FIRST Rides MBUK
COMMIT TO A SECTION, LET OFF THE BRAKES AND YOU’LL BE REWARDED WITH PINPOINT ACCURACY AND MASSES OF MOMENTUM
SANTA CRUZ NOMAD CC X01 RSV
£7,799 Is the revamped Nomad the US brand’s best big-hitter yet?
Santa Cruz last overhauled the Nomad back in 2017, and it was a bike we quickly fell in love with thanks to its playful ride. It was a real plus how well it pedalled uphill, too. Fast-forward to 2021 and the bike gets another makeover, although the differences aren’t quite so easy to spot as last time around.
The frame
The fifth-generation Nomad continues to roll on 650b wheels, with no 29in (for that, look to the Megatower) or mixed-wheel-size ‘mullet’ option (as found on Santa Cruz’s e-bikes) available. As with pretty much every other full-sus bike in their range, the lower of the Nomad’s two counter-rotating VPP links drives its rear shock. The back end still pumps out 170mm of rear wheel travel, but a lower leverage ratio and longer-stroke shock are claimed to create a more settled, damped
