The overall verdict is that the Reason, as a full package, is something that we actually want to ride. A lot.
- Brand: Megamo
- Product: Reason CRB 05
- Price: £6,999
- From: Megamo
- Tested by: Aran & Benji for 1 month
Pros
- Avinox motor is best in class (and will remain so even if power restrictions are introduced in future)
- Good handling and geometry
- Decent finishing kit on the whole
Cons
- Limited dropper insertion is a real bummer
- Rear shock lacks a bit of support
- Thru-headset cabling
Our rating
I think it’s fair to say that the general consensus last year was that the DJI Avinox motor was the best option out there. We’ve also clearly seen a torque and watts ‘arms race’ begin in the Avinox era, with plenty of other brands trying to produce more and more powerful motors in a bid to compete. That said, we hadn’t really tested an Avinox-powered bike that we would choose ourselves when it came to the full package (frame design, suspension, geometry, motor, battery etc etc).
Perhaps, that is, until now.
The Megamo Reason is the first e-MTB that actually had Aran from picking up instead of his normal enduro bike. Whether it was wanting to ride something nimble and light or more of a moral stance on wanting to ‘earn’ his turns, with every eeb that Aran had ridden in the past, he could always find a reason to ride his ‘normal’ bike.
The long and short of it is: Aran really struggled to find downsides to the Megamo in the time we have had it.Â
Starting with the motor, in case you’re unaware of the Avinox hype. The power is the first draw, 105Nm of torque and a peak power of 1000w. The power is immediate and seemingly unaffected by steepness of gradient. And if it still isn’t enough for you, you can engage a ‘Boost’ mode which gives you 120Nm torque for 60 seconds (or shorter times, customisable via the phone app). Yes, like Super Mario video games.
Lots has been said on this power aspect of the Avinox motor but there’s more to it than that. A lot more.
For us, the absolutely best thing about the Avinox system is the wheel sensor. This sensor, rather than being a single-pass layout that only receives a signal from a magnet once every complete wheel revolution, is a multi-slotted disc that effectively interrupts the magnet signal 42 times per revolution. This is literally 42 times more information being sent from the wheel to the motor. As a result the motor’s computer – combined with the sensor at the crank axle – knows massively more information about tyre traction, amongst other things.
Whilst we’re talking about clever sensors, the Avinox system also knows what gear you’re in. Even if it’s a mechanical mech drivetrain! It must be working it all out via the aforementioned sensors info. Knowing what gear you’re in further helps the motor decide how to deliver its assistance.
The cherry on top is that at 2.2kg the Avinox motor is nice and lightweight too.
Regardless of the insane amount of power on offer, it is the superior intelligence and lighter-weight of the Avinox system that makes it the system to beat. Even should new regulations come in that restrict e-bike power, the Avinox will still be the clear winner as regards motors. It’s just… better. It even has decent fuel economy.
Enough motorspeak. Back to the bicycle stuff…
As for the bike part of the Megamo Reason, the good news keeps coming. We tested a Medium size here but with 470mm reach the frame could be passed off as a Large.
Aran, at 5ft 10in, found the 470mm reach to be the sweet spot and he really got on with this medium frame. Benji, being a hair over 6ft and a fan of big bikes, found it manageable but a tad cramped.
The 454mm chainstays do a commendable job at keeping the massive power in check and stopping the bike becoming too much of a wheelie machine. The one thing we didn’t like was the dropper situation. The big kink in the seat tube does limit dropper insertion and the 150mm travel dropper that came on the Medium is too meagre these days. Megamo is not alone in this regard; poor dropper insertion depth is a common blight on a lot of e-MTBs. It’s the single thing that stops us cheekily asking Megamo for a ‘trade price’ on a Reason.
The Reason is just about SL/Midpower eMTB weight, but unlike SL/Midpower eebs you don’t get that feeling of compromise to the same extent. The power is still there and – most impressivey so too is the range.
The motor has an extensive selection of pedal modes, with the normal Eco, Trail and Turbo (plus the Super Mario time-limited Boost) and there’s an Auto mode. Again, Avinox rule the roost here. We rarely use other eMTBs in their Auto mode because they just don’t quite get things right. The Auto mode in Avinox is genuinely the best mode to go for. This really does add to rid experience. It’s one less thing to think about. Set and forget.
We ran the bike most of the time in Auto. It responds nicely to the power you put in, so it kind of feels almost like you’re in Turbo the whole time, but isn’t, and uses less of your battery. In Auto we have had the 800Wh battery comfortably last for 1000m of ascent and if we (okay, Aran) put a little effort into conserving the battery, the system can achieve over 1600m ascent. More than enough to tire you out before the bike is finished.Â
The Reason descends really well. It’s certainly on of the most fun e-bikes we’ve ridden. At 21kg it’s still pretty light. It makes for a fairly playful set up but you still get that stable e-bike feeling from having the weight of the motor and battery.
Aran got on with this bike so well because it’s the first time he has been on an e-bike that felt as good to descend on as his trusty enduro bike. We’re not saying it rides like a normal bike – it still feels like an e-bike – but it feels as though Megamo have taken the stability from the eeb world and left the ungainly sluggishness behind.Â
The spec is generally decent too, nothing too remarkable but decent options that shouldn’t give you any grief. The Maxxis tyres are good options and stood up to some serious punishment with no issue. The mechanical shifting, SRAM Eagle 90 T-type drivetrain was great and the one-click shifter was good to prevent any gear mashing. Shimano XT brakes were certainly good enough to handle the stopping even after some longer descents. As for suspension, the Fox 36 fork is a nice option.
As for the Fox Float X rear shock, we did find it to be a bit lacking in support and – because it lacks any adjustable low speed compression – we swapped in a RockShox Super Deluxe Ultimate shock and things improved significantly in terms of full-stroke support, handling accuracy and traction.
It’s hard to pick fault with the Megamo Reason but there are a few small things. As mentioned before dropper insertion isn’t great and the 150mm that comes on the medium is probably too short for someone who would fit the 470mm reach.
The cables do unfortunately go through the headset. The frame also seemingly collects grot in irritating places. On the seat stay linkage there are gaps around the links that don’t go all the way through, meaning you get a nice pocket for little bits of mud and grit to collect.
Overall
For many, the Megamo Reason CRB 05 is what a ‘SL’ eMTB should be. Lightweight and nimble but still with a decent range. The punch from the Avinox motor and its clever brain are an obvious plus, but the overall verdict for us is that the bike, as a full package, is something that we actually want to ride. All the time. Anywhere. Everywhere.
Megamo Reason CRB 05 specification
- Frame // Carbon, 160mm
- Shock // Fox Float X, 210x55mm
- Fork // Fox Float 36 Performance, 160mm
- Wheels // Megamo 29 SL 30 ASY Alloy
- Front Tyre // Maxxis Assegai 29×2.5in
- Rear Tyre // Maxxis Minion DHR II 29×2.4in
- Chainset // Alloy, 165mm, 34T
- Brakes // Shimano XT BR-M8220, 203/203mm
- Drivetrain // SRAM Eagle 90 Transmission
- Stem // Satori New Ursa 35mm
- Handlebars // Megamo Alloy 35, 800x12mm
- Grips // Lock-on
- Seat Post // Megamo dropper, 31.6mm, 150mm (Medium)
- Saddle // Fizik Ridon X5
- Sizes Available // S, M, L
- Size Tested // M
- Weight // 21kg
Geometry of our size Medium
- Head angle // 63.5°
- Effective seat angle // 77°
- Seat tube length // 420mm
- Head tube length // 120mm
- Chainstay // 454mm
- Wheelbase // 1,273mm
- Effective top tube // 617mm
- BB height // 30mm BB drop
- Reach // 470mm
It looks ok and sounds decent enough – headset routing and dropper insertion are a big put off though
And I just couldn’t buy a bike with megamo written on the downtube in massive font.
Of the Avinox bikes available, this would be well down the list for me
It seems like a great bike, preferable to the Amflow, but as above I’m similarly put off by the big Megamo logo (but at least it’s not Teewing!).
The motor will also be “outdated" (says me on a EP801) in around 7 days time.
Megamo reminds me of the vertically-accomplished girl I was at school with. Big Morag, only fractionally shorter than me and I’m 187cm 😀Â
TBH none of the Avinox bikes do it for me so far. Are there any mainstream brands with Avinox powered bikes?
Big Morag 😀
Mondraker (released to press), Propain (teased at trade shows) and Commencal (appears to be available now with the soon to be “old" M1 motor).
Atherton and Forbidden too, although I’m not sure I’d consider them mainstream.
I think Orange have one coming out when the new motor is officially released and looks like YT might have one coming out today too
I know of one more Spanish brand who have one on the way also. Yes, that one.
Maintream enough for me. I knew about the Forbidden, had forgotten the Atherton, wasn’t aware of the others. With my penchant for longer bikes, Mondraker’s worth me looking.
Yeah, I guess Orange desperately needs to add a new model to their range (sorry, I’m being facetious). YT’s a hard no for me.
I quite like the look of the Mondraker, although the dropper insertion may be compromised again
And the Commencal – alloy only on these
That’s right, the Wild is meant to be switching from Bosch to Avinox.
The Mondraker does look good, but I agree on the seatpost.
Alloy would be a plus point for me on Commencal, but Direct to Consumer would put me off.
I’m sure there will be many more brands jumping on the Avinox bandwagon soon.
Saw that Commencal on their stand at Les Gets in the summer, looked pretty swish
The combination of Commencal and DJI customer service on an eBike would put me off though. I’d want to buy from a local dealer
Of this headline, the only thing I actually understand is “review".Â
Turns out it’s a mountain bike, who knew. Interested to read it.Â
Turns out it’s an eMTB, shame, no longer interested
Cool story
The Whyte Karve prototype was ‘leaked’ (as if!) a week or two back by various outlets. As far as FF ebikes go, it looked decent.
The idea that a bike by a company that was formed in the 80s from a country with arguably a greater cycling culture than the UK isn’t ‘mainstream’ I find mildly amusing.
Genuinely not heard of the brand before. Not being flippant, but have they had much profile in the UK?Â
not MTB – they’ve never made one as far as I’m aware but they’re massive (like world leader type massive) in the trials world.
It is funny how it seems you can stick any manufacturer on an ebike and they’re all great. Megamo, Teewing, Amflow, Husqvarana (sp?) etc – none of which have history of creating a bike and yet shove a motor in and people will ride them. I guess a load of them are pretty much just catalogue frames with?
I haven’t seen a shop selling them that I can recall but then they have got 40 odd years of history in their home country.
Show’s how far the sport has come that it seems it’s pretty hard to make a complete dog of a bike these days. It group tests it seems there are no bad bikes, just ones that a less good or that do things slightly better.
I’m only going by the Megamo website but there are catalogue pics from the 90s/00s, UCI XC racing, etc.Â
My guess would be that eBiking has made mountain biking more interesting to a wider group of people who aren’t necessarily wedded to the default specialized/trek/etc.Â
Husky have been making two wheelers for a century and are/were part of a huge Austrian/German conglomerate of bike brands.
As for Amflow, they’re DJIs own brand. As a company they are massively wealthy so getting the resources together to produce a one bike range doesn’t seem like the hardest hurdle to overcome.
For me it’s more the size of the logo and their choice of font, than whether the brand has a rich history or not.
I don’t even like the big Orbea logo on the non-drive side of my Rise, but I never see it when riding it, and I only ever take drive side photos of it since it’s one of the rules.
As for DJI, they pretty much just copied the Stumpjumper for the Amflow.
Teewing are likely Chinese catalogue frames as they were scooter/urban bike brand until recently. I believe there may be some link there with LightCarbon.
I can’t remember when I last read some much bollocksÂ
The first thing I thought when I saw the Mondraker was it looked like a lawnmower! But that might be the colour