# Girls riding a small nomad?



## rugger02 (Feb 3, 2008)

Hello Ladies,

I am in the process of purchasing a new bike. I am currently riding a Cannondale hard-tail, but am in the market for a 6" all-mountain. I love to climb just as much as I love to come down! 
I was considering the transition covert, but more recently have become interested in the Santa Cruz Nomad. I am wondering if anyone is riding one? What is your build-up on it? I am considering the Talas 36. 

I am not very tall (5'4"), so standover might be an issue...

Any comments and feedback would be greatly appreciated!

Cheers!


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## noelani (Sep 30, 2007)

Check out this post from A girl from Seattle: http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?t=377667


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## A girl from Seattle (May 3, 2007)

Hey Rugger,

As Noelani observed, I posted a thread on my new small Nomad, but I don't think I mentioned anything about standover. I'm 5'8" but I like small bikes for a more nimble feel. I have much better standover on my Nomad than I did on my small Transition Preston, but I think at 5'4" it will be iffy for you. It depends on where you tend to "come down" on the bike when you screw up... the hump on the Nomads is less pronounced on the small than on the other sizes, but it's still there, so if you hit the toptube pretty far forward, you'll have an "issue" so to speak, but if you hit it nearer to the seat where's there's more clearance, you'll be OK. Basically I think your best bet is to test ride one. I would not buy one without testing the fit, because I think there's at least a 50% chance you won't have the standover you want. 

But if you can live with the standover, BUY THE NOMAD!! I can't praise it highly enough. Its suspension design is way ahead of anything Transition is putting out these days. And all of the Transition frames are really heavy. Although their new Syren women's bike looks nice, and fits very short riders. But I know I'm a lot happier on the Nomad than I was on the Preston. The bike really feels like it can do it all. And the Talas 36 would be a perfect fork for it, balancing the rear travel nicely and having a favorable axle-to-crown height. Incidentally, if you combine the Fox 36 with the small frame, you will need either the Ventana 7mm headset baseplate or the Chris King "High Five" baseplate so that the fork knobs don't hit the downtube when you turn the handlebars.

So go find your nearest Santa Cruz dealer and test the Nomad, then let us know what you decide!


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## mtb888 (Aug 2, 2006)

I was in search of 6 inch travel bike that will fit me as well for a long time. None of the bikes really fit me since I am 5'3 with 29' standover height. I, too wanted a bike that can climb but bumb down the hill. Then, Transition came out with Syren and I basically jumped on it. Check it out. It is not a long distance climbing bike but can be made to be in low 30's pound range. http://www.transitionbikes.com/2007/Syren.cfm
Giant does have new Reign X in XS but has over 31inch standover height. 
Good luck with your search.


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## rugger02 (Feb 3, 2008)

Thanks for the info! I am leaning pretty heavily towards the Nomad. I looked at the Syren, but am concerned with it's climbing ability, based on its geometry. 

Does anyone know whether there are any differences in the '06, '07, and '08 Nomad frames (other than colour)? I can get a pretty good deal on an '06 frame, and wondered if any major modifications had been made recently. 

thanks!


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## A girl from Seattle (May 3, 2007)

I know for 2008, they went from a 70 degree seat tube to a 71.2 degree seat tube, and from a 1-1/8" head tube to a 1-1/2" head tube. I rode a 2007 before buying my 2008 and couldn't feel much difference. I'm not sure about the 2006 to 2007 changes though. I think they may have gone to more reliable pivot bearings somewhere along the line. But you could always swap those out later.

If the other changes aren't deal-breakers, the 2006 would be nice IMO because it doesn't have the big headtube, which requires either a heavy 1.5" headset or heavy 1.5 > 1-1/8" adapters. At your size, I doubt you'd need the big headtube anyway, and anything that lightens up the front end is always nice.

P.S. I emailed Santa Cruz regarding 2007 to 2008 changes and they sent me a 2007 geometry chart within the day. I'm sure they'd send you 2006 info if you asked.


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## SuperKat (Mar 27, 2005)

*Nomads*

I'm 5'7' and just went w/ a medium '08 Nomad built w/ a Fox 36 TALAS RC2. 
My riding pal is 5'3" with a small, built w/ a Fox Vanilla. She has an '06, I believe.

All the reviews are spot on. This bike is unbelievable and can do it all. 
Mine weighs in at 32 pounds. I'll give a pic.....


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## rugger02 (Feb 3, 2008)

Hey Girls, 

So i finally got to sit on the Nomad..... AND was deeply saddened! I barely clear the top tube when standing (my standover is ~29"). I think that I could get away with it, as when I usually fall, it is forward over the bars, but I am not sold. I have to admit, I am really disappointed, as it was definitely the bike i wanted. 

SuperKat - how much clearance does your friend have when she stands on the Nomad? 

Following some more research and some helpful suggestions by fellow posters, I am now seriously considering the transition syren. The major disadvantage, is that I will not be able to sit on one before ordering. Many people have said that it is actually not to bad for climbing, and otherwise rides really nice. 

Does anyone have any other comments/suggestions? 

Thanks!


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## MizzBlood (Aug 23, 2007)

I highly recomend looking at the syren. I am 5'10 and am currently riding the large proto type syren. I know i can't help you out size wise, but i can tell you that the syren climbs awsome! Usually i have a 3 mile climb where i ride and that bike has no problem getting to the top. Right now i have the bike weighing in at 37lbs and that is with a heavy fr build. if done right i think that you could build a all mtn set up under 35lbs. check out the link below. my friend is 5'2 and spent time on the small and medium and she wrote four or five reviews on the syren. hope this helps!! 
http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?t=324051


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## SuperKat (Mar 27, 2005)

Rugger:

I don't have an exact measurement but she said she has a little bit of room when she stands right above that part where the pivots are. 
I'm sorry you aren't comfortable on it. Such an awesome ride! 

Kat


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## BanzaiRider (Jan 15, 2004)

rugger02 said:


> Hey Girls,
> 
> So i finally got to sit on the Nomad..... AND was deeply saddened! I barely clear the top tube when standing (my standover is ~29"). I think that I could get away with it, as when I usually fall, it is forward over the bars, but I am not sold. I have to admit, I am really disappointed, as it was definitely the bike i wanted.


Did you check the brand new Blur LT and the Banshee Rune? The LT is a bit less travel but it should give you a ride similar to a Nomad and the stand over height seems good with the new top tube. Also the Rune is basically a copy of a Nomad, not sure with the stand over.

http://bikemag.com/news/freshproduce/santa_cruz_blt2/
http://www.bansheebikes.com/bikes/rune.html


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## speckledtrout (Jul 29, 2007)

Hey rugger. just catching up on these posts and noticed we are the same height with the same inseam. I was about to post that I test rode a Nomad last year when looking for a new bike and the standover was too high for me, but you beat me to it. A little too close for comfort for me. I also test rode a small '07 Blur LT and found the standover too high. The small Blur XC fits me perfectly, but the extra travel on the LT makes it too darn high for me. The good news is that Santa Cruz has an all new design coming out for the Blur LT with a lower standover height for us shorter gals, so if you can stand the wait (i heard April-ish from a bike shop owner) maybe you can check it out. It's more slopy at the top tube so it actually looks kinda like the Nomad, too.


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## Fabulous (Jan 20, 2008)

*Some is better than none...*

Being 5' with a standover of 27 1/2" it's nearly imposible for me to standover any bike with both feet flat on the bike shop floor. I gave up on that being the deciding factor when some one finally pointed out that out on the trail it's really rare that any one ever stands over a bike that way. I started thinking about it and the bike is almost always leaning one direction or the other or there is an uphill side that I put my foot down on. In my 18 years of crashing I have gone every direction off my bike and the only times I've "racked" myself it's been up by the headtube because of sudden unexpected stops. IMO if everything else about the Nomad is what you want and you can actually standover it with even a small amount of clearance it would be worth it.


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