Hi guys

Here’s my predicament – my current bike is a 2012 Santa Cruz Nomad Carbon. Fitted with a CCDB coil, 2012 Fox Talas 160 forks, reverb, RaceFace Carbon bars, Crank Brithers Iodine 3 (2012). It is a very very nice bike, BUT…….

I’ve just spent a few days in the Alpes – did the PPDS, and a few other bits – I had a fantastic time but realised two things….

1). My bike is way better than I’ll ever be – I was seeing guys riding far inferior bikes to me that were ten times better than I’ll ever be

2) I’m half as good at riding as I thought I was.

I know for a fact I’ll never be able to do my bike justice – so here’s the thing…….do I sell it and buy something cheaper and more appropriate/proportionate to my ability, or just keep it…

It seems stupid to be hauling round a bike that I’ll only ever get about 30% of the potential out of…my previous bike was a meta 5, and I can’t honestly say that I enjoy my nonad anymore than I did that

Opinions please

Do you enjoy riding it? If yes then really that’s all that matters. Your bike you ride it how you can, just have fun, go with it.

Ride what you want, not what you think you should have.

If you sell it you’ll probably make a fairly significant loss. If you’re having as much fun I’d say keep it, if not perhaps see if you can swap or trade it in for something with a bit less travel, which will seem more fun most of the time unless you’re riding downhill tracks. Maybe an Ibis Mojo or a Blur TRc or something similar?

It depends what you ride normally and how you ride it.

Oh yes and MTFU (sorry only joking)

I ride a Nicolai Helius AM and it’s well over biked for Llandega, where we do a lot of riding, but I still enjoy it and when we get further out its great to be on a bike I know (see my Alps Alps Alps Alps thread for this weeks further out).

I have a moto… never knowingly under biked

It’s about having fun.

If you are, then great

Just enjoy your bike and have fun – worry not what other riders are capable of and what bike they are riding, its an amazing bike so enjoy it 😀

I sold my Nomad because it was a bit of a sled for my riding…and also more bike than I needed

If you were better than your bike then you would be ‘hucking’ 6 foot drops on a rigid singlespeed, the fact is you can afford summit decent so enjoy being overbiked and do not worry about the naysayers.

If you were better than your bike then you would be ‘hucking’ 6 foot drops on a rigid singlespeed

That reminds me, my brother once did the biggest drop at Chicksands on a brakeless, fully rigid, 24 inch dirt jumper……without a helmet.

I feel as if I should sell my Mega now LOL. 😡

But my brother is a ****, so feel free to carry on enjoying your Nomad. Better bikes allow you to push your own personal boundries, so you can have a bit more fun without a significant increase in risk bar the increased speed.

😉

Some good replies – thanks.

My other concern is constant worry about it gettin nicked or damaged – at least with something more ‘normal’ id be less arsed – but I’d be gutted to see it go…

My other concern is constant worry about it gettin nicked or damaged – at least with something more ‘normal’ id be less arsed – but I’d be gutted to see it go…

Insurance insurance insurance

and a dog

enjoy your bike. It’s what you worked for, if it makes you happy then ignore everyone else. Remember this. I’m overbiked on my Mega 90 percent of the time, however I can only afford one decent bike so I tend to ignore everyone. I love the thing and I worked damn hard to be able to afford it.

Is there anywhere in the UK that can prepare you for alpine descents? My first time out there and I cannot get my head around the length of the descents – is there any where in the UK that would prepare u for the Alpes?

Is there anywhere in the UK that can prepare you for alpine descents? My first time out there and I cannot get my head around the length of the descents – is there any where in the UK that would prepare u for the Alpes?

First get to Fort William, it’s about the closest you can get to Alpine type riding. Second is cardio training, strength training is not what you want to be doing for arm pump.

try something like this??

HOME

I can sympathise with you..

2010 I was riding at the best I have ever ridden, fittest I’ve ever been etc.. and when I moved house to somewhere with much more technical riding I loved every second and took to it like a duck to water… eventually prompting me to make a few serious upgrades to my bike last Autumn to make it a bit more suited to the terrain..

8 months later with a challenging new family member, significantly heavier workload and a couple of injuries, my riding time is at an all time minimum.. and I know for a fact that I will not have the commitment needed to return to anything approaching that level of fitness and ability any time soon..

so, the 150mm travel forks are going into the classifieds.. a lighter zippier frame is being acquired and it’s time to embrace a more delicate approach to my riding for a while..

Thirdly a Nomad will be considerably easier on your body on long Alpine descents than a Meta.

You won’t be overbiked. Maybe pick up a cheapo hardtail for hooning round your local woods/dirt jumps/chicksands type place. As the more you ride the greater your skills will develop, a hardtail will really help this as well.

Other than that, keep the Nomad.

These days most people’s bikes are better than they’ll ever be. It’s a terrible hardship 😆

If you enjoy it and can afford ride it – doesn’t matter if others can ride better on a lesser bike and you only live once 😀 My new ride is a Yeti 575 from OPA[/url]

Same with everything, although I became considerably quicker on DH tracks when I moved from a Santa Cruz Chameleon to a downhill bike when I was in my teens and still somewhat of a novice. I still am tbh.

Someone I know managed to jump 30 seconds in a DH race by nicking my old SX Trail, he was still probably only going 60 percent as fast as that bike could go.

Do what is fun and what makes you smile. Confidence is also everything, if one bike makes you more confident than another that is the bike you should be riding.

That’s a very brave thing to say, but FWIW it’s a reality shared by the majority on here.

I’m in my late thirties, am physically very fit and have three very highly specc’d bikes to choose from. However, when it comes to skill and balls, the two qualities that decent mountain bikers should have in abundance, I’m decidedly lacking in both.

However, I love riding bikes badly. And the thought of selling one of my bikes? Not a chance.

Oh yeah and you’ll get used to the Alps after a week. When my brother had just started racing downhill at a competitive level and had gained a small sponsorship, he was a good rider.

He was also taken aback by the level of riding in the Alps (mostly the length and steepness of the trails/courses).

Take your time and enjoy, when get back to the UK you will miss never having to climb a single hill and the length/sheer speed of some of the tracks. (Our chalet could be accessed by hoping off the Pleney run about 2/3rds of the way down! Then after lunch we’d ride back DOWN into Morzine and then get lifted back up to the trails….bliss! )

There’s a few guys on my night ride that ride incredibly shit bikes and yet are still better and quicker than the rest of the group by a long way. I personally think its a form of reverse willy waving.
I’m certainly over biked like yourself but what does it matter.
I don’t want to ride at the limits of my skills or my bikes capabilities.
That would give me no margin for error, and I certainly need that more than anything.

What size is it?
I’m in the market for a carbon Nomad.

Why do you even care? Are you worried that complete strangers who you’re never likely to speak to or meet again will think – “ooh look at him – all the gear & no idea” etc?

I’m not being awkward here but realistically, unless you’re competing at the very top pro level, the ride is about pleasure, no? Does it matter how ‘good’ you are if you’re having a great time? There will always be better riders than you, irrespective of what bike you or they ride. I can’t recall who said this recently but it is said that the ratio is 80% rider and 20% bike. I took this to mean that no matter how shit the bike is a good rider will still be a good rider, and no matter how good the bike, a poor rider will still be a poor rider (though a skills course will have a big effect).

In fact how do you quantify good? What makes you think that you can only get 30% potential out of the Nomad – what is 100% ?

It’s all a bit silly really. Just get out on your bike and ride it and don’t worry about what other people are riding. If it makes you smile then it’s done it’s job.

What mildred said, as long as you don’t look down on others yourself for riding cheaper bikes! 😉

Who cares. It’s a bike. Ride it and have a larf. Stop over looking it all, it’s just pedalling.

Or buy an Orange 5 and have an British bike that fixes everything. Apparently.

I was seeing guys riding far inferior bikes to me that were ten times better than I’ll ever be

I know that feeling. You had the feeling that I think 50% or more of riders visiting the Alps have but most don’t like to admit to )

Do you enjoy riding it? If so, carry on regardless, you have a very nice bike..

If not, if it feels a bit ‘big’ as a bike, having room to improve without the bike holding you back is good, but riding a sofa on tamer trails just doesn’t feel good imo. Less involving, less incentive to work with the bike and develop handling skill. Going slower on a hardtail locally as suggested above can help you get hops and jumps right and build up ‘flow’ from there.

30% potential out of the Nomad – what is 100% ?

Have you seen Mark Weir riding one?? Holy crp.. But I have a rigid 29er for local trails, I could claim to be under-biked – yet ever seen Jeff Jones ride? Same thing for me! 🙂

No one needs to justify or deserve their bikes. Just enjoy them and appreciate what you have.

its not what you can ride or what bike you ride. its the size of the smile while you do it that counts

The vast majority of bike owners, never get close to what their bikes can really do. I regularly see people riding freeride bikes round trail centres and 160mm bikes on the tamest xc routes. As long as they are having fun then its all good.

If you want to improve as a rider, their are a number of things you can do:

Buy a dirt jump bike or bmx and practice on bmx and pump tracks n+1 🙂

Look at buying some books on technique and practicing when you go out for rides.

Get some skills coaching from someone who is good.

All of this could be paid for by selling the nomad, but considering how much money you will lose on it, I would ride it for a few years and buy the brian lopes book for 15 quid.

Does the terrain you ride generally feel diluted by the nomad?

There’s no loss in pride in admitting you purchased the wrong bike, selling up and moving on. You never really know until you try it properly. Live and learn.

Are you confusing how good a bike is with travel and how capable of rough stuff it is?

There are times where too much travel can hinder your skills progression, big bike is harder work physically to throw about and make it do what you want it to do, the strength required is exaggerated with poor technique. They maybe easier to hold on and not do anything without dying, but harder to feel what is going on and harder to manhandle.

There is a saying….

When I was in my 20’s, I thought everyone was judging me.
When I was in my 40’s, I no longer cared that they were judging me.
In my 60’s, I realise no one was thinking about me at all.

Enjoy the ride 😀

Another angle.
Is it maybe the fact you have spent many £££’s of pounds creating a wonderful machine, and dont want to break it?
Yes , riding a quality nicely set up bike where everything works as it should every time is great. If , however, the outlay of the £600 wheels and £700 forks , £2000 frame etc is in the back of your mnd all the time . Is this making you timid, less likely to ride it like you stole it ? Maybe you might not clatter trough that rocky section without grabbing the brakes if you were on a £900 build?

If you are fortunate enough to have enough disposible income that money really is no object when it come to bikes then just enjoy the bike and ride it exactly as you want to.

own a camera? i bet you are no Cartier-bresson
own a video camera? i bet you are no Scorsese
own a car? i bet you are no Alonso
own a kitchen knife? i bet you are no Michael Roux
own a pot of hair gel? i bet you are no Jedward

feel better now?

Whatever your hobby, whatever your bike there is always going to be someone better than you unless you are the one person at the pinnacle of ability. If you can afford it , use it. Although the bike may be better than you, you will be better on it than an inferior bike.
When I did M/bike enduros my expert riding friends would recommend bikes they thought would suit my level of ability- heavy slow etc.
Eventually I thought stuff it and bought a fancier bike. I didn’t win but I did a whole lot better with less effort.
Ask not what you can do for the bike, ask what the bike can do for you!

MrSmith +1

Comparing yourself with a bike and feeling inadequate is some weird psychology that wont be fixed by buying a cheaper bike or taking skills coaching. Consider counselling – it’s not that expensive; one learns a lot about oneself, and to challenge some of the dafter ideas that get that tend to stuck in one’s head.

My username reflects the relative abilities of me and my bike 😕

i’d struggle to do this bike justice:

it’s not easy being crap-and-happy-about-it.

When i got my all singing all dancing carbon fibre all mountain missile back in december i knew i was potentially joining the “all the gear, no idea” group! So, i made a mental effort to ride the bike as much as possible, to try to learn something new in my riding every week, and to try to ride things differently and with more confidence. Now, it’s been a slow process, but last week i rode with a friend who i haven’t been riding with for about 6 months, and he told me he couldn’t believe the difference in my riding! As it takes a while to get better (be that fitter, better skills, or just more confidence) you tend not to notice the slow and gradual improvement, but if your work at it, it’s there alright! So, get out there, push yourself a bit (no need to go crazy, just set yourself some achieveable improvements) and suddenly you’ll find your bike is no longer way better than you, and if my experience is anything to go by, you’ll just enjoy your riding more and more 😉

More smiles per mile, what’s not to like !

If you’re fit enough to drag a nomad round your local rides without your mates having to wait for you keep it.
If you’re not get something a bit lighter and more suitable.
If you have several bikes and don’t have to drag it round local stuff keep it anyway.
I love my nomad even though i rareley ride it as it’s kind of makes most of the trails i ride a bit none challenging.
It’s f’ing awsum in the right situation though.