Nomad 4 or Bronson 3? From an Canyon Strive Owner

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Nomad 4 or Bronson 3? From an Canyon Strive Owner
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flag j60MTB
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Posted: Dec 5, 2018 at 0:32 Quote
Hi,

I currently have a Canyon Strive CF with 170 at front and 160 rear. I've update the rear with CaneCreek coil and absolutly loving it. I don't have bike park around but I do lot of shuttles and occassion climbs. The trial I am riding is mixing of Enduro and DH track. I love the climb efficiency of the strive, and the snappy feel during corners always makes me smile. However, the bike doesn't give much confidence through high speed rough section (maybe I am just not good enought as a rider).

So I was thinking to replace it with Nomad 4 or Bronson 3. I visited few local shops and they all recommend Bronson 3 and they said Nomad 4 is too much a bike for the place I ride. However, I do see lots of specialized Endro aournd (not the Nomad though). From my understanding, they both are 170mm front and rear. How come bike shop thinks Nomad is a big bike not the Enduro?

Anyway, I love the snappy and popy feel of my strive. Bronson seems a right choice. However, Im worried that it wont give much stable feel during hight speed section just like the Strive. Everybike shop says Nomad is an overkill, but seeing so many Specialized Enudro, Im just confused.

There is no M size Demo for me so I can't test either. Can anyone help me to decide which bike to choose?

Cheers!Smile
flag meshin
Posted: Dec 5, 2018 at 5:19 Quote
I have Strive CF for few years now (with 160mm) and few months now banging my head with exact same question.

Looking for new bike to get next year and decided on Nomad or Bronson. Bronson seems playfull but not so fun in the rough stuff and on the other hand Nomad looks like DH rig with single crown.

I would rather buy too much of a bike than to have underwhelmed bike, so preffer Nomad a bit more.
flag Austink
Posted: Dec 5, 2018 at 11:27 Quote
How much elevation loss is in thise trails over how much distance? I have a N4 and it is overkill for most stuff. I have it because during the season I am at a bike park multiple times a month. If you aren’t putting your bike on a chair lift and doing 5+ minute steep, rocky, descents I would go for a bronson.

I race against guys in the new bronson and it does fine in bike parks too. It just gives up a little on really chunky stuff and big features.

If your shop is saying bronson, they know the trails and how the bike rides. The people with enduros are probably over biked. I know a guy with an enduro that doesn’t use half of his travel on most rides. They might have that because until a few months ago the new stumpjumper did not wxist and the enduro was the best choice from specialized.
flag meshin
Posted: Dec 5, 2018 at 13:17 Quote
Austink wrote:
How much elevation loss is in thise trails over how much distance? I have a N4 and it is overkill for most stuff. I have it because during the season I am at a bike park multiple times a month. If you aren’t putting your bike on a chair lift and doing 5+ minute steep, rocky, descents I would go for a bronson.

My local trail is 5-6km, 600m elevation loss, 10+ minute varied descent.
flag Austink
Posted: Dec 5, 2018 at 16:49 Quote
That is a good amount of elevation loss. I gues it comes down to how gnarly the terrain is. If there are not repeated, abrupt, square on impacts and drops I think the bronson is still the choice. Also consider what other terrain you ride. I am lucky enough to have a short travel bike as well, but if I could only get one I would have gotten a bronson.
flag j60MTB
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Posted: Dec 5, 2018 at 17:22 Quote
meshin wrote:
I have Strive CF for few years now (with 160mm) and few months now banging my head with exact same question.

Looking for new bike to get next year and decided on Nomad or Bronson. Bronson seems playfull but not so fun in the rough stuff and on the other hand Nomad looks like DH rig with single crown.

I would rather buy too much of a bike than to have underwhelmed bike, so preffer Nomad a bit more.

Same here, glad I am not alone
flag j60MTB
O+
Posted: Dec 5, 2018 at 17:35 Quote
Austink wrote:
How much elevation loss is in thise trails over how much distance? I have a N4 and it is overkill for most stuff. I have it because during the season I am at a bike park multiple times a month. If you aren’t putting your bike on a chair lift and doing 5+ minute steep, rocky, descents I would go for a bronson.

I race against guys in the new bronson and it does fine in bike parks too. It just gives up a little on really chunky stuff and big features.

If your shop is saying bronson, they know the trails and how the bike rides. The people with enduros are probably over biked. I know a guy with an enduro that doesn’t use half of his travel on most rides. They might have that because until a few months ago the new stumpjumper did not wxist and the enduro was the best choice from specialized.

Thanks Austink, most of the downhill section is short, about 1km, 150m loss, 3mins of descent which has roots, loose rocks, switchbacks, and jumps. My main concerns is switching to Bronson will give me similar/improved Strive bike feel but still lack of stability.
flag lifted-d
Posted: Dec 5, 2018 at 17:48 Quote
i gather the strive is a good climbing bike, but often find myself with better sector times climbing on my 29.8 lb Nomad, compared to my lighter 26.5lb XC dually. I find the VPP is still surprising me with how fabulous it truly is as a climber and not just a decender. I would think the N4 will climb as well or better than your canyon. VPP is something else!!
If you shuttle often i think you'll love it!
flag joshlawless
Posted: Dec 10, 2018 at 13:30 Quote
Personally, I own the new Bronson(regular 27.5 2.50 tires, not +) and love it. So much better than the previous Bronson. For me, the bike is amazing in the corners, manuals like a dream, confidence in fast rough terrain, and is just a super playful bike that can be ridden all day on long. Climbing is calm and composed on the uphills and the geometry give a posture that is comfortable and makes climbing easy. So for you, this bike will have slightly less travel (160 front, 150 rear). The new rear linkage truly makes the bike feel like it never bottoms out. I've cased jumps hard and was surprised at how clean I could ride away. This linkage also allows the bike to be very sensitive and the bike tracks incredibly well and you feel glued to the ground. The bike does seem like it sits low in the travel even running 25 20% sag. But that's something that can be fixed with volume spaces or different shocks. I noticed you liked your cane creek coil on your bike, Santa Cruz doesn't recommend putting a coil shock in the rear because of the way the linkage works, however, I've seen Santa Cruz athletes like Josh Bryceland and others using a coil. If you're looking for the most confidence inspiring bike through highspeed rough section the Bronson is amazing but the Hightower LT with 29inch wheels feels a little better just because of the wheels. That bike will be getting the same new linkage as the Bronson and nomad. But The LT is not as playful and agile as the Bronson. The question of Bronson vs nomad really comes down to how much time you'll spend going uphill and ultimately how good of a rider are you? If you see you're self possibly hitting some extremely gnarly lines and big jumps the nomad could be a better option. The Bronson, Nomad, and LT are all bikes used in professional EWS racing so they can all handle some rough terrain, it just comes down to your physical size, abilities, and your riding style. If you are active on the bike maybe picking more technical lines and want quick responding, agile, playful bike may be the Bronson, ride hard and wanna let the bike do more work maybe the Nomad if you wanna pin it straight in the role over everything the LT might work better.
flag meshin
Posted: Dec 11, 2018 at 1:58 Quote
joshlawless wrote:
The Bronson, Nomad, and LT are all bikes used in professional EWS racing so they can all handle some rough terrain, it just comes down to your physical size, abilities, and your riding style. If you are active on the bike maybe picking more technical lines and want quick responding, agile, playful bike may be the Bronson, ride hard and wanna let the bike do more work maybe the Nomad if you wanna pin it straight in the role over everything the LT might work better.

Thank you, that's a good sum up
flag j60MTB
O+
Posted: Dec 12, 2018 at 6:11 Quote
joshlawless wrote:
Personally, I own the new Bronson(regular 27.5 2.50 tires, not +) and love it...
Thanks for sharing this.
flag meshin
Posted: Dec 14, 2018 at 2:30 Quote
I was compering geometry of Strive with Bronson and Nomad. It looks like Bronson is exactly like smaller size Strive (2017) with 1 degree angle set.
To me it seems Bronson by all reviews I've seen and geometry details is not an update from 2017 Strive but very similiar bike. While Nomad is bigger category bike, like 2018 Torque.
flag j60MTB
O+
Posted: Dec 17, 2018 at 20:06 Quote
meshin wrote:
I was compering geometry of Strive with Bronson and Nomad. It looks like Bronson is exactly like smaller size Strive (2017) with 1 degree angle set.
To me it seems Bronson by all reviews I've seen and geometry details is not an update from 2017 Strive but very similiar bike. While Nomad is bigger category bike, like 2018 Torque.

Yeah, Bronson is very similar bike. But bit longer. I think I will pick Bronson
flag TBaggins
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Posted: Dec 19, 2018 at 20:24 Quote
Owned a Bronson 2.2 c and now a nomad 4 c reserve and test rode the Bronson 3 XO1 Reserve and Nomad 4 XO1 Reserve and I have to say they both feel very similar, and the new linkage works insanely well on both platforms. I swapped the Super deluxe r for a float x2 for a more progressive feel, tuneability, and a simple yet effective climb switch. Super deluxe didn't have a climb switch or compression adjustment at all, and only 5 clicks of rebound. Anyways, both bikes are super active throughout the travel while giving a bottomless feel. Excellent tracking on climbs. I would say if you're looking to do more big stuff go for the nomad but it it's gonna be more AM stuff or less freeride, go with the Bronson. Hope this helps!
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flag Pixels42
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Posted: Jan 16, 2019 at 20:21 Quote
I've been going through the same decision as my Strive frame recently cracked and crash replacement at year 3 is almost the same as a new one.

If I had only one bike, then the Bronson would probably be it. However, I have a trail bike and hardtail, so I'm leaning towards the Nomad for park and big overseas trips (Whistler, Southern Alps, European Alps etc).

Getting a demo this weekend, so that will most likely firm up any decision.
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