Category Archives: Bikes

NSMB’s First Take on the Dorado Equipped Aurum

2013 Norco Aurum 1 Dorado

Testing Norco’s Sleek DH Racer

Words by Morgan Taylor Photos by Morgan Taylor
March 25th, 2013

Norco did it right for the 2012 model year when they introduced a DH bike that both looked fast and went fast by modern standards. For 2013 the platform sees minor revisions and an updated spec range. Pricing structure has been updated, expanding the available models to five options from a previous three, with the Aurum 1 coming in either a Boxxer / DHX RC2 or Dorado / Double Barrel as seen on our test bike.

As soon as I jumped on the 2013 Norco Aurum 1 Dorado, the reason for this bike’s popularity was evident; generous top tubes and solid out-of-box spec make for confidence-inspiring gravity sled. Connor Macleod did a great job of covering the Aurum’s heritage in his initial overview last year and wrapped up its riding characteristics in the long term review – both with photos from Derek Dix. Using those articles as a backbone, this one can stay short and sweet.

Through the photo set below I will detail the Aurum’s changes for the 2013 model year and give my thoughts on a few months with the low slung racer. Click in to the first photo to enlarge and advance through using the arrow keys…

2013-Norco-Aurum-Dorado-1-10
The 2013 Norco Aurum 1 Dorado. The Aurum’s geometry numbers are as follows: 25″ top tube on the Large frame lines up with a lot of other companies’ XL size, but surprisingly the bike doesn’t feel too big. At 6 feet even, I am running the stem all the way forward in the 55mm setting with a 780mm bar. Low, slack, and fast like the graphics indicate. Riding photo by Jason Lucas.

Read more at nsmb.com

The Norco Sight is a Perfect 10!

MBR Magazine took a swing at reviewing the 2013 Norco SIght 2. After an exhaustive testing process plotting the Sight against the fiercest of competition it came out on top as the shootout winner and a perfect 10 out of 10. Have a look at the full review here or better yet pick up a subscription to Mountain Bike Rider magazine.

Sight_Review_Winner

The Norco Sight 2 is fun and flattering, combining efficiency with strong handling and playfulness. The geometry is near perfect for trail riding, and the component package is well thought through, with powerful brakes and a dropper post as standard, without being any heavier or more expensive than the competition.
To sum up, the Norco’s colour-scheme and graphics look modern, it’s the cheapest bike on test, and the overall ride performance has that secret ingredient — it makes you want to go fast and mess about — which is an irresistible quality in any bike.

Norco-Sight-2-MBR2013FebDownload the PDF

Bicycling Tests the Sight Killer B

Bicycling Magazine has been more than curious about the 27.5 or 650B wheel size since talk really started to pick up around Sea Otter in April of this year. Their curiosity has been solidified in the December issue as they have published a 5 bike comparison article reviewing some of the top 2013 product on the market. One of these bikes covered is the 2013 Norco Sight Killer-B 1. Have a read through the following article to see what they thought.

Download the PDF Here

Norco Sight Killer B Vancouver-based Norco is a relatively small brand in the United States, but the company is pushing deeper into the American market with a refined lineup of mountain bikes. Leading the way is the Sight, one of two full suspension 27.5 bikes it developed for 2013. The 140mm-travel model has an elegant frame defined by swooping lines and smart features like clever cable routing and a breakaway rear derailleur hanger.

The bike licenses Specialized’s FSR suspension, but moves the axle path rearward by 6mm to improve performance over square-edge bumps. That gave the Sight a plush feel-in fact it rode like it has more travel than Norco claims. It rolled smoothly over small bumps, soaked up larger hits, and provided a consistent, predictable ride. On climbs, the bike lacked the crispness of the Turner’s DW-Link system, but it remained active and provided traction on most types of terrain, flowing over roots and rocks with little lost momentum.

Along with the Turner, the Sight was one of the best-handling models in this group. It snapped into and out of turns and carved sharply around berms. Like the other bikes, the Norco employs a 12x142mm rear thru-axle, which increases stiffness. But instead of a quick-release, the Sight uses a 5mm hex bolt to secure the rear wheel. On the plus side, you may never drop a chain: The bike comes with a shift guide and Shimano’s clutch-driven Shadow Plus rear derailleur-the belt and suspenders of chain management.

Compared with the others, the Sight is not the lightest, the best descender, or the most nimble-in other words, it doesn’t excel in just one area, but the Sight does all those things well, making it perhaps the most versatile bike of the bunch. It is an absolute trail slayer.

• PRICE $4,985 WEIGHT 30.2 lb. (M) SIZES XS, S, M (tested), L, XL FRAME 6061 aluminum alloy, tapered head tube, Fox Factory Float CTD shock, 140mm travel FORK RockShox Revelation RCT3, 15mm thru-axle, 140mm travel COMPONENT HIGHLIGHTS Shimano XT shifters, cranks (38/24), brakes 080/160mm rotors), ShadowPlus rear derailleur, SLX front derailleur; RockShox Reverb dropper post; Race Face Atlas stem, SixC bar; WTB Volt Race saddle INFO norco.com BUY IT IF You are looking for a versatile, agile trail bike that can tackle burly terrain

The Norco Tactic Shines in Peloton.

Norco Tactic PELOTON
Thought of mainly as a mountain bike brand, Norco has been in the road market for a long time. Once a sponsor of the powerful Canadian Symmetrics team, Norco knows a thing or two about road machines. When the Symmetrics team folded in 2008, Norco stepped away from the road market in 2009 before introducing the successful CRR line in 2010. Their race ready CRR was not only a success on the racecourse, but earned them respect in the road market. For 2013 Norco has introduced the Tactic, an evolution of the CRR.
The new Tactic aims to keep the heart of the CRR, but in a more refined package. To accomplish this Norco kept the geometry the same but with a slightly shorter head tube for racers wanting a lower bar position. The frame itself is constructed using proprietary, 46T high modulus carbon and uses two of Norco’s advanced manufacturing techniques. The first is their SmoothCore molding process, which ensures smooth inner surfaces resulting in increased frame strength. The second is ArmorLite, a resin that increases impact resistance and reduces frame weight.
Read the full article at pelotonmagazine.com

Hitting the Switchback on Norco’s Killer B

NORCO KILLER B MACHINES SWITCHBACK
650B wheels are stuck in Purgatory at the moment. Lost some where between 26 and 29er believers. 650B converts claim benefits from both wheel sizes – with few of the drawbacks. Norco is one of these converts, but unlike other manufactures that have done little more than extend the chain stays, Norco has designed the entire frame to best take advantage of medium sized wheels. Another stark contrast is that Norco has aimed their 650B wheeled machines at the all-mountain and trail sectors instead of targeting cross-country hard tail riders.

The new 650B wheeled machines slot into the Norco line with the Range Killer B and Sight Killer B lines. Visually, the bikes are clearly descended from the 2012 26 inch wheeled models, but have been redesigned around the larger wheel diameter. As Norco puts it “frame geometry and suspension kinematics are optimized to accentuate all of the positive characteristics that make the 650B perfect for all mountain riding.” Both the Range and Sight are constructed from hydroformed alloy with a 1.5 to 1.125 tapered head tube and 650B specific geometry. The Range Killer B and Sight Killer B lines feature Norco’s proprietary Gravity Tune sizing, which fixes the rear-center/front-center ratio across all frame sizes to allow a wide range of different sized riders to be in a balanced and natural position on the bike. The Range comes equipped with a 160mm of travel is handled by Norco’s A.R.T. four-bar suspension system, while the Sight is outfitted with 140mm. One thing of note on the Range and Sight is that Norco designed the frame and rear suspension so that the 650B bikes have the same, or shorter chain stay length than the 26 inch models from 2012. The newly designed frames also provide increased stand over height.
 Read the full article at switchbackmb.com

NSMB’s Take on the 2013 Norco 650B

Words by Morgan Taylor. Photos by Morgan Taylor.

For 2013 Norco is jumping full bore into the 650B arena, going so far as to dub the new bikes “Killer-B”. The 160mm Range will now be a 650B-only bike, and the 140mm Sight has been redesigned with both 650B and 26″ versions. We were given the chance to ride both of the 650B bikes on Burnaby Mountain’s trails and skills park. While this isn’t exactly gnarly Shore terrain, I’m familiar with the trails and was able to push the bikes quite a bit.

Poring over geometry charts, I’ve noticed was that all bikes in the Norco lineup have geometry on the aggressive side of average. The Range 650B has a 66.5º head angle, while the Sight is a 67.5º in both 650 and 26. Instead of compensating for the larger wheel with a steeper head angle as you may see with other manufacturers, Norco has maintained the same numbers as the previous bikes which pushes them a bit further toward that aggressive side.

Both bikes now feature the Gravity Tune system from the Aurum, which is a different chainstay length for each of the 5 sizes. This is accomplished by locating the main pivot slightly fore or aft depending on frame size, with the intent of having good weight balance for riders of all sizes. Being a taller rider but enjoying the playfulness of a shorter rear end, I’m not yet sure what to think of Gravity Tune.

2013 Norco Sight 650B

The Sight is surprisingly nimble and hardly feels like a bigger bike than the 26″ version which I have ridden a fair amount. In fact it feels more like putting a mid-weight tire on your XC bike. I was confident blasting it into chunky sections, but it still pedaled great, and maintained momentum like a hot damn.

2013 Norco 650B Sight Range Killer-B
The 650B Sight 1 is targeted to come in at 28.5 pounds with the Reverb post and Schwalbe Nobby Nics.

2013 Norco 650B Sight Range Killer-B
The Sight 1 spec is mostly XT, including a Shadow Plus derailleur, with a splash of Race Face and a Reverb post. A Rockshox Revelation fork handles front end squish while a Fox CTD is out back.

read the full article here

Dirt Rag Magazine Takes 650 for a Spin

By Adam Newman

It can take years to design and develop a bike from scratch, as Norco has done with the Sight and Range 650b platforms, so neither design is a quick adaptation of an existing bike to catch the 650b wave expected to crest in 2013. Despite retaining Norco’s tried and true suspension design and other technologies, not a single frame tube is carried over from the 26-inch bike.

Both of the 650b models use Norco’s A.R.T. (Advanced Ride Technology) suspension platform, designed to deliver a stable pedaling platform, a rearward axle path on square-edged bumps, and improved performance under braking. The Holloform linkarm is a sturdy, one-piece unit that keeps the rear end as stiff as possible while keeping any twisting forces away from the shock. The bearings in the suspension system are held in place with a tapered collet that expands to hold the bearings by exerting equal pressure from the inside out, eliminating the single hot-spot that a slide-fit axle would subject them to as they pivot.

The two new bikes are also sized according to Norco’s Gravity Tune geometry system that uses identical swing arms on all frame sizes, but by repositioning the bottom bracket on the main triangle of each size, effectively lengthens the chainstays a small amount as frame sizes grow. This keeps a balanced weight distribution between the two wheels on all frame sizes. Norco also worked hard to achieve an incredibly low standover height, which I — and my potential offspring — appreciated on the more technical trails we rode.


read the full article here

Enter 650B – Choosing the correct wheelsize for the right bike.

When it comes to mountain bike wheel size it is difficult to see the big picture and how it all fits together. The world has been using 26″ wheels for so long that the adoption of 29″ took much longer than expected; and there are still nay-sayers on any alternative to 26″.

When it came to redesigning the 2013 Norco range it was not about building a bike around a certain wheel, but rather building a bike that is the best performing machine possible in its intended use. Wheel size came later.

Starting conceptually on a whiteboard the Range is a bike that pedals extremely well on the way up, handles the bumps on the way down and can excel pretty much anywhere in between. This is the ultimate all mountain machine. In order to make this vision a reality there were a few key aspects of design that needed to happen.

To make the Range perfect, Gravity Tune needed to be utilized. Creating a unique geometry that varies with the size of the bike can guarantee a frame that fits a rider of any height. Frame stiffness is also important. Adding a Sytace X-12 Axle, hollowform linkarm, tapered headtube and an uber-stiff tubeset helps keep it all together. Choosing the perfect geometry was also crucial as well as the integration of  A.R.T. Suspension to propel the rider up the climbs while soaking up every last bump on the decent

Taking fit, stiffness, geometry and suspension together as a whole package left a problem. Stiffness and maneuverability could not be achieved using 29″ wheels and the 26″ wheel would not have the rolling capabilities necessary to truly make this bike shine. Enter 650B.

With a 650B wheel, the XS frame can use the perfect chanstay length for the rider while the XL can accomplish the same ride characteristics in a larger sized frame. The 27.5″ wheel also gave the rolling characteristics we desired while not sacrificing our goals in strength, stiffness or an extremely long wheelbase.

Rather than rambling on for too long about this newly designed bike, we have a video for you to enjoy about the making, testing and production of the New 2013 Norco Range. Watch for more information on this and other 2013 models very soon.

video by Dan Barham

The Shinobi Gets Rolling Through the Pages of Dirt

Dirt Magazine has been digging the Norco lineup lately. Following their recent review of the 2012 Norco Aurum, this months issue features the Shinobi, All Mountain 29er. In an interview style rundown, Sean White gives us his take on the longer travel, big-wheeled bike.  Have a read through the full review below or download the pdf here. Or, even better yet, head to your local newsstand and pick up a copy for yourself.

Norco Revolver Review on MTBR


The 2012 Norco Revolver 1 after a few months’ worth of testing in one of British Columbia’s wet and wild winters.

MTBR.com covered the Norco 2012 Product Launch in Whistler, BC last August, where we introduced all of the company’s bikes that were slated for release over the coming months. Along with all of the bikes from Norco’s existing lineup, a number of new models made an appearance at Whistler: the dedicated downhill sled that is the Aurum; the 140mm travel Sight; the 29”-wheeled, 100mm trail-ripping Revolver.

That summer week during Crankworx provided me with a brief introduction to the Revolver but, while I was impressed by the bike’s performance during a brief demo ride, it was determined that a real test needed to take place on my home turf during a wet West Coast winter, when the dry and dusty trails I rode in and around Whistler would be a long and distant memory. I picked up the Revolver 1 from Norco in early November and spent the next few months giving the bike the gears.

Frame
The Revolver is a new model for Norco in 2012, and the frame is jam-packed with all of the features that grace the company’s recent offerings. The most notable of these features is the Advanced Ride Technology (ART) tuned FSR linkage which uses optimized pivot placement to increase pedaling efficiency, improve braking performance, increase square-edge bump compliance, and create a suspension system that is easier to tune while providing travel that feels bottomless.

read the full review at mtbr.com