Santa Cruz Nomad Carbon

It seems like barely a year and a half ago we totally revamped our beloved gnarl-hound with updated suspension, geometry and a host of details that saw an entirely new Nomad emerging from where the old Nomad had been - lighter, sleeker, snappier and at the same time tougher. Time flies. It was just a year and a half ago that eight unlucky souls got mangled in the Hellride while claiming first saddle time aboard the new beast. And while the now tried and true aluminum Nomad is still a vital part of our lineup, we decided to splice some carbon fiber into it's DNA and see what happens.

Patented counter-rotating link design
Allows flexibility to design and manipulate shock rates for a huge diversity of uses, from razor sharp XC performance to bomber tough and ultra plush 10-inch travel downhill duty.

Short links
(Carbon Fiber Upper, Forged Aluminum Lower) and large diameter axles combined with angular contact bearings bring chassis integrity and handling precision to a whole new level.

Grease ports!
Tons of seals! Locking collet axle hardware! Super trick, low maintenance, superior durability, easy to service when the time finally comes.
You won't find this kind of stuff - whether it be quality of hardware or versatility of design or chassis integrity - anywhere else.

 

 

 Reviews

The nomad carbon is an incredible mountain bike. If you want one bike that can handle the climbs and descents, this is it. I ride this on mondo 30 mile with 4k ft of climbing and descending rides. Its not the fastest cllimber but it gets you to the top pretty quick. You can charge any aggressive line and the nomadc will hold its line like a champ. You can drop off a 5 ft rock drop, no problem. Hit a 10 ft gap with ease. You probably won't win an xc race with this bike but whatever.

If you want a fun bike that can handle pretty much anything other than resort downhill, this is it. You do sacrifice some speed on the climbs but the fun is on the downhills. My only regret with purchasing this bike is not purchasing it sooner. Get the nomadc it is so sick. Don't buy this bike if you are a pure xc rider. Buy this bike if you want to ride to the top and enjoy the downill to the fullest. It would be nice to have a water bottle cage for holding energy drinks on big rides.

My build is 30lbs with 7" travel in the front and 6.5" in the back.

 

 My fifth Santa Cruz bike and best to date. Use it for gnarly trail riding. Downhill the bike rewards being pushed hard and never seems to get fazed by anything. Get the best brakes you can get - you'll end up going a whole lot faster through the rough stuff ! Carbon frame is super stiff so suspension setup is super important - stiff wheels are also key to keep up with the frame ! Corners on rails - you have to get used to the razor sharp handling !
Brilliant on climbs - very very impressed. This thing climbs anything..

Rear shock:
Frame came with a DHX Air and I was never happy - dead rear feeling and blew through travel too quickly. Upgraded to a Cane Creek Double Barrel - 100% improvement - absolutely brilliant and no messing with air pressures again ! Transformed the ride - downhills through rock gardens are a breeze and I am always amazed by how much it can handle. Shock Setup is tricky and I have ended up running very little low speed rebound and low speed compression damping - rather let the VPP do its job.

(mtbr.com, santacruzmtb.com)

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