Santa Cruz has unveiled the newly refined Nomad, its long-travel mullet bike, with a lighter frame, subtle geometry tweaks and updated VPP kinematics.
While the new bike looks largely unchanged, the brand says the tweaks are aimed at improving pedalling efficiency and composure without losing the Nomad’s downhill focus.
The latest Nomad retains its 170mm rear travel, paired with a 170mm fork and a mixed-wheel (mullet) setup, positioning it as Santa Cruz’s most aggressive pedal-powered bike.
Robin Weaver travelled to Italy to ride the new Nomad and you can read his initial verdict below.
Refined VPP suspension
The biggest changes have been made to the Nomad’s VPP suspension kinematics, with Santa Cruz reworking anti-squat, anti-rise and the leverage curve to alter how the bike behaves on the trail.
Santa Cruz has reduced anti-squat compared to the previous Nomad, enabling more suspension movement under pedalling inputs. However, by lowering it, the rear suspension stays more active over bumps, making technical and loose climbs more efficient, Santa Cruz states.
Plus, lower anti-squat reduces harsh feedback through the bike when driving through square-edge impacts. This gives the bike more composure on rough trails, up and down, for a slight compromise on smooth pedalling.
Santa Cruz has also lowered the Nomad’s anti-rise. This controls how much the suspension stiffens under braking. Now, the rear suspension should remain more active when you’re on the brakes, helping the rear wheel track the ground better on steep, rough descents.
Santa Cruz has also smoothed the leverage curve and made it slightly less progressive, or more linear if you prefer.
The leverage curve has been smoothed out, aiming to improve sensitivity through the mid-stroke, while maintaining support for bigger impacts. On paper, that should reduce harshness once you’re into the travel, rather than improving true small-bump sensitivity off the top.
It’s a move away from firm, race-feel kinematics towards a more ground-hugging, traction-first setup.
On the trail, this translates to a bike that’s easier to keep planted and controlled when things get fast, loose or unpredictable (Rob's ridden it and added his ride impressions later on), even if it sacrifices a bit of snap on smoother climbs.
Minimal but targeted
Santa Cruz claims a modest weight saving of 86g over the previous CC frame, achieved in part through a slimmer down tube and revised carbon layup.
More interestingly, the reduced material is claimed to increase frame compliance, improving chassis control and composure, with the benefit of reducing rider fatigue on rough descents.
All models use the Santa Cruz’s CC carbon construction, and the frame includes size-specific stiffness tuning and geometry adjustments.
Geometry changes are minimal but targeted.
The head angle is now slightly slacker at 63.6 degrees in the frame’s high setting and 63.3 degrees in low, matching the Santa Cruz Bullit eMTB, while the seat angle sits slightly steeper at 77.4 degrees.
Reach, chainstay length and bottom-bracket height remain broadly in line with the previous-generation Nomad, suggesting Santa Cruz is aiming to refine rather than reinvent the Nomad’s handling.
For a size large, the middle size in the small to XXL offerings, the reach is 475mm, stack is 643mm and the chainstay measures 443mm.
The bike keeps its flip chip and size-specific chainstay lengths.
Updated features and practical details
The new Nomad also picks up a number of smaller updates, including Santa Cruz’s revised Glovebox V2 in-frame storage system. Compared to the previous version, it features an improved latch mechanism and more secure engagement, which should make it quieter and more durable on rough trails.
Elsewhere, Santa Cruz has added top-tube accessory mounts for carrying tools or spares, while retaining mechanical drivetrain compatibility across all builds – a move that makes the bike more accessible and easier to maintain than some increasingly electronic-only rivals.
The Nomad also switches to a simplified two-bolt ISCG mount, replacing the previous three-bolt standard. This should make fitting and replacing bash guards easier, while shaving a small amount of weight. An integrated upper chain guide is also now part of the package.
As with previous models, Santa Cruz continues to back the Nomad with its lifetime warranty on frames and bearings.
New Santa Cruz Nomad ride impressions – Robin Weaver
When Santa Cruz launched the gen-4 Nomad, the launch was held in the small town of Molini, Italy. I headed back there, some eight years on, to ride some of the same trails – along with some new ones – on the latest edition of the bike to see how it differs.
Because I only spent a couple of days on the bike, these are my initial impressions. I will, however, follow up with a full review later in the year.
Comfort and composure
Dropping into the first trail, one aspect of the Nomad stood out over everything else – this bike balances precision and accuracy with comfort and composure incredibly well.
Where previous iterations of the Nomad were quite stiff and could, at times, feel a little unforgiving on long, rough descents, the new bike does not. This more forgiving feel was noticeable straightaway.
I felt instantly at home bombing down unfamiliar trails at pace – something you can’t say for every bike you jump on.
Of course, this could be a combination of the new Fox 38 fork up front, smooth DHX2 coil shock and the updated rear suspension helping out here, but to me, there was something more at play.
Skimming across jagged, rocky cambers felt comfortable and smooth. Impacts through the bike felt muted.
While I could still feel exactly what was going on beneath the tyres, by the time impacts reached my hands and feet, nothing felt harsh or as if it was causing me to fatigue unnecessarily quickly. That is surprising because riding the long trails of Molini was tense stuff, especially when the speed picked up.
At 172cm, the reach of the medium (455mm) felt spot-on for me, as did the slack head angle. The lengthy front centre this creates helps to up stability and confidence on steeper sections. Couple that with the stunningly powerful SRAM Maven brakes and you have an incredibly surefooted, easy-to-control bike.
The 440mm rear centre helps to create a well-centred position between the wheels, but still enables enough of a playful feel that I felt I could chuck the Nomad around, tip it onto its rear wheel and slap through tight turns with relative ease.
I’ll have more on the Nomad when once I’ve spent more time on it so stay tuned for a full review soon.
Santa Cruz Nomad build kit specs
Santa Cruz Nomad Deore (coming soon)
- Frame: CC carbon, 170mm
- Fork: RockShox Zeb Base, 170mm
- Shock: RockShox Super Deluxe Select
- Wheelset: Reserve 30|TR / 30|HD alloy rims, Zipp ZM700 hubs, Maxxis HighRoller 3C MaxxGrip EXO+ 29x2.4 (f) / Minion DHR II 3C MaxxTerra DoubleDown 27.5x2.4 (r) tyres
- Drivetrain: Coming soon
- Brakes: SRAM DB8 Stealth (200mm F/R)
- Dropper: OneUp Components
- UK price: Not available
Santa Cruz Nomad 90
- Frame: CC carbon, 170mm
- Fork: RockShox Zeb Select, 170mm
- Shock: RockShox Super Deluxe Select
- Wheelset: Reserve 30|TR / 30|HD alloy rims, DT Swiss 370 hubs, Maxxis HighRoller 3C MaxxGrip EXO+ 29x2.4 (f) / Minion DHR II 3C MaxxTerra DoubleDown 27.5x2.4 (r) tyres
- Drivetrain: SRAM Eagle 90
- Brakes: SRAM Maven Base (200mm F/R)
- Dropper: OneUp Components
- UK Price: £5,499
Santa Cruz Nomad GX AXS
- Frame: CC carbon, 170mm
- Fork: RockShox Zeb Select+, 170mm
- Shock: RockShox Super Deluxe Select+
- Wheelset: Reserve 30|SL + 30|HD alloy 6069 rims, DT Swiss 370 hubs, Maxxis HighRoller 3C MaxxGrip EXO+ 29x2.4 (f) / Minion DHR II 3C MaxxTerra DoubleDown 27.5x2.4 (r) tyres
- Drivetrain: SRAM GX AXS
- Brakes: SRAM Maven Bronze (200mm F/R)
- Dropper: OneUp Components
- UK price: Not available
Santa Cruz Nomad XT Di2 Coil
- Frame: CC carbon, 170mm
- Fork: Fox 38 Factory GRIP X2, 170mm
- Shock: Fox DHX2 Factory coil
- Wheelset: Reserve 30|SL / 30|HD alloy rims, DT 350 DEG hubs (anti-pedal kickback hub), Maxxis HighRoller 3C MaxxGrip EXO+ 29x2.4 (f) / Minion DHR II 3C MaxxTerra DoubleDown 27.5x2.4 (r) tyres
- Drivetrain: Shimano XT Di2
- Brakes: SRAM Maven Silver (200mm F/R)
- Dropper: OneUp Components
- UK price: £7,499
Santa Cruz Nomad XO AXS RSV Coil
- Frame: CC carbon, 170mm
- Fork: Fox 38 Factory GRIP X2, 170mm
- Shock: Fox DHX2 Factory coil
- Wheelset: Reserve 30|HD Carbon rims, DT 350 DEG DF hubs (anti-pedal kickback hub), Maxxis HighRoller 3C MaxxGrip EXO+ 29x2.4 (f) / Minion DHR II 3C MaxxTerra DoubleDown 27.5x2.4 (r) tyres
- Drivetrain: SRAM X0 AXS
- Brakes: SRAM Maven Silver (200mm F/R)
- Dropper: OneUp Components
- UK price: £8,499
Santa Cruz Nomad CC frameset
- Frame: CC carbon, 170mm
- Shock: Fox DHX2 Factory
- UK price: £3,499
