Jake Ebdon: Santa Cruz Nomad Bike Check
Santa Cruz and Tweed Valley Bikes supported rider, Jake Ebdon, has spent the last couple of months aboard the new mixed wheeled Nomad. Spending his winters here in the Tweed Valley and his summers racing the EWS, Jake wants a bike that can excel on anything from high alpine riding, to bike park laps and still be able to pedal all day.
With 170mm front and rear, the Nomad gives Jake plenty of travel to soak up anything in his path, letting him carry his speed from section to section with ease. MX wheels (29” front and 27.5” rear) allow the Nomad to be fitted with a shorter chainstay than would be possible on a full 29er, giving the 170mm juggernaut an eagerness to change direction that belies its travel figures.
“The Nomad feels very stable on trail and gives me more margin for error than on my previous Bronson. A really noticeable difference is the size specific carbon layups; the Bronson was a great bike but incredibly stiff. This new Nomad, with its size specific carbon layup, is still stiff and accurate but noticeably more compliant than the Bronson”
At 172cm Jake fits bang in the middle of the Medium frame size range, running his bike in the Hi shock setting for Tweed Valley riding gives his Nomad a head angle of 63.8°. When racing over in Europe, Jake flips his chip to the Lo setting, lowering the BB height by 3mm and dropping his head angle down to 63.5°, finding this setting gives him a little extra stability and confidence at the increased speeds on the alpine singletrack that makes up so many EWS stages.
Now fitted with Santa Cruz’s integrated frame storage, the Glovebox, Jake carries snacks and spares on the go for his day to day riding and racing.
“Trail side repairs are no joke on race day so I think it’s best to be prepared for anything. I carry a tube and tyre lever in the tube purse and a Crankbrothers M20 multitool, Peaty’s Holeshot C02 inflator and Peaty’s Holeshot Tubeless Plugs along with zip ties, quick link and mech hanger in the Tool Wallet. I also have a Effetto Mariposa 3.5 x 50 mm Tubeless Tire Plug in the crank spindle which I leave loaded up with a plug for fast repairs”
Jake’s Nomad is fitted with a Rockshox Zeb Ultimate fork set to 170mm of travel with the Charger 2.1 damper installed. Inflated to 55psi with 2 tokens, Jake is experimenting with running more compression damping to hold up the fork. His low speed compression (LSC) is set to 8 from open, high speed compression (HSC) 2 from open and rebound 6 from open.
A Rockshox Super Deluxe Coil Ultimate shock fitted with a 350lb spring gives Jake his desired 30% sag, with LSC fully open and rebound at 6 from open, his shock relies more on spring rate than damping, as opposed to his fork.
“I experimented with two different spring rates, a 400lb and the 350lb I’m using now, the 400lb spring just felt a touch too hard. The Bronson I had before the Nomad was setup with a 350lb spring so I just fitted that and it's been bang on!”
A full complement of AXS components not only declutters Jake’s cockpit for a cleaner look, but also adds robust reliability. A SRAM GX AXS rear derailleur shifts smoothly despite more than a few close encounters with the roots and rocks of the Tweed Valley, and the AXS Reverb gives trouble free action, with the ability to restore lost performance with the Vent Valve located at the bottom of the post.
Paired with his GX AXS rear derailleur is a 10-50t SRAM Eagle cassette and 34t SRAM X-Sync chainring. 165mm cranks give a little extra clearance through deep ruts and a OneUp chainguide keeps everything secure.
Jake accepts no compromises when it comes to wheels and tyres. Reserve 30|HD rims are built for anything modern enduro riding can throw at them; whether that be long gap jumps or boulder strewn straights the Reserve 30|HD rims are strong stiff and lightweight. Backed by a lifetime warranty Jake should have no worries about hitting the roughest lines he can find. Industry Nine 1/1 hubs use 90 points of engagement to give immediate power delivery when Jake hammers the pedals.
Maxxis tyres are fitted front and back on Jake’s bike. Both MaxxGrip and DH casing, Jake uses a Shorty up front and a DHRII in the rear. Reserve Fillmore valves give better airflow than regular tubeless valves helping Jake seat stiff DH tyres and, thanks to their patented design, they’ll never clog up with old sealant. Jake runs his tyres at 22psi front and 25psi rear.
SRAM Code RSC brakes provide ample stopping power and are fitted with SRAM’s new HS2 rotors to provide extra power and heat dissipation.
“My brakes have to be the same every time I use the bike and I’m quite picky about how they’re set up. The reach is set so the lever fits in the knuckle of my finger and I like the bite to be about halfway to the bar.”
The cockpit of Jake’s Nomad is all TAG Metals components. A 33mm reach T1 stem is fitted with a set of aluminium T1 bars cut to 740mm, using a 31.8mm clamp bore. TAG’s Speed Aligned System helps Jake make small adjustments to his cockpit setup accurately thanks to small engravings on the stem and bars, letting him easily see what adjustments he has made. Santa Cruz House grips finish off Jake's cockpit with a soft compound rubber and narrow diameter.
Jake’s Nomad Full Spec - Jake is 172cm, 69kg
Frame - Santa Cruz Nomad MX C size Medium (Hi on flip chip, too slack in Lo) Hi for Tweed Valley riding, Lo for EWS
Fork - Rockshox Zeb Ultimate 170mm (55psi, 2 tokens) (LSC: 8 from open, HSC: 2 from open, Rebound: 6 from open) experimenting with more damping to add support, instead of more air and tokens
Shock - Rockshox Super Deluxe Ultimate Coil (350lb spring) (LSC: 0 fully open Rebound: 6 from open
Wheelset - Reserve 30HD - i9 1/1 hubs - Reserve Fillmore Valves
Tyres - Front: Maxxis Shorty DH casing MaxxGrip 22psi Rear: Maxxis DHRII DH casing MaxxGrip 25psi
Brakes - SRAM Code RSC with SRAM HS2 200mm rotors, sintered pads
Cassette - SRAM GX Eagle 10-50t cassette
Rear mech - SRAM AXS GX
Chainring - SRAM X-Sync 34t chainring
Chainguide: OneUp chainguide
Cranks - SRAM Descendant Eagle 165mm
Pedals: Crankbrothers Stamp 7, small, use Mallet E for racing.
Dropper post - Reverb AXS 170mm
Saddle - Fizik Gravita Alpaca X5
Bar - TAG T1 handlebar alloy, 31.8mm, 740mm
Grips - Santa Cruz House Grips
Stem - TAG T1 stem 33mm reach, 31.8mm
If you fancy a new Nomad yourself, get in touch to find out more and reserve yours now - stock is limited!
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