This past long weekend I had the pleasure of riding 3 different bikes on the North Shore and on Burke Mountain in Coquitlam, BC. The goal of this was to determine the differences between each bike and provide a review below. As well, I wanted to give my independent review about the Carbon craze that has struck the mountain bike scene. I don’t want to do a very technical review about bottom brackets, chainstays, head angles, top tubes, down tubes and test tube babies. I don’t really understand all that technical jargon and trying to read about it distracts me from watching Rad Company, Not Bad, and Where the Trail Ends for the 50th time each. I just want to ride bikes and have fun, the guys at bike rumor and pinkbike can give you technical details, I just want to provide my mountain biking brothers with a review in layman terms.

THE BIKES…

The first bike is my own 2014 Norco Range Alloy 7.1, a trusted North Shore steed that has never let me down and that I’ve owned for 10 months now. With the upgrades (Zee Brakes, dropper post, seat, grips, shifters), I would say that this bike weighs roughly 35 pounds and cost a total of about $5500.

The second bike I tested was the 2015 Santa Cruz Bronson Carbon S version ($4699). Large frame with pedals weighed 29.5 pounds at the shop. Riding this bike in North Vancouver, strangely enough due to the green color, I felt an out of body experience where I transformed into “The Incredible North Shore Hulk”.

The third bike I tested was the 2015 Santa Cruz Nomad Carbon C X01 version($7999). The large frame with my Mallet DH pedals weighed in at 29.1 pounds. I must confess I did feel an almost magnetic attraction to this bike simply because of all the hype surrounding Santa Cruz.

All bikes were equipped with the same Rock Shox Reverb dropper post (150mm).

A very basic intro about me and my riding style: I have been described as a charger or a bulldozer. I don’t totally agree with that but I’ve heard that more than once so I will write it here. I would describe my riding style as preferring speed rather than riding with finesse and smoothness. I like to think of myself as Cam Neely on a mountain bike. I basically have a passion for mountain bikes and love everything about them , I love riding 29er XC bikes, big hit 26er DH rigs as well as the not so popular AM 650b bikes. I love riding in all conditions and at all times, including night riding, which was one of the factors in breaking up with a recent ex-girlfriend…..”I’m sorry dear, I gotta go mount my bike tonight, not you!”

The testing grounds. I tested at 3 different locations, Mount Seymour, Fromme, and Burke Mountain in Coquitlam, BC.

Below, are the dates, times, and locations for my testing.

Date: Saturday, October 11, 2014

Bike: 2014 Norco Range Alloy 7.1.

Location: Mt. Seymour

Details: I rode from the bottom of Hyannis doing some XC riding on Bridle path and then climbing a steep gravel road (Old Buck Rd.) to Dale’s Trail, steep descent of Upper and Lower Dale’s trail followed by XC riding down the trail Forever After. Then doing various laps around Hyannis and the LSCR. I’ve done this numerous times and definitely meeting Tippie here today was the highlight. Rode from 11am-3:30pm.

Date: Sunday, October 12, 2014

Bike: 2015 Santa Cruz Bronson Carbon S

Locations: Mt. Seymour, 11am-2pm, Fromme Mtn: 3pm-5pm

Details: I rode from the bottom of Hyannis doing some XC riding on Bridle path and then climbing a steep gravel road (Old Buck Rd.) to Dale’s Trail, steep descent of Upper and Lower Dale’s trail followed by XC riding down the trail Forever After, then more XC riding along Bridle Path to Hyannis. This was followed by lunch and a quick 15 minute drive to Fromme. At Fromme, I tested the gravel climbing capability of the Bronson up to Seventh Secret, then descended to Ladies Only. Feeling tired, wobbly and on a new bike, I opted to do Pipeline, rather than Ladies Only. Following Pipeline, I rode down Baden Powell to return to my car.

Date: Monday, October 13, 2014

Bike: 2015 Santa Cruz Nomad X01 Carbon C

Locations: Mt. Seymour, 12-2pm, Burke Mtn. (Coquitlam), 3-5:45pm

Details: I rode from the bottom of Hyannis doing some XC riding on Bridle path and then climbing a steep gravel road (Old Buck Rd.) to Dale’s Trail, steep descent of Upper and Lower Dale’s trail followed by XC riding down the trail Forever After, then more XC riding along Bridle Path to Hyannis. Followed by lunch and a drive to Burke Mountain. Did XC trail riding along the trail Hustler, then followed the gravel road to test jumping along the trail Garbage. After descending, climbed the gravel road to do more jumping along Jumpline, then Lower Triple Crown, followed by Brapp. I climbed again and did 1 more lap of Braap, Hustler and then finally I arrived at my car. Satisfied with my crash free weekend riding and testing, I smoked some good BC Bud and went home.

Description of trails:

Mt. Seymour

Dale’s Trail: steep technical terrain, lots of rocks and some roots. Best described as classic Shore technical riding.

Forever After: average Intermediate XC trail with some steep technical sections, lots of berms.

Hyannis, Bridle Path: classic Shore XC riding, lots of roots and some steep sections.

Fromme:

Seventh Secret: Armored technical trail with steep sections and sharp switchbacks.

Pipeline: Intermediate/Advanced trail with some optional skinnies, ladders, teeter-totters, and some steep technical sections.

Baden Powell: classic shore XC.

Burke Mountain:

Garbage: Rooty filled with manmade and natural drops (maximum hip height).

Jumpline: Jump trail with manmade drops at 5-10 metre intervails.

Lower Triple Crown: Very technical, lots of loam, lots of roots, minimal rocks.

Brapp: Technical similar to Garbage but with more jumps, some rooty sections.

THE RESULTS, my impressions of each bike.

2014 Norco Range Alloy 7.1

My tried and tested bike that has allowed me to progress my skills over the last ten months of faithful ownership. As always, being a Norco, it was a consistent performer. My biggest criticism with this bike is the Fox float 34. It just didn’t feel right plush or comfortable compared to the RockShox Pike forks on the Santa Cruz bikes. However, beyond this, I felt comfortable and stable. Great geometry, the bike was an average climber on hills and performed average on the XC terrain. On the descent, I would describe myself as being comfortable but not overly confident. In other words, I didn’t feel particularly aggressive and risk taking as I have with other bikes. I won’t say much more about this bike as I will use it as the reference to compare the 2 Santa Cruz carbon bikes.

2015 Santa Cruz Bronson Carbon S

Curious to see the XC performance of this entry level Carbon bike. I was immediately impressed with the climbing power. I was able to quickly and efficiently climb all technical rooty and rocky areas along Hyannis and Bridle Path. I felt refreshed and unstoppable on my climbs. I noticed immediately the effect that the 67 degree head angle had on the climbing ability of this beast. I felt confident and in charge on even the more steep XC terrain. Getting to Old Buck Road, a quite steep gravelly climb, I felt full of energy and was able to climb without any breaks. I arrived to Dale’s Trail in record time and fatigue free. Descending down Dale’s trail, I felt the immediate effects of the 67 degree head angle. To balance my body on the bike during the many steep descents, my ass was regularly touching the rear wheel and my face was inches from the stem. Despite the fact that I was riding a Carbon bike, I didn’t feel particularly confident nor comfortable on my descents. Saying this, the RockShox Pike was very reactive and plush and I was able to cover all descents. The Bronson proved an XC champ covering the XC terrain back to my car. It performed quickly and efficiently on the small climbs, berms, and technical terrain back to my car. I then quickly drove to Fromme to get more miles on this test bike. The climbing on the Bronson, once again was great. I was able to quickly climb all gravel areas to arrive at the top of Seventh Secret once again in record time. The head angle and light carbon frame definitely helped me tackle this climb with ease. Mildly fatigued, I descended down Seventh Secret. Again, this wasn’t an entirely comfortable ride as I just didn’t feel confident with my forced body position on the descents (I can’t remember the last time that the rear tire touched my ass so many times). Now feeling slightly fatigued and less confident, I decided to ride Pipeline rather than Ladies Only to my car. Again, I noticed similar lack of control and confidence on my descent. Overall, I rate the Bronson as a superb climber, and great XC bike with slight limitations on descents. I would recommend this bike for a rider that prefers long XC trails and not too many big hits. For the price point, I believe this entry level Carbon XC bike performed overall very well and is of great value. If someone is considering buying it, the most significant upgrade you could make is to upgrade the brakes (Shimano XT) to 4 piston brakes. This will give you more control on your descents.

2015 Santa Cruz Nomad Carbon C

After a long night tossing and turning like a child about to receive his first bike, I awoke excited to be riding a $8000 Carbon bike. I spent the previous night, stuffing myself with Thanksgiving turkey, cheap wine and Caribou beer(I can’t afford good alcohol saving for the Carbon fund) and awakened to a pounding headache and hangover which immediately went away when I went to my garage and saw the black Santa Cruz beauty. I quickly ate breakfast drank a pre-ride Monster energy drink and contemplated whether I was just a victim of advertising (Ratboy drives a Santa Cruz and is sponsored by Monster) while driving to the Shore. I felt immediately curious to see the climbing capability of the Nomad. With a 65 degree head angle, I admit that I was a bit skeptical about the climbing capabilities of this bike. My initial impression was of feeling pleasantly surprised as I was able to confidently and speedily climb not too different from the Bronson (although I do admit the geometry of the Bronson left me feeling more capable on climbs). I became fatigued into my XC trails at Hyannis and discovered that this was probably due to the limitations of the chain ring (the crankset includes a 32 tooth front ring and the cassette is a 11-speed 10-42). I was able to cover all the XC trails, however I started feeling a bit of strain on my legs due to the 32T front ring. Once I arrived at Old Buck for the climb, I was able to climb, however, I had to stop on 3 different occasions as the 32 tooth front ring was limiting me. Once I arrived at Dale’s Trail, I was excited for my descent and my anticipation was rewarded without any disappointments. The geometry of the bike left me with a feeling of control so that I was able to confidently and aggressively tackle the steep technical descents while maintaining excellent body structure (I wasn’t having to lean too far back). I was immediately impressed with the combination of the RockShox Pike fork and Monarch Debonair rear shock. The suspension accurately and confidently ate up all the technical terrain that Dale’s trail had to offer, I felt a sense of control with this bike that I never felt before. I quickly shredded through the XC trails Forever After and arrived back at my car in record time (1 hour and 30 minutes for the entire climb and descent with a few breaks in between). I then grabbed some lunch and drove to Burke Mountain. During this period of time, it started raining heavier but I was excited to test the bike on a mountain with more manmade drops and more rooty and loamy terrain. I wasn’t disappointed, on my first descent (Trail: Garbage), I was surprised at the jumping ability of this bike. The light carbon frame propelled me in the air with little effort and I felt that this bike was extremely playful for its weight capacity. I felt in control fully while jumping and due to the confidence I felt, I arrived with more speed and was able to achieve greater airtime and subsequent adrenaline release with each jump. I felt this bike performed well beyond my expectations, I just felt so naturally confident on this bike. The only change I would make is changing to a 30 tooth front ring to ease pedaling requirements.

Choosing between the Bronson and Nomad

A tough decision as no bike as of yet can handle all terrain. When choosing between the 2 bikes, the rider needs to evaluate his preference of riding. Ask yourself what style of riding do you prefer? Do you prefer long rooty technical climbs or do you prefer adrenaline rushed downhill descents? In practical terms relating to B.C. riding, ask yourself do you prefer the challenging climbs along Bridle Path and Comfortably Numb or do you more prefer the adrenaline rush involved with the descents of trails such as Gargamel in Whistler and Boogieman on the Shore? The Bronson caters to the trail rider preferring climbing with moderate descents while the Nomad is marketed as a mini DH bike, it will cater to the rider that doesn’t mind a long enduro climb to be rewarded with his descent. The Nomad climbs very efficiently and will be more suited to the rider that doesn’t mind the occasional 1000 meter climb to get to his descent.

CARBON…

What is my verdict? I’ve observed that the mountain bike community is very divided about everything (ex…brands, components, cost) and very strongly opinionated. This is my opinion and what I feel after riding carbon fiber bicycles for the first time. I felt great power delivery and control coupled with a reduction in harshness and vibration, this I definitely didn’t feel from my alloy bike experiences in the past. Basically, I felt that I was able to push my limits further and that I would progress more rapidly on a carbon fiber mountain bike. Yes…the cost is more, much more but if I am motivated to ride more often and in particular ride XC more often benefitting my overall cardiovascular health…is the cost really that relevant?? I mean as a health professional,I preach daily that the benefits of good health has no monetary value!

As a community pharmacist, I have seen my share of drug addictions, however, I never predicted addiction would follow me! As you can see from my possessed eyes in the above photos, I have been plagued by the Carbon bug…

About the Author: Jazz Dhiman, aka “The Biking Buddha” is a pharmacist and biking enthusiast born, raised and currently living in Vancouver, BC. He uses mountain biking to escape to the North Shore mountains to avoid seeing his beloved city being taken over by wealthy foreign investment, he is letting other Lulu Lemon wearing yoga matted organic Vancouverites observe this destruction.

Follow me on this site, I will update regularly all my testing of bikes and accessories (lights, clothes, etc…) as well as provide my opinion on regular bike topics.

I also want to hear your opinion, please respond to this post and I will respond to your comments.

For other articles by this author, click below:

Night riding, testing 1500 versus 3000 lumens:

https://thebikingbuddah.wordpress.com/2014/10/30/night-riding-how-many-lumens-do-you-really-need-testing-1500-versus-3000-lumens/

Devinci Spartan, test ride:

https://thebikingbuddah.wordpress.com/2014/10/20/devinci-spartan-test-ride-enduro-craze/

Sugoi RSX Neoshell jacket review:

https://thebikingbuddah.wordpress.com/2014/11/26/sugoi-rsx-neoshell-jacket-windcoldrain/

AND……if you still want more, check out my VIDEO home page below:

http://vimeo.com/user24675081

On a final note, I would like to express a special thanks to Paul, at Steed Cycles in West Vancouver for allowing me to demo the Santa Cruz bikes.