Sandy Plenty’s Santa Cruz Nomad
June 20th, 2015
By Andrew Dodd in Bikes,Tech
Sandy takes on the Trans Provence
Our man Sandy will be embarking on a two-wheeled adventure like no other. The Trans- Provence is a 6 day enduro stage race through the Maritime Alps covering 270km with 24 timed gravity based stages. He has built what he feels is the perfect bike for this grueling adventure – we check out Sandy Plenty’s Santa Cruz Nomad…
We are all bike geeks at heart, and Sandy is certainly no exception – he’s spent a lot of time and money on an incredible custom built Santa Cruz Nomad CC.
Frame + Fork | Santa Cruz Nomad CC Large / Fox 36 Float custom valved
This is not a stock fork and thanks to the help from Mojo Suspension features several examples of Chris Porter’s suspension hoodoo trickery. Special seals and custom valving mean it has huge amounts of support – you have to feel this fork to believe just how good it is.
Sandy’s love for Steve McQueen and all things Gulf racing meant that his standard Nomad got sent to Fat Creations for a full custom Gulf racing paint job, including McQueen quote on the inside seat stay. The thinking behind the Nomad is that it will easily handle the rocky tech descents but is also happy to put a shift in on the relentless climbs. The guys over at invisiFRAME protected the new paint with their custom cut product.
Shock | Fox Float X Evol
The new Evol Float X also offers huge amounts of support, ramping up nicely as it works through the Nomads 165mm of VPP travel.
Brakes | Hope Tech 3
A remarkably light brake system that offers reliable braking with a good feel. 180mm floating rotors front and rear. Sandy Runs his lever very close to the bar, this has proved a nightmare for mechanics, but not on the Hope Tech 3. The lever reach adjuster gives a constant feel. The custom Trans Provence top caps finish the stoppers off in style.
Rolling Stock | Enve M70/Hope Pro 2 Evo with Schwalbe Magic Mary/Rock Razor
Schwalbe’s super gravity tyre options add to the reliability factor.
Seatpost | Fox DOSS – Custom Black
External routing, cable actuated no nonsense from Fox. Easy to tweak trail side with very few tools.
Cockpit | Renthal Fatbar Carbon / Apex Stem / Super Tacky Grip
Sandy likes his Renthal grips soft, bars cut to 760mm and attached to the bike with a 50mm stem.
Drivetrain | Hope / Shimano / Renthal
Hope’s new cranks are light and stiff, bolted to them is a Renthal 1XR 30t chain ring allowing him to get up the alpine climbs.
Hopes 10 speed custom cassette brings up the rear with a ratio of 10-40t. The anodised orange was added to the top three cogs with an XT Chain and XTR shifter completing the setup.
We will be tracking Sandy’s progress through the Maritime Alps on his journey from Embrun to Menton, commencing on the 20th of June. We plan to keep you updated with video coverage from the original MTB rally – keep an eye out here or on the Factory Jackson Facebook page.