scale with the Tall Tale.”

As for frame specs, the Tall Tale features a double-butted, air-hardened Chromoly steel frame, boost hub spacing, a UDH-compatible rear dropout, ISO rear brake mount, 31.6mm seatpost with dropper post routing, and a 73mm BSA threaded bottom bracket. It uses external cable routing, an EC34mm/44mm headset, and comes in four sizes from small to extra-large.

The Tall Tale is offered in two color options: Pumpkin Pie (orange) and Kale Salad (green), as either a frame-only for $1,199 USD or a complete build ranging from $4,200 to $7,750. The base build is assembled around a SRAM GX Eagle mechanical drivetrain, RockShox Revelation RC 35 fork, Shimano MT-520 four-piston brakes, KS LEV Integra dropper post, and some boutique bits like a PAUL Boxcar stem, Astral Serpentine Alloy wheels with White Industries hubs, a White Industries headset, and King Cage Iris bottle cages. The top-end build features a wireless SRAM X0 T-Type drivetrain, Cane Creek Helm MKII fork, carbon wheels, and various other nice bits.

Pre-orders for the Tall Tale open today at 9 a.m. PST, with an expected delivery in August. Head over to SklarBikes.com to learn more.

Further Reading

Make sure to dig into these related articles for more info...

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Sklar Super Something Review: Proof of Concept

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Stinner Refugio / Sklar All-Road: Builders for Builders

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Dispatch

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