Yes, you can put a bottle cage inside the front triangle (on my XL anyway).

Interested to hear people’s thoughts on these as well.

Al – how tall are you and what’s the XL size like. I’m just over 6′ 2″ and wondering which might be the best size if I was to get one

Al, how does it compare to the Reign X ?

It’s bigger, so it’s hard to compare. The ReignX has a shorter stroke shock for longer travel, so I worked the shock a lot more (blew it twice but only rode the thing a couple of dozen times). I’d say the Mega pedals better but feels as good down.

I got one a few months ago after trying one and decided i HAD to have one over the specialized enduro i was running at the time, anyways, i have a large, im 6’0 tall with a 6’3 wingspan and i find the large perfect with a 60mm stem, i think its an amazing bike once i got used to the slack head angle, it flies over the jumps waaay better than my old steed and i find it to be a great xc bike too, im made up with mine

He’s 5′ 10″ and has a large, IIRC.
How long are his arms/torso compared to his legs. Makes more of a difference than his height.

Don’t bother with a Monarch Plus if you’ve got the old bike, just get TF tuned to stick the PUSH internals in it and bump up the ending stroke rebound a little.

It’s a totally different kettle of fish now.

I was looking at building up one of these. How would it compare to my old Patriot 66? I wanted something that I could chuck about with jumps and drops. Currently I am doing this with a Cannondale Prophet and a Dialled Bikes Alpine.

I have an 2013 AM in medium.

For the last 6 years I have ridden Intense frames in a small but realised this summer that with the progression in my riding and more focus on racing in France I need a longer frame for high speed stability. Decided on a Nukeproof as I get a massive discount on their products (and not having the full amount of cash for a YT Wicked LTD) so went for the medium frame. The top tube is 2″ longer than my Intense was so took a far bit of getting used to. 35mm stem sorted that out rightly.

Anyway, threw the Monarch+ in the bin as after the first ride, the bike felt dead on the trail. No real small bump sensitivity and due to these frames essentially being a single pivot design brake jack was apparent.

I’ve ridden a VPP frame with BOS for the past 5 years so fired a Stoy in the rear and my 180mm Idylle SC’s on the front.

Transformation! Amazing the difference a shock can make. Went out for a 26 mile all mountain ride there at the weekend with 2500 feet of elevation. Bike climbs well, it just sits in the sag nicely and doesn’t bob, but is a little heavy. On descent, well point down and ride anything.

So in short in my opinion they are a good frame, not great but certainly good. Paint quality is certainly not the best so I covered all the right areas in heli tape or Sugru. The real test for me will be next season when I have a load of races lined up but I feel that the Mega will perform ever bit as well as my Intense did but being more stable due to the longer wheelbase.

Go buy one 🙂

Friend mentioned above replaced his 66 with a Mega. He reckons the Mega climbs better, but hasn’t really commented anymore – I’ll ask him.

The question for me is if I need any more travel as my fav trails are ones where you are pumping the trail. What I realy want is to build up a strong bike that can take the clinks out of potential mistakes!