In 2022, Santa Cruz made some fairly significant changes to one of their enduro rigs, the Nomad. Along with some geometry adjustments, the received internal frame storage, and ditched the 27.5” front wheel.
Like every bike in Santa Cruz’s lineup that rocked 27.5 wheels front and rear, mullet would be the way of the future. Now, this latest generation of Nomad doesn’t get any sort of 32” mega mullet, or anything like that. Rather, Santa Cruz focused on smaller refinements and simplifications to eke out every bit of performance they could.
The New Santa Cruz V7 Nomad
First, let’s talk about some of the changes made to the Nomad’s frame. And, in Santa Cruz’s own words, some of these changes were made to right the wrongs of the past.
I’m talking about cable routing. If you remember, on some Santa Cruz CC-level carbon frames, internal cable routing for mechanical derailleurs was not an option. The holes simply weren’t there, and customers were forced to use electronic shifting.
You didn’t like it, and Santa Cruz heard. This latest generation of Nomads allows any drivetrain, mechanical or electronic, to be used.
In fact, Santa Cruz only offers this latest Nomad in the brand’s highest level CC carbon. The change simplifies the lineup and provides all customers with the top-performing frame material.
They were also able to shave a bit of weight (86 grams) off compared to the previous generation. Most of the material removed came from slimming the downtube. Doing so not only saved weight but also made the frame a bit more compliant, providing better performance in the chunk and less abuse on your body.
Santa Cruz also tweaked its in-frame storage. The Glovebox V2 features a beefed-up latch for easier use and a better hold, and overall, the compartment is quieter and more durable. For additional storage, they also added accessory mounting points on the underside of the top tube.
Refined Geo & Kinematics
The Nomad remains an MX-wheel bike with 170mm travel front and rear and continues to feature a high/low flip chip. However, Santa Cruz did tweak the geometry slightly for even better downhill performance.
Compared to the previous-generation Nomad, the Gen 7 features a slightly slacker head angle. This new HTA matches the Bullit at 63.6° in the high position and 63.3° in the low position. The seattube angle is also slightly steeper, matching the Bullit, but the stack, chainstays, and bottom bracket height all remain the same.
Taking notes from the most recent Bronson, Santa Cruz also reduced anti-squat on the new Nomad. (In fact, the V6 Nomad had reduced anti-squat numbers, and they went even further on the V7.) Dropping anti-squat increases traction and suspension performance, especially over square-edged hits.
Anti-rise was also reduced to mitigate brake dive and keep the suspension working while you’re on the stoppers. Despite the changes, Santa Cruz still claims improved pedaling efficiency, which almost seems counterintuitive.
In addition to changes to anti-squat and anti-rise, the V7 Nomad also sees reduced progression in its leverage rate. This move better matches the bike’s front and rear and increases sensitivity to small bumps deeper in the travel.
While some of these changes might seem counterintuitive to pedaling efficiency, Santa Cruz still claims improvements. However, even big bikes pedal so well now that the changes might not be that noticeable when climbing.
V7 Nomad Builds
Currently, the Nomad is offered in four builds, but it looks like the fifth and most affordable build will be available soon. Full details on that aren’t yet available. Santa Cruz offers frames in five sizes (S-XXL), and, as I already mentioned, all builds feature CC carbon.
The Nomad 90 and GX AXS build feature SRAM drivetrains, Maven brakes, and Rock Shox suspension. The higher-spec’d builds feature electronic shifting from Shimano and SRAM, Fox Factory suspension, and Maven Silver brakes.
All builds see Reserve 30 wheels, with the carbon variant on the top spec’d model. And, of course, Santa Cruz offers a lifetime warranty on its frames and bearings. Builds start at an impressive 33.8 lbs.
Nomad Pricing
- 90 Build: $6,099
- GX AXS Build: $7,299
- XT Di2 Build: $7,799
- X0 AXS RSV Build: $9,499
- Frame: $3,999
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