ED’S SANTA CRUZ NOMADS ALUMINIUM £4,299
Yorkshire trails and custom brakes have been keeping Ed grinning
SRAM are going to love and hate me after reading this month’s report. Let’s start with the positive. I’ve been given a very special set of their Code RSC brakes, complete with limitededition red callipers and custom carbon levers that are laser-etched with my name, courtesy of their European marketing manager, Al Rafferty. I’m fully aware I’m being schmoozed, but can’t deny that the brakes have a superb feel! The lever’s ‘SwingLink’ cam and upgraded pivot bearings (rather than bushings) make for noticeably snappier power delivery and a superior feel to the base-level Code Rs my Nomad came specced with.
But it’s not all praise for the US component giants. Since trading in my 12-speed SRAM GX Eagle set-up for Shimano’s 11-speed XT, I’ve been having fewer drivetrain issues. I’ve forfeited a gear and sacrificed a little range, but that’s outweighed, for me, by the less temperamental set-up and so-far-faultless reliability. Save for on the steepest of ascents, I’ve not mourned the lack of a 50t sprocket. One thing I have noticed, though, is that Shimano’s clutch mechanism doesn’t reduce chain slap quite as effectively as SRAM’s roller-bearing version. The rival brands’ shifters and brakes don’t always sit well together, but a
Problem Solvers adapter has allowed me to mount the two together and keep my cockpit looking clean.
Away from the workshop, the ’Ard Moors Enduro has been my recent riding highlight. For the past three years, it’s been a great excuse to return to my native North Yorkshire, get some home-cooked dinners courtesy of Mum and race some killer trails. Last year’s event was a bit of a washout, but this year the rain held off and I couldn’t wipe the grin from my face all weekend. I ran the same settings and tyres as I did at the Trans BC Enduro (MBUK 360), which proved ideal for the fast, rocky singletrack and loamy ‘bucket’ turns.
Oh yeah, and if you were feeling jealous of my fancy new brakes, then don’t be. I snapped off one of the levers on my second day riding with them, when I crashed off a drop. Guess that’s the end of me swanning around thinking I look like a pro then! www.santacruzbikes.co.uk