Matt takes a brief test ride on the Santa Cruz Megatower on the singletrack mountain bike trails just outside Santa Cruz headquarters.
Sea Otter recap: The mountain bikes we tested, the new and wacky products we found, and what Sea Otter means for mountain bike culture.
Jill Kintner shares her outlook on how mountain bike races are won, gives cornering tips, and dishes on her favorite places to ride.
The Axis hip pack from Mission Workshop is a simple, sturdy pack designed to carry just the right amount of trail gear.
The first two races of the 2019 NAES series visit Eureka Springs, Arkansas, and Revelstoke, Canada, leaving all of the celebratory duties to the final event at Snow Summit, California.
This was the weirdest looking new product at Sea Otter. We had to take it for a ride to see what this front end linkage mountain bike is all about.
Brands like Rotor and e*thirteen are finding new and innovative ways to add more range to one-by mountain bike drivetrains.
A stand up mountain bike, full suspension gravel bike, vintage telescoping fork, race day tire sealant, and more from Sea Otter 2019. Or maybe it's 3019?
Remot Bikes are igniting their brand new fire with a carbon trail bike for under $4,000 that looks ready to party.
CushCore has new product with wider applications, and some science they say backs up their claims.
The Raleigh Tokul 3 hardtail mountain bike ticks most of the right boxes on the spec chart and looks great too.
The MRP Ramp Control PRO gives riders even more adjustability than the MRP Ramp Control. We also check out the new Raven mountain bike fork.
We round up 6 notable and interesting hardtail mountain bikes from Sea Otter 2019, ranging from steel to carbon and titanium. Every one of them sports at least 120mm of front travel.
A few new items around Sea Otter including shoes with impact-resistant soles, waterless bike wash, and lights by Knog.
Giant launches a brand new flat pedal mountain bike shoe, the Shuttle Flat. Here's what we know so far after wearing them for a couple days.
Go big or small on your mountain bike rides with these bags from Ortlieb and Evoc.
Walmart's Viathon M.1 mountain bike is a racy, XC bike being marketed as fun, comfortable, and practical which begs a few questions.
US distributor Cycle Monkey brings German Brands Nicolai and Tout Terrain to the states with Gates Carbon Drive and Pinion gear boxes.
In this episode of the Singletracks podcast we talk about what enduro is, and why it matters to the sport of mountain biking. From athletes and races to bikes and gear, enduro is a reflection of how many of us approach riding.
This multi-sport GPS watch has a ton of features, but it misses the mark in a couple key areas.
We test out Patagonia's 2019 mountain bike line which includes the Dirt Roamer short, Nine Trails jersey, and Endless Ride bib liner.
Hutchison's pro mountain bikers asked for a faster gravity tire, and worked alongside company engineers to create just that.
The Urge Archi-Enduro RR full face mountain bike helmet was designed by the most qualified enduro experts in the business.
Oak trees are native to six of the seven continents on earth, so chances are you have mountain biked among them. Learn more about this magnificent tree species.
Updated Norco Revolver XC bike comes with 100mm or 120mm of rear travel. Plus, there are new forks from Cane Creek and Marzocchi, moto-inspired MTB rims from Zipp, and tall tires for wet and loose conditions from WTB.
The Vee Flow Snap is an enduro mountain bike tire from the Thai company. It's a little on the heavy side, but seems to be a great aggressive trail tire.
The Mountainsmith Cycle Cube is a bike-specific duffel bag meant to manage lots of awkward and stinky bike gear.
Deborah Meghen and Niall Davie talk about the development of new mountain bike trails all over Ireland.
The Bluegrass Eagle Armour Lite D3O is a lightweight and simple vented spine protector.
A San Diego mountain biker finds a barbed wire trail trap and a rider in Colorado leaves the scene of another trap with several broken bones.
There's a lot of hype about the new WaveCel structure in new Bontrager helmets. Competitor responses came just as quickly, and it's hard to recognize who's right in the end.
We check out mountain bike multi-tools from top brands like Pro, SIlca, Pedro's, Topeak and Pro Bike Tool.
New 12-speed hub options, alongside a more affordable 4-piston brake and 203mm rotor option, show Shimano's dedication to entry-level riders.
Link your Singletracks and Wahoo accounts to get free mountain bike trail routes on your GPS.
It's easy to let negative externalities ruin mountain biking's moments. Here are a few tips and philosophies to focus on the now.
Pro mountain bikers like Katy Curd know how to adapt and learn a new game. Katy shares her tips for building skills and managing fear.
We test ride the new Revel Rascal trail bike in Moab.
The Clear Creek 10 is Mountainsmith's first hydration pack marketed for mountain bike. It's fairly simple and affordable.
This week we get news on who's dominating the EWS, new bikes from Diamondback and Bold, and another NICA expansion.
Check out the trails, bikes, skills, and good times from the 2019 Singletracks Ride-N-Rally.
The Leatt DBX 4.0 pants are tailored, tough, and ready for the trail.
A Georgia mountain biker takes on the Huracan bikepacking race for the third time, and find new challenges along the way.
Online retailer Moosejaw is now offering complete mountain bikes for sale from brands including Evil and Niner.
The Pisgah Stage Race is already well known for five days of riding the best mountain bike trails in Pisgah. Key changes for 2019 seek to make the 11th edition the best one yet.
The way a rider treats their mountain bike will affect its lifespan. Here are five things you can do to keep your bike healthy for the long haul.
In this episode of the Singletracks podcast, I ask Jeff Kendall-Weed about his inspirations, favorite places to ride, skills progression, and how he makes time for riding.
Adding an eMTB category to the EWS has some riders calling it the EEWS.
This new product allows mountain bikers to ditch packs of any form and fit cargo directly on their lumbar.
2
![[feature]
[caption id="attachment_258943" align="alignnone" width="1170"]<a href="https://images.singletracks.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/SCB_web_MY20_Megatower_outside_green_1600.jpg"><img class="wp-image-258943 size-large" src="https://images.singletracks.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/SCB_web_MY20_Megatower_outside_green_1600-1170x780.jpg" alt="" width="1170" height="780" /></a> All photos courtesy of Santa Cruz Bicycles.[/caption]
[/feature]
After a canceled flight, followed by a 5am wake up call, another almost-canceled flight from Denver to Monterey, and an Uber ride from Monterey to Santa Cruz, I felt less than fresh walking into Santa Cruz Bicycles headquarters. My head hurt, my body felt slow and sluggish, and it was time for a group ride.
A group of fine people at <a href="https://www.hydroflask.com/">Hydroflask</a> organized a ride around Santa Cruz trails to test their new hydration packs aboard the new Santa Cruz Megatower. Look for a review of the pack very soon.
The <a href="https://www.singletracks.com/bike-reviews/Mountain-bikes/Santa-Cruz-Megatower_16187">Megatower</a> is a mega-bike with 160mm of travel front and rear, rolling on 29-inch wheels. There are two geometry positions with a flip-chip, high and low. In the high position, the head angle is slacked at 65-degrees, and the seat angle measures 76.7-degrees. The chainstays are 435mm long and fit a Boost spaced hub. The size medium I rode has a comfortable 450mm reach and a 1207mm wheelbase.
<a class="btn btn-lg btn-info" href="https://www.singletracks.com/mountain-bike/deals.php?q=Santa%20Cruz%20Megatower">Compare prices on the Megatower</a>
The techs in the Santa Cruz shop dialed the bike in for me and off we went. Our group pedaled through the streets of Santa Cruz, past manicured coastal California neighborhoods, and into the hills.
<a href="https://images.singletracks.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/MY20_Megatower_launch_details_001.jpg"><img class="wp-image-258953 size-large" src="https://images.singletracks.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/MY20_Megatower_launch_details_001-1170x780.jpg" alt="" width="1170" height="780" /></a>
<h2>Ride impressions</h2>
The Megatower I rode has the RockShox Super Deluxe RCT rear shock with a two-position switch that offers 'open' or 'pedal' positions and does away with a full lockout. I was surprised that I could leave the shock in the open position without much of a pedaling penalty. It was surprising because it's a 160mm 29er with VPP. I expected a lot more mush in the first half of rear shock travel, but it felt well-supported.
Out of the saddle, the suspension has great anti-squat for standing sprints and final pushes over steep and technical climbs. The big wheels are advantageous for getting over technical sections, and we encountered some roots on our climbs that day, but other than that, I didn't do a lot of technical climbing on the Megatower.
The primary focus for those interested in the Megatower, however, is its descending capabilities. Pointed down, the Megatower picks up speed quickly. The stiff chassis railed through turns among the tight California redwoods and kept its exit speed with ease.
The VPP surprised me again while descending. Its small bump compliance feels great, and there is still plenty of pop and ramp up in the rear shock. When I came out of a turn to find a root or jump to pop off, the Megatower leaped with joy and found its footing just as quickly as it returned to earth.
<a href="https://images.singletracks.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/MY20_megatower_details_013.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-large wp-image-258944" src="https://images.singletracks.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/MY20_megatower_details_013-1170x780.jpg" alt="" width="1170" height="780" /></a>
Near the end of our ride, we found some steep, fall-line trails with a lot of line choices, and boulders in the middle that made me reconsider every choice. I didn't feel immediately comfortable riding these lines on the Megatower since I wasn't able to tune the suspension that day. By the end of the ride, I still had about an inch of unused travel on the fork so clearly the suspension could have been optimized further. Chances are, the pressure or damping was a little high for me.
To draw a direct comparison from my day of riding the Megatower to the <a href="https://www.singletracks.com/blog/mtb-reviews/review-pivot-firebird-29-turns-big-rocks-into-little-rocks/">time I spent on the Pivot Firebird 29</a> last year, I'd say the Megatower felt more like an all-arounder than the Firebird 29. The Megatower felt more comfortable to climb on and easier to pedal around, and was still playful and agile descending. The Firebird 29, to me, still feels like an all-out shred sled, with more plow factor than the Megatower.
Still, the Megatower felt like a hell of a bike, worthy of much more ride time to dial it in.](https://images.singletracks.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Barb_Wire.jpg)
