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Mullet wheels arrive for the Santa Cruz Nomad, plus on-board storage and geometry and suspension tweaks
The all-mountain enduro-slaying Santa Cruz Nomad has frequently impressed us with its performance, and we rate it amongst the best mountain bikes out there. 2022 sees the release of version 6 of this high-performance bike, and the headline news is that the Nomad has gone MX.
Santa Cruz Nomad V6 need to know:
- The Nomad goes MX, with a 29in front wheel and 27.5in rear wheel
- On-board storage in the form of the Glovebox with Tool Wallet and Tube Purse
- Updated suspension kinematics
- Updated geometry with longer chainstays and ‘up to date’ reach and angles
- New XXL size
Sam Dale put the Nomad through its paces at the Megavalanche
The last update in 2020 was more of a tweak than an overhaul, adding proportional chainstays, longer reach and neater cable routing, while retaining the lower shock position that it got several years before. And to our surprise at the time, Santa Cruz opted against the contemporary trends to go mullet.
Obviously, that’s changed for 2022.
MX wheels and updated suspension kinematics
The V6 Nomad comes in matt black or gloss Gypsum purple
Suspension has been updated and refined in tandem with the change in wheel size, and in line with other recent updates to the Santa Cruz lineup, though fans will be pleased to learn the shock remains in that low position.
Santa Cruz has lowered anti-squat with a view to both maintaining better traction while climbing – and the Nomad has always been an impressive climber – and to reduce harshness on square-edged hits while descending.
Starting leverage and progression has also been reduced to give better tracking and consistency across the shock stroke.
There are coil and air shock options on many models, and the geometry flip chip is still a feature
Geometry updates and XXL size
And of course if you change the wheelsize and update the suspension, geometry has to adjust to accommodate this. So the chainstays have been lengthened, though thankfully remain proportional to the frame size.
Head angle, seat tube angle, reach and stack have been tweaked, though to a relatively small extent.
Reach goes from 475mm on the Nomad V5 (Size L, low position) to … well, 475mm on the V6 – though the differences are more evident on smaller and larger sizes. Stack goes from 623.4mm on V5 (L, low) to 638mm, head angle from 64 degrees to 63.8 degrees, and seat tube angle from 78 degrees to 77.9 degrees.
And finally, good news for tall riders or those who like their bikes long – the Santa Cruz Nomad now comes in XXL. Previous iterations have only been available in the usual S, M, L and XL frame sizes, which accommodated riders up to 196cm / 6’5” according to the brand’s size guide.
The Nomad gets a Glovebox
The other headline change is the inclusion of on-board frame storage in the form of the Glovebox, which is situated in the downtube. It’s a feature that’s becoming more common across bikes, and we’re not surprised to see it rolled out across the Santa Cruz lineup given the Santa Cruz Hightower featured it amongst its updates earlier in 2022.
Designed to complement the Glovebox are two storage elements. There’s the Tool Wallet which, as the name suggests, is designed to safely stow your repair essentials on the go without rattling around inside the frame. And there’s the Tube Purse which also has a name that gives away the function.
What’s the same?
Elements are retained from the previous design, such as the 170mm frame and fork travel, proportional chainstays and geometry flip chip.
And the lifetime frame and pivot bearing warranty for original owners is still in place.
Santa Cruz Nomad V6 2022 range overview and prices
The V6 Nomad comes in two colourways, both of which are – in our opinion – damn fine. There’s a beautifully stealthy matt black, and a dusky gloss purple.
Santa Cruz Nomad XO1 AXS RSV (Air or Coil)
- Price: £9699
- Frame: CC Carbon 170 VPP MX
- Shock: Fox X2 Factory / FOX Float DHX2 Factory, 230×65
- Fork: FOX 38 Float Factory, 170mm, 29in
- Drivetrain: SRAM XO1 AXS Eagle 12spd
- Seatpost: Reverb Stealth (125mm – 200mm)
- Wheelset: Reserve 30 / Industry Nine 1/1, Maxxis Assegai 2.5 MG EXO+ / Maxxis Minion DHRII 2.4 MT EXO+ (DD on Coil)
Santa Cruz Nomad XO1 (Air or coil)
- Price: £8399
- Frame: CC Carbon 170 VPP MX
- Shock: Fox X2 Factory / FOX Float DHX2 Factory, 230×65
- Fork: FOX 38 Float Factory, 170mm, 29in
- Drivetrain: SRAM XO1 Eagle 12spd
- Seatpost: Reverb Stealth (125mm – 200mm)
- Wheelset: RaceFace ARC 30 / Industry Nine 1/1, Maxxis Assegai 2.5 MG EXO+ / Maxxis Minion DHRII 2.4 MT EXO+ (DD on Coil)
Santa Cruz Nomad GX AXS RSV (Air or coil)
- Price: £8999
- Frame: C Carbon 170 VPP MX
- Shock: RockShox Super Deluxe Select+ / Super Deluxe Select+ Coil,230×65
- Fork: FOX 38 Float Performance Elite, 170mm, 29in
- Drivetrain: SRAM GX AXS Eagle 12spd
- Seatpost: Reverb Stealth (125mm – 200mm)
- Wheelset: RaceFace ARC 30 / Industry Nine 1/1, Maxxis Assegai 2.5 MG EXO+ / Maxxis Minion DHRII 2.4 MT EXO+ (DD on Coil)
Santa Cruz Nomad GX AXS (Air or coil)
- Price: £7899
- Frame: C Carbon 170 VPP MX
- Shock: RockShox Super Deluxe Select+ / Super Deluxe Select+ Coil,230×65
- Fork: FOX 38 Float Performance Elite, 170mm, 29in
- Drivetrain: SRAM GX AXS Eagle 12spd
- Seatpost: Reverb Stealth (125mm – 200mm)
- Wheelset: RaceFace ARC 30 / Industry Nine 1/1, Maxxis Assegai 2.5 MG EXO+ / Maxxis Minion DHRII 2.4 MT EXO+ (DD on Coil)
Santa Cruz Nomad S
- Price: £6599
- Frame: C Carbon 170 VPP MX
- Shock: RockShox Super Deluxe Select+
- Fork: FOX 38 Float Performance, 170mm, 29in
- Drivetrain: SRAM GX Eagle 12spd
- Seatpost: Reverb Stealth (125mm – 200mm)
- Wheelset: RaceFace AR 30 / DT Swiss 370, Maxxis Assegai 2.5 MG EXO+ / Maxxis Minion DHRII 2.4 MT EXO+
Santa Cruz Nomad R
- Price: £5499
- Frame: C Carbon 170 VPP MX
- Shock: RockShox Super Deluxe Select
- Fork: RockShox Zeb R, 170mm, 29in
- Drivetrain: SRAM NX Eagle 12spd
- Seatpost: SDG Tellis (125mm – 175mm)
- Wheelset: RaceFace AR 30 / SRAM MTH, Maxxis Assegai 2.5 MG EXO+ / Maxxis Minion DHRII 2.4 MT EXO+