We got our hands on one of the year’s most in-demand short-travel 29ers, and we want you to have it!

One donation to this year’s 5 Bucks a Foot MTB fundraiser could make this sweet one-off Santa Cruz Tallboy the new star of your bike collection, all while you’re also supporting trail development in northern California’s Lost Sierra region. Talk about a win-win.

The brand-new sixth-generation Tallboy came out earlier this year to rave reviews, so we snapped up a carbon frame in the sleek Gloss Midnight Violet colorway, and built it into a beautiful dream bike, featuring equally as sleek Fox Factory custom-tuned Live Valve suspension, a Fox NEO wireless dropper post, wireless Shimano XTR drivetrain, as well as XTR brakes and rotors, OneUp V2 carbon bars, made-in-California Paul Component Polished Boxcar stem and topcap, and matching White Industries hubs, headset, cranks, bottom bracket and chainring, Reserve carbon rims, WTB tires, grips and saddle, and Better Bolts brake caliper bolts.

The Tallboy’s 140mm of front travel and 130mm of rear travel, combined with 29-inch wheels and smooth-riding four-bar suspension, makes the new iteration of the venerable Santa Cruz 29er lighter-weight and more capable than ever before—it’s a perfect do-it-all rig for riders who still like to fully rely on their own pedal power!

This very special build is one of one, and it can be yours.

Donate at least $5 to Sierra Buttes Trail Stewardship between Monday, August 3rd and Monday, August 24, and you automatically get a chance to win this beauty. That includes recurring donors!

Here’s how it works: For every foot of trail purchased at $5 per foot (the average cost of building a trail), participants get entered for a chance to win. The more feet of trail you buy, the more chances you get to win. It is open to U.S. and international entries (international shipping may be subject to taxes, fees or tariffs). The winner will be able to select the frame size of their choice: S-XXL. After the campaign closes, SBTS will draw a number using a random number generator to select the winner.

Sierra Buttes Trail Stewardship Trail Crew member in forest

Help us Build NEW SINGLETRACK!

The dollars generated from this 5 Bucks a Foot fundraiser will go directly into new singletrack trails across the Lost Sierra, much of which is currently under construction or near shovel-ready, and help support the work of our Pro Trail Crew out in the field this season. Projects include the anticipated completion of the Beckwourth Peak Trail in Portola, California, a 13-mile singletrack loop around the peak that has been in the works for over 15 years in partnership with the Plumas National Forest; the East Zone Connectivity Project near Truckee, consisting of 51 miles of singletrack trail that will eventually connect Truckee with Loyalton, Sierraville, Verdi and Reno in Nevada, helping to boost rural economies through recreation. We’re about halfway done with the project, which has thus-far been funded by OHV dollars and a Sierra Nevada Conservancy grant, but we’ll need another substantial chunk of funding to finish. We’re also busy flagging the Cottonwood Connectivity Project, a proposed mix of motorized and non-motorized trails in the Sierra Valley that would link up with the East Zone trails to the south, and the in-progress Peavine Maze to the east at the Nevada border.

Near Downieville, we’re working on several projects in partnership with the Tahoe National Forest, including realignments on the Big Boulder and Pauley Creek trails, accessed from Packer Saddle, to create more singletrack and divert trails off doubletrack, and the anticipated Mexican Mine project is also on tap this fall. That project—managed by Tahoe National Forest, which received a grant from California State Parks that will pay for SBTS to complete the work— will create a 17-mile connection between Downieville and the rural community of Forest City, and its existing 25-mile trail network.

All these projects will help strengthen rural communities that rely on recreation to pull visitors and dollars into their towns, a cornerstone of SBTS’ mission, and a significant part of our Connected Communities vision to create a 1,000-mile signature singletrack route throughout the region.

Your dollars will help make it all happen. Although many of these projects are funded, or partially funded, campaigns like 5 Bucks a Foot play a pivotal role in providing unrestricted dollars, which go much farther than other types of funding, like government grants, because they don’t require costly matches or staff resources to administer. They help us close funding gaps, and create local jobs by ensuring we can keep a full-time professional trail crew staffed: We have 16 crew in the field this year!

A Decade of Donations

If you’ve followed our work, then you’ve probably heard of 5 Bucks a Foot. We launched the first campaign more than a decade ago, and since that time, the fundraiser has brought in more than $1 million dollars in unrestricted funds to support trail development and maintenance in Downieville, the Lakes Basin and Quincy, where SBTS has built 70 miles of NEW multi-use singletrack on Mt. Hough over the past decade, in partnership with the Plumas National Forest and Plumas County.

Donating to 5 Bucks a Foot is a huge boost to the SBTS organization, and it could land you a dream Santa Cruz Tallboy—why wait?

GET IN THIS!

Winners will only be contacted directly by a voice phone call by Sierra Buttes Trail Stewardship; any other forms of communication should be considered phishing attempts, do not reply and mark as spam.

"5 Bucks a Foot Tallboy Special Edition" Terms & Conditions

The "5 Bucks a Foot Tallboy Special Edition" fundraiser is open to contestants worldwide. By participating in the "5 Bucks a Foot Tallboy Special Edition" fundraiser, you consent to SBTS sending you additional information and updates related to this donation drawing and other SBTS news. The winner must be 18 years or older and reside in a locality where participation is legal. No purchase is necessary to enter. To enter without purchase, you may mail a handwritten postcard (form) to SBTS at: SBTS, 550 Crescent Street, Quincy, CA 95971. Containing your (i) full name; (2) mailing address, including street address, city, state/district, and zip code (P.O. boxes not accepted); (3) telephone number; (4) email address; and (5) date of birth. All write-in entries must be postmarked by August 20, 2026, and received by August 25, 2026, and only one mail in entry per person will be accepted. All submission forms must be received no later than 11:45 p.m. PST on August 25, 2026. Existing monthly donors can make sure their recurring monthly donations are counted in the giveaway by emailing info@sierratrails.org. Contributions to "5 Bucks a Foot Tallboy Special Edition" are tax-deductible. The winner understands, acknowledges, and agrees that the winner is receiving a prize and will hereby release and discharge SBTS, and any additional sponsors, their employees, agents, officers, directors, and legal representatives and assigns from any and all claims, liabilities, damages, losses or expenses arising from or caused by the award of such prize.

2026 5 Bucks a Foot: Donate to trails, win a one-off dream Santa Cruz Tallboy!

Donate to win a one of one Tallboy