Josh’s 2026 Megamo West 01
Working in a bike shop means spending quite a lot of time thinking about your next bike. For Josh, our Blackburn mechanic, the answer was a Megamo West 01. A very capable gravel bike with a lovely one piece cockpit, generous tyre clearance and, most importantly, purple paint.
We’d tell you to come along on a staff ride and see it for yourself, but Josh confirming his attendance isn’t quite the same as Josh attending.
When he does turn up, though, the West gets put to work.
A loose interpretation of gravel
Gravel means different things to different people, somewhere on the spectrum between a road hack and full on downhill run. For some, it might be quiet lanes, forest roads and a café stop. Josh’s interpretation includes trails that most people would bring at least 120mm of travel to.
That makes his praise for the West’s ride quality particularly relevant. He describes it as supple and compliant, taking the sting out of rough ground and keeping things comfortable when the surface gets messy. Given what he’s asking it to ride over, or send it down, that’s a fairly strong endorsement.
The generous tyre clearance is another highlight. Room for bigger rubber is useful on any gravel bike, but especially when your route planning appears to involve checking where the mountain bikers are going and following them. Josh is currently running a 2.1-inch Vittoria Mezcal up front, paired with a 50mm Vittoria Terreno T50 at the rear.
It’s clearly a bike with plenty of capability. Josh is making quite sure none of it goes unused.
Cockpit perfection
Ask Josh what he likes about the West and the one piece cockpit gets an immediate mention. His verdict: flawless.
For someone who spends his working day finding things that need adjusting, replacing or explaining to customers, that’s high praise.
It gives the bike a beautifully tidy front end, and it’s one of the details he’s particularly pleased with out on the trails. There’s a lot to like about a bike that looks this clean while being ridden somewhere quite so filthy.
And yes, it’s purple
We could spend longer discussing the finer points of the West, but we should give appropriate attention to one of Josh’s main reasons for liking it.
It’s purple.
A perfectly valid consideration. You can study geometry charts and compare components for weeks, but at some point you still want to open the shed and think “that looks good.”
The West comfortably passes that test.
A small seatpost discussion
Josh’s one reservation concerns the lightweight seat post setup, which he’s experienced slipping during some of his more enthusiastic outings.
For traditional gravel riding, he considers it perfectly suitable. His riding, however, regularly ventures into what most people would describe as fairly hardcore mountain biking.
He’s already considering a Reverb AXS dropper, which makes sense given the terrain he enjoys. Being able to lower the saddle for technical descents would be a useful addition to his particular version of a gravel bike.
We’ll leave confirming the fit and compatibility to the mechanic. Conveniently, that’s Josh. Just don’t ask him to measure your Yeti’s headset cups…
What about the climbs?
The West has also joined my Scott Addict Gravel on a few rides, giving Josh an opportunity to appreciate the Scott’s rear end on several climbs.
At an increasing distance.
We should be clear that this is a reflection on the rider. and the Megamo has done nothing to deserve being dragged into it.
More than a weekend toy
Josh has also fitted a Topeak rack, adding a practical side to a bike that already covers plenty of ground. With luggage on board, the West opens up longer adventures, overnight trips and everyday duties alongside his usual questionable trail choices.
It’s a versatile setup for someone who likes to keep his options open, including whether he’s coming on the ride.
A very good bike, when its owner turns up
Underneath the purple paint and the inevitable workshop banter, Josh’s West 01 is a seriously good bike. The cockpit, tyre clearance and supple ride are the things he keeps coming back to, and his choice of terrain gives those qualities a proper workout.
It’s also a good example of why we like sharing staff bikes. These are bikes we’ve chosen ourselves, spent our own money on and taken out into the places we actually want to ride.
In Josh’s case, those places are occasionally questionable. His taste in bikes is considerably easier to defend.
Now we just need to get him to the next ride.
