Long, slack, and with plenty of travel, the Santa Cruz Megatower delivers a major punch when hitting fast and technical descents, all while remaining versatile and lively.
Pros
- Very capable descender
- Lightweight for an enduro bike
- Stability at speed
- Glovebox internal storage compartment
- Versatile
Cons
- Chain can be noisy
- Flip chip only provides limited adjustability
Bike specs
Frame
Carbon C frame
Geometry
For size large frame Megatower 2 C R
| Spec | Measurement (High flip chip setting) | Measurement (Low flip chip setting) |
|---|---|---|
| Reach | 475mm | 472mm |
| Chainstay | 440mm | 441mm |
| Head tube angle | 63.8° | 63.5° |
| Seat tube angle | 77.8° | 77.5° |
| Wheelbase | 1266mm | 1266mm |
| Bottom bracket height | 346mm | 342.5mm |
| Bottom bracket drop | 26.5mm | 30mm |
| Standover height | 723mm | 718mm |
Suspension
Front fork
RockShox Zeb R, 170mm
Rear shock
RockShox Super Deluxe Select 230×62.5
Brakes
SRAM G2 RE
Tires
Front: Maxxis Assegal 29″x2.5″
Rear: Maxxis Minion DHR II 29″x2.4″
Drivetrain
Shifters: SRAM NX Eagle
Rear derailleur: SRAM NX Eagle
Cassette: SRAM PG1230
Seatpost
SDG Tellis Dropper
Bike weight
34.4 lbs
Handling and overall bike impression
The Santa Cruz Megatower is a hard-charging enduro bike that doesn’t feel out of place anywhere you might decide to take it.
As an enduro bike, its build first and foremost to go downhill, and to do so aggressively. And in that respect, the Megatower passes with flying colors.
It’s what the Megatower excels at beyond descending, however, that truly sets it apart.
The bike’s suspension feels quite firm, as does the bike itself while you ride. With the RockShox Zeb R 170mm fork and RockShox Super Deluxe Select rear shock, feels plush and confidence-inspiring when the going gets rough at higher speeds.
At lower speeds, both the front and rear suspension is firmer feeling, which can make the bike feel a bit chattery at times while riding over slow but rough terrain.
Part of the reason for the firmer suspension at lower speeds is because the Megatower, like many Santa Cruz bikes, makes use of the Santa Cruz VPP suspension system (virtual pivot point), designed to bring riders a balance between pedaling efficiency while not sacrificing a bike’s ability to soak up bigger hits.
Because of the Megatower’s relatively firm suspension, it feels more lively and playful than many other entries in the enduro bike category. In our opinion, it makes the bike more fun to ride in those low speed situations than most other enduro bikes because the suspension doesn’t make everything feel almost too smooth, it still feels like a fun challenge to ride for on more mellow trails.
As expected on an enduro bike, the Megatower’s wheelbase is fairly long at 1266mm, but its not so long as to make the bike unable to handle fairly tight corners. It’s relatively short chainstay length of 440mm (441mm in the flip chip low setting) also helps it to power through turns while maintaining some speed.
Santa Cruz has done a good job of balancing the need for stability on a downhill oriented enduro bike with retaining maneuverability.
Adding to the bike’s maneuverability and ease of making quick adjustments on the fly is its light weight for an enduro bike, weighing in at only 34.4lbs. This makes the Megatower a good option as a do it all bike, able to handle a wide variety of trail types, from downhill to regular trail riding, while also being right at home in the bike park.
A cool feature built into the Megatower is its so-called Glovebox, an in frame storage compartment, giving you space to store your trail gear including things like a small pump, a superlight tube, a tire lever and other small things you’d like to bring along. While this doesn’t affect how the bike rides, it is a nice touch.
Climbing
While it’s not built primarily with climbing in mind, the Megatower is a surprisingly strong climber, especially for a slack, long travel bike of its size.
No doubt helping the Megatower’s climbing ability is its relatively light weight, which its carbon frame definitely helps to deliver. However there are several other design elements that help to make the Megatower efficient at getting to the tops of hills.
The steep seat tube angle of 77.8° (in the high flip chip setting, 77.5° in the low setting) helps to keep your weight forward, and promotes a forward body position while climbing that helps to keep your weight out over the front wheel.
The Megatower gives you the ability to completely eliminate pedal bob on climbs, thanks to the rear air shock having a climb switch which locks it out. This feature is especially handy on steep climbs.
Descending
Pointing the Megatower downhill is where it truly comes into its own and feels right at home. Like any slack, long bike, the Megatower is built for fast, aggressive descents, and seems more stable and sure-footed the faster you ride it.
As we mentioned above, the Megatower’s suspension can feel a bit stiff and even harsh over rough terrain at lower speeds. As you ride the Megatower at higher speeds, you’ll start to notice the suspension feeling more and more plush, helping the bike to remain composed over gnarly terrain while you’re going fast.
The Megatower feels very predictable at speed which helps to inspire confidence on those fast, technical descents.
While it may seem counterintuitive, we found the bike to actually be more forgiving at high speed relative to at lower speeds. For someone who’s concerned about going fast and improving their lap times on downhill terrain, this makes the Megatower an excellent choice that helps you to push your limits with confidence.
Rough terrain, jumps and drops
Rough terrain
Over rough terrain at moderate to high speeds, the Megatower is a force to be reckoned with. It’s long travel suspension soaks up the impacts from rocks and roots and keeps your wheels in good compliance with the trail. The way the suspension behaves over rough terrain makes it very predictable and inspires confidence when hitting those fast, rough descents.
The Megatower loves rowdy descents and felt easy to throw around and catch a little air if you were so inclined.
You’ll want to make sure you carry some speed through these rougher sections though as the bike’s suspension does become less forgiving as you slow down.
At low speeds, like while climbing technical sections with rocks and roots, the suspension is noticeably stiffer, which reduces compliance with the trail and as a result, traction.
Jumps and drops
The Megatower performs very well on jumps and drops of all sizes. The bike’s firm feeling inspires confidence as it compresses into the lips of jumps, and the long travel offers plenty of forgiveness for those less than perfect landings.
Coming from normally riding a trail bike with 130mm to 140mm of travel, the Megatower gives you the feeling that you can fly both higher and farther, knowing that the bike will smooth out and correct and minor mistakes.
The slack head tube angle of 63.8° (in high setting, 63.5° in low setting) helps to give you a feeling of stability as you approach features like drops and jumps.
It also helps to keep the front wheel out in front of you which is especially confidence inspiring when hitting those bigger drops.
Frequently asked questions
Yes, the Santa Cruz Megatower is an excellent climber, especially for an enduro race bike. With it’s lightweight carbon frame, the Megatower weighs in at only 34.4lbs, a weight low enough to be a typical trail bike, making it less of a burden for long or steep climbs. The bike pedals efficiently on climbs, thanks in part to its climb switch, which locks out the rear shock to prevent pedal bob.
In addition, the Megatower’s steep seat tube angle helps to put you in a good body position with your weight forward and keeps weight over the front wheel for traction while you climb.
The Santa Cruz Megatower is considered an enduro bike, falling in between a trail bike and a pure downhill bike. It’s got long travel with 170mm in the front and 165mm in the rear, and a slack head tube angle. For an enduro bike, the Megatower is very well rounded and versatile, and makes a great option for someone who can only have one bike and wants one capable enough to do aggressive downhill riding.
And while it can be used as a trail bike, if your riding style is more passive and you don’t hit high speeds very often, the Santa Cruz Megatower very well could be too much bike for you.
The Santa Cruz Megatower has 165mm of travel in its rear shock, the RockShox Super Deluxe Select, and 170mm of travel in its RockShox Zeb R fork.
Mountain bike review criteria
When reviewing mountain bikes, these are the things we look for:
- Frame quality
- Component quality
- Bike weight
- Bike style and aesthetic appeal
For a detailed breakdown of how we assess each of these criteria, see How We Review Mountain Bikes.
Conclusion
If you’re looking for that one long travel bike that can do it all, the Santa Cruz Megatower is definitely worth a look. A balanced enduro bike that shreds hard on downhills but is still loads of fun for regular trail riding, the Megatower can be your trusty accomplice for all of it.