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Submitted by
jlukes42
a Weekend Warrior
from Denver CO USA
Date Reviewed: August 2, 2008 | | Favorite Trail: | Mathews-Winters/Dakota Ridge | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$2000.00 | | Purchased At: | Various sources—cust | | Strengths: | Climbs like a goat, descends like a goat on wheels. Strong, pretty light for the travel, nimble as can be expected. | | Weaknesses: | The chain lengthening can be a little disconcerting at times, but I've gotten used to it. Pivots have started to creak, but it's not too terrible—not like a Blur. | | Similar Products Used: | MC Zen, SC Superlight, Yeti 575, Blur, Blur LT, Giant AC Air, Maverick ML7 | | Bike Setup: | DHX Air, Fox 36 RC2, Crossmax XL, Marta SL, Maverick Speedball, XO shifter/RD, RF Atlas cranks, WTB Mutanoraptor 2.4 | | Bottom Line: | I built this up to be pretty light but still able to take a hit where it counts, felt sluggish on climbs with big FR tires, but absolutely flies with Mutanoraptor 2.4s
Bottom line is that I've tried a lot of bikes to get to this one, and this is the first one that I felt truly comfortable on both the climbs and the descents. I liked all of my other bikes for individual reasons, but this one has all of those wrapped up into a single package. People who don't like to call this the "one bike" are people who can afford more than one bike (and have the space for them too), but I can take this on sweet singletrack or a brutal climb and hit the chairlifts the same day without a hitch—and with a permanent grin pasted to my face the whole time. That's as close as I'll ever get to the "one bike." One review said that other bikes may excel in specific areas far better than the Nomad (you'll never race this as an XC bike), but as an all around bike it can't be beat—that's pretty much it.
The Yeti 575 was probably the next closest for me—a very fun bike as well. | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
seeingblue
a Weekend Warrior
from Santa Cruz, Ca
Date Reviewed: July 17, 2008 | | Favorite Trail: | For me to know, and you to never find out! | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Purchased At: | Another Bike Shop | | Strengths: | Pedaling, Ergonomics, Stability, Suspension! | | Weaknesses: | None | | Similar Products Used: | Never ridden a VPP designed bike. My old ride is a 2005 specialized Enduro Comp 130 with a Rock Shox Pike 454 fork and Push'd Float R shock. Great bike for it's time, but it ain't no Santa Cruz.... | | Bike Setup: | 2008 Medium Ano Slate With 2009 Fox Float R shock and 1.5 Lyrik Solo Fork, With Shimano Saint Bashguard and Stinger Chainguide. Sram and Shimano mixture with 2.35 Kenda Blue Groove up front and 2.35 Nevegal in the rear. | | Bottom Line: | Proven design, All my friends ride them and love them. It's a bike that motivates and makes you dream of riding. Santa Cruz spared no expense in terms of quality of the product and the durability of the design. Zerk fittings(2009 blur LT2) or not this is one great bike! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Pau11y
a Weekend Warrior
from Golden, CO
Date Reviewed: June 29, 2008 | | Favorite Trail: | For this bike, anything bumpy | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Strengths: | Suspension design | | Weaknesses: | A touch on the weight | | Similar Products Used: | Karpiel | | Bike Setup: | Light(sub 30); built for trail/all mountain vs. freeride. | | Bottom Line: | If you're running the DHX 5 Air, do yourself a favor and call Fox and buy a RP3 air sleeve and swap it out. It'll keep the shock from blowing thru mid-stroke and still remain very supple. I'm 190 and ran 190/250 main/piggy back w/ a stock DHX, and still blowing thru most of the travel on light hits. With a RP3 mod, I'm running 155/120 and getting up to 90% travel on Apex (bumpy!), and it doesn't wallow in mid-stroke.
Do a search in the forum section of this site and you'll find all you need to know to do this mod. If your DHX is relatively new and you don't need to replace the seals, it takes literally 2 minutes and costs less than $50 for this mod! | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
kootenay guy
a Weekend Warrior
from Kootenays, Canada
Date Reviewed: June 16, 2008 | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Strengths: | Versatility, slack front end, good climber. | | Weaknesses: | Pricy, but I paid for it and don't regret it. | | Similar Products Used: | Heckler, VP Free | | Bike Setup: | X9 AM package with Talas 36 | | Bottom Line: | If you buy this bike and like to do steep technical climbs buy an adjustable travel fork like a Talas 36. I was against the concept of an adjustable travel fork, but with the fork in 6" mode it's really tough to keep the front end down. The 2" front end drop makes all the difference. The DHX air is perfect for this bike. I leave the pro pedal off the majority of the time since it takes the harshness out of the rooty terrain in the Fernie area. No bobbing to complain about at all. The geometry of this bike is a little different than what I'm used to. The top tube is significantly shorter than my heckler and VP free. I have to say that I can climb just as well on this bike as I did on the heckler. On the nomad I'm not sitting on the tip of my seat as much. The frame sizing for the Nomad is different than the other SC frames so make sure you do a good test ride.
I've ridden mountain bikes for the past 19 years and I'm now 35 years old. VPP bikes are the best bikes I've ever ridden. If you don't race XC or do drops over 6' this bike does it all. This bike is so plush with the TALAS and DHX air you won't regret the purchase. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
spdracr58
a Weekend Warrior
from Santa Cruz, CA
Date Reviewed: June 5, 2008 | | Favorite Trail: | Anything downhill | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Price Paid: |
$3500.00 | | Purchased At: | Family Cycle Center | | Strengths: | The ability to make whoever rides it a better rider and more confident. With the DHX 5.0 air shock it is a great all around bike. | | Weaknesses: | weight and price, weight can be fixed at a price and a trade-off for strenght | | Similar Products Used: | test rode the Giant Reign, good bike but the Nomad is definately on the next level | | Bike Setup: | DHX 5.0 air, everything else is standard, SRAM etc. | | Bottom Line: | If you want a bike that you do everything on then pick up a Nomad. I use it every weekend for rides around Santa Cruz, and finally have a chance to take it to Tahoe for some downhill runs this summer. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
weylin
a Downhiller
from seattle
Date Reviewed: May 12, 2008 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Strengths: | vpp suspension works and pedals awesome, super versatile - can be set up for whatever style of riding you want from being an xc platform to full on downhill. it climbs incredibly for a bike with 6.5" of travel and makes awesome rear traction for those hard uphill grinds. | | Weaknesses: | a little expensive, but worth every penny | | Similar Products Used: | 1st full suspension bike I've owned | | Bike Setup: | '08 model with 1.5 headset and Sram X9 components. Fox 36 talas. Fox dhx 5.0 shock. Avid juicy 7's w/185mm rotors. Kenda navegal 2.5" dh tires. | | Bottom Line: | This bike is awesome, I've set it up for free ride and downhill but it still rides single track 100's of times better than my Kona Hoss hardtail. I was considering keeping my hardtail because I figured I wouldn't want to ride this bike everywhere, but I think I'll still ride this bike to the video store 5 blocks from my house. It's just that much of a pleasure. The VPP suspension is amazing, it pedals really awesome, I don't notice any pedal bob. That's not saying there's none there, but there's certainly no bob that's noticeable. Pressuring the bike through corners gives it a remarkable amount of traction that pushes you to ride harder and harder. Where it really shines is on downhill, it just asks to go faster and find new lines. Jumping the bike is a pleasure as well, it took a little while for me to get the suspension set up to my liking, but now that I have I've never had more fun jumping a bike. For full on downhill I think a double crown fork would be well applied to slacken the head tube angle a little more and add some front travel. But 160mm up front is still plenty of travel for any riding you want to do. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Will Lintilhac
a
from Shelburne, VT
Date Reviewed: May 1, 2008 | | Favorite Trail: | its a secret, Stowe, VT | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Price Paid: |
$1850.00 | | Purchased At: | East Burke Sports | | Strengths: | I reviewed my bike before, with little saddle time and with slightly lighter setup, Freeride w/ a bit of A/M. Most of what I said stands true: Great climber for it's class, i now weigh 220 lbs, and live in Vermont where youre either going up or down. great pedaling efficiency, If you get sag or bob its because you need to adjust your rear shock. Not as fast as a gravity sled full throttle, but it can absolutely slay in the tight descents becuase of that steep but balanced cockpit. It sticks to bridges like sticky on ductape, and suspension doesnt kick on dirt jumps (although i suck).
Inspired a friend to build one like an Am/almost XC rig with an oil rear shock, talas rc2, Mavic crossmax rims, etc. Much smaller/lighter bike. I was able to use it on a full weekend trip in Quebec and found that with his relatively light build, it climbs better than a dream, still descends like a champ, and held momentum and speed over the pesky little speed eaters and roots on the flats. Overall was as good or better than any lighter dualie XC/AM rig ive ridden, tending towards better.
Have a new XC/AM rig of my own so the Nomad has graduated to FR/DH status. It gets a lot of descending miles now, and takes a very heavy beating. Ive raced downhill on it some for UVM on thier club team, and it annihilates in dual slalom. IT IS NOT A DH RIG!!! Doesnt hold a fluid pedal stroke through the really rough stuff. That said IT IS ALMOST A DH RIG!!! It can keep up with a gravity sled on most terrain, and corners far better, especially in tight/steep stuff. Most speed loss in my case is pilot error. Several SC Syndicate pro riders, and semi-pro have been known to prefer the Nomad in some Norba (possibly World Cup) downhills. Ive seen the Nomad do XC, AllMtn, dual slalom, FR, DH all like it was designed to do those things...impressive. | | Weaknesses: | In my case, a bit small for DH, especially as I am still not very good at DH and need all the help i can get. like i said, it isnt a DH rig so i will deduct no points. Ive noticed that in the really high turns in slalom, putting a lot of force on my frame, the rear triangle flexes a fair amount but again, i wiegh 220 lbs. Also, this frame takes some fiddling to get the rear rebound just right. I have no idea why but ive never spent that much time playing with my suspension, something about the geometry. | | Similar Products Used: | My buddies Nomad, lighter build. Raced DS on an Intense something-er-other for a day. | | Bike Setup: | Fox DHX 5.0 rear shock. Vanilla RC2. full XT
(short cage rear). Xo grip shift. Hayes HFX-9 (old). Saint (38t) w/ raceface guide/bashguard. King headset. Chromag fubars, cutblock stem. Arrow racing frx rims on Marzocchi front, xt rear hub. Kenda Nevgal DH 2.5 front, 2.35 rear tire. | | Bottom Line: | As youve done enough reading, this will be short and sweet. with the right set up, you can make the Nomad work for just about anything and have it roll with the tops bikes of that class. Get one, you'll like it. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
P
a Weekend Warrior
from Murfreesboro, TN USA
Date Reviewed: April 19, 2008 | | Favorite Trail: | Hamilton Creek, Nashville | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$4400.00 | | Purchased At: | Murfreesboro Outdoor and Bicycle (MOAB) | | Strengths: | Long travel with lightish weight. Excellent suspension performance without a bunch of bouncing. Slack angles lets it hold a line in the really rough stuff. Climbs up anything. Loves to thumb its nose at steep rooty inlines. Stays glued to the ground until its time to drop of a ledge. | | Weaknesses: | Heavier than my previous Intense 5.5? Still bobs a little bit, but I suspect that is due to my lackluster shock setup. I'm still figuring it out. Pretty slack angles requires some pretty low leaning in sharp turns. | | Similar Products Used: | Giant AC-1, Intense 5.5, nothing else even close. | | Bike Setup: | Fox 36 Talas 1.5, DHX Air 5.0, XT drivetrain and brakes, Gravity stem and handlebar, Chris King hubs laced to DT 5.1D rims, Crank Brothers Joplin seatpost and Candy C pedals. | | Bottom Line: | Love it. The Intense was too twitchy at my favorite rock gardens, and the Giant bobbed like a cheerleader on prom night. I'd have liked an Intense 5.5 with about a 68d head angle for some stability at the Creek. I could get a Nomad a lot quicker and cheaper than a 6.6. It is the only MTB I ride now. I can also mount knee-high steps much more easily than on the Intense. It has a sweet spot that you can lean into to lift the front right up when you need to, but it stays planted otherwise. It is also a lot of fun on the less technical trails in the area. Thank you M.O.A.B. for a great deal on a fantastic bike. Great shop, great service. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Grant
a Weekend Warrior
from Sydney, Australia
Date Reviewed: March 21, 2008 | | Favorite Trail: | Menai, Sparrow Hill | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Purchased At: | Phantom Cycles | | Strengths: | Climbing, bomb proof, more bike than i need | | Weaknesses: | Have to deflate 2.5" tyre to remove rear wheel. | | Similar Products Used: | Devinci Magma, Norco VPS 2, Giant Trance, Specialized Stumpjumper | | Bike Setup: | Medium frame, CCDB shock, '06 66RC2X forks, RF Atlas cranks, X9, Crossmax SX wheels, Minion 2.5" DHF ust tyres, Answer ProTaper bar, Thomson post, Syncros stem, Juicy 5s 8". | | Bottom Line: | The Nomad really could be "the one bike", especially if you are able to swap between FR/XC style forks and wheels. I've got mine set up so that i won't break anything.
It originally had a Float R rear shock that was alright. I replaced that with a DHX-C that was better but i always felt chain pull in the granny/3rd combo with thse shocks. Changing to a CCDB and setting it up properly fixed that and also smoothed out the low speed bumps.
With the set up that i'm running i don't think there is anything that can stop this bike, except my skills (or lack of!). The handling and suspension performance is brilliant, very forgiving of rider error. The steering sometimes feels a bit slack at slow speeds but it's never caused any problems, just made me think that the bike feels a bit slow at the time. The climbing is excellent compared to FSR style designs. It really gets over things very easily. My build isn't the lightest and the big tyres punish me a bit on the climbs but descending is amazing.
No other bike i've ridden has given me so much confidence over a wide variety of terrain. For me, the Nomad exceeds the hype surrounding it. It is just a fun bike to ride. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Ari
a Weekend Warrior
from Orange County, CA
Date Reviewed: March 14, 2008 | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$3900.00 | | Purchased At: | Bike Co. | | Strengths: | Everything! This bike truly epitomizes the terms All Mountain and Freeride. This bikes does it all! If you can only afford one bike and want to do everything on it the SC Nomad is the bike for you. Excellent at climbing and decending with razor sharp handling. This bike can and will get you out of most "Oh Sh*t!" situations. handels 6+ foot drops with ease. | | Weaknesses: | Slightly cramped cockpit (easily fixed with the right bar stem and seat set up) | | Similar Products Used: | Ibis Mojo, Intense 5.5, Heckler, Superlight, Stinky Delux | | Bike Setup: | DHX Coil, Fox 36 Float 1.5, Sram X9, DT swiss wheels, chris king headset | | Bottom Line: | The bottom line is you can't go wrong with this bike. If your someone who likes the rewards of the climb and the exhileration of the desent all on one ride you can do it all on the Nomad. It is hard to believe that a bike with almost 7" of travel climbs this well! By far the best bike I have ever ridden. It has drastically enhanced both my skill level and enjoyment when riding...and thats what its all about!
Side Note: Make sure you put a coil on it! Sacrifice half a pound! The Nomad really comes alive with a coil! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Steve Minniear
a Cross Country Rider
from Auburn, California
Date Reviewed: February 3, 2008 | | Favorite Trail: | Tahoe Rim Trail | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$3500.00 | | Purchased At: | private party | | Strengths: | The suspension and handling on this bike is simply amazing! The bike has awesome balance and turns better than it should given the geometry and wheelbase. The overall build quality is good, better than production bikes, but not as good as high-end custom frames (e.g. Ellsworth, Intense) | | Weaknesses: | For it's intended application, I don't see any real weaknesses. For me personally, the effective TT is short and the cockpit a little tight. I ride medium frames and, while this bike is a medium, it feels an inch to and inch and a half more compact than my other bikes. Depending on your size, you may want to go up one size with SC. The cable routing, while effective, is not elegant and I'd prefer routing than minimizes cable rub and that looks a little better thought out. NOTE: these are primarily personal preference items. | | Similar Products Used: | Intense 5.5; Intense 6.6; Kona Stinky; Specialized Big Hit; Specialized Demo | | Bike Setup: | 2008 Medium - Fox TALAS 36 RC2; DHX 5.0; XT drive train with e 13 chain guard and tensioner; Hope Pro II wheels, Race Face stem, seatpost and bars. Weight 34.34 lbs with flat DH pedals. | | Bottom Line: | This bike lives up to the hype and is an excellent AM or light FR/DH mount. Don't buy this is your primary riding is XC. This bike demands more technical terrain. You will be surprised by how well a bike with over 6 inches of travel and over 30 lbs climbs. One final note. I don't buy into the marketing hype that this, or any bike, is the ONE bike. It's outstanding, but will not replace my 4 inch race bike or my 5 inch XC AM bike. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
uphillslug
a Weekend Warrior
from Denver, CO, USA
Date Reviewed: January 28, 2008 | | Favorite Trail: | Dakota Ridge | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$1750.00 | | Purchased At: | mojo wheels | | Strengths: | Everything | | Weaknesses: | Top tube could be a little longer for the 6'5" and over club. | | Similar Products Used: | Specialized Enduro, Kona Dawg | | Bike Setup: | Thomson stem and post, mavic 823, Dt 340 hub, xo, xtr | | Bottom Line: | After one ride I found the Nomad to be far superior to my Enduro. At 6'5" I added a layback post and a 100mm stem and this seems to be the ultimate combination. The VPP pro pedal combo has increased my speed on the up hill and the sweet geometry has improved my downhill considerably. Overall the best bike I have ever ridden!! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Paul
a Weekend Warrior
from California
Date Reviewed: November 14, 2007 | | Favorite Trail: | San Juan Trail (SJT) | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Price Paid: |
$3800.00 | | Purchased At: | The Bike Co. (bikeco.com) | | Strengths: | Frame is very strong, Great stock build, VPP works, Juicy 7 brakes, Super strong wheels, Killer looks, long legs (who dosen't like long legs?) | | Weaknesses: | Pivots creaking. | | Similar Products Used: | Specialized, Intense, GT | | Bike Setup: | X9 AM build except 50mm stem with 36 talas and DHX 5.0 air | | Bottom Line: | Great bike, #34 with pedels and 2.5 Kenda tires, #31 with XC pedals and XC tires. This bike is a blast to ride down and very good climbing. I have been able to conquer climbs I couldn't before and take trails down I never would even try in the past. My smaller Intense Uzzi SL was only better climbing over super steep uphill lips but lacked travel for the descents. On long very steep rocky climbs the Nomad is more than capable. Four bar is still the best rear suspension but VPP is very close. On one trail I accidentally went off an overhead steep downhill drop because I was going so fast and I had never been on the trail before. The bike flowed right off and place me about a dozen feet down the trail with no problems. All other descending is without a doubt more fun and safer with the Nomad than most bikes in the same category. The only complaint I have so far is the creaking pivots. I have found a product specifically designed to fix Santa Cruz VPP pivots so it must be quite a common issue. Too bad Santa Cruz didn't incorporate this fix for their production bikes (www.ctsmtb.com/pps.cfm). Anyone who buys a mountain bike to actually ride and is not extreme XC or DOWNHILL only should buy this bike. Those that huck should take the coil spring route and all others should take the air route. Upgrade the fork to the adjustable TALAS if you climb a lot because the front is much better lowered while climbing.
Four chilis because of the creaking pivots. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Tom
a Racer
from phillymtb.com
Date Reviewed: November 4, 2007 | | Favorite Trail: | Wissahickon | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$3200.00 | | Purchased At: | Guys bikes | | Strengths: | Handles great in all conditions. Very versatile bike. | | Weaknesses: | The suspension feels like crap if you don't have your sag set up right. I always notice when my rear shock needs air right away. Lots of pedal feedback. | | Similar Products Used: | Cove gspot, Gemini, Norco shore. | | Bike Setup: | Talas 36. DHX air 5.0 2.5 tires. | | Bottom Line: | Now that I've spent some time on this bike I can honestly say it's the best all around bike I've ridden so far. It does everything from fast downs to climbs to dirt jump sessions. It feels really good in the air and the suspension takes big hits great.
You must have your sag set up correctly or it feels like garbage.
I even raced this bike in xc races on technical PA courses and had a blast. My titus Racer X has dust on it. I parted out my DH bike once I rode the Nomad. www.phillymtb.com Join us. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
ryan doggydawg
a
from orem, utah
Date Reviewed: October 2, 2007 | | Favorite Trail: | bennie creek | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Price Paid: |
$3200.00 | | Purchased At: | online | | Strengths: | weight, strong frame, climbing, descending, corners, pretty much everything. this bike is versatile | | Weaknesses: | not much, the dhx 5 isnt too hot. Like others have said it kind of blows through its travel too easily. | | Similar Products Used: | intense 6.6, specialized enduro, yeti 575, ellsworth moment, titus super moto, moto lite,trek remedy 66, cannondaleprophet, gary fisher fat possum, rocky mountain slayer, kona coilair, kona dawg, and a few more i cant remember. | | Bike Setup: | fox 36 talas rc2, dhx 5 air, x9 mostly, juicy 7s, dt swiss hubs, mavic xm 321 wheels, | | Bottom Line: | well, I wanted a bike that I could do anything with. So I tried out as many do it all bikes I could. This is the one that I liked the best. Ive had it for about two years, and I love it. It really does everything good, it pedals up like a hardtail, mine weighs in at about 31, or 32 lbs. It corners awesome, it blazes downhill. Now it isnt the lightest or the fastest cross country bike, and it wont take 3000 foot drops like a downhill bike. But it does everything in between and it does real well at. I like to go down much more than up, but sometimes I like to go up, or have to go up because I have no other choice. It does everything I am capable of and more. I love it, if you havent ridden one, try it out before you get something else. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Omar
a Weekend Warrior
from Calgary
Date Reviewed: September 22, 2007 | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Strengths: | Climbing abilities,Corners well,Tuff frame | | Weaknesses: | none so far | | Bike Setup: | Custom build( Fox Talas 36, DHX-C, CK Hubs w/819s, XT HollowtechII Crankset etc....) | | Bottom Line: | I bought this bike because I needed a allrounder bike. Since I built this bike I've been doing alot of shuttling. The 6.5" rear travel and 6.3" front soaks up 6ft to 10ft drops with ease. Raise the seat up and you have an excellent trail bike. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Scott
a
from Calgary, AB, Canada
Date Reviewed: September 17, 2007 | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$4300.00 | | Purchased At: | Calgary Cycle | | Strengths: | suspension work so very well. Truely can be your one bike. | | Weaknesses: | DHX air shock has issues | | Similar Products Used: | Trek liquid 25 | | Bike Setup: | X9 AM, DHX air, 36 TALAS | | Bottom Line: | This bike is great and after my first ride I decided that I no longer required my Ellsworth dare. I got this bike because I wasn't riding much DH anymore and I wanted to get back more into XC. Problem is that after DHing for years, I still want to go really fast on the downs but I want to be able to ride the ups. This bike is the answer. It climbs really well, and I'll take a 5 lbs weight penalty any day of the week for a bike that can go down as well as this bike.
The 36 TALAS is a great option, because the ability to have the front end drop to 4" helps the bike feel more like an XC bike and then when you need to you can go back to 6" and drop your seat and you're ready to tackle a killer down or hit a 20' road gap. I wouldn't hesitate to take this bike on stunts, it is built tough.
Would recommend this bike for sure. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
no mad man
a
from uk
Date Reviewed: September 2, 2007 | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Strengths: | its strength | | Weaknesses: | weight, front stack height, mid stroke performance | | Bike Setup: | med ano, dhx air, talas rc2 | | Bottom Line: | after 1 year and the hype is long gone-
1. it is heavy (more than 2 hours and it starts to hurt)
2. the dhx air has bad mid stroke performance (i have tried every setting!) it blows through the travel too quick in the mid stroke - this is more important than it sounds - get a coil shock / other air shock
3. the front stack height is very high for a med frame
still, CANT LIVE WITHOUT IT! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Bryson
a
from SLC
Date Reviewed: August 30, 2007 | | Duration Product Used: | Tested or demo'ed only | | Bottom Line: | I am merely writing a halfassed review because I want to comment on whopper chelch who just gave this bike a 1/5. I am willing to wager a thousand bucks that he has never even been on a trail with this bike, let alone bought one...stay off the reviews if youre going to be a dumbass!! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
kevin
a Downhiller
from novato, califonia, USA
Date Reviewed: August 21, 2007 | | Favorite Trail: | towers | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$2000.00 | | Purchased At: | craigslist | | Strengths: | geometry is excellent, you can leave the seat up a bit to get great peadeling and still hall ass on the teck DH. VPP is the best its unbelivable. pedals great. light weight. corners like its on rails. jumps great and easy to through around and can pinn it better than a DH bike | | Weaknesses: | a little chain slap but no big deal | | Similar Products Used: | kona stinky dee lux, v10, specialized enduro pro, hardrock pro. | | Bike Setup: | 06 fox tales, juicy 7's, xo rear deralier, xo carbon shifters, silo crancks, ect | | Bottom Line: | best all mountain bike ever made. i mostly ride DH but if u have to ride to the top this is the bike for you even on big trails i preffer this over my big bike and it just rails. never knew how 6.5 inches of rear travel could feal like 8 until this bike. overall if mark can rail his at 55mph on the narliest trail in my town and feal comfortable on it then its good enough for me. if you can afford it get it if u cant save up | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Craig Galbraith
a Cross Country Rider
from Auckland - New Zealand
Date Reviewed: August 14, 2007 | | Favorite Trail: | Bitty T RoadVagus | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$3700.00 | | Purchased At: | Planet Cycles Mt Eden | | Strengths: | WOW what to say Amazing grat stable and responsive riding platform. On fast and frantic trails the VPP keeps the power to the ground and you just keep on going . I out climbed even faster then beforeon my Nomad. You can ride out of jumps upon landing and ready to hit the next jump. | | Weaknesses: | NO weaknesse | | Similar Products Used: | Old bike AC1 Giant | | Bike Setup: | Fox 36 Talas. DHX 5.0 Air. And a mix of Sram XO and X9 and XT. Wide SPD's pedals.
| | Bottom Line: | Just Do It - Iv Done It AMAZING Love It ))
And Big thanx and Cheers to the Boys at Planet Cycles Mt Eden
Cheers
Craig | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Dave
a Downhiller
from Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Date Reviewed: July 19, 2007 | | Favorite Trail: | Satan's Little Fluffer | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Strengths: | Amazingly versatile bike. Great all-mtn, and getting Free-ride'ish | | Weaknesses: | None yet | | Similar Products Used: | Specialized Enduro, VP-Free | | Bike Setup: | SPX FR build kit with DHX-5 Coil shock and Talus 36 | | Bottom Line: | I'm a 220 lb free-rider who is pretty tough on gear. I built this bike up with the FR kit not so that I could actually use it for DH / FR but simply to prevent taco'd rims and bent cranks. I've got a DH rig for shuttling but really wanted a do-it-all bike that could handle the odd 6 footer but still climb okay. Well, this bike has blown me away. Long climbs, moderate drops, DH race-course...you name it and this rig can do it. I wouldn't huck it off your local gymnasium roof (that's ridiculous anyhow!) but if you want to free-ride and earn your turns (ie; climb) and do the odd XC ride, this is it. I was skeptical about the Talus 36 offering being capable to deliver a plush ride but so far I've been impressed. It took some fiddling to dial it in, but now it is sweet. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Dave
a Downhiller
from Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Date Reviewed: July 19, 2007 | | Favorite Trail: | Satan's Little Fluffer | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Strengths: | Amazingly versatile bike. Great all-mtn, and getting Free-ride'ish | | Weaknesses: | None yet | | Similar Products Used: | Specialized Enduro, VP-Free | | Bike Setup: | SPX FR build kit with DHX-5 Coil shock and Talus 36 | | Bottom Line: | I'm a 220 lb free-rider who is pretty tough on gear. I built this bike up with the FR kit not so that I could actually use it for DH / FR but simply to prevent taco'd rims and bent cranks. I've got a DH rig for shuttling but really wanted a do-it-all bike that could handle the odd 6 footer but still climb okay. Well, this bike has blown me away. Long climbs, moderate drops, DH race-course...you name it and this rig can do it. I wouldn't huck it off your local gymnasium roof (that's ridiculous anyhow!) but if you want to free-ride and earn your turns (ie; climb) and do the odd XC ride, this is it. I was skeptical about the Talus 36 offering being capable to deliver a plush ride but so far I've been impressed. It took some fiddling to dial it in, but now it is sweet. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Jack
a Weekend Warrior
from Centerville, Ohio
Date Reviewed: July 6, 2007 | | Favorite Trail: | hidden in Dayton, Ohio | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$2000.00 | | Purchased At: | Fast Wheels, Cinci, OH | | Strengths: | Stiff, balanced (uphill/downhill) geometry, great pedaling, plush travel, good looks, good quality | | Weaknesses: | difficult to achieve perfect pedaling platform, lackluster Fox DHX Air 5.0 performance | | Similar Products Used: | Cannondale Super V Active (my last bike) | | Bike Setup: | Durable cross-country setup: mostly SRAM X.9/X.7 with Sun Rhyno Lite XL rims, Marzocchi Z1 Fr fork (130mm travel), with Race Face and handlebar (Next SL) and seatpost (XC) | | Bottom Line: | I've had trouble dialing in the DHXair to improve the pedaling platform. In the big ring the suspension compresses perhaps 3-5mm during hard pedaling (acceptable). In the middle ring the bike pedals perfectly with only a trace of rear shock compression - I love pedaling this bike in the middle ring!
In the granny gear, however, under medium to hard pedaling, the rear shock tends to extend, producing unwanted feedback onto the pedals... it feels like the drivetrain resistance momentarily increases making it awkward and difficult to pedal. Apparently its possible to dial this out, but the SantaCruz website doesn't discuss this problem so I don't find this and easy to setup bike.
I've got some feedback from helpful people on mtbr.com and I believe I'm onto a solution. The whole reason I purchased the Nomad over the Heckler is because of the alleged improved pedaling platform with the Nomad's VPP.
Otherwise the bike is tremendous. Good climbing geometry (I'm 6'1, 32" inseam, using a Large Frame with a 110mm stem and 1.5" riser bar and 10mm of spacers under the 6deg rise stem), great decending, plush suspension (although I haven't bottomed out the rear shock yet, I'm continuously using 95% of the travel - blowing through the travel), very stiff frame (I ride out of the saddle quite a bit and I weight about 195lbs.), and nible in the slow, technical stuff too.
I love the bike. I'm on the fence to giving the bike 4 stars, but I feel I'm getting closer to dialing out the granny gear pedaling problem (by sacrificing small bump compliance, however!!) so I'll go ahead and through 5 stars at it. Lets say 4.5 stars...
With the extra $600 (over the Heckler) it costs to buy these pedaling problems, with more pivots to maintain, etc., I'd recommend one to look closely at the new Heckler.
In summary, if you like to ride up as well as downhill, are rough on your equipment or a heavy rider, and are looking to add a fun factor to your jump and berm-filled cross country trails, consider this bike. I'm glad I did. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Andy
a Weekend Warrior
from Horsetooth Mountain Colorado
Date Reviewed: June 29, 2007 | | Favorite Trail: | the one in my backyard | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Price Paid: |
$3500.00 | | Purchased At: | Full Cycle Fort Collins | | Strengths: | It's made by elves and fairies and sprinkled with magic dust. | | Weaknesses: | Makes me think I can take lines I really have no business attempting - so far, so good but how long will that last...? Oh, the TruVativ cranks seem to back out all by themselves once in a while... | | Similar Products Used: | I currently also have a Blur LT X9 AM and a Black Sheep single speed - | | Bike Setup: | Nomad XO AM with Mavic Crossmax XL's which are probably about to give out - some Stan's started to leak through my spoke nipples the other day... for the record I'm 205 lbs and run 220 psi in the rear DHX and approx 75 in the front 36 - | | Bottom Line: | Here's a tip - Trust SC's sizing charts if you have any doubt about what size frame you need. I'm 6'2 and originally went with an XL - after 6 mos of riding I realized that the bike was just a little too big so I sold the XL and bought a Large - and swapped out the parts including the 90mm stem. I liked the bike before but I love it now. It really is a very fun and very versatile bike. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Phill Hall
a Downhiller
from West Auckland, New Zealand
Date Reviewed: June 27, 2007 | | Favorite Trail: | SPCA Woodhill, Patersons 2 Riverhead | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$3500.00 | | Purchased At: | Planet Cycles Mt Eden | | Strengths: | Stable and responsive riding platform. On fast and frantic trails the VPP keeps the power to the ground. I out climbed a roadie on my Nomad it climbs that well. You can ride out of jumps upon landing without slackness or sloppy rearend. | | Weaknesses: | Doesn't like not being riden, my Nomad tends to cry if I haven't ridden it for a few days. | | Similar Products Used: | Nothing similar, this replaced my Spec. Stumpjumper 30th edition. | | Bike Setup: | Fox 36 Talas. DHX 5.0 Air. And a mix of Sram 7 and XT. DMR V8 pedals and Maxxis Highrollers 2.35 (will change to 2.5+ very shortly) | |
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