Santa Cruz, Nomad/ Blur LT Vs Yeti, ASR 7/ 575

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Damienp

Likes Dirt
So, I am feeling like a bit of a change and looking at consolidating as well.

Current thoughts are to build up a SC nomad or Yeti ASR 7 or their lighter weight buddies Blur LT or 575.

Looking for some opinions on the above frames, am pretty keen on the ASR 7 but am also keen on giving the whole VPP thing a go as well.

Any one got one of the yeti's?? I know their are a few guys with the new nomad around here would like to hear from you guys too :)

Usage of bike would be everything i guess, but i would imagine it would be AM styles mostly. Would be great to have a bike for super D and i think both the Nomad and the ASR 7 fit the bill nicely, as do both the lighter frames opening up some enduro options...

Halp.
 
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cam-o

cam-o

Likes Bikes and Dirt
I'm on a 575.

For general purpose/AM/enduro it's unreal. Mine 12kg with Revelations, Mavic 317s and a mix of XT/XTR and Juicy 5's. It is very efficient pedal wise and I can go all day on it. Thing I really like is that I don't bother adjusting stuff these days, I used to be a seat up to climb, down to descend guy but the Yeti just feels right all the time.

I raced it in the CORC super D and there was a couple of moments where a bigger bike would have been nice, but it did handle it really well. My ony real complaint is it's not as stable in the air as bigger bikes, but that may just be the fact that I run an XC high seat these days :p
 
crank1979

crank1979

Likes Bikes and Dirt
The Nomad is a great bike. When i had mine i found changing the tyres made a huge difference. I ran 2.5" UST Minions for a while but lighter tyres like Nobby Nics (which didn't last very long) or 2.35" Ignitors made it a much better bike for longer rides.

My Pivot Firebird is definitely a much better all-round bike, although it's not built up as burly as the Nomad was. I'd add a Firebird to that list as well.:)
 
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Damienp

Likes Dirt
I have seen a few reviews on the firebird and i am definitely impressed.

What are they worth for a frame??

The Yeti's are on sale at the moment so there are some damn good buys to be had at the moment. The ASR 7 is probably the one i am most interested in and i guess the firebird and the nomad are the other big contenders for me.

It would get a lot of use around Glenrock, Awaba and out at Killingworth areas, which i guess has just about as much varied terrain as you could chose from.
 
crank1979

crank1979

Likes Bikes and Dirt
The Pivot was a bit cheaper when i bought it then the Nomad 2 frameset was with the DHX Air shock. Depending on the shop the FB is probably around $4.1k and the Nomad around $4.4k? I'm not sure how much the AUD has affected the prices since i bought mine.
 
beardi

beardi

Likes Dirt
Have you considered a more mainstream brand like a giant etc....? If you saw how much pivot, santa cruz, yeti were in north america i doubt you'd ever want to pay what's asked in Australia. Having said that I totally understand you wanting something more unique. I ride a Nomad myself and it will go down anything! Great bike, there's just no way is twice as good as a giant reign or reign x. Good luck
 
ovadahill

ovadahill

Likes Bikes and Dirt
I ride a Blur LT...weight 12.2kg. It can almost go everywhere that my Reign X1 can go but climbs much better. The 575 has a lighter frame than the Blur LT and can be built to sub 12kg without too much compromise.
 
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oldbean

NSWMTB
beardi said:
Have you considered a more mainstream brand like a....?
Click to expand...
Or you could try a Trek Remedy, or the new Scratch Air 8. Then there's the Fisher Roscoe which Dirt mag recently loved in their test. Lot's of good reviews for these bikes too.
 
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Robb

Likes Dirt
You could also consider an Intense Tracer.. I love mine, I got it for a good price when I was looking for an LT / Nomad. It seems to be a decent cross between LT and nomad, with adjustable suspension etc. I run mine with a 36 talas so there is lots of adjustability by being able to change the rear suspension between 140 and 154mm
 
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Damienp

Likes Dirt
Pretty settled on the SC or the Yeti's.

I don't mind the Treks, but i am looking at a slow build up to get everything the way that i want it as i don't have 7K laying around and wont even after i sell the bikes i have to fund this little exercise.

The intense stuff isn't bad either, but have heard some pretty bad things about their build quality of late.

I know there is someone here that has a seven, hopefully he pops in to give me a bit of an opinion.

All great comments and suggestions guys, keep em coming.

Cheers
 
tranceup

tranceup

Likes Dirt
oldbean said:
Or you could try a Trek Remedy, or the new Scratch Air 8. Then there's the Fisher Roscoe which Dirt mag recently loved in their test. Lot's of good reviews for these bikes too.
Click to expand...
Plus one for the remedy, awesome bike IMO. Not as light as some of the others you mentioned but not far off with the right build. pedals sweet, absorbs everything, Check my ride though mines now a bit of a frankenstein between a light DH and trail bike so weight is up in the 14's but its a coil front and built a bit heavier with tyres etc. Loves glenrock and any other similar style of trails. might be a bit much for Awaba XC but it didnt mind the monkey trail.
So pissed they brought out the scratch though, would have gone for it for sure for the extra travel
 
rone

rone

Eats Squid
+1 for the Intense Tracer VP. The build quality rumours are nonsense. If you are going for the SC Nomad, get a Reign/Reign X, as the Nomad is now made by Giant anyway...
 
L.P.

L.P.

Likes Bikes and Dirt
rone said:
+1 for the Intense Tracer VP. The build quality rumours are nonsense. If you are going for the SC Nomad, get a Reign/Reign X, as the Nomad is now made by Giant anyway...
Click to expand...
The build quality issues on intenses are far too regular, its definently not nonsense. Ive had too many freinds sucked into ending up with an intense, and they ride amazingly, as good as a sc or yeti or giant, but they spend much of their time waiting for warrenty frames.

I have no problems with SC being made by giant, sc bikes ride amazingly, because of who designed them, not where they were welded. maybe that is the source of intense's problems? the fact that they arn't made in taiwan?

back on topic, the 575 is a great bike, but didnt blow my mind. i havn't spent any time on the new blur lt2, so i cant comment, but i would love to try one. the carbon ones look especially awesome.
 
BT180

BT180

Max Pfaff
Are you guys saying that they’re actually made by Giant, in the same factory or just that they are made in Taiwan as Giant are, but in a different SC factory? That's two pretty different things.
 
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SideFX

SideFX

Likes Bikes and Dirt
Im also looking at a smaller travel bike . The nomad looks great ,grease port ect . The thing i like with the nomad is that you can have two sets of forks and front wheel and basically do two MTB styles well xc , fr/dh .
 
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le chat

Likes Dirt
So on a recent trip to Verbier, a mixture of fast singletrack and very technical trails (rocky, steep, tight, exposed, all the good stuff) a Blur LT and Nomad coped well, a 575 was a little out of its depth on the really tech, noggin tweaking stuff. I think the 575 would be great for trails that did not get too tech pointing down, for versitility I'd opt for either the LT or Nomad with the Nomad possibly edging it for forgiveness when the going down gets tough. All the above of course depends on the type of rider that you are.
 
Cranker

Cranker

Likes Dirt
Yeti ASR 7

Damienp said:
Usage of bike would be everything i guess, but i would imagine it would be AM styles mostly. Would be great to have a bike for super D and i think both the Nomad and the ASR 7 fit the bill nicely, as do both the lighter frames opening up some enduro options...

Halp.
Click to expand...

Since I bought my 575 , I haven't ridden any of my other bikes at all.
It's light enough for enduro racing and more than capable of handle anything that I can throws at it DH.
I thought it was going to be the last bike that I'll ever owned.


Until they brought out this!!!!:eek::eek:


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