Santa Cruz Nomad CC XX1 Reserve review
Big-travel speedster that’ll let you push the limits
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The fourth-generation Nomad gets some significant changes over its predecessor — and they’ve really paid off.
- The Santa Cruz Nomad CC XX1 Reserve is one of our key bikes for 2018. We’ve collated eleven bikes that we believe you should know about in the coming year. Some are super bikes, while others might display great value for money, but they all have one thing in common — they’re all important bikes that show how incredibly varied road and mountain biking is today.
- These are our favourite mountain bike products of 2017
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While the Nomad’s travel has been upped to 170mm, that’s only part of the story. It still uses the Virtual Pivot Point suspension platform, but its layout has been dramatically changed. The shock is much lower in the frame and pierces the seat tube. It’s also driven via the lower of the two links, just like on Santa Cruz’s DH bike, the V10, which it shares a similar leverage curve with. The new Nomad also gets a neat little fender to help keep the shock clean(ish).
There’s space for a bottle cage, a grease port in the lower link, a flip- chip to alter geometry (0.4 degrees at the head and seat tube, and 5mm of adjustment to the bottom bracket height) plus a threaded bottom bracket for easy maintenance.
Santa Cruz Nomad CC XX1 Reserve ride impression
As soon as your tyres hit dirt, the swagger, confidence and balance the Nomad exudes is entrancing. With a good chunk of the weight set down by the low-slung bottom bracket, the supple stroke of the coil shock and a well-considered tyre choice, finding the Nomad’s limits through the turns takes some serious bottle.
BikeRadar would like to thank Brittany Ferries, the Commune of Peille, France, and Kieran Page at La Maison des Activities de Pleine Nature de Peille for their help and support during our Headline Bikes test.
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Product Specifications
Product
| Name | Nomad CC XX1 Reserve |
| Brand | Santa Cruz |
| Description | Geometry based on LOW setting |
| Seat Angle | 74.1 |
| Wheelbase (in) | 47 |
| Top Tube (in) | 23.54 |
| Standover Height (in) | 28.42 |
| Seat Tube (in) | 16.54 |
| Bottom Bracket Height (in) | 13.35 |
| Wheelset | Santa Cruz Reserve 30AM carbon rims on i9 hubs |
| Weight (kg) | 13.85 |
| Stem | Race Face Turbine, 50mm |
| Shifters | SRAM XX1 Eagle trigger |
| Seatpost | RockShox Reverb Stealth, 150mm |
| Saddle | WTB Volt Race |
| Available Sizes | XS S M L XL |
| Rear Tyre | Maxxis Minnion DHR II EXO TR WT (r) 27.5x2.4in |
| Rear Shock | RockShox Super Deluxe RCT Coil |
| Rear Derailleur | SRAM XX1 Eagle |
| Head Angle | 64.6 |
| Handlebar | Santa Cruz AM carbon, 800mm |
| Front Tyre | Maxxis Minnion DHF 3C EXO TR WT 27.5x2.4in |
| Frame Material | Carbon |
| Fork | RockShox Lyrik RCT3, 170mm (6.7in) travel |
| Cranks | SRAM X1 Eagle 32t |
| Cassette | SRAM XG 1295 Eagle 10-50 |
| Brakes | SRAM Code RSC, 180mm rotors |
| Frame size tested | M |
Authors
Rob Weaver is BikeRadar's technical editor-in-chief. Rob manages all of the testing here at BikeRadar and across our magazines, Mountain Biking UK and Cycling Plus. Rob first graced the pages of MBUK back in 2001 when working as a freelance writer and went on to start testing bikes for the title in 2007. In 2010 he joined the team full-time and has been keeping a close eye on all things test-related ever since. Rob’s expansive knowledge of bikes comes courtesy of his passion for racing. He cut his teeth racing cross-country mountain bikes in the early 90s before finding his feet in downhill. After many years competing on the UK national circuit (including a year attempting to race UCI DH World Cups), Rob realised his know-how and passion for bike setup, tech and writing clearly outweighed his racing ability. A degree in sports technology and decades of riding experience all help to give Rob a thorough understanding of what’s needed to create a great bike or product. While Rob’s a mountain biker at heart and never happier than when he’s sliding down a Welsh hillside, he’s more than happy to put the miles in on the road or gravel bike, too.
