Cari amici,
visto anche il recente apprezzamento del nostro diretur per il magazine in oggetto
http://www.bike-board.net/community/forum/showthread.php?t=60051
vi allego la recensione di Decline sulla nostra amatissima biga (ndr. La sottolineatura finale è stata aggiunta).
Spero di avere fatto cosa utile visto il costo proibitivo della rivista!!!
SANTA CRUZ NOMAD
07/01/06
source: decline Magazine April 2006
One of the most anticipated bikes ever released, the Nomad is Santa Cruzs answer to the all-mountain category. Blending the supple suspension of the VP-Free with the steady pedaling of the Blur LT, the Nomad is touted to be the all-around trail machine and we certainly had high expectations for it.
THE TECHNOLOGY
The Nomad is Santa Cruzs latest addition to their fleet of Virtual Pivot Point (VPP) bikes, filling in the all-mountain category. The frame is built with 6069 aluminum tubing, incorporating a 6061 aluminum monocoque top tube and 6061 hydroformed upright tubes on the swingarm. Santa Cruz uses forged parts at all of the key intersections and the linkage pieces, with the upper link created from two hollow forged pieces to make it strong and light. Every pivot uses custom, double-row sealed bearings.
Santa Cruz owns the original VPP suspension design, which is a complicated system engineered to minimize unwanted compression of the suspension from pedaling while maintaining bump compliance and braking performance. In short, the Nomad suspension uses a patented link configuration and rear axle path to apply some of the pulling force from the chain to counteract the downward motion caused by pedaling. For an in depth look at how the VPP design works, go to page 42.
Santa Cruz gives you a lot of choices on how to spec the Nomad. You can purchase just the frame with a shock or Santa Cruz offers multiple fork, shock and complete build kit options. Check out their website for an interactive display of what is available.
Our test bike came with a solid setup consisting of Truvativ Stylo cranks,
SRAM X-9 Triggers and rear derailleur,
DT Swiss wheels, Avid Juicy 7 brakes and Kenda Nevegal 2.35 tires. Suspension duties were handled by RockShox up front and Fox in the rear. The 140mm travel
Pike 454 U-Turn Air uses the Dual Air system with positive and negative air springs; it also features the Air U-Turn travel adjuster, externally adjustable rebound and compression damping, and lockout threshold adjuster called Floodgate. Santa Cruz supplied us with two rear shocks, a Fox DHX 5.0 shock and a Fox Float R shock to test the performance and weight differences between a coil and an air shock.
THE RIDE
Santa Cruz has been developing their VPP system for six years, offering a chassis for almost every category of mountain bike and it shows in the refinement of the Nomad. It is a truly versatile trail bike, having better pedaling efficiency than many shorter travel designs and the suspension abilities that some longer travel bikes can only dream about. It also comes equipped with geometry that performs while climbing, weaving tight singletrack and blazing downhills. In fact, there isnt much not to love on the Nomad, unless you want to run a bottle cage it doesnt come with water bottle cage mounts.
Pedaling: The Nomad has a unique feel at the pedals and it comes from the relationship between the pulling force of the chain and the rear axle path, which is the focal point of the VPP design. When spinning along a smooth landscape or terrain littered with small debris, the bike cruises over the ground like it is a paved surface and feels impressively efficient. This makes most fire road climbs a breeze for the bike and it motors over buff singletrack. When the trail gets technical, you will feel some resistance in the pedals when you are in the small and middle chainrings, but most of the time, the interference is negligible as the VPP design provides the bike with a solid pedal stroke that propels you forward. There are times, however, when the resistance is annoying like when you are muscling over a bumpy, steep rise or working your way up a section of rocky steps. As a whole, however, Santa Cruz did a good job fine-tuning the delicate balance between pedal efficiency and bump absorption, maximizing the energy put into pedaling without retarding the suspension.
Descending: The Nomad excels at fulfilling two of the most important needs of an all-mountain bike geometry and suspension. As a trail bike, the geometry is dialed, providing an excellent balance for going up and down the mountain with an emphasis on descending. The mix of bottom bracket height, head angle and wheelbase all play a part in keeping the Nomad agile on tight trails and feeling controlled when the trail opens up. The bike has no problem navigating tight trees and switchbacks, and it feels stable pinning it over debris and drifting fire road descents.
The rear travel of the Nomad is outstanding, simulating the feel of a short travel downhill bike. In the beginning of the travel, the axle path moves rearward as it compresses, providing exceptional sensitivity and performance on hard hits. The rear suspension lets you float down the trail, gobbling up rocks and roots and begging for burly downhills. The bike lets you hang it out in the corners and impressively picks up square-edged impacts. We were pleased with the all-around performance of the Pike fork and Float rear shock combo, but slapping on a longer travel coil fork to match the DHX 5.0 shock will help you tap into the full downhill capabilities of the Nomad. The Nomads 68-degree head angle is based on a fork with a 522mm axle to crown length like the Pike, so putting on a longer travel fork will also slacken the head angle to coordinate with more aggressive riding.
Air vs. Coil We rode the Nomad with a DHX 5.0 coil shock and a Float R air shock to feel the differences between the two types of suspension. The Float weighs over a pound less than the DHX coil with a steel spring and the air spring makes it easy to set the bike up for any rider. You cant go wrong with the Float but there is something special about the feel of a coil shock. The DHX shock is slightly more fluid and more responsive, helping the bike track and brake better when the trail gets extremely rough.
OVERVIEW
Designed with excellent geometry and suspension,
the Santa Cruz Nomad is a testament to the all-mountain category. The VPP design does a great job balancing pedal efficiency with bump absorption, making the Nomad versatile going up and down. With the Nomad, you get an efficient, all-around chassis that can kill it on the downhill.
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ti immagini a giro sull'amiata con la nomad???
avendo solo l'argomento materiale da spendere.
o-o