Staff Bike Check: Gregor's Custom Santa Cruz Megatower

Our Dirt School Coach, Gregor, recently stepped off his Hightower and onto the new Santa Cruz Megatower. With a preference for the steep and natural, but still enjoying trail centre laps, Gregor’s riding seems a perfect fit for the new Megatower; plenty of travel and capability for the iconic Golfie trails that are a staple of Gregor’s riding, but versatile enough to lap Glentress after work without being overly slow or sluggish.

So pull up a comfy chair and get a brew on as we take a closer look at Gregor’s bike, his spec and learn a little about his setup. 

“My new Megatower feels stiff and confidence inspiring to drive into rough sections of trail; sections where before I might expect to get knocked off line the Megatower doesn’t flinch, letting me ride technical sections of trail comfortably” - Gregor

Gregor has taken the idea of an enduro bike and run with it, his parts selection is squarely aimed at maximising the descending performance of the Megatower above all else. With this in mind, Gregor has fitted a 170mm RockShox Zeb Ultimate to the front of his bike. Coming with RockShox’s new Charge 3 damper, the Zeb gives incredible mid stroke support and allows the use of lower air spring pressures, giving a very supple feel in the beginning portion of the travel.

Gregor’s RockShox Zeb Ultimate is inflated to 60psi and fitted with 1 token. Setup with High Speed Compression fully open and 2 clicks from open on Low Speed Compression, Gregor has his fork setup to allow it to move easily into its travel, increasing traction and improving comfort. His rebound, currently set at 3 clicks from open, is something Gregor is constantly adjusting to find a setup he is happy with. Faster rebound allows the wheel to stay in contact with the trail more, giving more traction and reducing wheel lockups, too fast though and the bike can feel skittish on trail. 

The RockShox Super Deluxe Select + is setup with 170psi and 3 clicks from open on the rebound, although, similar to his fork, this is something Gregor is adjusting to find his ideal setup. 

Gregor’s suspension setup is slightly softer and faster rebounding than the manufacturer's factory settings. The trails in the Tweed Valley are steep and technical with an almost constant trail chatter trying to disrupt the bike and nudge it off line. A slightly softer and faster suspension setup allows the bike to track the ground better, and pull more traction from the technical sections so common in the Tweed Valley. This gives a more confidence inspiring ride, allowing Gregor to focus on driving his bike into rough sections and carry more speed.

The cockpit is an all Burgtec affair, with a 22.5mm rise aluminum RideWide bar cut to 750mm and fitted to a 35mm enduro mk.3 stem. Narrower bars allow Gregor to move the bike around with smaller inputs and gives a bit more wiggle room to squeeze through the tight trees up on the Golfie and the short stem shortens the reach of the bike slightly giving a more maneuverable feel. Gregor has chosen aluminum handlebars as they give a more forgiving ride, helping to reduce arm pump on longer descents. Burgtec Bartender Pro Super Soft grips give more traction and vibration damping than a harder compound grip, allowing Gregor to loosen his grip on the bars further helping to reduce arm pump. 

“The slacker and longer geometry of the Megatower, compared to my old Hightower, gives the bike an incredibly stable and comfortable ride on rough and steep terrain, breeding confidence to push the bike hard.” - Gregor

Providing maximum stopping power and control are SRAM Code RSC brakes with 200mm SRAM HS2 rotors front and back. With excellent power, great modulation and long intervals between bleeds, the Code RSCs were an easy choice for Gregor when speccing his Megatower. Gregor uses sintered pads year round for their excellent power and heat management as well as a longer pad life. 

Being the only contact patch with the trail, tyre choice can totally change the ride of a bike. Gregor has fitted WTB tyres to the front and back of his Megatower. WTB’s Verdict is fitted up front in Light Casing and High Grip rubber, bringing a tenacious bite from the large centre and side knobs. A WTB Judge in Heavy Casing with High Grip rubber is fitted to the rear. Gregor has chosen the lighter weight front tyre as a more flexible tyre casing can more easily deform around roots and other trail obstacles, giving more traction. Still with plenty of sidewall support, Gregor is able to run his front tyre at 23psi and rear at 25psi, with no inserts. 

The WTB tyres are fitted to Raceface AR30 rims on DT Swiss 370 hubs. Modern tyres are designed to be used with slightly wider rims, so these 30mm Raceface rims give Gregors tyres an ideal profile, allowing them to perform at their best. No nonsense DT Swiss 370 hubs keep on spinning with long intervals between bearing changes, keeping Gregor on his bike longer

SRAM’s GX Eagle rear mech and 10-50t cassette work with a 30t Burgtec chainring to spin Gregor to the top of the next trail. The slightly smaller chainring size still gives Gregor plenty of top end speed but allows him to spread the wear on his cassette across more gears when climbing, extending the life of his cassette. 

Gregor’s Megatower v2 Full Specification

Frame - Santa Cruz Megatower C size: L. Matte Invisiframe kit with custom decals

Fork - RockShox Zeb Ultimate 170mm (50psi, 2 tokens)

Shock - RockShox Super Deluxe Select + (170psi)

Wheelset - Raceface AR 30 rims on DT Swiss 370 hubs

Tyres - Front: WTB Verdict High Grip Light Casing (22psi, no insert) Rear: WTB Judge High Grip Heavy Casing (24psi, no insert)

Brakes - SRAM Code RSC with SRAM HS2 200mm rotors

Drivetrain - SRAM GX Eagle 10-50t cassette

Chainring - Burgtec 30t

Cranks - SRAM X01 Eagle 170mm

Dropper post - RockShox Reverb 175mm

Saddle - Burgtec Cloud

Bar - Burgtec Ride Wide Alloy 22.5mm rise, 35mm clamp, 750mm wide

Grips - Burgtec Bartender Pro Minnaar Signature, Super Soft

Stem - Burgtec mk.3 Enduro stem, 35mm clamp, 35mm reach

Pedals - Burgtec mk.5 Penthouse

For more information on our Megatower stock, or to discuss a custom build of your own, give us a call or drop by our shop in Innerleithen.

01896 831 429