The Santa Cruz Megatower
With a name like Megatower you can’t really help but chuckle. How did a name like that come to be? Well the team at Santa Cruz said the engineers named the project that in the beginning, and the name just stuck. I think it suits perfectly, as everything in the “enduro world” is “Mega” lol.
What makes this bike so “Mega” cool? How is it different from everything else? Well strip back the suspension for a minute, forget about wheel size, and lets just look at the fundamentals of what makes every bike different from one or the other- the FRAME!
Frame geometry is something that, I think, we have forgotten as a key component in mountain bike discussions. We get so caught up in different linkage technology for rear suspension, and the 27.5 to 29er debate continues. Not to mention how fat your tires should be. And, no one is really sure how much travel they truly do need because every trail is different! So, I am leaving those variables out of the discussion. At the end of the day we all want every bike for every different type of ride.
But this is where the Megatower has broken some barriers. To start, Santa Cruz has added some cool geometry adjustment options allowing riders to fine-tune and customize their bikes even more specifically to their own preference and style. The Megatower has taken enduro specific attributes and married them with some more all mountain style. Having ridden this beast at Wairoa Gorge for its launch, the first thing you notice is the length of the frame. This baby is long! The length made navigating all the technical obstacles and turns a breeze, confidently pushing your weight forward on the bars without feeling like you were going to roll over them. Personally, this translated into a more comfortable and smoother ride. The 29er wheels was not the first thing I noticed, and that was a good thing. Going into it, I felt like a 29er for my small build at the Gorge was going to be a death wish, but upon my initial spin into the first trail, the bike felt very similar to my Juliana Roubion. Playful and poppy and ready to eat the obstacles ahead. I fell more and more in love with the bike as the day went on. The “Bermed As” trail was no problem, which was a surprise as I’m not the strongest on turns. Navigating them on a bigger bike seemed daunting, but the Megatower is a bike that stays under you and pulls through more confidence with every leaning turn. Big features, root sections and rock gardens are no match for the Megatower, the bike rolled along everything with a playfully and lively feel. Santa Cruz said this is the bike everyone has been asking for, and I couldn’t agree more. If you want a well-rounded enduro bike, Santa Cruz has cracked the code. I like to think of it as the all-rounder for big mountain. It will inspire on the technical single-track and packs that little bit extra for those big days chasing the black trails.
We demo’d the Megatowner X01 build with Santa Cruz’s own carbon Reserve wheels, different build options are available in the Megatower range. We have the new weapon here in the shop in the Blackout Black. We are so excited about this new model from Santa Cruz and can’t wait to get some out on the trails here. Come in and see it in the flesh. Aidan and I are excited to tell you more about this bike, answer your questions and help you navigate all the options available.
If you would like to read more about this bike, the review by Carl Patton in NZ Mountain Biker is great https://nzmountainbiker.com/products-reviews/bikes/santa-cruz-megatower.
You can also check out this one done by Spoke Magazine. https://spokemagazine.com/content/santa-cruz-megatower-review
Build options, photos and all the details can be seen at https://www.santacruzbicycles.com/en-US/megatower