Surly Ogre

[PH]

A bit late to influence the OP, but having just noticed this I'll point out that the Nomad also has some unsealed vent holes.

On the Nomad Mk3? I am currently a few hundred km from my own, so I can’t check. But I remember when I got the Nomad Mk3 frame and began building up a bike, I didn’t notice the same holes as on the Surly frame I had built up for someone just before.

Yes, chainstay and seatstay, I don't think it's a big deal, easy to cover them up if you did, I certainly wouldn't consider it a factor in choosing a frame.  If like me you squirt stuff inside the frame periodically, it makes that easier, so could be seen as a feature!

[DIAGMONKEY]

[/quote]
A bit early for a definitive answer, the Nomad is currently on 400 miles, no ride over 50 miles and no camping yet.  Initial impressions are that they're what you'd expect:
Unloaded the Mercury feels sharper and livelier, more comfortable, I don't like loading it up, even a pannier of shopping can make it feel like the tail is wagging the dog. Loaded the Nomad is as steady as a rock, but it loses a bit of comfort unloaded and the higher BB does give a feeling of sat on, rather than in. There is a large overlap between the bikes, many of my rides could be done on either, though I knew that before I got the Nomad.
I can only talk about my experience with my bikes, I'm 95kg and ride a 610L, other people's experience and bikes are likely to be different. I think my Nomad is going to prove itself a better all rounder, the Mercury is likely to remain my favorite. I haven't ruled out changing the Nomad to 650B wheels, though I have about 10.000 miles worth of tyres to wear out before making that decision.
[/quote]

Thank you. Makes sense. much appreciated.

[il padrone]

The Ogre frame has some downsides compared to the Nomad Mk3 frame. For example, Surly doesn't close the holes in the tubes that let out gas during the welding process, so water could get in.

A bit late to influence the OP, but having just noticed this I'll point out that the Nomad also has some unsealed vent holes.

On my Nomad Mk2 there are no vent holes in any tubes. One of Thorn's great claims with the Mk2 was that all vent holes were sealed over with braze.  Only frame hole is the mounting hole for the rear mudguard at the BB bridge, which I have plugged with the bolt holding the mudguard.

[KDean]

Thank
Rims - Yes if you decide you don't need bombproof there's considerable savings to be made. I went for the Ryde 321's with are 180g each lighter than the Andra 30's.  If I hadn't originally built them for the Ogre, I'd probably have used DT Swiss which are another 100g each lighter.
[/quote] I stripped my Nomad down (620L ) & up you are correct the biggest weight difference are the wheels , I had Schwable Moto X tyres 2.4" .I think the build quality on my Nomad is better .My Orge has 29x 2.35 Vittoria tyres with Stan's no tube rims .To match the match the weight with the tyre width I like I'd be looking at Velocity cliff hanger rims with Vittoria tyres.Going back to Dureme tyres only makes it 2lbs heavier but I'm not sure on the tread for the type of cycling I do .

[PH]

I stripped my Nomad down (620L ) & up you are correct the biggest weight difference are the wheels

Thanks for confirming that, I was beginning to wonder if I'd somehow managed to get either a lighter Nomad or a heavier Ogre than anyone else!
Do you know the wheel and tyre weight differences?  They can vary a fair amount, but not IMO as much as the tyres. since the photo above, my Nomad has transitioned to 650B and gained 600g, I'm undecided if it was a good idea!

[KDean]

The difference between the the wheel sets fitted with Duremes & the heavier  Schwable Moto X That I was using  x  is 2.5 lbs . If you wanted a MTB tyre the  Maxxis Ikon 2.2  would only add .5lb compared to the Duremes . If you wanted to go Tubeless using Velocity cliffhanger rims & 2.25" Vittoria tyres that would be  1lb lighter than the Dureme set up & obviously a bigger tyre.