Tested : Pete’s Santa Cruz Nomad C GX AXS Reserve Coil Review.

Pete checks in with an update on how the big mountain Mullet machine, the Santa Cruz Nomad has fared after a few months of adventures.

How does a 170mm Mullet bike stack up as a daily driver? The Santa Cruz Nomad C GX AXS Reserve Coil is light and capable enough for most duties.

Photos by Pete Scullion.

Key features:

  • Rockshox Zeb Select + 170mm fork
  • RockShox Super Deluxe Select+ coil shock
  • SRAM GX AXS Eagle T-type 12-speed drive
  • SRAM Code Bronze Stealth brakes
  • i9 1/1 hubs on Reserve 30|HD rims
  • OneUp V2 dropper
  • £7,999.00 RRP
  • SantaCruzBicycles.com

The Nomad is a Mullet-wheeled, 170mm travel, VPP bike that shares the same front triangle as the Megatower. Size specific frame stiffness and chainstays are one of the many things that help to justify the steeper asking prices of Santa Cruz bikes. The bike here is the highest spec Carbon C model available.

The Nomad Carbon C GX AXS RSV Coil, comes with SRAM’s GX AXS Eagle T-type drive and Reserve rims, the latter laced to i9 1/1 rims. Rockshox Zeb Select + forks combine with a Super Deluxe Coil Select + shock. SRAM’s Code Stealth Bronze brakes keep things in check. A nice feature of the coil version of this bike is that it comes shod with Maxxis DoubleDown rubber, an Assegai/Minion DHR II combo. Finishing kit is a Santa Cruz carbon bar held in place by a Burgtec stem with a OneUp V2 dropper holding onto a WTB Silverado saddle.

Geometry

The Santa Cruz Nomad is available in S, M, L, XL and XXL.

Reach on the M in Lo is 452mm with a seat tube of 405mm. Head angle is 63.5 degrees with a seat tube angle of 77.2 degrees. Chainstays are size specific with the M having 441mm chainstays with a 1240mm wheelbase.

A great way to explain how the Santa Cruz Nomad has fared is my last ride on the bike. This would be an outing to tick the Munro count to 95 by tagging the Arrochar Alps of Ben Narnain and Beinn Ime. This would be a vertical kilometer from the shores of Loch Long to Beinn Ime’s summit at 1011m.

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The steep winch on built path would turn to hill path beyond, only becoming unrideable as the built path weaved through boulders and smaller streams then kicking hard towards the summit approach. That said, the combination of low weight, large top sprocket and sensible seat tube angle meant that a fair amount of the climb was done in the saddle.

Even shoving the bike up the steeper slopes was easy done as the Nomad certainly isn’t hefty despite its descending prowess. After refuelling on the top, it was time to enjoy the rewards of the energy expended getting there. This is where the Nomad really does come into its own.

I knew fine well the Nomad’s ability to smooth the chunder out without removing me from the equation but until now, I hadn’t ridden so much descent in one hit. Would the Nomad help me keep on track as I tired, or would it spit me out after chewing me up?

Just like on the ups, the VPP dealt with the square edges beautifully, allowing momentum to carry unimpeded. Possibly the only real complaint was the tall seat, courtesy of the interrupted seat tube, would make its presence felt on the steeper sections.

Beyond that, the Nomad encouraged the spicier line and would reward you for it. The coil shock combined with the VPP is a delight and the SRAM anchors with the thicker rotors really helps you keep things on the straight and narrow.

Reliability-wise the bike was spot on. The Code Stealths providing plenty of power and modulation, the GS AXS gears were crisp and the Rockshox dampers had plenty to offer regardless of how much descending you’d done.

What do we think?

At eight grand, you’re not going to sling a Santa Cruz Nomad in the trolley when you’re out doing the Sunday shop, but the size specific geometry and frame stiffness are the things you can’t enjoy until you’ve ridden one. You can also save a thousand pounds and opt for the alloy wheeled version which makes it a tasty proposition, competitive with other big bikes out there.

We love:

  • Ready to charge out of the box
  • Stock coil shocks
  • Low weight

Could do better:

  • Not the best post insertion

You can check out the Santa Cruz Nomad C GX AXS RSV Coil over on their website here.


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