Hey all,
Just to start - I know than only about 0.0001% of the forum population has actually spent a lick of time on this rig right now, but thought I'd throw this out there for debate.
I'm on a 2017 Slayer right now. It's dialed, its fun, and it rips - but I really should have sized up to XL. I was looking at a XL Nomad mk4 frame for sale that I would swap the Slayer out for to get that extra length/reach. Got out and demoed an XL Nomad this weekend and it was phenomenal, although I imagine it was mostly being on the correct size of bike that did it when compared to my Slayer.
Then SC releases this new Bronson. I'd been looking at actually dropping down to a 150/150 platform (Altitude or other) anyways for a bit more pep on the more laid back/pedally trails. I mostly ride the Shore/Squamish, but end up on mellower trails on other trips (Hornby, Bend, Sedona, etc.). I've been pretty hesitant to drop the travel though as there's something plain awesome about the Slayer with it's pedaling efficiency and appetite for destruction - just a fun bike. However if I honestly assess how often I'm getting really "gnar" at speed and how often I end up in the WBP vs. the valley trails, I'd probably be better suited to a Bronson-type rig.
Based on the first ride reviews, if I went with an XL Bronson I'd be looking at a more playful Nomad. This sounds right up my alley. Now that I have the background out of the way, someone tell me I'm stupid for looking to change, or tell me if I'll miss that extra 20mm (the Nomad was much more playful than I thought, and rode like a lower-travel bike than I expected).
Other than that, here's my thinking:
I'm looking at the S/Carbon C/ non-plus Bronson at $6899 MSRP. I'd swap the wheels out for my current weareone Agents. There's a HUGE price jump even without adding SC's carbon wheels from the S/ Carbon C build to the next level at the X01/ Carbon CC at $9249 MSRP. I'm not worried about the 200g or whatever it is to go from Carbon C to Carbon CC. So the question is, is it worth $2.3k to get X01 (vs. GX), better brakes, the Performance Elite vs. Performance Fox 36, and the Super Deluxe RCT vs R?
I'm mostly concerned about losing the ability to lock out the rear if I went with the lower build. But then, I didn't reach down to touch that compression lever on the Nomad at all this weekend... I'd imagine I wouldn't need to worry about losing that ability on a Bronson? No clue. The single review I read online between GX and X01 mentioned it mostly came down to a difference in weight.
Cheers all, would love to hear some thoughts!