Fans of burly bikes that can take a beating have always loved the Santa Cruz Nomad. Now it looks like those fan will have even more to smile about with the latest version of the bike.
After receiving a major update in 2017 with a completely new frame layout, this generation builds on that design to make the bike stiffer and more durable. While the previous bike had a single upright from the chainstay to the seat stay on the non-drive side, this one moves to dual uprights. There’s a new front triangle design with a revised upper link to go along with that, and this is all coupled with an improved leverage curve which should improve the ride of the Nomad, though Santa Cruz doesn’t go into details.
You’ll still find a flip chip at the lower shock mount with a High and low setting for the geometry. The frame still uses sealed bearings for all the pivots with grease fittings for the lower link along with a lifetime warranty to keep the Nomad rolling.
A SRAM Universal Derailleur Hanger lets the Nomad join the club of UDH equipped bikes for easier replacements – and potentially fewer damaged derailleurs as well.
In terms of travel and wheel size, things haven’t changed with 170mm of travel front and rear with 27.5″ wheels and tires. Stock builds will include Maxxis 27.5 x 2.4″ rear and 2.5″ front tires.
The Nomad 4 was already a very slack bike – that now has gotten even slacker. In the high setting, you’ll run a 64° head tube angle, but flip the chip and it drops to 63.7°. The biggest change is at the seat tube which sees a huge change from 74.5° on all sizes to now 77.2/78.2° depending on the size and chip setting. The chainstay length also changes to a size specific model with the smallest bikes running 425mm stays and the biggest at 440mm.
Available in Adder Green or the Oxblood shown above with a translucent finish that lets the carbon shine through, the Nomad is offered in a range of complete builds starting with the Nomad C R at $4,499. At the top end, you’ll find the Nomad CC X01 RSV at $8,699. Notably, the pricing and build sheets provided do not list any aluminum frames – only C and CC carbon frames. We’ll have to wait and see if aluminum versions pop up at some point in the future. The frame will also be offered, but only as a CC frame at $3,399.
