My Santa Cruz Nomad

Today we are taking a look at my custom built Santa Cruz Nomad V6. I put a lot of thought into what I would want into the build, I wanted something that pedals efficiently, but is a downhill/enduro shredder. 

Rider: Shannon

Age: 27

Height: 5’ 6”

Weight: 65kg

Bike Size: Medium 

 

Suspension settings and pressure

• Fork - Rockshox Zeb Charger 3, with the Smashpot V2 Coil Conversion 40lb spring, with 4 clicks of HBO from fully open. LSC open, HSC open, Rebound 11 from open. 
• Shock - Rockshox Vivid Air RC2T, with 170 PSI, low speed 1 click from open, high speed fully open, HBO 1 click from open. 

Why I Chose the Santa Cruz Nomad 

I have owned a couple Santa Cruz bikes in the past and I love how they ride. The overall geometry feels balanced, super playful as well as being planted & stable down rough/fast terrain. I find the mullet keeps me more centralised and suits my height better over the full 29 (e.g. the megatower for example).

The steeper seat tube angle makes it a pleasant bike to ride uphill keeping you in a more upright position. 

Having the lifetime warranty on frames and bearings is also a peace of mind. Even in the UK weather my SC bearings have hardly any notchiness after a year of abuse. They’re overall great quality in my opinion. 

Another genius edition was Santa Cruz bringing in the 'glove box' design on the down tube. Handy for those bigger days for storing your subway, or other essential accessories.

 

Frame Geometry & Build Setup 

I must say, I have always been super impressive with the built quality of Santa Cruz frames. How easily the internal cable routing is, the paint quality and the aesthetics, which some of the few reasons for opting for it. Not having cups makes changing the headset easy, featuring a IS41/IS52 top and lower bearings. I'd say I'm fairly fussy and having a quiet bike is always on my mind. 

I ride a medium, and being 5ft 6", would say its a perfect fit for me. Santa Cruz bikes always seem to come up a tad smaller than some other brand like Mondraker. If you're on the top end of the sizing, I would personally recommend sizing up. 

The Santa Cruz frames insertion lengths are quite generous, for a large, the insertion is 270mm. I run a 150mm OneUp V2 with a Hope Dropper Lever, and have around 35mm outside of the frame for my medium, though I should have got a 170mm post to have it fully slammed into the frame. No biggy though. 

 

Components Overview 

Bars and Stem: Hope Carbon Handlebar 31.6 (20mm rise), with Hope Gravity Stem 35mm. 

Dropper Post: One Up V2 150mm

Saddle: Nukeproof Horizon 

Grips: ODI Elite Pro

Fork: Rockshoz Zeb Ultimate Charger 3 170mm

Headset: Hope IS41 / IS51

Shock: Rockshox Vivid Air RC2T

Drivetrain: Hope EVO Cranks 165mm paired with a Hope BB, Hope R22 chainring. Sram XO T-Type rear derailleur, GX cassette and Sram XO Chain.

Brakes: Hayes Dominan A4

Wheels: Custom built, DT Swiss FR541 rims laced onto Silver Hope Pro 5 hubs. 

Tyres: Continental Kryptotal 2.4 rear, Maxxis Assegai 2.5 front

Pedals: Crank Brothers Mallets DH

 

Some key points on my components:

Hope: Hope components are scattered throughout my bike, I really like their quality, and the overall looks like awesome. Being made here in the UK in the Hope factory is also pretty cool.

This is the first time I have ran a Hope carbon bar, and I have to say, between the carbon weaved affect, and how damped they feel, I'm a big fan. I previously ran Burgtec carbon bars which were also up there for one of my favourites, but find the aesthetics of the Hope bar slightly more appealing to me. I prefer the 31.6mm bar over a 35mm as I find you get a bit more flex, leading to further comfort.

Saddle: the Nukeproof Horizon is the go to on all of my bikes, incorporating a comfy pedal platform, but enough padding that you're not 'wallowing' when pedalling.

Fork and Suspension Setup: The Rockshox Zeb is set to 170mm, with a Smashpot V2 coil conversion for additional suppleness with mid/end support. Honestly, its the best feeling fork set up I have ridden in my lifetime!

Being quite a light rider, I always find the fork dampers from factory a little harsh off the top of the stroke for me, so the coil conversion has made a huge difference. 

I read a lot about the Vivid shock before I made the move to run it, and it ticked every box for me. Super subtle off the top, and the mid/bottom support is superb. It feels like a coil, but lighter and its air. The HBO (hydraulic bottom out) feature Rockshox introduced makes those heavy hits a bit more pleasant by not having that harsh bottom out affect which can be an ankle stinger and g-out. Highly recommend this shock! 

Grab yours here: RockShox Vivid Ultimate RC2T

Brakes: If you're on the fence about brakes, the Hayes Dominion A4's are in my opinion the best on the market! These are on both my Mondraker Dune RR e-bike and my Santa Cruz Nomad. The levers feel really light and the bite you achieve is incredible. I can run the levers close into the bars and achieve a good bite point which suits my smaller hands. 

Wheelset: I tend to be quite hard on a back wheel, but I somehow always find a way to destroy them over time. I decided on this built to try a set of the DT Swiss FT451 rims, only a set of Silver Hope Pro 5 hubs for some extra bling factor. To date, I still haven't managed to flat spot the rim, bonus! For additional bling, I finished the rims off with the Hope silver thru axles. Front and Rear. 

 

Final Thoughts on the Bike

In conclusion, the Nomad is a smashing bike all in. I can't find anything to fault it really if I'm honest. Really enjoy riding it and with it being a longer travel enduro bike, it pedals like a short travel. 

I have taken the the bike to Morzine and Andorra so far, with a trip planned to Malaga (switchbacks in April 2025), and the bike handles amazing. It is definatly a verstile 

I purchased a 'Rockguardz' downtube protector as I think the protection around that area does lack a bit and an area that could do with a bit more coverage. I would personally prefer to have that peace of mind from potential rock strikes. Along with the invisiframe kit applied, you have all the protection you would need. We at Biketart can both supply & fit both invisiframe and ridewarap if you would like that extra protection!