The Biking Hub: Mountain

Sneak peeks » Cory

Dissecting the 2007 Norco lineup

Norco is big out here on the west coast of British Columbia, partly because it’s a homegrown company but also because its bikes have generally proven to be solid rides that give great value to consumers. And, while the company doesn’t introduce re-vamped models every year or two like many of the other manufacturers in the industry, Norco spends a good amount of time tweaking and revising its bikes each season. For 2007, Norco continues down a well trodden path, cranking out a bike lineup that looks set to give fans plenty of ways to make it up and down the mountain (and to rip along the road, if that suits your fancy).

Now that I’ve got the cheesy introduction out of the way, let’s have a look at some of the Norco bikes that’ll be out there next year.

Note: I’ll get some time on a number of these bikes as next season progresses, so you’ll likely get some feedback on their real-world performance.

Go anywhere, do anything (almost): full suspension cross country, enduro, trail, and all mountain bikes

The Faze

Last year, Norco’s top-of-the-line full suspension xc / trail rig, the EXC 1.0 FS was a hideous flourescent green, a colour so difficult to stomach that a bunch of local riders turned the bike down on that basis alone. Norco wisened up its colourways for this year’s Faze, a bike targeting the enduro crowd. The Faze has a redesigned rear end and different linkage plates compared with last year’s equivalent, and is completely pimped out for the race crowd.

Faze One. For the first time that I can recall, Norco has spec’d some of its bikes with a complete Fox setup — the Faze One comes with a Fox 32 F100 FRLC up front and the new RP23 in the back. Shimano’s new XTR group takes care of the rest of the bike’s componentry. Geometry is a little looser than your typical xc rig, which is a bonus if you’re putting in long miles and aren’t racing up every climb. With a claimed weight of 25lbs and a list price of $5050 (cad) / $4475 (usd), the Faze One definitely sits at the top of the pile in Norco’s xc lineup, but if you’re willing to swap a couple grand for three pounds, the Faze Two could be just the ticket for you.

The Fluid

The 2006 Fluid really came into its own as a trail bike that was more than capable for almost all types of all mountain riding. While it didn’t ride like some of its competition — I still find that the ride height of the Fluid takes a little getting used to — it did its job like a champ, and everyone I know who’s riding the bike loves the way it handles on the trail. It’s got good ground clearance and the relatively upright position makes the bike feel lively and easy to move around on the way up the technical climbs that are par for the course up here.

Fluid One. For ‘07, Norco has made a few structural changes to the Fluid One, the most noticeable being a slightly curved top tube. Standover wasn’t an issue with any of the Fluids that I rode, but the frame looks a little more svelte than it did last year. Like the Faze, the Fluid One sports Fox suspension front and rear, stops with Shimano’s well-regarded XT brakeset, and uses an XT / LX drivetrain. Norco went with Mavic’s CrossRide wheelset and some Hutchinson rubber, although most people up here swapped out the Hutchinson stuff right away because of personal preference — I’d expect the same to happen again this year. The Fluid One is listed at $3329 (cad) / $2950 (usd), and has a claimed weight of 29lbs (last year’s Fluid One weighed in at a shade over 30.5lbs with 2.35 Kenda Nevegals and an X0 drivetrain).

As with most of the models in its lineup, Norco offers a number of down-spec’d models. If the top-of-the-line bikes featured here don’t hit your pricepoint, there should be something else that works for you.

Fluid SE. If price is no object, and you want a pimped out, Horst-link trail bike you might want to have a look at the Fluid SE, an XTR-equipped beauty that features top shelf components and a cool looking finish. As expected, it’ll cost a lot of coin to appease the gear-whore in you — the SE lists at $5280 (cad) / $4850 (usd) — but it’ll save you a pound and give you plenty of reasons to fuss over your bike in the garage.

The Six

The Six has an interesting genealogy. When it was first introduced — I want to write that 2004 was its inaugural season — the Six caught the attention of riders everywhere. Here was a bike that was designed to be pedalled everywhere yet was burly enough to take the hits going down, something that a growing number of riders were clamouring for (it was also a group that a number of manufacturers started targeting).

A year later the Six was awarded Mountain Biking Magazine’s 6″ Bike of the Year award and the cat was finally out of the bag. While the Six was being lauded as one of the new-school of do-it-all bikes, I always felt that the bike was a little heavier than it could have been, especially when compared to its competition — the stock ‘05 Six weighed a full 4lbs more than my non-stock Giant AC, and other comparisons yielded similar results — and that’s something that probably played against the model outside of BC.

Six One. For 2007, however, the Six One has been pared down to a claimed 35lbs. The coil-over rear shock that added a pound to the bike is replaced by Fox’s DHX Air 4.0, as are a number of the more burly (and heavy) elements that graced earlier incarnations (like a 150mm rear end). It’s also good to see that manufacturers are starting to spec 20mm front axle forks on their all mountain rigs — just because we’re not going large doesn’t mean that a 9mm axle works — and the Six One comes equipped with one of Marzocchi’s re-vamped All Mountain forks (which features 120mm-160mm of adjustable travel). The rest of the bike is pretty nicely spec’d with components from SRAM, with Juicy 5s (7″ rotors), SRAM X9 shifters and rear derailleur, and Truvativ Stylo crankset. I’m still not a fan of the interrupted seat tube, but most people riding these bikes don’t mind the telescoping seatpost.

The Six One will be listed at $3325 (cad) / $2950 (usd) but if you want to almost double your outlay, you might want to look at the…

Six SE. The Six SE is pretty dialled and comes spec’d with pretty much everything you need to be king of the mountain. The suspension is taken care of by Fox, with the DHX Air 5.0 being matched up with Fox’s 36 Van RC2, the stoppers are Juicy 7s, the drivetrain is a select mix of XTR and X0, and the wheels are Mavic’s new CrossMax SX all mountain hoops. Suggested pricing sits at $5850 (cad) / $5300 (usd).

The big bikes: going downhill fast or hucking large

The Team DH

A few months ago, I saw a thread on a local bulletin board that traced the genealogy of Norco’s Team DH race rig and I must say that the model has seen plenty of changes over the past six or seven years. Gone is the bike that featured an old tin-can monocoque frame, tall ride height, and big weight and in is a race-ready bike that hangs on the world stage.

A couple of weeks back, I spend some time on the ‘06 Team DH and was really impressed by the bike. Sure, it wallowed in the flats (as many 9″ travel are wont to do), but everything else worked well and the bike plowed through sections of trail that are, how do I say, interesting on my everyday ride.

For ‘07, Norco tweaked the geometry by just a bit, introduced a new headtube design for the frame, AND shaved almost 4lbs from the bike’s overall weight, while spec’ing the bike with the high-end components that is usually found on this model. Next year, the Team DH gets Marzocchi’s new 888 World Cup up front and the Rocco World Cup controlling the cush in the rear. The drivetrain is handled by SRAM’s X0 trigger and a short cage X0 rear derailleur, along with an 11-23 cassette in the rear (no one really climbs with these things). For $6050 (cad) / $5230 (usd), you get a ready-to-race ripper that will surely see some podium spaces on local race circuits.

A-Line, Park Edition

Prior to this year, the A-Line has always been Norco’s value downhill bike. It’s been a solid bike that usually uses the previous year’s Team DH frame and is spec’d with parts that work well but don’t cost a fortune to replace or upgrade. The ‘normal’ A-Line is still around this year ($3299 cad msrp) but, just as they’ve done with the Fluid and the Six, Norco is making a special edition of the A-Line available for the rippers out there.

The Park Edition features a Marzocchi Rocco TST R rear shock (Marz’s answer to propedal) and a 888 RCV fork up front, along with a nice smattering of components elsewhere. You’ll find a hand-picked assortment of parts throughout the bike: Avid’s new Code brakes, a Syncros rear hub, an X9 / X7 drivetrain, and an E.13 chain guide.

Weighing in at about 45lbs, you get a bike that will shred it up at Whistler (or whatever bike park you visit often) for a decent price ($4050 cad MSRP).

The Shore

The Shore has always been a burly bike that seems to match the trails of southwest BC like ice goes with hockey. In fact, I owned the 2002 edition of the bike and rode it hard for three years without significant issues (other than a rear chainstay that Norco acknowledged as faulty and replaced without question).

The Shore One. That being said, the 2007 version of the Shore is totally different from my old monocoque frame. The frame uses the same new headtube design as the Team DH (without the inside taken out). I’ve seen this bike in prototype form and the headtube area looks strong and burly.

The Shore One features about 8″ travel front and rear (depending on configuration, see below), comes spec’d with an E.13 DRS, SRAM X9 drivetrain, Juicy 7s, and a slew of other cool bits. Essentially, there are two variations of this bike — one comes with RockShox’s new Totem (coupled with a Fox DHX 5.0), the other comes with a Marzocchi 66 (and TST R rear shock) — that will cater to riders’ individual preferences.

Weighing in at a competitive 41lbs and listed at about $4300 (cad) / $3850 (usd), this bike targets the crowd that likes to go big but also enjoys a mellow climb up logging roads or gently sloping singletrack. And by gently, I mean close to flat. Don’t get me wrong, you can pedal these things, but don’t expect to go fast up the hill and don’t expect your knees to thank you for the haul.

Sidenotes? A 29″er, some urban bikes, and a cool cruiser

The Norco Nitro-Niner

If you caught any of the Interbike coverage from this year, you’d be hard pressed to ignore the fact that 29ers were EVERYWHERE. While these bikes don’t seem to be catching on all over the world, there is definitely some movement afoot within the industry. Norco obviously wants to get a foot in the door, and introduced the Nitro Niner for this reason. With an affordable parts mix and a decent price ($1775 cad), the Nitro looks set to compete with other similar rigs in its category.

This small picture doesn’t do the Two 50’s finish justice because it’s an head turner with its single speed setup, 3-piece alloy cranks, Marz DJ3 fork, and pink spokes.

The Sekine

Yeah, it’s a cruiser. But it looks pretty sharp. MSRP is under $500 cad.

Rev

If you want to show your kids that you can still throw down at the local dirt jumps but you don’t want to shell out for another mountain bike, BMXs are a good way to go. Just remember that zero inches of travel isn’t quite as forgiving as, well, any amount travel.

This entry was posted on Monday, October 16th, 2006 at 11:49 am and is filed under Sneak peeks. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.