£8,999 • 29/27.5 in • santacruzbicycles.com
Work smarter not harder, so the saying goes. And while the midnight oil must have been well and truly blazing at Santa Cruz HQ this year, the brand has succeeded in redesigning five of its most popular models in just a few months by being shrewd as well as productive. Those new models are the Mega-tower, Hightower, 5010, Tallboy and the Nomad being tested here.
The clever use of templates helped to speed up development and achieve such a hugely ambitious task. For example, the frames have all received the same package of visual enhancements. From the slab-sided head tube to the kinked down tube and creased shock tunnel, there’s a formatted design language that ties all the models together.
Details like the frame protection, mudguard, flip-chip at the rear shock mount and the new Glovebox internal storage compartment are standardised to save time and money.
But the Nomad is craftier still, because it’s actually only half a new bike.
