I managed to get my hands on ‘What Mountain Bike Magazine’s ‘Trail Bike Of The Year’. Here are my thoughts on the much talked about ride that is pretty much sold out already in the UK.
[left]
Canadian brand Norco have been holding it tight in North America for years. If you head to the slopes of Whistler or the dirt jumps at Kamloops, you’ll see their bikes represented by riders of a wide range of age and ability. So why then have we not see them in the UK before? Until last year Norco had no importer in the UK, but since sealing a distribution deal with Evans Cycles, the brand have been widely praised by the British mountain bike media.
The Sight 2 is a 140mm trail bike designed to charge up the mountainside and be sent down the other. It costs £2500 and boasts Fox float 32 forks, a Fox RP2 rear shock and a full 10 speed XT groupset which I reckon makes it a good value package. The forks have a 15mm bolt thru that works well with the tapered steerer and at the back there is a 12×142 axle holding in the back wheel, both for added stiffness and control.
Norco use the Specialized patented ‘Horst Link’ with a floating rocker design. The result of this well designed system is a progressive and silky smooth suspension system which feels incredibly active with the Pro Pedal switched off. In fact, with its longish top tube, short stem and wide bar set up, it almost feels like a mini DH bike on the descents, but flick Pro Pedal on an the bike climbs with ease.
“it almost feels like a mini DH bike on the descents”
Most aluminium frames have a replaceable rear mech hanger, designed to snap under impact, thus costing you £20 instead of a new frame. Norco however realise that not everybody carries a spare mech hanger on the trail with them and have come up the a solution. The mech hanger is mounted by a vertical bolt. On impact the bolt will snap leaving the frame and hanger in tact. On the non drive side, just above and in front of the bottom bracket there is a lone black bolt screwed into the frame. This is the spare for those frustrating trail breakages… Very clever.
No bike is perfect, and I have noticed a few issues with the Sight 2. The frame has a staining problem which appears to be directly related to the grease used in the headest, pivots and bottom bracket area. Yellow marks appear early and appear to darken over time. Nothing will seem to remove them. Norco are aware of the issue and are offering £250 in compensation to Sight 2 owners.
The front mech comes pretty close to the non drive chainstay when in big ring, and with some frame flex there is slight contact resulting in some noise and loss of paint.
Both of these things are small niggles when looking at the bikes overall ride quality and value. The Sight 2 is a lot of fun to ride and will pull you faster into corners and technical sections than perhaps you’d like. We love it!
[/left]
[right]
[/right]
