Those very nice chaps, Howard and Jo at Pedal & Spoke in deepest darkets Peaslake just got a carbon Nomad in as a demo bike and very kindly let me take it out for a quick spin.

Quite simply this bike is a game changer.

167mm travel and weighs sub 28lbs with DHX Air and RS Lyrik air (so room to drop about 1lb in weight with Fox float front and rear), and regular finishing kit; warranted to take up to a 180mm fork (yes really!) this thing climbed like my Cotic Soul and descended like my DH bike. The suspension isn’t quite as supple as my Horst link Nicolai but it’s ten times better over big square edge roots and drops that litter Pitch Hill.

Think about it; a bike that pedals really well, gives great trail feedback, handles very nimbly, with the potential to weigh 27lbs, super stiff (as stiff if not stiffer than my Nic) and yet with a coil rear damper, Totem up front and heavier wheels, a bike that can ride almost as well as a DH bike.

Stunning.

Not cheap mind!

And I thought this would be about 29" wheels!

dibs on the Nic then!

You rode a 6" travel bike round Surrey?

but it’s ten times better over big square edge roots and drops that litter Pitch Hill.

You are Nathan Barley, and I claim my £5

I was hoping the future would be cheap. 🙁

You rode a 6" travel bike round Surrey?

That's almost a Troll but not quite.

Yes I rode a 6" bike round Surrey, what of it? A) It weighs less than the new Orange Five and B) it pedals better than the Orange Five and C) It goes down faster than your mum – no offence to the Orange Five mind, just that it's a sort of benchmark bike really.

The future will be cheap.

In ten years time all bikes over £1000 will be made of carbon. When the manufacturing volumes go up with demand (and it will) it will get cheap.

ANyone want to make me a reasonable offer on a six month old Helius AM?

Quite simply this bike is a game changer

really?? Is it a paradigm too ? Or just another bouncy bike ?

C) It goes down faster than your mum – no offence to the Orange Five mind, just that it's a sort of benchmark bike really.

Classy.

Yes I rode a 6" bike round Surrey

what did you do with the 4" leftover?

In ten years time all bikes over £1000 will be made of carbon

a sweeping statement if you like 🙂 And what, for instance, of titanium ?

Square edged roots??
Just as fast on my PA thanks…. 8) and more involving.

hmmm this months dirt reckons the new app butcher is as good as the carbon nomad and half the price?!

though that was ragging themt round some welsh mountains

did you happen to see 'Dave' out on your travels then ? 😉

Do you not find that the latest 160mm plus XC bikes take away a lot of the feel of the trail,(probably not described well but you know what i mean) or to put it another way you have to be going that bloody fast to get to the limit that XC becomes a body armour ride?

I dont live in Surrey, why would he see me?

did you happen to see 'Dave' out on your travels then ?

That's the reason he "borrowed" it … to impress Dave 😀

be interested to see it compared to the Mojo HD which is very similar, and if it were my £2k+ (and this is speaking as an ally Nomad owner and bit of a fanboi) I'd be getting the Mojo purely on warranty/support reputation. Ibis are renowned for back up, even to second owners, whereas SC are so confident in their "strongest frame ever" theyve given it a massive TWO year warranty 😯 🙄
By comparison, Easton warranty is 5yrs on ally parts, lifetime on carbon, in order to show faith in plastic fantastic.
Agree that CF full sussers will become more common.
SC seem to be pushing the stiffness improvement more than the weight loss angle.
And no I dont find the 160mm isolates me from the trail/ride/feel, and as it weighs as much as my 456 (and most of the mmmbops on a recent thread) theres no weight penalty to the travel either.

"Quite simply this bike is a game changer."
🙄

Either way, Howard's a lovely chap and I wish him well!

You are Nathan Barley, and I claim my £5

😀

It goes down faster than your mum

cheap shot.

Tried the Carbon Nomad and Blur on a demo in the lakes. The Nomad might be better down, but if you plan on riding uphill and twisty singletrack then the blur would be my choice everytime, much more flickable.

I also tried the Nickel and I've got to say I was seriously tempted. Over the last few months I've tried the Scott Genius, Yeti 575 (current bike) and stumpjumper, in the end I went for the blur.

I think my point was that when you can build a bike with that amount of travel and have it weigh the same as your average trail bike with 30% less travel (like the Mojo HD, which I haven't ridden but is probably just as revolutionary), well then that's where the game is being changed. When you apply the technology on a broader basis the possibilities are pretty exciting.

Oh and Munque-Chick, glad some one gets it!

geetee, its cool to see someone get so enthused about a bike, ridicule or no ridicule from the jaded STW lot. the plastic nomad has a lot of fans on MTBR (where its been out longer) and theyve used the game changer moniker too. Hyperbole or not the point is people are riding it and absolutely loving it, which is what really matters.

I did 30,000+ft of climbing in 10 days riding in the rockies a few weeks ago on mine. the only problems I had were some chain tug in granny (its a Mk1 with more interaction than later designs) and the last time I did that much climbing there were four jet engines underneath me… 😆

oh go on then gratuitous picture whoring 😆

@geetee – told you so, in a round about way……who's going carbon…………..?

TLR – the minute I turned the pedals in anger I thought of you 😆

So was this what you had in mind or was it the HD?

the nomad.
but the s1000rr took precedence.

A 6" carbon bike that weighs as much as the current 4" travel bikes is great. But I can't help thinking I'd still only want the 4-5" and weight saving.

30,000ft in 10 days, thought there were hills in the Rockies 😆

6"+ of travel and sub 28lbs? Sounds like my futuristic 2005 ML8 8)

You have these at Pitch Hill?

Or you could save a load of money and get a little bit fitter and stronger and not notice the extra weight? I mean, don't get me wrong I'm sure it's a nice bike, but do you think the weight saving really makes that much difference?

Grum – I've lost 6kg in the last 2 months and that's made a huge difference so yes I agree in part. Saving weight of your bike though makes a huge difference also.

Hot, sort of like a heavy Mojo HD then?

The one you rode has about an extra pound or two of weight over the Carbon Nomad on the Santa Cruz website, which is 28.65lbs claimed, mysterious.

http://www.santacruzbicycles.com/nomad_carbon/#builder.php

What tree has square-edged roots? Is it the one that grows those square melons?

>steve_b77 – Member
>30,000ft in 10 days, thought there were hills in the Rockies

the best thing is, in those same 10 days we descended 52,000 feet 8) 8)

it still amazes me how people cant except what other people want to ride,some people have a bad back,some like the confidence of a bigger bike some like it rigid etc,

im pretty sure i could take most riders over surrey for a xc ride and they could do everything on a hardtail but most would wish they had a full suss.

i like being over biked ,i like riding rigid ss to, i just like being on a bike .

Lock – couldn't have put it better myself.

You rode a 6" travel bike round Surrey?

You know, he's kind of got a point there. I've ridden there a fair bit, and never seen anything that's all that 'gnarly' really. Nothing that can't be done on a hardtail, or even a fully rigid bike for that matter. I understand some strange folk even do it on Crossers. The Surrey Hills aren't really going to see anyone getting the maximum out of a 6" trail bike tbh. Maybe more suited to big mountains and that.

But of course, ride what you want to. I've no doubt a full-susser would be more comfy round Pitch Hill etc, but I'm not about to rush out and buy one because a) I can't afford one and b) I just don't need one for the kind of riding I do. I would love to own one though. And that Nomad sounds great.

People drive cars that can go way over the 70mph National Speed Limit. Maybe they should all get G-Wizzes and mopeds….

In 10yrs time we'll all be riding Hoverbikes that we'll transport to the top of the trails in our flying cars. I'm pretty sure Maggie Philbin assured us this would be the case in 1978. So really, the amount of travel, and the climbing ability of the bike will both be moot, won't they?

B. 8)

You know, he's kind of got a point there.

I agree to a point. The point would be even more relevant if people only ever rode in one place but a lot of people don't and I guess the flexibility of having one bike that is as capable of doing Surrey Hills as it is La Flegere in Chamonix or Kind Scout in the Peak is quite appealing.

I've ridden extensively in the Surrey Hills on both my AM bike and my hardtail (as well as Wales, Chamonix, Peak, Lakes etc) and I have as much fun on both but for very different reasons but I've never felt that the 150mm bike was too much for any trail; it just allows me to ride a heck of a lot faster and I quite like that.

Besides, the surrey hills aren't quite as tame as everyone would like to think they are. There are some fairly steep sections, some steep tight turns, decent drops and some fairly big jumps – certainly there are more drops and jumps than I've come across in the Peak or Welsh trail centres.

All of that could easily be ridden on a HT by a capable rider (reference here to Jon Edwards on any one of his Cotics) but at the same time, go and try riding with someone like Howard or Jo from Pedal & Spoke. They will be on 34lb Nomads (until they get their Carbon ones 😉 ) and just try to stay with them going either up or down; those guys are blindingly fast and then look to see if they aren't having just as much fun as anyone else.

I'm pulling your leg…mostly. I use to have a Helius FR. I rode it a couple of times round the Chilterns (pretty much the same as Surrey, really) it was a hoot, literally made me giggle out loud. So I know what you mean.

I guess the flexibility of having one bike that is as capable of doing Surrey Hills as it is La Flegere in Chamonix or Kind Scout in the Peak is quite appealing.

I agree totally, I got shot of a Inbred, Hummer and the Helius, and bought a Chameleon. 140mm travel, fat tyres….perfect