Bike Check: Ben Cathro's Santa Cruz Megatower is Smaller than You'd Think
Hello, I'm Pinkbike Video Presenter Ben Cathro. I'm hopefully familiar to those of you following our Downhill World Cup and How To Bike content. When I'm not presenting videos or racing World Cups I can be found scooting around my local trails in Scotland on this team spec Santa Cruz Megatower. On the surface, there is nothing too surprising going on here, but when you look deeper I've made a few interesting personal choices.
It was originally my intention to race this bike at some National Enduro races in my home nation of the UK, but with a busy schedule this year the bike never got tested against the clock. It's seen plenty of action as my training bike and it's the bike I chose to ride for season two of How To Bike.
Read on for more insights—including why I chose a size smaller than normal.
It was originally my intention to race this bike at some National Enduro races in my home nation of the UK, but with a busy schedule this year the bike never got tested against the clock. It's seen plenty of action as my training bike and it's the bike I chose to ride for season two of How To Bike.
Read on for more insights—including why I chose a size smaller than normal.
Ben Cathro
Hometown: Pitlochry Scotland
Age: 34
Height / Weight: 199cm / 6'7", 90kg / 198lb
Team: Pinkbike Racing
Instagram: @ben_cathro
Hometown: Pitlochry Scotland
Age: 34
Height / Weight: 199cm / 6'7", 90kg / 198lb
Team: Pinkbike Racing
Instagram: @ben_cathro
Santacruz Megatower Spec
Frame: Santa Cruz Megatower CC, size XL, low flip chip setting, 170mm travel (230 x 65mm shock)
Shock: Ohlins TTX22 m.2, 65mm stroke, 457lb spring, LSR - 10, LSC - 6, HSC - Position 1
Fork: Ohlins RXF38 m.2, 170mm, 120 PSI, 220 PSI Ramp Chamber, LSR - 7, LSC - 14, HSC - Position 1
Wheels: Santacruz Reserve 30|HD, Industry 9 Hydra, Centrelock Hubs
Tires: Continental Kryptotal DH F + R Supersoft, 24 F / 28 R PSI
Drivetrain: Shimano XTR/XT 12speed, 165mm cranks, 10-51 cassette, 32t Chainring
Pedals: Deity T-Mac
Brakes: Shimano XT 4 pot, metallic pads, 203mm Freeza rotors
Cockpit: Deity Blacklabel bars, 31.8mm diameter, 38mm rise, 780mm width, 50mm Copperhead stem, Supracush grips
Throne: Deity Speedtrap
Dropper Post One Up Components Dropper V2.1, 240mm
Inserts Cushcore Pro R, Cushcore XC F
Protection Ride Wrap Tailored Kit
Mudguard Mudhugger Evo Bolt On
Glovebox Pack of peanuts, multitool, gummy worms
Frame: Santa Cruz Megatower CC, size XL, low flip chip setting, 170mm travel (230 x 65mm shock)
Shock: Ohlins TTX22 m.2, 65mm stroke, 457lb spring, LSR - 10, LSC - 6, HSC - Position 1
Fork: Ohlins RXF38 m.2, 170mm, 120 PSI, 220 PSI Ramp Chamber, LSR - 7, LSC - 14, HSC - Position 1
Wheels: Santacruz Reserve 30|HD, Industry 9 Hydra, Centrelock Hubs
Tires: Continental Kryptotal DH F + R Supersoft, 24 F / 28 R PSI
Drivetrain: Shimano XTR/XT 12speed, 165mm cranks, 10-51 cassette, 32t Chainring
Pedals: Deity T-Mac
Brakes: Shimano XT 4 pot, metallic pads, 203mm Freeza rotors
Cockpit: Deity Blacklabel bars, 31.8mm diameter, 38mm rise, 780mm width, 50mm Copperhead stem, Supracush grips
Throne: Deity Speedtrap
Dropper Post One Up Components Dropper V2.1, 240mm
Inserts Cushcore Pro R, Cushcore XC F
Protection Ride Wrap Tailored Kit
Mudguard Mudhugger Evo Bolt On
Glovebox Pack of peanuts, multitool, gummy worms
XL rather than XXL
The biggest surprise for a lot of folks is that I chose to ride an XL instead of Santa Cruz's XXL size. The XXL size is a more comfortable bike for me, but as I spent most of the year racing DH I wanted to size down to make my trail bike a bit more unstable, which translates to playful and exciting.
Tall bars for the tall man. Narrow gauge Deity Blacklabel bars in their tallest 38mm rise offering. The most compliant bar they offer paired with their fat grips keeps things comfy.
Spot the spacers. 55mm of spacers raises the stack height and shortens the reach. I'm a fan of a high front end and lots of spacers is the compromise for sizing down the frame and therefore head-tube length.
Big meats.
Continental's new range of tires made a big impression on the World Cup series this year. I run the DH casing with inserts on my trail bike too as I'm a heavy dude and like the stability and security of the heavier tires. This extra protection plus the Cushcore inserts means my Reserve wheels haven't needed any attention at all this year.
Low setting. This isn't for BB or head angle adjustment. It's mainly for a more progressive leverage curve for the coil shock to keep it feeling a bit poppier.
Size-specific chainstays on the mk2 Megatower help to keep things balanced. I'm a Shimano fanboy as well.
The OneUp 240mm dropper was a gamble as I wasn't sure it would fit in the XL frame due to the shock tunnel. Luckily there's room to spare at the height I run the saddle. The noticeably steeper seat tube angle on the mk2 Megatower makes things way comfier on the steep climbs compared to my mk1.
Ideal for autumn stunts in the leaves.
Absolute rig.
As always, huge thanks to the brands who help make Pinkbike Racing and How To Bike happen.
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"It was originally my intention to race this bike at some National Enduro races in my home nation of the UK, but with a busy schedule this year the bike never got tested against the clock"
so he had full intentions of racing this and didn't necessarily think it was slower / faster until timed testing.
"I wanted to size down to make my trail bike a bit more unstable, which translates to playful and exciting."
He didn't suggest it would be "unstable" (as you say) but less stable relative....
5'8" - 450 reach. It couldnt be more perfect.
The XXL is the size down from what he should be riding...
I would wager that the number of people in the comments and/or retail buyers of full suspension bikes over 140mm of rear travel, that *identify* as "serious enduro riders/racers" is likely around 25-30%. thats from my experience in the MTB industry.
I'm intrigued by your 55mm of spacers. Both Fox and RS don't recommend more than 30mm I believe. I always figured it was for their lawyers, but if Ben Cathro can run 55mm and not break the thing I feel pretty good about cutting my next fork a bit longer.
Could it be a typo? Or maybe Ben got lost in translation to metric units.
To my eye it looks like there is only a 20mm and a 10mm spacer.
Not a fan of RAD's sizing recommendations but I like the concept of actually measuring yourself (beyond height) to determine bike fit.
A few brands would kill it if they split the difference between the follow-the-sheep sizing that everyone seems to be doing.
I get it though, I am often on the brink of L and XL
That being said, if higher unit prices meant more racers why doesn't Yeti have a bigger Enduro or a DH team? Commencal bikes are more affordable per unit but they had so many race teams I can't even keep track.
1) The pursuit of the perfect fit is just another excuse to blame our gear. There's a reasonably large window of bike size we can adapt to and still have fun out there.
But 2) when a bike handles exactly how we want and expect it to, it helps us enter the flow state... Which is kind of the whole point of the whole MTB exercise.
From experience I’d say that my bike feeling perfectly dialed (as opposed to even just good) makes a big difference to my riding.
If it feels just right, I’m comfortable and in control and thus I’m riding with confidence.
Cool bike check though. Always helpful to know how other tall riders set things up.
Re sizing down: I’m 6’8” and used to ride 510mm reach (longest I could find available at the time). I noticed my lower back would really start to tighten up, especially on trails that require a lot of pumping/active riding. For me, sizing UP to a frame with 528mm reach has mostly resolved that issue.
Curious if you’ve had any height related discomfort with different frames/sizes.
I should add, I did change more than one variable at a time. Reach went up, stack went up too. I’m using the same bars as I was on my old frame, but I have more spacers under the stem now (new fork, longer steerer). I also started doing Jefferson curls once or twice per week to work on building some strength in the posterior chain.
Anyway, my grips are roughly level with the saddle now (with dropper fully extended) whereas on my old setup they were an inch or two below. Although in one of the pictures in this article, it looks like Ben’s grips are waaaaay below the saddle!
At 6'8", I would recommend you try raising the handlebar height dramatically (as much rise as you can get given your height).
When I read this article, I was surprised, and also curious, to see that someone very close to my height has setup their bike with what appears to be a dramatically lower stack AND significantly shorter reach than what seems to work for me. My personal experience suggests that if I were to try to ride Ben’s bike, even in very moderate or mild terrain, I would be in physical pain!
5mm Shorter cranks solved back pain from riding
Opens up pelvic angle or something
I’m on a XL as well because the trails just are not built for such long ass bikes. It’s a struggle to get around some of the tight corners on the shore on an XL already. The only thing that I’m lacking is enough stack height as my bike came with too short of a steerer tube.
I wonder if there's any truth to that. Like does a size Large feel just as stable for a 6-2 guy as it does for a 5-9 guy mostly? Its not like I can get that KTM450 in 4 different wheelbases based on my size, only the seat height can be changed.
To your point, motos come it 1 size, you can adjust the bars fore/aft 25mm, and up down say ~25mm, footpegs up down 10mm, seat up down 30mm....so we are talking an INCH here or there....they are stable for guys 5-5 (many top MX guys) and guys like David Knight and Pole Tarres (6-4+) with those very basic tweaks....
I think a better example would be a dirtbike where you have a single platform, single wheelbase and you put riders of all heights on them, they are all stable regardless of rider height.
youtu.be/P18SutYYL5I
"Though longitudinally stable when stationary, a bike may become longitudinally unstable under sufficient acceleration or deceleration, and Euler's second law can be used to analyze the ground reaction forces generated.[86] For example, the normal (vertical) ground reaction forces at the wheels for a bike with a wheelbase {\displaystyle L}L and a center of mass at height {\displaystyle h}h and at a distance {\displaystyle b}b in front of the rear wheel hub, and for simplicity, with both wheels locked, can be expressed as:[9]..."
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bicycle_and_motorcycle_dynamics
It's part of the reason a good moto suspension technician puts stiffer springs on a moto for taller riders, they can shift weight further forward and backwards.
That kind of Stability isn't the same user experience as going over the bars. Probably should use different term for the OTB hangup. While going OTB might be related to stability...they aren't inherently the same thing.
I think wheelbase (not reach) and stability are of course related...and *perhaps* somewhat unrelated to the height of the rider. Aka the moto world doesn't care if you are all or not wrt to wheelbase. They just get the cockpit adjusted and the seat and bobs your uncle.
Remember we're talking about bicycles where most of the system mass is the rider. Motorcycles are the opposite so rider height doesn't often system CoM as much.
The moto world unlike the bicycle world has most of the mass in the bike so CoM is less affected by rider height.
Using that logic, if a taller rider can use height and weight to control any real or perceived stability issues AND have a more maneuverable bike....seems like that would be the right thing to do, best of both worlds?
And I think we need to be careful about using terms like "unstable"....reality is, even if a shorter bike is "less stable" or as Ben says "more unstable" doesn't mean it's an unstable platform....
"Using that logic, if a taller rider can use height and weight to control any real or perceived stability issues"
They can't though. This is why even Greg Minnaar crashes sometimes.
I’m on a MK1 XXL at 6’4” 190lbs sitting on the TTX22m with 30% sag 571lb spring. Doesn’t seem possible to run anything lighter.
I also have the Megatower 1, that I ride with a 30mm stem. That thing is almost too long for tech riding here in the Northeast. If I had to buy an MK2, I would downsize too - unless I’d live in the alps with all the highspeed/brain off riding that they have there. 1310+ mm in wheelbase is a no-go for me personally.
They build good bikes? But their sizing communication is for the trashcan.
I have the shock and it’s phenomenal on a Tallboy and my wife rides a scor 4060 and I think it would pair with it very well
+ the bike is cool!
I am 198cm/~6’6” and have the XXL Megatower 1 and the XXL Hightower 1, which has virtually the same Reach as the new XL Megatower once the stem is brought up to proper height. The Megatower is a BIG big for me and especially after a full day riding and getting tired it pretty much rides me. On the other hand, the with the Hightower I definitely get better through EasCoast tech chunk, but it’s tiring in its own way. For me personally, I’d immediately jump on a slightly(!) shorter Reach bike, BUT with the same high Stack - which is where Santa Cruz shines for tall people and allow downsizing better than others.
Others’ “long” bikes show up with a 520 or whatnot Reach, but on paper have a 630 Rise. ROFL. That works for shorter people that want to size up, but not vice versa. Look at those new Specialized or Yetis (that now offer XXL options too), that show up with a 120mm or what steerer and supposedly are OK for folks up to 210cm. Once the stem is at proper height, you’ll have a 490 or so Reach and a 4-5cm spacer tower. LOL. That is actually pretty small.
All these weirdos on their "bikes are getting too long!!!"-crusade literally don't even know how good they have it. If you don't like the reach number of a frame, just size down and be done with it. But let tall people have their XL!
"Bike Check: Ben Cathro's Santa Cruz Megatower is Smaller than You'd Think"
His reported height is 199cm.
The reach on his size XL Megatower is 495mm
This matches almost exactly the RideLogic height multiplier for target frame reach.
Details in the book Dialed at at www.llbmtb.com.
Would be hilarious to see his bike on the same lift chair as my GF's XS Patrol.
62.5mm is stock at 165mm
Sums up most of the comments on PB
A healthy weight to the rest of the world