2019-05-01_Mountain_Bike_Rider

M AY 2 019 mbr 33

NEEDTO

KNOW

●Big-wheelversion

oftheNomad

endurobike

●Packing160mm

travelfrontandrear

●Generoussize

rangefromS toXXL

meansfit won’tbe

a problem

●Flip-chipsat

thedropoutsand

shocklinkletyou

tuneBBheightand

chainstaylength

●C frameoption

addsgramsbut

saves£££(complete

bikesfrom£4,499)

It’sthebikeridershavebeenaskingSantaCruztomake

foryears—a long-travel29erwithmoderngeometry

anda trail-crushingattitude

SANTA CRUZ MEGATOWER

CC XO1 RESERVE

£7,699 / 29in / santacruzbicycles.com

W

e live in a world seemingly

obsessed with hacking.

And I’m not talking about

infl uencing elections or

accessing compromising

cloud-based imagery. I’m referring

to the trend for tarting up items of

fl at-pack furniture or devising the

most inventive use for a zip-tie. Blame

YouTube and Pinterest if you will, but

there’s no escaping the irresistible urge

to muck about trying to improve stuff.

It’s human nature and has been going

on since caveman A fi gured out a sharp

stick was better for hunting food than

caveman B’s rock.

But what on earth has hacking got

to do with a new Santa Cruz? Well, the

brand was ahead of the curve with

a half-decent 29er — the Tallboy. It

then hacked that Tallboy to make the

longer-travel Tallboy LT. Then it decided

the segment deserved its own unique

model, so the Hightower was born.

And, you guessed it, a few owners

immediately hacked it, extending the

travel by 10mm. So Santa Cruz released

the offi cial LT version, which added

a touch more travel and fi xed the

compromises created by the hackers.

And life was good for a while, until,

inevitably, proper long-travel 29ers

started to become a thing, and the

150mm-travel Hightower LT started to

look outgunned and undersized by bikes

like the Yeti SB150, Scott Ransom and

Specialized Stumpjumper Evo.

Which brings us to the present

day, and the new Megatower. A bike

that, save for fi ve letters and two

29in wheels, shares more with the

current Nomad than the old, and now

discontinued, Hightower LT. This, then,

is no hack. It’s a fully legit model in its

own right. And that’s worth celebrating,

for a few reasons.

Firstly the Megatower uses the

lower link to drive the shock. It’s the

VPP layout fi rst seen on the V10, then

adapted for the Nomad, and it gives

less rate change through the travel.

In a nutshell, where the Hightower LT

tended to fall into the mid-stroke, now

there’s a nice consistent progression

throughout the travel, giving more

support and better bottom-out

resistance. It’s also easier to set up

and there’s now suffi cient ramp-up

to allow riders to choose between

air and coil for suspension duties

without compromising on end-stroke

performance.

The Megatower further improves on

the old Hightower LT with the fi tment

of a bearing at the rear eyelet of the

RockShox Super Deluxe shock. This

reduces breakaway friction for a more

supple and active bump response.

And it’s also worth your noting that all

the Megatower builds, as well as the

frameset, come with RockShox shocks

sporting the same tune, which ensures

all models should ride exactly how the

product managers intended.

As introduced on the Nomad, two

shock positions on the lower link tune

the suspension and geometry. Defi ned

Hi and Lo, this chip actually only changes

the static BB height by a minimal 3.5mm

and tweaks the head angle by a smidge.

However, it allows you to maintain BB

position if you decide to bump up fork

travel to 170mm — something we can

Discreet inserts allow

chainstay adjustment

Revised VPP
layout brings
major advantages