12/8/2023 0 Comments Norco optic![]() Handlebar-mounted controls create a tidy cockpit (Image credit: Guy Kesteven) Ride, handling and performance It’s worth noting that if you’re on a tighter budget or less worried about weight the NX-equipped Optic C3 gets the same frame, shock, rims and tyres with a Pike Select fork for £600 less. That keeps weight just under 14kg for a large, so right in the ‘that’s what all bikes seem to weigh these days’ ballpark. The only bit of posh you’ll find is the SRAM X1 Eagle crank, where carbon saves serious grams over alloy at the risk of rupturing the weave on rocks after a while. A southpaw lever triggers the equally cost-conscious but reliable X-Fusion Manic dropper post. ![]() The SRAM GX Eagle shifter sits fine with the budget but impressively well controlled and predictable Shimano MT520 four-pot brakes. 780mm bar and 45mm stem keep control naturally weighted and well leveraged and all models get the excellent, subtly shaped Ergon GA30 grips. ![]() The 140mm travel RockShox Pike Select+ short offset fork has more travel than the rear shock but spring feel and damping is a near-perfect match. If 2.35in sounds a little narrow a caliper check shows that - typically for Schwalbe - they blow up a lot bigger in reality and carcass control is impressive even at low pressures and high shear loads. Schwalbe’s legendary Magic Mary ultra control front tyre and intermediate Hans Dampf rear are both orange stripe ‘Addix Soft’ compound that favour grip over outright rolling speed. That’s most obvious with the relatively hefty enduro-grade Stans Flow S1 rims and super-reliable-but-slow-engaging DT Swiss 350 hubs. Unless it seems you’re Norco, in which case you'll just say, ‘give the bike what it needs to ride as well as it can and that’s what it’ll weigh’. Speccing a short-travel trail bike is a tough gig as there’s always a temptation to try and make the bike lighter than the inevitable longer-travel sibling in a brand’s range. This ‘Ride Aligned’ approach also sees the suspension kinematics tweaked slightly for likely rider weights on each size as well as providing a rider-referencing smartphone set-up app, which is the most accurate we’ve ever used.Īs well as the same carbon/alloy frame, all three bikes in the range (C3 is £2,995, C1 is £4,995) also use the same totally custom length, custom tuned, ‘sawn off’ 45mm stroke RockShox Super Deluxe Ultimate DH piggyback shock to give 125mm of travel, but more on that later.īy speccing different rear ends for each frame size Norco is able to create a rider weight ‘Ride Aligned’ approach to suspension kinematics (Image credit: Guy Kesteven) Components and build To its massive credit - and presumably considerable extra cost - Norco fits a different length alloy back end to every size, ranging from 425 to 440mm. ![]() The bottom bracket hangs 37mm below the axles and 337mm above the trail on all sizes. ![]() A 65-degree head angle and 76-degree seat angle are separated by a reach of 480mm (medium) while an extra large measures 30mm shorter and longer respectively. Norco has been using the same rocker link four-bar suspension design template on its trail bikes for years but the geometry numbers on the Optic’s carbon mainframe sticker are totally contemporary. Tannus tyre armour review Design and geometry ![]()
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