2024 Santa Cruz

MEGATOWER S / Carbon C

‘Bigger and badder’ exclaims the slogan on Santa Cruz’s marketing blurb for the new Megatower. Considering the first generation bike was hardly a minnow, boasting 160mm of rear wheel travel and a 515mm reach on the largest frame size, that’s a bold claim, and just goes to show how incremental progress has transformed the 29er enduro bike in just a few years, something that’s evident in the other bikes in our best enduro mountain bikes roundup.   But I’d argue that the most significant update to the new Megatower is much harder to put into measure with a slide rule or an angle finder. It’s the suspension performance that really gives the new Megatower an advantage over its predecessor. Santa Cruz Megatower need to know Mark 2 Megatower now comes with ‘Glovebox’ down tube storage Slightly longer and slacker than previous generation – seat tube now steeper for better climbing Dropout chips have been replaced by simpler (and cheaper) proportional chainstay lengths Travel boosted to 165mm rear/170mm front Improved suspension performance C and CC carbon frame options Santa Cruz Megatower frame and geometry The second most obvious improvement on the new bike is the internal frame storage. When Santa Cruz launched the redesigned Bronson last year with its swollen down tube, plenty of riders questioned the outsize proportions. Well, now we know its purpose (although it’s weird that Santa Cruz didn’t just introduce the door at the same time).   The Glovebox, as Santa Cruz has dubbed it, sits about midway along the down tube, above the kink where the forward shock mount sits. The plastic door uses a solid aluminium latch that secures with a positive action. It’s not quite as easy to release as the Trek lever, or the Specialized catch, but it’s a clean, discreet design. Like most systems, the door doubles as a bottle cage mount (you’ll have to supply your own cage), and inside there are two bespoke sleeves included with the bike. Again, it’s not the easiest bike in terms of access – the Specialized is the clear winner here, but it’s not as difficult to stow or remove stuff as it is on a Trek, Focus or Orbea.  Cutting a hole in the down tube obviously affects frame strength and stiffness, so Santa Cruz has had to add material around the opening. As a result, the new frame is slightly heavier than the previous generation, but the engineers have mitigated this as much as possible with revisions to other areas of the bike – losing the chainstay chips for example. They have also worked hard on improving the stiffness on the larger frame sizes, so bigger/heavier riders shouldn’t feel compromised on ride quality.  Santa Cruz has sharpened up the styling considerably, too, by incorporating the new design language introduced two years ago on the 5010. That means more angular tube profiles and hard-edge creases around the shock tunnel. As usual, there are two frame lay-ups – both outwardly identical – that balance weight with cost. …Continue reading »

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