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NBD - a bike for th...
 

NBD - a bike for the Surrey hills

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[#13535176]

Picked up a new to me Santa Cruz Megatower v2 cc from pinkbike. 
I was looking for a longer travel bike as I plan on entering some more races this year and also wanted a bike for trips away. I’d found a few v1 megatowers then this popped up on pinkbike for a bit more than I originally wanted to spend but the spec is top notch. 

I went out for a quick spin this afternoon and first impressions are very good. Surprised how much I liked the axs stuff and the brakes. I was planning on selling the Lewis brakes and getting some code rsc as that’s what I’ve got on my other bikes but from the first ride it’s pretty clear how powerful they are so may give them more time before deciding what to do with them.

The formula forks and shock need some more time to set up properly but I just got it home fitted some pedals and went out for a ride 

Happy that I’ll finally fit in with all the other Santa Cruz owners in Peaslake!

IMG_2003.jpeg IMG_2001.jpeg IMG_2005.jpeg 


 
Posted : 17/04/2026 8:35 pm
Tom83, tall_martin, citizenlee and 7 people reacted
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That is a nice bike and AXS works brilliantly

I have some bad news for you though....

Posted by: muggomagic

Happy that I’ll finally fit in with all the other Santa Cruz owners in Peaslake!

you're too late, they've all got motors now!


 
Posted : 17/04/2026 8:48 pm
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Posted by: Rubber_Buccaneer

you're too late, they've all got motors now!

Ah Crap


 
Posted : 17/04/2026 8:57 pm
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Nice looking bike.

 


 
Posted : 17/04/2026 9:46 pm
 LAT
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When I saw the title I was wondering what you’d got. I was close but had predicted that there’d be a motor. Im a bit disappointed 


 
Posted : 17/04/2026 10:34 pm
 LAT
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Ps

nice bike.  I have some formula forks. I feel they work better with more damping than you’d expect. 

There is a video of Josh bryceland having his forks set up by a formula technician. It’s not a technical video, but I found it useful to watch. 


 
Posted : 17/04/2026 10:36 pm
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Cheers I’ll check it out. 
the forks felt quite harsh but when I checked the pressures at home they had less pressure in the negative chamber than the positive. So I’ve sorted that out and will see how it goes tomorrow. 


 
Posted : 17/04/2026 10:42 pm
 Alex
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Nice looking bike that. I looked at Megatowers (and Hightowers) before opting for the Bronson. Think I'd have be happy with any of them.


 
Posted : 18/04/2026 8:40 am
muggomagic reacted
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Nice bike, my mate had one and I always liked the look of it, nearly bought one myself

Not a criticism, if it works for you then that's all that matters, but I've no idea how people can ride bikes with saddles like that, it would feel horrendous to me


 
Posted : 19/04/2026 7:31 am
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Yeah it’s personal I guess, I always used to set the saddle parallel to the ground when unweighted.
I think the angle of the picture makes the saddle angle look more extreme than it actually is. I do tend to tip the nose down a little bit on the saddles now else things get a bit numb. The raised angle section at the back of the saddle provides a bit of support when pedalling so it feels fine to me. 


 
Posted : 19/04/2026 1:32 pm
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3 rides in now and yesterday was having issues with the forks feeling really harsh and the rear brake having the virtually no throw. So I actually spent a bit of time before I went out this morning setting it up properly for me. 
I raised the stem and rolled the bars back a bit. Adjusted the bite point on the brakes and finally properly set up the suspension. Glad I did as it now feels really good. Some more dialling to be done but now in a much better place.

Pretty impressed with the Lewis brakes so far. The adjusters make a noticeable difference and there is a lot of power there. I was initially thinking of selling them and replacing with a second hand set of code rsc but will give them a bit more of a go before deciding  

IMG_2013.jpegIMG_2019.jpegIMG_2018.jpegIMG_2017.jpegIMG_2016.jpeg 


 
Posted : 19/04/2026 1:46 pm
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Ha ha, fit in? They're going to call you granddad, you without a motor. 


 
Posted : 19/04/2026 3:09 pm
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Posted by: muddyground

They're going to call you granddad, you without a motor. 

Ha, I am partial to an ebike ride up there, but last time I was there (couple of weeks ago) I was pleasantly surprised by the number of other riders on normal bikes. 


 
Posted : 19/04/2026 3:24 pm
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As you’ve got such a bargain on that you could spend some of your savings on going all the way down the fork tuning rabbit hole with a full selection of swappable dampers:

https://ebay.us/m/GMObU3

”Yes, I do need to go out again, I’ve got another six compression tunes to try!” 😉


 
Posted : 19/04/2026 7:26 pm
muggomagic reacted
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I have toyed with the idea of buying the cts valves but having tried fine tuning suspension in the past I just found that I can’t ride consistently enough to tell the difference. I can ride and the same trail with the same settings back to back and it feel good one time and crap the next. 


 
Posted : 20/04/2026 12:54 pm