So, thread update, spent 2 full days riding derby on the weekend.
Nomad- Blew my mind, its so so good, DHX2 is amazing on the back, so controlled, big or small bumps it just sucks it up. The small bumps are amazing, it's like being on a cloud. I had it in the low setting, probably should of put it in high for the amount of pedaling we did. Got drenched on day 2, will post some pics up in a bit.
MRP Ribbon Coil- Awesome, smooth and controlled, never felt harsh or overwhelmed, but it has a nice firm feeling on the mid size stuff, definitely doesn't blow through the travel, heaps of support. The fork can seem a bit stictiony when just pushing down on the bars, but on the trail its smooth and supple. On my Pike with general trail riding descents I'd probably use 85% of the travel, with the Ribbon (light spring and i'm 77kgs) on the same trail it would use 60% of the travel. At derby even down the nuts EWS stages ( and I had a few full on nose dives) I had probably 20mm left. I'm still tempted to give the X-light spring a go and see if it gets even better small bump, then I can use preload and ramp control to stop it bottoming out.
Derby- Pretty good, was a bit more pedaling then I expected. Very pretty tracks and rain forest, some awesome flowy bits. Would be nice if they had a few more descending only tracks there but, got a bit over the pedaling in the end. I did hear there are some in the pipeline. Some of the EWS stages are extremely hectic, heaps of rocks and super steep. However I doubt I'd re visit Derby........but Maydena on the other hand, that sounds more my style....or lack of...
pics to follow