Santa Cruz reveal updated Nomad

Santa Cruz don’t rush with their suspension designs. For example; the Superlight has been around since… umm… forever and has undergone gradual tweaks rather than complete revolutionary re-design, getting gradually better and better over time and yet still obviously being related to the bike that it was in the 90’s.

Earlier this year Santa Cruz revealed the tweaks they’d made to the Blur LT and now the Nomad gets a dose of the updates as well. Here’s the result - Stiffer, lighter, stronger and perhaps even prettier than before. The Nomad is dead. Long live the Nomad!

The Nomad has always been a hard to classify bike, being put to use everywhere from XC to light DH duties and there’s no denying that when it first hit the market people were either smitten or appalled by its looks. I was always firmly in the smitten camp. Swoopy & Hydroformed with a good amount of high quality welding the Nomad always looked purposeful and made me grin whenever I swung a leg over one.

Now though, the top tube has been redesigned along with a number of other areas of the frame. It still manages to look like a Nomad, just more svelte, yet Santa Cruz say this new design is stiffer than the previous model. 

But not all the changes are as instantly obvious as the new look of the front triangle. Santa Cruz have also tweaked the links that form the VPP system resulting in less chain growth (a Good Thing), a more constant shock rate (a Very Good Thing) and as a special bonus* have fitted a Carbon Fiber top link - which not only looks pretty cool, is also stiffer and lighter than the old alloy version.

As well as the new linkage design Santa Cruz have changed the way in which the linkages mount to the frame. Collet heads now securely mount 15mm alloy axles directly to the frame itself, reducing load placed upon the lower linkage bearings. Couple this with the grease nipples and you’ve got much easier maintenance, increased service intervals and easier disassembly when the time does eventually come for a strip down and re-build.

Still offering a full 160mm (6″) of travel the new Nomad has retained its 1.5″ head tube meaning you can fit pretty much any freeride / AM / Burly XC fork that you want to. Santa Cruz quote the head & seat angles as 67°/71.5° respectively based around 545mm axle to crown fork length. Keep in mind that for every ±25mm you will alter these angles by 1°

The chainstays have been shortened to 440.9mm (17¼” - only ½” longer than my old Klein race hardtail!) to keep things responsive - coupled with the tweaks to the VPP system and a 3rd of a pound (340g) dropped from the overall weight (a size large, powdercoat Nomad weighs 6.9lbs) the Nomad looks set to defy classification for a while longer and this new incarnation is sure to become a regular sight on trails near you soon. 

The new Nomad will be available from late October with a US MSRP of $1850 inc Rock Shox Monarch shock and Grease gun. There’s no word on other pricing yet but as soon as we hear what it’s going to be we’ll let you know.

Visit the Santa Cruz Bikes website for details of the full range

* Not actually a bonus but still a very nice touch.

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