Newmad for Whistler

Hi,

I'm moving to Vancouver at the end of February and I'm going to get a new bike to celebrate the move. At this point, I'm pretty much decided on a new Nomad. I've read nothing but good things and I'm currently riding a Santa Cruz that I've been happy with. I'm just wondering how the new Nomad will handle the Whistler Bike Park?

Thanks

very very well. it has a sufficiently slack seat tube angle, perfect for park.

it has a sufficiently slack seat tube angle, perfect for park.

can you explain this? how does a slack seat tube improve a bike's ability to "ride park"

the new nomad has a 74 deg seat angle. That's steep!

A slack seat angle does make DH better as it puts the seat in a better position… It's why all dh bike have a slack seat tube.

If I was living in Whistler . I would have two bikes .
One to beat the crap out of in the bike park . And One that i would treat well and enjoy riding the Shore,Squamish,Pemby and the Whistler valley with.

The park eats your bike. and all the parts on it .
IMO if you set your Nomad up to survive the park , it wont be in the best setup/shape to enjoy the really great riding that is all around you .
If you are a total park guy and want to spend most of your time there … get a DH bike and fill yer boots.

Two bikes = more realistic fun

A slack seat angle does make DH better as it puts the seat in a better position…

in a better position for… what?

pedaling? that doesn't seem like it would be a priority

getting behind? it would seem like the further back a seat is, the hard it would be to get behind (and back on)

sitting on? i guess if the tt was really short…

i'm __not__ trying to take the piss - i'm genuinely curious. i've heard this said, but never heard anyone explain why (they think) it is so

STA likely has to be slack as the seat mast is so far forward to accommodate rear wheel travel under full compression, yet allow the neutral riding position to not be a few inches closer to the bars.

That is the only reason I can think of

Maybe some form of saddle contact for some form of bike input back to the rider?

If I was living in Whistler . I would have two bikes .
One to beat the crap out of in the bike park . And One that i would treat well and enjoy riding Pemby and the Whistler valley with.

The park eats your bike. and all the parts on it .
IMO if you set your Nomad up to survive the park , it wont be in the best setup/shape to enjoy the really great riding that is all around you .
If you are a total park guy and want to spend most of your time there … get a DH bike and fill yer boots.

Two bikes = more realistic fun

This.

Unless you only plan on doing two or three days in the park. Then the Nomad will be fine.

STA likely has to be slack as the seat mast is so far forward to accommodate rear wheel travel under full compression, yet allow the neutral riding position to not be a few inches closer to the bars.

that totally makes sense - but if that's the only reason dhbikes have slack sta's, it makes the slack angle a necessity for designing around a long-travel rear end, not a helpful performance feature for riding park

a few weeks ago on instagram, i asked when the stylus was going to get a steeper sta. the answer suggested that a slack sta was better for a burly hardtail, which makes no sense to me:

edit: sorry for the thread derail…

…

a few weeks ago on instagram, i asked when the stylus was going to get a steeper sta. the answer suggested that a slack sta was better for a burly hardtail, which makes no sense to me:

I can't think of why a slacker seat tube angle would be better for descending -- maybe positions the seat farther back re. steering with your hips?

I do prefer a slacker static seat angle on a hardtail vs. a duallie since the seat angle doesn't change (get slacker) when climbing. That said, I am most comfortable on a slacker seat angle (more behind the BB) compared to what the bike industry is pushing these days.

…

I'm also with Rivs. The Nomad3 is more than capable for riding the park… but the park EATS bikes. I'd buy a ZEE level DH bike to kill in the park and pick your choice of bike for pedaling in the Shore-To-Sky (my choice is an aggressive 29'er hardtail… but to each their own).

that totally makes sense - but if that's the only reason dhbikes have slack sta's, it makes the slack angle a necessity for designing around a long-travel rear end, not a helpful performance feature for riding park

Who knows, maybe it is leftover thought from when bikes were garbage?
I don't know if a slack STA makes for better park riding, maybe they meant HTA? :lol:

I'm fairly certain that out of all the bikes currently in my possession the only one that might not have an ETA is the road bike.

For reference I looking at the new Demo 8 Sworks…
If the seat tower had to be located where it is on the frame due to rear wheel clearance issues but steepen the STA the reach becomes super short.
How much further off the back can you get on a modern DH bike before your arms are locked straight limiting your control? I notice WC DHers are fairly centred on the bikes now.

Im with a few others on the Nomad will do park, but at what cost? 11spd X.0 isn't what I'd want to thrash on the reg in the park.

agreed. get a cheap dh bike for park smashing and a nice 5" bike for pedalling around the valley.
a modern 5" bike will make the hard climbs around here slightly less brutal, and will be capable of handling any of the valley trails. the nomad is overkill (both up and down), imho.

I think we're seeing the conundrum of the 7k bike that is 'quiver of one'. Can buy 2 bikes that cover the same range of conditions in a better way for same $

I think we're seeing the conundrum of the 7k bike that is 'quiver of one'. Can buy 2 bikes that cover the same range of conditions in a better way for same $

… and if you break one you can always ride the other vs. downtime waiting for parts/repairs.