So, first world problems…

My wife has had her Carbon Santa Cruz Nomad for about 4 years. We bought it second hand, the paint’s looking pretty manky and there’s a fair bit of play in the front wheel. Other than that it’s a solid spec, Pikes, 26″ XT wheels (non tubeless), Reverb 150mm dropper, XTR cranks, X0 shifters 1 x 10 setup.

I’d put some cash aside for a bike for her and driving through town the other day she spotted a pink Bronson on the roof of a car and remarked how nice it looked. As luck would have it an identical bike showed up on a local Facebook group from an acquaintance that same day. On a whim I went around the same day to take a look and bought it! (It was her 40th this month and we have our first baby due in 5 days so it was a birthday/”push present”)

In retrospect dropping $3.5k NZD on a bike when she’s unlikely to be riding for a while (especially if she has a C section) may not have been the best plan but like I said, impulse purchase! We’re heading home to Wales in August with the bikes and we’re planning on riding Bike Park Wales, Cwm Carn, Brecon Beast etc.. so I thought now’s the time.

This is the spec for the new bike:

2016 Santa Cruz <span class=”il”>Bronson</span> Carbon size medium
Brandnew Wheelset, Tires, Groupset, Grips, near new Dropper Post.
2016 Santa Cruz <span class=”il”>Bronson</span> Carbon size medium frame with Fox Float X shock
2017 Marzocchi NCR 350 150mm Forks
DT Swiss M1700 30mm Internal rear wheel
Hope 35W 35mm internal fron wheel Pro 4 hub
Conti X-King 2.4 tires
Sram NX 1 x 11 Groupset
Sram Guide R Brakes with Shimano XT ICE rotors
Truvativ 60mm Stem
Spank Oozy Vibracore Flat Bars
Bontrager Dropper Post

Basically the seller wanted to sell the frame, he didn’t have much luck so bought a load of new but low end components and built it up. Consequently the Bronson actually weighs more than the Nomad we’re getting rid of! We’re flicking on the Nomad to a friend for around $1.5k and could potentially swap some of the components over?

So, did I make the right choice, do I mess around swapping over some minor parts, leave it as is and upgrade the heavy fork and other bits down the track or just put it back up for sale and spend the money on nappies and god knows what else we need that we don’t have!

Naturally I had to give it a test ride on the commute to work this morning 🙂

Had the 2012 Nomad, loved it but…. things have moved on the Bronson is a very capable bike and the VPP has evolved over time. So yeah great bike to have!!

Nice. Love that colour. Personally I would only ditch the poverty spec nx groupset. I wouldnt be swapping it for an old xtr 10 speed though.

That’s the best colour Bronson! Keep it and upgrade it. 😀

That Bronson looks super slack…

Keep it… upgrade parts overtime?

All the best with the baby and the move back

I bought a bike with NX on it thinking that I’d upgrade it pretty soon. But it works just fine so I’ll wait until it wears out.

That’s actually Bronson v2, kalimotxo was one of the launch colors.

Solid bike, i have one myself and love it.  I’ve used mine for everything from boring XC fitness work to downhill stuff at FOD.  It’s incredibly versatile and feels planted at high speed.

I would just swap stuff as and when it breaks.

Congrats on the baby!  Great present for the mrs.

Cheers all, sounds like she’s a keeper! I’ll just have to ride it lots to wear out that rear cassette, just looked up the weights – nearly 200g saving from NX to XT.

@tuskaloosa: Yeah it does look super slack in the that pic, I think it’s the angle of the photo/ground as it’s off camber. They are 170mm forks wound down to 150mm but I’ll double check.
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V2 Bronson here too, pedals better than any bike I’ve ever had, hardtails, 29er, whatever,it’s bloody rapid, and is as good as my old SB66 on the descents, which is quite a compliment.

I can see me having it for years.