Nomad Mk1 Ride Review

[Andybg]

I managed to get out on the Nomad today for its first run. I had planned on 40km but at the last minute decided to cut it to 20km as it was getting to the point where I would be loosing light and the temperature starting to drop quickly.

Although feeling much slower than the RST the average speed was almost identical. I am running 1.75 Marathons on the Nomad as opposed to 1.5 on the RST but both at around 50psi.

I cannot overstate how impressed I am with this bike in respect to stability and comfort absorbing almost all the road imperfections.

The gears are taking some getting used to being barend shifters having never used these before (went from down tube direct to flightdeck)

The shifting is nowhere near as easy as with the rohloff and the rear derailleur needs a bit of adjustment as it is jumping under load in the three largest gears.

Having said that the chainset feels much smoother running than on the RST and the freewheel is almost silent which cannot be said about the rohloff.

Looking at what is said about the Sherpa in the current catalogue (which is its closest comparison) I would say that everything they say about the Sherpa is true.

[jags]

glad your not disappointed  my sherpa is super smooth but i intend to make some changes when money allows ;)new carbon  fork  and lighter wheels and lighter faster tires.and i 'm thinking of getting rid of the front tubus racks well i never used the m i can usually get all i need into the rear panniers yes great touring bikes no doubt .

[Danneaux]

Andy,

Thanks for the ride report on the Nomad; great job.  From what you've written, it does indeed sound like my Sherpa.  So glad you have both ends of the spectrum covered, and I suspect each bike will soon emerge as a favorite for a given kind of riding, season, given conditions and mood.  One of the great additional advantages of owning multiple bicycles is that when one is down for service, you can still ride the other.

Please keep us posted as time goes by and you have the opportunity to form more impressions, especially Rohloff vs derailleur drivetrain advantages and disadvantages in use. I'll be particularly interested to see if a favorite emerges overall for you, and why.

Best,

Dan.

[Andybg]

Got back out on the Nomad today. Set of from just south of Ruse on the Danube river and headed back down to home across the mountains. Some good riding including quiet mountain roads and dirt trails. The bike handled faultlessly. Have found that the best method of climbing is to get the gear right and power/spin up the. Not sure wether it is the weight of the bike / the weight of the wheels (tandem wheels) or the slightly shorter crank length 170 as opposed to 175 but the bike does not like high gear / standing up grinding.

Compared to the RST it is definetly a bike for much more laid back riding. I averaged 20km/h over the distance (55km) and I get the feeling this was a bit too fast. I think if I had averaged 17/18 km/h it would have been a smoother more comfortable ride.

Having said that the bike gave no issues and was nothing less than a pleasure to ride.

Carried about 5kg in the rear panniers which was unobtrusive apart from the rattling.

[Andybg]

Got back out on the Nomad today for a 40km round trip to our loacal town to take two puppies that we rescued to the vet for a check up and injections. With a bit of work managed to fasten a carry box onto the rear pannier.

The trip went well.

I was trying to ride much smoother than yesterdays ride (due to the puppies) which showed up both in enjoyment of the ride and surprisingly in an increased average speed of 25km/h