r/Santacruzbikes

With the adjustable dropouts you could make a bike fit 32 and 29. Or does Santa Cruz soft kill the Chameleon all together?

I’m considering a Nomad for my next bike and trying to decide between the N6 and N7. I’ve read a bunch of the N7 reviews, and it sounds like Santa Cruz made some minor changes to geometry that impact the suspension behavior — particularly the reduction in anti-squat and the lower anti-rise, with the goal of making the rear suspension more active and planted.

The reviews seem pretty positive about the changes, but I’m having a hard time figuring out how much of that difference you actually notice on the trail.

For anyone who has ridden both:

How different do they actually feel?
Does the N7 really feel noticeably more planted?
Any noticeable changes in climbing ability?
Does the N7 give up too much on nimbleness?
Anything else you noticed that the reviews don’t really capture?

I’m mostly ride technical trails (tech, steeps, slabs) rather than jumps or bike-park stuff.

I’m seeing pretty good deals on N6 options since they are phasing out, so I’m trying to figure out whether the N7’s geometry changes are actually worth pursuing.

Would love to hear from anyone who has ridden both rather than just read the reviews.