Megamo West 01 gravel bike

On paper, the Megamo West 01 looks to be a complete package with an impressive spec sheet, a low overall weight, and huge tyre clearance. The purple paint job even looks quite funky too. But the old adage of judging a book by its cover is definitely apt here, as I feel that its geometry lets it down on technical trails and the ride quality isn’t the most involving from a rider’s perspective.

Megamo West 01 – Technical details

Versatility is something you see a lot in Megamo’s blurb for the West. It’s a bike designed to tackle a race, but at the same time it’s marketed as a long-distance adventure machine. To achieve this, the West uses Megamo’s Superlight (SL) full carbon frame, which helps this model here achieve an overall weight of 8.06kg, ideal for racing. As is the completely clean look of directing the brake hoses fully into the frame for a smooth finish, and an aero, clutter-free design.

Compatibility with both 1x and 2x groupsets gives you plenty of gearing options depending on the riding you’re after, and the 50mm of tyre clearance allows you to run wide rubber for added surface area, and therefore grip when tacking your route at speed. Compatibility with a suspension fork and dropper post are neat touches too. From an adventure point of view, there are mounts aplenty on the fork, with a few on the frame too for carrying the usual bottles (up to three) and things. It’s not as equipped as many others though.

Don’t expect to find fixing points for mudguards or racks though. Not that that is a big issue with the amount of bikepacking bags available on the market. It does have some internal storage on the down tube though which allows you to stuff some things like a jacket or some spares inside the frame.

Geometry-wise, the West 01 is available in five sizes ranging from XS to XL. The model I have here is a medium, which has a 565mm top tube, 150mm head tube and 490mm seat tube, which sits at 74 degrees. The head angle is 70 degrees, which is quite slack for a bike with claimed racing intentions, as is the lengthy wheelbase at 1,059mm. The stack and reach figures are 576mm and 400mm respectively.

Various colours are available with this Malva, which is a 2026 option, while for 2027 the offerings are a Nude Black, Sand and Coral. Overall, the build quality of the frame and fork looks to be of a high standard, and the paint job continues that theme.

Megamo West 01 – Componentry

The build contains kit that is probably on a lot of people’s wish lists with the likes of SRAM’s excellent Force XPLR AXS 1x groupset, Zipp 303 XPLR S wheels, Vittoria Terrano (my bike came with Pirellis) tyres and a full carbon integrated cockpit.

SRAM’s Force was updated last year with both the gravel and the road versions getting new lever shapes as well as many other tweaks. The biggest change is the repositioning of the primary brake piston within the lever, moving it from the pommel of the lever into the main body of the hood. This has allowed SRAM to make the whole unit much smaller, which is great for ergonomics and comfort. The biggest benefit, though, is the higher lever pivot of the new design, which means much less effort is needed through your fingers compared to the old levers for a given braking power. SRAM claims true one-finger braking – and it works incredibly well.

The 1x XPLR groupset is 13-speed and spreads those out over a 10-50T cassette and a 40T chainring. You also get a power meter included.

The buttons on the shifter have a light action but are still tactile enough that you can feel the shift taking place. SRAM has improved the quality of the shifts too, and regardless of how muddy the drivetrain is, or how much load you put it under, the shift will happen crisply.

The cockpit on the West is made of carbon and has a really clean look to it. I found it comfortable to use for all kinds of rides, and thanks to a 16-degree flare, the wider stance gives plenty of control when in the drops.

Different frame sizes get differing bar widths with this medium bike using a 410mm width at the hoods, which equates to a 500mm at the drops. The stem length is 90mm. The seatpost is a simple carbon affair with an inline mounting position, while the saddle above it is Fizik’s Vento Argo X5. It’s a saddle that I’ve ridden on many times and find it generally comfortable for all kinds of riding.

Zipp’s 303 XPLR S wheels are deep at 54mm and come with an internal width of 32mm, making them ideal for wide gravel tyres ranging from 40mm to 61mm. They are hookless, which may be something that puts you off them, but I got on great with them. At around 1,650g with valves, they aren’t the lightest out there when it comes to acceleration or climbing, but they do offer an aero advantage and stood up to plenty of abuse on my gravel test routes.

From a manufacturer’s point of view, speccing a gravel tyre for UK conditions can be tricky as our trails can range from mud baths to rock-strewn tracks and everything in between, and that’s before you throw in the weather.

Megamo has played it safe with the Vittoria Terrano T50 tyres, which have a medium tread capable of taking care of hardpacked tracks, slightly loose surfaces, and even roll well on the road. That said, my test bike came with Pirelli tyres, so no real comment there.

Megamo West 01 – Performance

The West 01 is a likeable bike to ride. It’s mild-mannered, easy to live with on the majority of the trails, and the geometry put me into a comfortable position. All of which makes it feel efficient when you have a lot of miles to cover.

The test route I ride encompasses a bit of everything, from wide open hardpacked gravel military transport roads, through to faster, more technical stuff through woodland and everything in between. On the less technical sections, the West 01 performs well. It’s not the best bike I’ve ridden in terms of involvement and feedback, but if that doesn’t bother you then you’ll get on well with it.

As I mentioned above, the head angle is quite slack, which brings composure and a feeling of stability to the front end. Whether the fork is loaded up or not, I was impressed with how the West 01 was easy to keep on my chosen line and never really felt flustered on wide-open descents. If you’re looking for a light carbon gravel bike to explore and have adventures on, then the Megamo ticks a lot of the boxes.

The problem is all of this is counterproductive if you want to go fast or tackle technical terrain, and this is where I completely disagree with Megamo’s claim that this is a do-it-all bike. If you want a race machine, Megamo offers the low-slung Silk for that.

The Megamo lacks snappiness and doesn’t feel as nimble as I was hoping it would be, which certainly took the fun out of riding it. The main problem is the length of the wheelbase; it just makes the West 01 feel lethargic on anything that is even slightly twisty, and as my speed increased, that feeling.

For comparison, something like Scott’s Addict Gravel in a similar size has a wheelbase that is 20mm shorter, and the Open U.P 2.0 is 25mm shorter. Both of these bikes feel much snappier and livelier on the same test route.

The relaxed front end of the Megamo exasperates this too. Its head tube may only be one to one and a half degrees slacker than those other two bikes, but it’s enough to make the West 01 feel ponderous, causing me to have to scrub off more speed than I was expecting to when entering a corner at speed.

On top of that, the carbon layup of the frame does not promote ride feel either, which also adds to the disconnected feeling I found with the West. It felt a little too clinical for me.
Comfort isn’t an issue though. Obviously the Megamo is running some very large volume tyres, but there is a decent amount of compliance in the frame to take the edge off. Again, we’re switching back to attributes that work well from an adventure, steady long ride style of riding, as opposed to those of a fast, racy nature.

In terms of stiffness, the Megamo doesn’t disappoint. Hard efforts through the pedals aren’t wasted thanks to a stiff bottom bracket area which makes the West a decent climber.
To sum everything up from a riding point of view, I’d say if you want a gravel bike that has decent tyre clearance, some load-carrying capabilities and is incredibly easy to ride at endurance-style efforts then the West 01 fits the bill. This isn’t a gravel racer though, or even a bike for faster-paced rides. If your focus is on performance, there are better bikes out there for you.

Megamo West 01 – Verdict

The 2027 West range has five models starting at £2,499 for the West 15, and topping out with this West 01 at £6,199, which quite frankly is a lot of money when you compare it to something like that Scott Addict Gravel I mentioned earlier. When I reviewed it, I described it as a ‘quick handling, fun, fast gravel bike that is capable of being ridden for longer distances’. Basically, it does everything that the Megamo can, but it can also be ridden hard, even raced, and it’s a lot cheaper too for a similar build. With a SRAM Force XPLR AXS groupset, Fulcrum Rapid RED carbon wheelset and a carbon fibre handlebar, the Gravel 10 costs ‘just’ £4,499. The only thing that may go against it is that the tyre clearance is 45mm.

There are a couple of newly launched gravel bikes that are coming in for review very soon from Giant and Specialized. Giant’s new Revolt comes with 53mm of tyre clearance, and the Advanced Pro 0 model with SRAM Force XPLR and Giant’s own carbon wheels has an RRP of £4,999. Specialized’s new Crux 5 takes even bigger tyres at 55mm, and the Expert model costs £5,999 with SRAM Force also.

In the price stakes, Megamo isn’t alone, though charging more than £6k. With the same build as the West 01, Vielo’s V+1 Race Edition costs £6,649, but I would argue that it’d be worth the extra money as it is such a great bike to ride. If you go for the standard V+1 in the same build, you’re looking at £6,149.

On paper, the Megamo has a decent tick list, and when looking around at some other brands it’s not extreme in its price for the kit on offer. But, when it comes to the actual riding, I found the Megamo to be a bit underwhelming, especially when comparing it to something like that Scott Addict Gravel, or the Vielo V+1. The West 01 isn’t a bad bike, far from it in fact. It does everything it needs to; it’s well made, and it’s comfortable. For this sort of money, in my opinion it needs to be something a little bit special, and it just isn’t. It doesn’t feel like a £6k bike, and for someone like me who likes a lot of feedback and a bike that’s really talkative, I was left wanting more.