Thanks all..Nice to see another Nomad and yes Mr Hei Hei Adam’s Custard colour(sorry 😉 ) His Mojo will be interesting to compare. i did give the nomad a fair “shakedown at Woburn in the End..approx 4hrs. Did a few drops and the XC riding there too. Its now resting in the garage covered in filth…yes i dont mind getting the bike mucky! The rider isnt keen on going out in horizontal rain though!
It’s much better on climbs than my SX trail. That might be the weight, or “new bike euphoria”. I managed to get up first go a steep tech climb first go that I failed 3 times a few weeks ago on the SX despite its more “climb friendly” 32 front ring vs the new Nomad’s 36. When you ride the bike you dont feel a great weight difference to the SX its more noticable when you pick it up. I believe it did make me faster uphill. The VPP suspension may also help. I understand that it “digs in ” a bit. The grip was noticibly good on the uphills. (I am using same tyres and wheels as on my old SX.
In terms of handling my ’05 Sx was a small frame size and the new Nomad is a Medium. I was told the Medium suits my 5’8″ size. I agree. The SX was a little small in comparison. The Nomad feels more stable in the air and going downhill. One thing I appreciated was the new style low rise bars and low rise headset i fitted it certainly handled fast singletrack very very well and I would even say better than the SX which was a bit more “twitchy”.
The DHX RC coil shock is great. I added a bit of low speed compression damping and there is no “bob”. It feels great on the drops too with no perceptible bottom out yet despite hard flat landings.
Regarding the Lyric forks. Mine (2008’s) were rubbish for the first year of ownership and suffered from lots of stiction. However I finally realised that it “wasn’t me” and sent them to TF for a service. They found the bushes had been put in out of line from new, like on many Lyrics I hear…GRRRRR!. Since TF sorted them they are fantastic and work as they should.
Posted 13 years ago
