Pinkbike Awards: Trail / All-Mountain Bike of the Year
Choosing this year's nominees and the winner for this year's Trail / All-Mountain Bike of the Year Award was no easy task. 2014 produced a bumper crop of bikes with genre-defying abilities, ones that can tame the trickiest climbs and then rally on the descents without flinching, which is why we chose to combine the Trail and All-Mountain categories into one award. When you have bikes like Yeti's 127mm SB5c being raced at the Enduro World Series, or Santa Cruz's 165mm Nomad gunning for the podium at the Trans Provence, it's solid proof that today's mountain bikes are more well rounded than ever.
![Pinkbike MTB Awards]()
Trail / All-Mountain Bike of the Year
Santa Cruz Nomad
This year's award for Pinkbike's Trail / All-Mountain Bike of the Year goes to the Santa Cruz Nomad. The latest version of the bike burst onto the scene last April decked out with an aqua and magenta paint job that, love it or hate it, certainly turned a few heads (the stealth black version is more our style). But the updated Nomad received more than a splashy paint job and 27.5” wheels – Santa Cruz tweaked and refined every detail of the bike, and the result is nothing short of perfection.
A 65° degree head angle used to be reserved for downhill bikes, but times have changed, and long, low and slack is the name of the game for today's top all-mountain rigs. Although Santa Cruz didn't push the 'long' portion of that trifecta as far as other companies like Kona, Orbea, and Mondraker have done, the new Nomad still gained an extra inch of room in the cockpit, giving it additional stability for the high speeds that the bike begs to be ridden at. As we said in our review, “The Nomad has the feeling of a big bike, in that it can be ridden full speed into the roughest sections of trail and come out none the worse for wear on the other side, but it also has a nimbleness to it that you wouldn't typically expect from a bike with this much travel.” And when it comes time to head back up the hill, “the VPP suspension design's pedal-friendly performance combined with the bike's 28 pound weight make the Nomad able to keep up with shorter travel trail bikes and then leave them in the dust once gravity takes over. Even on five or six hour outings with 6,000+ vertical feet of climbing, rides with enough pedaling where a trail bike would typically be the machine of choice, the Nomad did just fine, and was definitely worth it on the way back down.”
The Nomad's excellent geometry and suspension design make it a worthy nominee for the Trail / All-Mountain Bike of the Year, but it's the little details that truly pushed the Nomad to the front of the pack. To go along with the well crafted, eye-pleasing frame design, features like a threaded bottom bracket shell, internal housing guides made from carbon fiber tubing, expanding collet pivot hardware, and the ability to fit a water bottle inside the front triangle are just a few examples of the details that show Santa Cruz did more than blindly latch onto the latest trends when updating the Nomad. Quality like this doesn't come cheap, and Santa Cruz's top-level builds do retail for over $10,000, but the base model is still very well equipped, and at $5599 is nearly half the price.
It seems fitting to close with the same words that concluded our review of the Nomad, since the sentiment still holds true. “The Nomad is a bike that would have been a daydream only a few years ago, when the technology didn't exist to create a 28 pound bike with 165mm of travel. Luckily, those dreams have come true, and the reality is even better than anyone could have imagined. This is a bike from the future, except that it's available now.”
www.santacruzbicycles.com
Santa Cruz Nomad
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A 65° degree head angle used to be reserved for downhill bikes, but times have changed, and long, low and slack is the name of the game for today's top all-mountain rigs. Although Santa Cruz didn't push the 'long' portion of that trifecta as far as other companies like Kona, Orbea, and Mondraker have done, the new Nomad still gained an extra inch of room in the cockpit, giving it additional stability for the high speeds that the bike begs to be ridden at. As we said in our review, “The Nomad has the feeling of a big bike, in that it can be ridden full speed into the roughest sections of trail and come out none the worse for wear on the other side, but it also has a nimbleness to it that you wouldn't typically expect from a bike with this much travel.” And when it comes time to head back up the hill, “the VPP suspension design's pedal-friendly performance combined with the bike's 28 pound weight make the Nomad able to keep up with shorter travel trail bikes and then leave them in the dust once gravity takes over. Even on five or six hour outings with 6,000+ vertical feet of climbing, rides with enough pedaling where a trail bike would typically be the machine of choice, the Nomad did just fine, and was definitely worth it on the way back down.”
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 | The Nomad is a bike that would have been a daydream only a few years ago, when the technology didn't exist to create a 28 pound bike with 165mm of travel. Luckily, those dreams have come true, and the reality is even better than anyone could have imagined. - Pinkbike, June 30th, 2014 |
The Nomad's excellent geometry and suspension design make it a worthy nominee for the Trail / All-Mountain Bike of the Year, but it's the little details that truly pushed the Nomad to the front of the pack. To go along with the well crafted, eye-pleasing frame design, features like a threaded bottom bracket shell, internal housing guides made from carbon fiber tubing, expanding collet pivot hardware, and the ability to fit a water bottle inside the front triangle are just a few examples of the details that show Santa Cruz did more than blindly latch onto the latest trends when updating the Nomad. Quality like this doesn't come cheap, and Santa Cruz's top-level builds do retail for over $10,000, but the base model is still very well equipped, and at $5599 is nearly half the price.
It seems fitting to close with the same words that concluded our review of the Nomad, since the sentiment still holds true. “The Nomad is a bike that would have been a daydream only a few years ago, when the technology didn't exist to create a 28 pound bike with 165mm of travel. Luckily, those dreams have come true, and the reality is even better than anyone could have imagined. This is a bike from the future, except that it's available now.”
www.santacruzbicycles.com
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No, Donny, these men are nihilists, there's nothing to be afraid of...
People need to understand there is no best setup. The best setup is the one you like, it's the one that fits your riding the best.
Still expensive but getting to a more mortal level. Throw on some Light-Bicycle carbon wheels and bam...pro-quality ride.
still the nomad is simply stunning, on par IMHO with the Tracer 275 and the Specy Enduro 275. stealth for life.
Or do 6"+ bikes now ride like their 5" trail cousins?
Or maybe they are saying hard tails and 4" ride like 5" and anything under 6 is just xc?
I guess what I want to know is if the Santa Cruz 5010, norco sight, and trek remedy were also considered. Or is this the category for the slash, range, and maybe even the voltage.
The Bronson, Jekyll, SB5c, etc are all probably more "trail" bikes.
Keep in mind they only included bikes that were /new/ to 2014.
Cool, except, though I haven't ridden it, based on the numbers I bet it is not as good at flow trails as a 120-140mm bike. One bike can't rule it all. It can just give up less than the rest when it compromises.
I want to try try one. Until I do I'll have trou or believing it is the best fs bike with less than 8" of travel.
The biggest single flaw of my Nomad is that it keeps me awake at night with its constant mantra of 'Come ride, you know you want to'.....
But if you look closer at what you get from the big G.
There are some real corkers in there range I would say as good if not better than the Santa Cruz which I will add does very much deserve its place as best bike 2014 without a doubt. But maybe a giant one year ? Here's for hoping
Aluminum frame and X1 where the Specialized has a carbon frame and X01, etc...
two models? there are much more options in the pike than just the two,
on the spring side(air spring) dual postion 160-130, solo air 160, 150, 140, 130, 120, 110, 100, dj.
and the damper side, rc ( rebound and compression) and also rct3 rebound, compression + trail 3 position, position 1 open, 2 low speed compesion adjust, 3 heavy compresion/ locked.
+ the wheel size options that were not talking about too.
the spech has a what could be said basic solo air rc fork worth £150-$300 ish less than the fork fitted to the giant the dual postion rct3.
having said that would anyone like to swop a dual position air spring for a solo air
There are trails that I would appreciate a bigger bike but that I also wouldn't get to the top of nearly as often on an Operator. Even in the bike park I'm comfortable enough on the Nomad that I don't really miss 8". I'd have to be doing multiple DH races each season to justify a DH bike I think.
I've been lucky enough to test pretty much all the new stuff, besides mondraker, canyon, yt.
If I didn't have a range c I'd take the nomad. Probably sell mine for it eventually. Laguna, ca.
Which is likely true!
and each year they need to improve profits over the last year so yeah increasing price points.
I remember when $5000 bought you the same bike the pros were riding daily....
I think this award would have more validity if "value" was a criteria, especially when we live in a world where 99.9% of the consumer base is not prepared to drop $10K on a bicycle.
Well, with that price it still is...
I have no opinion on their costumer service, but from what I am reading, it's quite the opposite at least when it comes to warranty.
(An aside- it also makes me realize just how well Giant dialed in the later Reign X. I'm glad I kept it around so I can thrash it and not worry about demolishing carbon!)
What rotor size you running on your SLX's?
All black bikes...let ur riding do the talking not the paint/marketing dept. But I get it for those that need $ from photos. I'd like to see more oil, rust, emerald green,...trek colors are sick.
Didn't need this 'Best MTB award' to justify my purchasing it
Trail bikes these days are pretty amazing. Good times. Somebody made a comment the other day about there being a divide in trail bikes, from those that are ridden by people in half-shells to those that are ridden by people in fullface helmets, with a bit of overlap in the middle. I think there's something to this.
I don't argue that the Nomad (or the Specialized Enduro, or other bikes like it) isn't awesome and remarkably versatile, or doesn't climb pretty darn well for a full-on enduro bike. But if that's your one-bike-quiver, it only makes sense if you're seriously gravity oriented.
While it is indeed a very nice bike and is certainly fast and fun when heading down something steep enough to make use of the slack angles and looong wheelbase, it's also a complete pig of a bike during more pedally riding. I done 80km cross country rides on mine and while it does ride nice and climb well for what it is, it's simply not a versatile bike. That's what the Bronson is for, or tsomething like a SB66, Rune or Spitfire, Trance... so many better, more versatile options.
Perhaps best AM/enduro race bike, but if you intend of using at primarily as a trail bike you are going to be disappointed.
OK, sanity rant over
And yes.....Banshee needs to board the plastic fantastic train!!!
HOLLA!!!!
What about Maverick? Those had 165mm travel and often came in around 28lbs with 2x front chainring and aluminum frame and wheels. No fancy carbon frame, carbon wheels and 1x11 drivetrain.
not more than $1500 but it can be used to go up and down way...
but yea..people are free to go with their opinion..
That's it, just 7.3.
It's not subjective at all. That is hard science at work right there: 7. Point. 3.
The bike people have to put short cranks on to keep from smashing them off the ground all day.
Best enduro bike maybe. Or mini dh bike.
But only if you're rich. And we all know rich people can't ride for shit.
The best all mountain bikes needs to work well in both travel adjust options.
Because if you don't see the benefits of travel adjust forks you might just be missing the point. And not really riding "all" of the mountain.
YT sinking Santa Cruz's all over Europe !
Working more to pay off a new bike allows less time to ride it IMHO.
All the above being true, I really don't want to give up the 4 pillars of mountain bike necessity:
Dropper post
Front suspension (preferably adjustable)
SPD's
indexed shifting
to each their own, bring on the trolls
Remedy 9 29.
Strive cf
foxy rr.