07/27/2026
Bike check! ✅
We are pretty much obsessed with Santa Cruz Bicycles Nomad right now!
Here’s why:
STOMPING GAPS AND STAMPING PASSPORTS
Zip it into the bag, chuck it in the van, or toss it over the tailgate—when you get to the trails, you’ll be happy you’re on a Nomad. The refined suspension offers efficient climbing, less reactivity under braking, and improves traction everywhere in between. In short, you’ll be more comfortable, more composed, and more confident no matter what the trail throws your way.
LIGHTER IS BETTER
The new Nomad’s a bit lighter than before—86 grams, to be precise. A lot of that savings comes from the slimmed-down downtube, but we redesigned the layup throughout the frame. It’s not just weight savings for weight savings sake, though: reducing the amount of material in the downtube makes it more compliant, and leaves you feeling fresher at the end of a long descent. You’ll feel it in your hands and feet at the bottom, and feel it even more (less?) the next day.
SMALL CHANGES, BIG DIFFERENCE
The new Nomad might look a bit like the older one, but sometimes the smallest changes make the biggest difference. The head angle’s a hair slacker, and now matches the Bullit at 63.6 in Hi and 63.3 in Lo. We’ve tweaked the kinematics on our tough, tuneable, VPP suspension layout to eke out a bit more performance. Anti-rise gets reduced a bit, which mitigates brake dive and helps the suspension do its job when you’re trying to keep things upright. At the same time, we also reduced anti-squat, which increases traction and pedaling efficiency while also improving performance over square-edge impacts. It took a lot of math paired with over 80 hours of tires-on-dirt suspension testing, but the result is a bike that gives you the confidence to let it run.
This model:
NOMAD 90
$6,099.00 USD
Carbon CC Frame
RockShox Zeb Select Fork
RockShox Super Deluxe Select Shock
SRAM 90 Eagle T-Type Drivetrain
