The Tall Tale, Sklar’s modern steel hardtail mountain bike, is back with two fresh color options and some small but thoughtful frame updates. Learn about the latest Sklar Tall Tale here…

The Tall Tale was Sklar’s first production mountain bike, and it’s what owner and framebuilder Adam Sklar describes as the “ideal hardtail mountain bike.” I spent several months riding one around British Columbia, as well as a week-long bikepacking trip in New Mexico, and I liked it so much I ended up buying it. Its 4130 Chromoly steel frame felt responsive and comfortable, and I was happy to see rack mounts and a big main triangle. Its long wheelbase dished out loads of traction for trail riding and bikepacking.

Sklar just received a fresh batch of Tall Tales that, at their core, are nearly identical to the version I reviewed, but there are a few changes we’re happy to see. The Tall Tale is offered in two fresh paint options for 2026: Sage and Gneiss. Geo updates are minimal, but the seat tube angles are now slightly steeper at 74° (compared to 73.5°), and the reach/effective top tube has been shortened across all sizes. The 697mm effective top tube length on the XL I tested has been shortened to 692mm, which isn’t a massive change, but it might help with some fit issues. Small and medium-sized frames now feature external bottle bosses on the seat tube to allow for more dropper post insertion.

All of the other thoughtful specs and features remain unchanged, including external cable routing, two standard bottle mounts, downtube mounts, internal dropper post routing, and a standard threaded 73 mm bottom bracket. The Tall Tale is SRAM UDH compatible, has rear rack mounts, and offers size-specific fork lengths ranging from 130mm on the small to 150mm on the extra-large. The latest version also has clearance for 29 x 2.8″ tires—perfect for bikepacking.

The frame-only price remains the same at $1,199 USD, which is a pleasant surprise. There’s a SRAM Eagle 90 mechanical complete build available for $4,850 USD, and a SRAM X0 AXS wireless build for $8,800 USD. Complete builds are assembled to order, and customers should allow 3-5 weeks for delivery. Sklar ships worldwide.

Visit SklarBikes.com for more information or to order a Tall Tale of your own.

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