long story short my YT Capra was stolen a few weeks ago (blessing in disguise as I hated the bike). Insuranc has paid out and I have chipped in extra and ordered a Bronson MY18. Had an original mk1 and loved it. Test rode the 2017 and it felt great. Now thinking I should have bought a Nomad. Not been able to test ride unfortunately. Not too late to Change the order.
I mainly ride trail centres (red and black), lakes and dales etc. Like to be able to plough downhill as aposed to being in the air.
Is the Nomad mk4 too big a bike for the UK or would I miss the extra travel I had on my YT? Please help..
I've just gone from a Capra to a Bronson, 3 months ago. It's night and day faster in every terrain than the YT, can't speak for the nomad, I never test rode one as I wanted a bike that was a bit more poised/balanced and could pedal better than the Capra.
I always felt as if I was 'on' the Capra, rather than 'in' it.
Bronson climbs, descends and pedals better than the Capra, my previous SB66 and my other bike, a spectral 29.
Get one.
You made the right choice - even SC don't seem to know what the new Nomad is for, it's too big and burley for even 'super enduro' - the Hightower LT is their Enduro bike - it's what we called 10 years ago a park bike or freeride bike.
If you lived in Utah or Vancouver then DH bike dialed back just enough to make it pedalable might make a nice edition to a collection of bikes - but in the UK it doesn't really seem to fit, yes it'll work, it's a mountain bike after all, but for trails and trail centres the Bronson is better, if you're going to have a bike for BPW / Flyup etc and a week in the Alps and nothing else, why not go the whole hog and get a V10.
There are not many things in life where 20mm makes a significant difference. Either bike will be more than adequate i'm sure, buy what you prefer the look of - it's as good a measure as anything.
No doubt someone will be along soon telling you that you need to man up and go fully rigid unless you're doing 20 foot drops or hitting vertical rock gardens at 30 mph, but in a world where we all have more capability in everything we own - cars, smart phones, computers etc. then why not be over-biked too? I am and it puts a big smile on my face every time I go for a ride, and that's all that matters at the end of the day.
If anything most people need less travel than they think, in my opinion, and I'm seeing a trend for a bit shorter from shops selling stuff and what friends are buying, after having gone "big" previously.
I've got an old Mk2 Nomad and love it, but also a 5010 and love that way more. 130 travel and it's absolutely perfect for 90% of my riding. I considered a Bronson but felt it was still a bit too much but then I was probably keeping the Nomad so too similar (but old Nomad is not big and slack). New Nomad is lovely but it's way too much. I'd get 1% out of its potential.
Bronson all day. Sure the Nomad is an incredible bike and will look rad in edits of Looseratgnardawg riding off picnic tables and dry stone walls but as a practical, every day British trail bike, the Bronson is the sensible choice. I am sure a Nomad will go uphill pretty good, my old Commencals Supreme with a dropper used to but my Meta 5.5 was a far better bike for every day British riding. There's not much a Bronson cannot do.
Just got back from Morzine and rode a 2018 Nomad for a while. Quite an incredible bike but I'd buy a Bronson for riding in the UK red/blacks if you aren't a jumper.
plus 1 for Bronson
In the time honoured tradition of recommending what you own, I went from Bronson to Hightower and love it massively. Every bit as much 'fun' and for me, faster pretty much everywhere. The plus wheel option is also a big plus (!?) imvho. Can you not test ride them as it's a lot of money to spend blind?
New Hightower isn't plus compatible, think SC have realised along with others that plus on FS is pretty pointless.
Out in morzine this year on my five with most of the party on dh bikes I felt underbiked about 20% of the time. Unless you are riding DH the Bronson will be more than capable.
Nobeerinthefridge - Member
New Hightower isn't plus compatible, think SC have realised along with others that plus on FS is pretty pointless.
Hightower LT is 29, but regular Hightower is 27.5+ or 29.
Plus Tallboy is now both also, when it was just 29 before.
Had a test on a Tallboy 27.5+ and quite impressed by it. Rolls really well and corner grip is great. Easy to pedal.
phunkmaster - Member
riding off picnic tables and dry stone walls
Like Danny MacAskill... on his 5010 😉
Though it's more about 90% ability and 10% bike.
Plus 1 for Bronson plenty of bike for all the Lakes rides!
Bronson. Simply because the new Nomad is way too much bike for majority of UK riding. Plus the new Nomad colours are hideous! Come to think of it, Santa Cruz have lost the plot with their recent colour schemes IMHO. The last one that I liked the look of is the yellow bronson from 2/3 year back.
Bronson.
Test rode both the new Nomad and the 2017 Bronson a few weeks back. While the Nomad is perfectly capable of riding uphill and is much better at it than you'd think for a 170mm bike. I wouldn't want to be riding it around trail centres or long rides in the lakes etc. If you want to sit back and plough down though it's pretty good at that. In fact the only thing I didn't like about it was the effort needed to get anything out of it. On the Bronson you could pop off every little natural feature in the trail, where the Nomad just absorbed it.
Thanks for the input guys. Concensus is the Bronson which is what I wanted to hear actually. Would consider the Hightower LT but unable to demo and it will be a long wait. Also not sure about the whole 29 thing.
Agree with nobeerinthefridge in that I also felt I was riding on the YT. Perhaps due to the fact it was too short even for a large.
I am 6.1 and threw my leg over the XL which felt right even though I am in the border between sizes.
Now just need to get my head around having an olive green bike - looks mint in the flesh but hard to be a tart and match your riding clobber to it...
You can demo a Bronson at Skyline cycles Afan if you need
Good to know thanks Pansy but already tried the Bronson it is the Nomad and HT I haven't demoed..
Bronson is on order and arrives in about 4 weeks so just wanted confirmation that I was right mainly not to have considered the Nomad for U.K. Riding etc..
On the Bronson you could pop off every little natural feature in the trail, where the Nomad just absorbed it.
+1 - though it was back in 2015 that I demo'ed both. At the time I preferred the Nomad, but with the changes in the most recent versions I suspect I'd probably go Bronson now.
Where are you based? If you're feeling like this now, I think you should try and demo a Nomad to put your mind at rest - otherwise you'll end up thinking you should have gone Nomad if it's not 100% love for the Bronson from the get-go! There's a [url= http://www.santacruzbikes.co.uk/demo-dates/ ]demo[/url] day in Hope in a few weeks that should allow you to try one.
I am 6.1 and threw my leg over the XL which felt right even though I am in the border between sizes.
I'm an inch taller and went from a large Capra to XL Bronson, size suits me so much better. When you order it, a hope BB is only 50 quid, get that, I didn't know and wished I'd known, the XT one is creaking after 3 months riding.
I love it, really is a great bike, enjoy.
You obviously already knew the Nomad was not what you needed for mainly trail centre riding. Bronson seems like a good compromise.
Shame not to demo them (and some 29ers) though.
Good to know thanks Pansy
Bit uncalled for.
Good shout in the BB nobeers
Chakaping - 1 month after I bought my first Bronson the new Nomad was released. Tried it and loved it but that was a different bike to the new model. Haven't been able to demo the new Nomad as my LBS hasn't got them in stock yet. Same with the HTLT. bit silly not to wait but I have a load of events coming up and as my bike was stolen I just on my hardtail = not ideal. Would be waiting until Oct for the HT or Nomad.
yeah, you made the wrong choice, should have got the Hightower.
Buy the one you like the most, it's your cash! Nothing wrong with being 'overbiked' that's just BS, they all work pretty well these days apart from those that live at either end of the spectrum.
Hi there,
I just had exactly the same dilemma. I was edging towards a Nomad but i've found a deal i can't refuse on a second hand CC Bronson V2. From what i've read the V2 is a step up from the V1 and quite close to the Nomad in comparison to the original.
I usually stick to blue runs at flyup/forrest of dean and local spots so hopefully it will be more then enough for that. I was originally on an old Kona Kula hard tail which I really lacked confidence on when going down hill, so hopefully the bronson will be a step change for me.