Santa Cruz Nomad

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ajax

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I am considering getting one of these and putting a good sized fork on it like one of the fox 36's or possibly, but probably not, a totem. A guy I work with said he rode a nomad with a decent sized fork and didn't really like it too much, so he opted for the blur 4x. Currently I am on a 3 year old Heckler with a 66, which I am very fond of, but it is getting worn out. I am looking for something with just a little more travel., and it wouldn't hurt to move away from single pivot. Also, I would put a fox dhx 5.0 coil on it. I basically want a bike for freeride and some dh, but still be able to ride uphill. The shop I work at can get deals on Santa Cruz, Kona, and Jamis, and seeing how Kona is almost all sold out of their inventory, and I just plain don't want a Jamis, I'm gonna try to stick with Santa Cruz.

To sum things up, for those of you who have one, what do you use it for, what's your setup, how do you like it, and do you think it would be good for what I want to use it for? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
 
the nomad is a sickkk bike. I wouldn't put a fork over six inches on it though. it's not designed for that sort of shit.
 
if i were to build up a nomad i would put the 6 inch fox fork or a rock shox lyric ( very similar to the 36) and a fox 5.0 Air the air just makes sense to me especially on a smaller bike where you save quite a bit by eliminating the spring
 
ive heard that these bikes can do anything. a nomad with a fox 36 sounds perfect for you.
 
i hate how the top tubes look on the nomads, but everything i've heard about them has been positive, they're light and burly as fuck so it doens't really matter what it looks like. Lyrics feel really good and motion control is dope, but the 36s are solid too but more expensive. either way the nomad would be solid but it might be a little on the light end for dh racing
 
Alex, I've ridden Cameron's around a few times and it's a really fun bike. He has a DHX coil and 36 VAN and it feels pretty balanced--you could probably run a 66 or Totem and the front wouldn't be rediculously high, but I would still use a 36. The front end feels a bit more planted than it does on my bike, and it climbs better too. The only thing I didn't like was that it didn't feel quite as quick as the Heckler and didn't pump transitions as well. For a trail/FR bike it'd be totally sickgnar. Just be prepared to experiment with oil weights and BO control if you get the 36 VAN, it's a bit finicky when it comes to doing drops and still absorbing small stuff on the trail.
 
Ya a fork that big is made for Downhill/Freeride the nomad is more of a xc bike. If you want a santa cruz more dh/freeride bike go with the v-10 even though its alot of money its a sick bike and worth it.
 
I just got back from whistler riding my Nomad, and i had a ton of fun I have my Nomad set up with a DHX Air, 36 Talas and it still takes all the hits. And no bike jumps better. I mean, riding Whistler on a Demo 8 is fun, but a different kind of fun.
I also ride the North Shore alot (the North Shore) and the Nomad is as good picking its way through tech lines as it is charging single track.
Definatly recommend.
And it climbs really well too. i did a few XC epic rides this summer. No other bike can ride a 6 hour XC ride as well, then just swap the pedals and tear it up on a shuttle run.
 
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