My Stumpjumper is a lovely bike and I've loved riding it over the last five or six years but ever since cadging a ride on a friends bike with 'modern' geometry I've known it wouldn't be long until I was thinking about an upgrade 
As it happens I have managed to hold out for a lot longer than I expected, but when Santa Cruz launched the updated Nomad 6 CC bikes and framesets on Tuesday my restraint crumbled 
The Nomad has been around since 2005 and improved upon with each generation but one thing had remained constant; it's always had 27.5" wheels. Until now 
Well, technically it still has one 27.5" wheel but it now sports a 29er up front where the other used to be. Some of you may remember that I mulleted my Stumpjumper a while back to slacken the head angle and try and get closer to the modern geometry and whilst it's a bit marmite, for me it transformed the bike. How convenient then that the brand I've aspired to own since my teens have now brought out a version of the model I was already interested in with mullet specific geometry (or 'MX' as they call it) that I could swap my new wheels on to 
A quick bit of research told me my brakes, drivetrain and wheels should all bolt on to the new frameset but I'd need a new cockpit and seatpost to get the fit right so nothing too spendy. Of course the frame and forks are not cheap, but that's where the cycle scheme comes in I have ridden the Stumpjumper to work a few times so I don't even feel guilty about it 😄
Anyway, I spent a few hours yesterday looking at the various Santa Cruz dealer websites and spoke to a few on the phone. I quickly realised that despite these only being released on Tuesday I'd already left it a bit late and they were almost all gone
This morning I managed to put a deposit on what I'm told was the last frameset from the first batch of imports with the second batch not due til sometime in 2023 
I think had I slept on it again I'd have been pretty disappointed
Anyway, this is what I've ordered; a 2023 Santa Cruz Nomad 6 CC frameset with Fox DHX2 Factory coil shock and Fox 38 Factory forks. The frame colour is called Gypsum and looks grey/purple in some lights - I've gone for some paint protection too so they'll fit an invisiframe kit before they send it out to me. I preferred the other option, matte carbon, but with this being the only one available I didnt have much choice and I don't dislike it As stated above, it's a mullet by design so 27.5" rear wheel and 29" front with 170mm suspension travel front and rear, compared with the Stumpjumpers already capable 135r/150f. I was quite interested to read that they now adjust the carbon layup in these frames for the different sizes to control the amount of flex; Small frames generally have lighter riders and shorter tubes so they make them flex more than the bigger sizes which have longer tubes and heavier pilots. Seems obvious but its not something I've come across before, at least in carbon construction.
I'm pretty excited already and I don't even have an ETA yet, only that it will arrive sometime in the next few months. The forks should show up next week, along with a dropper post, stem and bars, but I can't really do much with them yet Once I've got a confirmed arrival date for the frame I'll strip the Stumpjumper down and liberate the bits I need for this build before selling the frameset and recouping some of the cost of the new bits.
As it happens I have managed to hold out for a lot longer than I expected, but when Santa Cruz launched the updated Nomad 6 CC bikes and framesets on Tuesday my restraint crumbled The Nomad has been around since 2005 and improved upon with each generation but one thing had remained constant; it's always had 27.5" wheels. Until now Well, technically it still has one 27.5" wheel but it now sports a 29er up front where the other used to be. Some of you may remember that I mulleted my Stumpjumper a while back to slacken the head angle and try and get closer to the modern geometry and whilst it's a bit marmite, for me it transformed the bike. How convenient then that the brand I've aspired to own since my teens have now brought out a version of the model I was already interested in with mullet specific geometry (or 'MX' as they call it) that I could swap my new wheels on to A quick bit of research told me my brakes, drivetrain and wheels should all bolt on to the new frameset but I'd need a new cockpit and seatpost to get the fit right so nothing too spendy. Of course the frame and forks are not cheap, but that's where the cycle scheme comes in
I have ridden the Stumpjumper to work a few times so I don't even feel guilty about it 😄Anyway, I spent a few hours yesterday looking at the various Santa Cruz dealer websites and spoke to a few on the phone. I quickly realised that despite these only being released on Tuesday I'd already left it a bit late and they were almost all gone
This morning I managed to put a deposit on what I'm told was the last frameset from the first batch of imports with the second batch not due til sometime in 2023 I think had I slept on it again I'd have been pretty disappointed Anyway, this is what I've ordered; a 2023 Santa Cruz Nomad 6 CC frameset with Fox DHX2 Factory coil shock and Fox 38 Factory forks. The frame colour is called Gypsum and looks grey/purple in some lights - I've gone for some paint protection too so they'll fit an invisiframe kit before they send it out to me. I preferred the other option, matte carbon, but with this being the only one available I didnt have much choice and I don't dislike it
As stated above, it's a mullet by design so 27.5" rear wheel and 29" front with 170mm suspension travel front and rear, compared with the Stumpjumpers already capable 135r/150f. I was quite interested to read that they now adjust the carbon layup in these frames for the different sizes to control the amount of flex; Small frames generally have lighter riders and shorter tubes so they make them flex more than the bigger sizes which have longer tubes and heavier pilots. Seems obvious but its not something I've come across before, at least in carbon construction.I'm pretty excited already and I don't even have an ETA yet, only that it will arrive sometime in the next few months. The forks should show up next week, along with a dropper post, stem and bars, but I can't really do much with them yet
Once I've got a confirmed arrival date for the frame I'll strip the Stumpjumper down and liberate the bits I need for this build before selling the frameset and recouping some of the cost of the new bits.
LOL. someday I too will do that! Genius!
