Santa Cruz Nomad: Long term test and fresh rubber.

It's no secret that I am a fan of the Santa Cruz Nomad. I've had four of them, two of the first generation, one new one in aluminum and currently a carbon fiber one. I've got to say every time I ride my carbon one I love it more and more. It is without a doubt the best Nomad yet. VP 2 definitely has something to do with it, though I didn't like VP 2 initially. Being made of carbon makes a big difference too. The carbon frame dampens vibration considerably. Stiffness over the aluminum version is increased as well. It just feels solid. Also the near 1lb difference in weight is tremendous! As built mine weighs a hair over 30lbs. The XT bike from Santa Cruz (SPX) has been weighing in at 26-27lbs for a large!! If you are looking for a 6" do everything bike really give the Nomad a look. 

Chris from WTB finally convinced me to switch from my favorite front tire, WTB's Prowler MX 2.5 (discontinued btw), to their new Bronson. I popped on the Bronson 2.3 with the Race casing. I ran it in Ashland Oregon and did a few rides on Tam. Excellent tire! It complimented the Mutano 2.2 TCS I was running in the rear. While the Bronson is a big lugged hard cornering grippy tire, the Mutano in the rear has smaller knobs and a near ridge in the center. The fast rolling Mutano worked great with the Bronson up front doing all the hard work. My new favorite front tire? Maybe with the TCS casing and in a 2.5! Chris?