The key to giving the Nomad its look is the use of Syncros parts. Syncros is a brand I remember from a decade ago on my first dream bike! They went through ups and downs and the company has been purchased by Ritchey. And Ritchey has been pouring R&D into a new product line.

So here’s a round-up of our Syncros parts.

Syncros Point ‘n Chute tires:

Syncros Mental Pedal Magnesium

At the 2006 Interbike, I saw an all white bike. Mountain Cycle, I believe. That got me going on a white Santa Cruz Nomad as the new testbed for mtbr.com.

The Nomad is beautiful and verstatile bike. It’s shape was definitely carved by and artist. And its trail abilities seems very, very broad. I’ve ridden with guys that just fly up a hill on a Nomad and I’ve seen others scream downhill and do some impressive technical trails.

So we had to check out the bike. And yeah, let’s expirement with some cool new parts too along the way.

Had the opportunity to ride this bike for a few hundred miles and was pretty impressed. The components were:

Frame: Rocky Mountain FORM™ 7005 Taperwall Aluminum + Carbon seatstay
Frame Weight: n/a
Fork: FOX 32 100 RL
Front Travel: 100 MM
Rear Shock: FOX FLOAT RP23 CUSTOM VALVED
Rear Travel: 100 MM
Head Set: FSA ORBIT
Stem: EASTON EA50
Handlebar: EASTON EA50
Brakes: SHIMANO LX- Hydro
Brake Levers: SHIMANO LX
Shifters: SHIMANO LX RAPID FIRE
Gearing (RR/FR): SHIMANO LX RAPID FIRE
Cranks & Chainrings: RACE FACE EVOLVE XC
Bottom Bracket: X-TYPE
Pedals: I used my Speedplay Frogs

Hubs (RR/FR): SHIMANO LX
Cog-Set: SHIMANO LX
Chain: SHIMANO HG53-9
Rims: MAVIC XM 317 DISK

Tires (RR/FR): IRC MIBRO MARATHON 2.25/ KENDA NEVEGAL 2.3
Seat Post: EASTON EA50
Saddle: WTB SHADOW TEAM

The ride: This bike can climb! It truly felt like a hardtail when ascending. I stood up, I sat down and was just plain impressed. You just seem to want to accelerate while climbing. The lock out on the front fork(Fox 32 RL)and the propedal on the RP23 came in handy on the longer climbs. This bike feels really, really stiff with the front locked out and the propedal set on max. The combination of the Fox 32 RL(front fork)and the RP23(rear shock)seemed to fit this bike perfectly.

There is a section of trail on one of my local rides that is steep and technical. One small area on this trail is particularly difficult to ride as there are off camber slippery roots and slippery sandstone. Usually I do not make this section on my regular bike but the first time on this section while riding the Element 50 I cleaned it!

Tight and twisty singletrack was easily negotiated with confidence while riding the Element 50. This bike handles very well. It just grips the trail. I had a lot of fun on this bike while riding various trails in the Santa Cruz Mountains.

This isn’t the best bike for descending but does an adequate job. The geometry is really set for XC. With a change in the stem and a quick release on the seatpost collar, the bike performs better on the descents.

Overall, this is a nice XC bike that is ready to race. Climbing is definitely its strong point. All day epic rides might be a little uncomfortable but again, if you change some of the components it could be used this way. The components used for the build were efficient. Sure one could upgrade in a few areas to save weight but if you are on a budget this is a good build. The LX Hydraulic brakes worked great but my only complaint would be the loud squeak they would make when they got wet. Maybe different brake pads would solve the loud squeak issue when they get wet.

“How come Fox doesn’t make a 29er fork?”

This might be one of the most common questions heard on the mtbr 29er forum. The dealers and the Fox reps got an earful too I’m sure. Well the requests have been heard and the fork is here.

It is the Fox F29 RLC. MSRP is $699 and it weighs 3.9 lbs uncut. It is an air fork with travel shipped at 100 mm convertible to 80 mm. Axle to crown is 500.8 mm and 480.8mm respectively for 100 mm mode and 80 mm mode. Fork offset is 44 mm. Trek bikes with this fork will have 51mm offset but aftermarket shocks for the rest of us will sport the 44 mm offset. Zzzzz… sorry, those specs are for the die-hard 29er crowd.

On original Equipment spec on bikes, this fork is available only with Trek and Gary Fisher Bikes. They helped fund the project and in return got a one-year exclusive for spec’ing them on their bikes. But the great news is any consumer can buy this fork. In the aftermarket, the fork will be available to anyone.

It is white and it comes with post brake mounts. I believe all 2008 Fox Forks use these brake mounts now. This fork is the RLC which stands for Rebound, Lockout and Compression adjustable. This is the same as what comes in their F100 and Talas forks and what Fox has earned their living at.

RLC and Lockout Blow-off Valve

Rebound - This is the red knob that controls how fast the shock comes back up. It goes from very fast to fairly slow. The basic logic is run it fast if you want the most supple ride on high-speed, rutted, washboard descents. Slow it down if you take drops and jumps and want to control the kickback of the shock after compression

Lockout - This a two position lever prevents the shock from compressing. This is used when riding on a smooth road or on a extended climb. Fox shocks are very active and supple. But that can translate to power loss as you crank down the pedals and some of your power goes into compressing the fork. Now here’s the Fox magic. At the bottom of the leg is a lockout blow-off valve. The lock-out is not a full fork lock-out by design. The fork will compress when met with a significant opposing force. How significant? Well this blow-off controls that and you can dial it in. If you’re a casual rider and you often forget to unlock your fork before a big descent, set the blow-off low and the fork will compress when taking those big hits. If you’re an XC racer and you want all your power going to the wheels when locked out, then set the blow-off valve high.

Compression - This is the blue outer knob with several clicks and it adjusts the low-speed compression of the fork. Low speed means compression forces that come at a fork slowly, like pedaling forces. This is the opposite of high-speed compression like rock hits or jumps. This is a great adjustment as it provides as stable pedaling platform and prevents brake dive. Crank in the knob if you want fork that doesn’t bob too much under pedaling. The beauty is you can still run low pressure and get maximum travel on all the trail hits. Of course, this will come at some cost of suppleness so dial out the compression knob if you want the smoothest fork possible.

The weight is 3.9 lbs with an uncut steer tube. The shock is shipped with a nice brake cable mount. Shock pump is included too. Travel at 100mm travel setting is legitimate as we measured a full 103 mm until it bottomed out.

So how does it ride? Well on the parking lot, it is as supple as any Fox Fork I’ve tried. Smooth out of the box is the Fox mantra. Stay tuned. First ride is this afternoon. This fork might look good with the white Syncros wheels. I feel a bike makeover coming on!

Ride Report!

Here’s the one line review. ‘It’s a Fox.’ If you own a Fox and you know what that line meant, then read no further. This Fork looks like a Fox. It adjusts like a Fox. It rides like a Fox.

And that’s a good thing. So out of the box, the shock is buttery smooth. It goes through the action with no stiction it soaks up bumps with no fuss. As the trail got interesting, the shock took all the drops and rocks with aplomb and there was no hint of bottoming out. There was no funny squishing, hissing or clunking sounds. The shock just did its job quietly. It also felt like it had a little more travel than 100mm.

It’s a Fox and the bonus is it’s connected to a big wheel. Yesterday I hit a log obstacle at speed with a 26er and Fox 160mm fork. Today I hit the same obstacle with the F29 at the same speed and I braced for a bigger impact. Blup-pup and I was over with less fuss. The big wheel did some of the work and the F29 did the rest. Very nice.

Steering was excellent. The front end felt stiff and the front end tracked just where you pointed it. There was little need for correction. Leaning the bike over was easy as well as there was hesitating or kicking back. The stiff Syncros wheels might have had something to do with that.

Finally, the adjustments were awesome! I dialed in some low-speed compression damping so the fork wouldn’t bob under power. Three clicks on the rebound adjustment and I had fairly fast rebound for the fast terrain. And I used the lockout on an extended climb. When I forgot to unlock the fork on a descent, The blow-off valve did it’s job on a big rut and let the shock compress. It also let out a loud ‘pffft’ to let me know the fork was locked but under diress.

More testing will come but first impressions are: It’s a Fox!