Anyone rode the Bronson v5 and the nomad v6?

Haven't ridden the v5 but own a nomad v6 and this thought experiment is definitely one that I've thought about. 

The geo between the bronson and nomad is strikingly similar. Also worth noting that the bronson makes its travel with the use of a 230x57.5 shock, which leaves a lot of room for a larger stroke shock to increase travel, allegedly. Based off of wheelbase, I don't think the bronson will feel any more agile than the nomad.

My vote would be to try the bronson and put a bigger fork and longer stroke shock on it if you feel that the shorter travel isn't for you.

Yep, I've done pretty much what you're asking about.  Full disclosure, I sell Santa Cruz bikes, so take this info as you will.  I've built and tested various models and sizes over the years to learn what works and what doesn't work for me.  As bikes have continued to grow, sizing down started to make sense, which has mostly been a good thing. At 5'6", size medium is mostly what I've been on over the past decade.  I started with a small current gen 5010 and it's been awesome.  Recently, I sold my medium Nomad 6 and currently ride a small Bronson 5, small Bullit, medium V10, and a medium Blur TR.  Overall riding small sizes has been awesome, I prefer it for most trail and shuttle riding, but still like fit and handling of the medium Blur for XCish riding. For "serious" DH riding, the medium V10 is the way to go for me as it can be set up short medium or long.  The small size has been great for maneuverability.  Keeps the wheelbase in check, which is more important for me than a shorter reach.  I've gotten used to a more compact climbing position, and would say it's fine for all but really steep climbs, which are mostly noticeable on the e-bike since you can climb much steeper and technical stuff.  The main concern with the small Bronson, is being sure the fork is firm enough to keep my weight back on flatter corners.  Otherwise it can be a little washy and unpredictable.  My Bronson is currently long-stroked with an Olins TTX2 Air Shock, taken from my Nomad 6 as well as a previous Bronson 4.  The shock isn't specifically tuned for the Bronson, and it doesn't seem to pedal as well with it, but its felt great while going down so I haven't messed with it.  The fork is a Manitou Mezzer Pro (also passed down from the same bikes) set to 160mm, and I haven't felt to urge to go longer with it on this bike.  Overall, I'd go with Bronson over the Nomad at the moment but it's a close call.  I haven't felt the urge to go back to the Nomad, or ride my 5010 this past year, which is why I sold the Nomad and am parting way with the 5010 as soon as I find a buyer.  If you need a replacement now, I'd go Bronson.  Otherwise, if you look at the production age of the current Nomad, I wouldn't be surprised to see a new version launching in the near future.  I don't know anything about it, but it could be worth waiting for if a warranty is in the cards anyway.  Long story, but hopefully you find this info useful.

I haven't rode the Bronson or Nomad, but I have the 5010 v5 and have a 180/170 canfield balance, probably comparable to the Nomad.  I like technical natural singletrack trails and I'm an expert level rider.  I've been blown away on the 5010 capability this year.  It makes flowy, blue or black trails even more fun but still hangs on most legal US trails.  On the upper end of capability I took it down Portal trail in Moab last weekend no problem, you just have to be a bit more precise than letting a big bike smash or pulling for dumb gaps.  I even set some PRs on the down.  I find myself riding the 5010 2/3 of the time.  I find the big bike boring on anything besides a double black trail.

All that said, if I was to have one bike, I'd likely choose the Bronson.  If I didn't have a 5010 I wouldn't consider a Nomad as my trails aren't gnarly enough to warrant it. 

I have a few thousand miles on the V5 Bronson and I would recommend it for your trails and style of riding which is similar to ours on the East coast. I like it quite a bit better than my previous V1 Megatower. IME it is an adaptable frame that can be set up as a very fun trail bike with lighter wheels and suspension, or you can have it over forked/shocked/tired if you desire the Nomad feeling, especially if you also get the Cascade components link set. Get a coil shock that allows you switch between 57.5/60/62.5mm and your travel can range between 150 and 160 easily. 

I've also thought about selling my Nomad 6 frame to a buddy who needs a new enduro race bike and "downgrading" to a Bronson 5 but running a longer shock & fork.  It's a minor detail but I find I prefer running a ~10mm difference front/rear feels good to me, and my local trails are steep enough to warrant a 170mm fork.  I run my Vala with 170 fork and 65mm Vivid for 170/162 (shock running only ~28% sag).  Overforking the Bronson 5 would get me essentially identical geometry to my Vala.

I've heard though that when long-shocking the Bronson 5, you can run into clearance issues on the smaller sizes with big air can shocks.  I normally prefer a Vivid Air, and have heard that the longest stroke Vivid Air that will fit in a size medium is 60mm.  Can anyone confirm that a 62.5 Vivid Coil will fit in a medium?  

Also, anyone know if they'll offer the newer colors (gloss carbon w/ purple) in CC layup anytime soon?  Looks like right now you can only get CC in the root beer or pink colors, and some shops will sell you a bare C frame in the new colors.

always choose the Nomad. 

What’s going on in here???

Santa Cruzes all pedal the same up a fire road. You go Nomad!!!

I have an xl v6 nomad and I have spent a week on the v5 bronson and v4 hightower.  Previously, I've owned many other SC bikes, v4 nomad, v1 megatower, v2 megatower... etc.  

For me, it would depend on the intended usage.  I would still lean nomad if I were in your position, but mostly because I use my nomad for 10-15 days in the bike park each year and usually a few days in whistler where I really appreciate the travel.  I also have a 140, full 29 trail bike sharing the same stable, so it becomes an easy choice to pair that with a nomad.  

If I were trying to mesh bike park/shuttle/big travel bike with my trail bike and go down to a single bike to do both, bronson v5 would be the answer for sure.  This is the time where I would mention that I do generally prefer 140-150 trail bikes for any real amount of pedaling and I do generally find that the v4 hightower is a bike that I like a bit more then the v5 bronson as a complete package.  I feel like the bronson pedals better then the nomad (slightly) and the v4 hightower is better then both by a significant margin.  That being said, I do plenty of pedaling on my 37lb nomad, commonly doing 4-5k of climbing and 25 miles... the nomad is never the limiting factor in how I feel on those rides... it's the meat puppet.  

So... TLDR is that it's situational.  One FS bike to rule them all... then bronson.  If you're going to have multiple bikes, or spend enough time in the bike park where you feel like you need that capability, then nomad.  If I were at all inclined to modify the bronson to give it more capability, then I'd just beat to the chase and go nomad.  Otherwise, get the bronson v5, ride it until the new nomad comes out, then consider selling it as the new bronson will have better resale.  Maybe I just talked myself into the bronson with that comment no matter what the intended usage/situation is.  

I misread your original post and somehow thought you wanted to try a smaller size.  Definitely don't downsize from your small frame!  

I've actually always said that if I had to have one bike, it would be a Nomad.  That's probably still true, but I don't have only one bike, so who knows.

At the end of the day, both are great options.  As mentioned above, you can actually get more versatility out of the Bronson.  Especially with that new Cascade link.  I didn't even know that existed until this forum, so now I'm intrigued!  It was great on the V4.

I was at the local shop this afternoon and asked the owner what he thought of me going from my Nomad 6 to a Bronson.  He said, don't bother, just wait until next year for when they update the Nomad.  He hasn't heard what will change, just knows it's due.

Maybe it's worth a separate thread on the thoughts about the next gen of geometry for enduro bikes but I feel like I can't see myself running much longer than a ~1270 wheelbase on a bike I intended to climb or traverse any sort of trail with.

I feel like the next nomad/megatower is going to be in the ~1290 range for a size large. I had the chance to ride a frameworks with similiar lenght at kanuga and while it was incredible for that use case, my home trails don't have that type of extended terrain to suit that wheelbase imo.

So I hope to own the new nomad and my current nomad 🤣