Santa Cruz has launched a ground-up redesign of its classic Nomad all-mountain bike today, while its sister brand Juliana has come out with its own version of the 170mm-travel bike called Strega (more of that in our other story…). Santa Cruz has also launched a new line of carbon wheels called Reserve which are available as an upgrade on both bikes, and which will be available on in-line 2018 bikes later this summer. The wheels will also be available in the aftermarket late this fall.
The new version of Santa Cruz’s Nomad all-mountain bike is a ground-up redesign that’s a marked departure from its predecessor and, indeed, the rest of the company’s trail-oriented bikes. With travel increased 5mm from 165mm to 170mm and a new lower link-mounted shock similar to the one on the company’s V10 downhill bike, the new Nomad moves away from it’s ‘top end of enduro’ and towards the ‘mini DH bike’ realm.
The company claims an ‘extremely linear and progressive shock rate, ideal for aggressive riding on rough terrain.”
It’s also designed to play well with coil shocks, which will probably please Chris Porter.
It’s slacker, yet steeper too. Santa Cruz claims the new Nomad’s 75° seat tube angle makes it a better pedaler than its predecessor. A longer top tube (yay!) about 20-25mm depending on frame size is the only other adjustment to the bike’s standard geometry, but a flip-chip on the suspension link allows some further adjustments. Putting the bike in the low setting slacks the head tube almost a half degree to 64.6° and drops the bottom bracket 5mm for added DH stability.
And probably the best news that snuck in – is that there’ll be an alloy version later this autumn too. It’s not all gone carbon.
With the addition of bolt-on downtube protectors and ‘shuttle guards to ward off wayward rocks’ there’s a lot more protection for the frame – though how many UK riders shuttle bikes hanging off the back of a pickup truck, eh?
The new Nomad is available in two tiers of carbon, with a number of build kits and an option to upgrade to the company’s new Santa Cruz Reserve carbon wheels. The C carbon bikes start at $4,499 US with the CC bikes starting at $7,199. The Reserve carbon rim upgrade is an additional $1,200. The bike is available in two colors–Tan & Black, or Ink.
NOMAD FEATURES
- 170mm VPP travel, front and rear
- Progressive lower-link shock configuration
- Metric shock sizing
- Bolt on shuttle guard, downtube protector and shock fender
- Air and coil shock compatibility
- High and low geometry settings via flip chip in link
- 27.5-inch wheels
- Santa Cruz Reserve 30 carbon wheel upgrade option
- Colors: Tan & Black, Ink
- Available in CC and C carbon, alloy in fall
- Lifetime Warranty
- Sizes: XS, S, M, L, XL
- Retail availability: June 15, 2017
Comments (8)
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Nice…awaits the usual haters 🙂
I’d trade my beloved Jekyll in for one of those. Want.
Even in just the few hours it’s been about, it’s grown on me. More so in the blue.
@Nobeerinthefridge
I’m salivating over a stealth black option with the Fox shock with orange spring plus orange 36’s up front!
‘Fall’?
What’s wrong with Autumn?
“extremely linear and progressive shock rate”
Is it me? Can a shock rate be both linear and progressive?
So tasty it wouldn’t look out of place in a copy of Razzle.
WANT
Looks nice but at first glance I thought it was an e-bike because of the BB area…………..
“extremely linear and progressive shock rate”
This got me too. I assume that something got lost in translation or I don’t understand the nuances.