I had a really interesting experience riding the Nomad 4 in Santa Cruz a few weeks ago. I was in San Fran for a convention and decided to head up to Santa Cruz for a couple of days to do some factory demos. Nomad4 day one, and the new Ibis HD4 day two. The Nomad4 is surprising and I'm still not sure I can wrap my head around it. I covered way more miles than I thought I would and climbed a lot more altitude than I expected and at the end of the day my legs felt a lot fresher than I thought they deserved to be.
As I mentioned, there's some cognitive dissonance with this bike that my brain has yet to fully navigate. 36km, over 1000m of climbing. 170mm of travel? How? Why?
And I could have done more.
Admittedly, it's Santa Cruz and only a couple of parts of maybe one of the trails in the Wilder Ranch "Area" was even remotely a challenge for the Nomad, but that's a pretty solid day of riding - I'm no stud in that regard, but I don't think the bike would hamper me too much on long days. Of course our climbing on the Shore or the Sea to Sky corridor is far more concentrated, so it might be different doing an all day ride in Squamish say instead of Santa Cruz.
It definitely needs to go fast for its size to disappear. I felt the length and the HTA a LOT at slower speeds, but it managed most switchbacks well, climbed nicely even sans climbing lever, felt bombproof on the babyheads, launched itself vigorously, but not lightly, over some huge waterbars, and was beautifully equipped; Santa Cruz Reserve wheels and Eagle (I'm sold!). I have the same seat, same tires (2.5 DHF, 2.4DHR2) as the demo on my own bike so it felt quite familiar and predictable right away. It also looks better in person.
It's just sooo pricey. And I agree with Pete's sentiments - it's an odd bike to 'categorize', its competency is remarkable, but could I live with it? Are there compromises I can't see yet? Am I worthy?
The HD4, on the other hand, was easy to understand and love. I rode that one in the Soquel demonstration forest on more familiar feeling terrain. I have the HD3, so this was a nice comparison for me. The HD4 is more stable than the HD3, poppier than the Nomad, climbed like a banshee with a set of 2.6 DHF tires that just blew me away (that was the most revelatory experience of the two days). It's a frickin' _bike_ and you know exactly what you're getting. You wouldn't need to go nearly as fast on the HD4 to find the fun, or your limits, as you would have to do on the Nomad. My brain gets it.
Remarkable bikes. We live in interesting times.
Dec. 22, 2017, 12:29 p.m. - qduffy
I had a really interesting experience riding the Nomad 4 in Santa Cruz a few weeks ago. I was in San Fran for a convention and decided to head up to Santa Cruz for a couple of days to do some factory demos. Nomad4 day one, and the new Ibis HD4 day two. The Nomad4 is surprising and I'm still not sure I can wrap my head around it. I covered way more miles than I thought I would and climbed a lot more altitude than I expected and at the end of the day my legs felt a lot fresher than I thought they deserved to be. As I mentioned, there's some cognitive dissonance with this bike that my brain has yet to fully navigate. 36km, over 1000m of climbing. 170mm of travel? How? Why? And I could have done more. Admittedly, it's Santa Cruz and only a couple of parts of maybe one of the trails in the Wilder Ranch "Area" was even remotely a challenge for the Nomad, but that's a pretty solid day of riding - I'm no stud in that regard, but I don't think the bike would hamper me too much on long days. Of course our climbing on the Shore or the Sea to Sky corridor is far more concentrated, so it might be different doing an all day ride in Squamish say instead of Santa Cruz. It definitely needs to go fast for its size to disappear. I felt the length and the HTA a LOT at slower speeds, but it managed most switchbacks well, climbed nicely even sans climbing lever, felt bombproof on the babyheads, launched itself vigorously, but not lightly, over some huge waterbars, and was beautifully equipped; Santa Cruz Reserve wheels and Eagle (I'm sold!). I have the same seat, same tires (2.5 DHF, 2.4DHR2) as the demo on my own bike so it felt quite familiar and predictable right away. It also looks better in person. It's just sooo pricey. And I agree with Pete's sentiments - it's an odd bike to 'categorize', its competency is remarkable, but could I live with it? Are there compromises I can't see yet? Am I worthy? The HD4, on the other hand, was easy to understand and love. I rode that one in the Soquel demonstration forest on more familiar feeling terrain. I have the HD3, so this was a nice comparison for me. The HD4 is more stable than the HD3, poppier than the Nomad, climbed like a banshee with a set of 2.6 DHF tires that just blew me away (that was the most revelatory experience of the two days). It's a frickin' _bike_ and you know exactly what you're getting. You wouldn't need to go nearly as fast on the HD4 to find the fun, or your limits, as you would have to do on the Nomad. My brain gets it. Remarkable bikes. We live in interesting times.