Santa Cruz Nomad 5 C R, verde

More travel than a white van
Big mountain riding is a nomadic existence. Meeting friends in farflung car parks. Pinpointing trails you're not sure are even rideable. Sending the ones you know are. Shiny new bling gets battered, shattered and bruised. That’s life. That’s how it should be. That's why the Nomad exists.

Probably the most abused bike in their line up, every Nomad has a story to tell. But each Nomad Santa Cruz have made keeps coming back for more. It's not Stockholm Syndrome, it's called sealed bearings in all pivots, a lower link grease port, shuttle guards and free bearing replacements. Why scrap a frame when a simple bearing service can make one last a lifetime? That's their stance on sustainability at least, and it's why they carbon fiber doesn’t just mean lighter, it means tough as hell backed up by a lifetime warranty and crash replacement support.

There’s no time for puzzling when on a road trip either. That's why Santa Cruz chose 27.5 wheels as the go-to for the widest variety of riding styles and rider sizes. When peeling your bike out of the van at a new spot your only question should be “Is this a full face or a half lid kinda ride?” The 64-degree head angle and 77-degree seat angle puts you in the sweet spot when winching up to the top of a big drop in. Meanwhile proportional chainstay lengths mean handling is never compromised, regardless of frame size.

And when Santa Cruz say big travel, they are not talking about your Transit's odometer. They are talking 170mm of 38mm diameter fork and 170mm of VPP rear suspension compatible with both coil and air shocks. The details are completed by a neat mud flap to protect the rear shock, plus tidy cable routing within the frame and swingarm, and rubberized DT protectors to shrug off strikes.

So van-lifers unite. The Nomad is the kind of bike you need never worry about all summer long. Sorry Santa Cruz can't say the same for the locked public washrooms and parking tickets.