Page 79 - AMB Freelist

NORCO
Ryan Walsch
RIDING EXPERIENCE:
Enough to know boats.
GENERALLY RIDES:
Forbidden Druid HEIGHT: 178cm WEIGHT: 72kg
BIKE TEST TRACK: Canberra’s finest jank and rockiest loam
RANGE C2
WORDS RYAN WALSCH PHOTOS NICK WAYGOOD
Norco are making short work of overhaulling their entire mountain bike line up. The popular Fluid FS lead the
charge with new geometry and suspension kinematics, and on each bike since the refinements to geometry and suspension have been advanced further. From the Revolver, to the Optic, Sight, Shore and now the Range, Norco have used their Ride Aligned design and fit philosophy to deliver progressive geometry and handling throughout their full-suspension mountain bike line up.
The Norco Range previously earned the nickname as the Whistler XC bike, and the long travel rig has been the last in Norco’s full-suspension hierarchy to get a revamp. It’s an iconic model name for the Canadian bike brand, and one that needed to be done right. All the research into fit, handling and suspension dynamics from the previous models got poured into this new model. The result? A full-carbon, 29” wheeled 170mm travel super bike. The new Norco Range is designed to charge big-moun- tain lines, rail Enduro races, and tackle laps in the bike park – even with pedal ups.
There are three models in the Norco Range line up, and they all share the same frame and rear shock. Kudos to Norco for speccing big brakes with 200mm rotors on all the models along with metal pads, plus 38mm legged forks, strong tyres and tough wheel builds. These bikes are designed to be ridden very hard, and the parts spec is on point for doing so.
INITIAL IMPRESSIONS
Having a soft spot for high pivot bikes for some time now, the new Norco Range looks stunning with its clean lines and low slung chassis. The Norco has a virtual linkage driving the rear coil shock. The quality of the idler and its guide are good, working quietly in the stand and on the trail under high loads and soggy conditions. The Range climbs very efficiently for a 170mm front and rear rig which weighs more than it feels like on the trail. The linkage itself is beautifully machined and something you would expect to see on a bespoke offering, so it is almost a shame it’s down and nearly out of sight covered with high impact plastic strike plates and dirt.
The rear coil shock sits as low as possible through a neatly moulded carbon tunnel situated at the bottom of the seat-tube. Tucked below that is the beautifully machined lower linkage which rotates around the crank spindle and drives the rear shock via a small yoke. The level of quality in the hardware and linkage parallels or exceeds what you would typically see on a boutique frame set, so considering that the complete Range C2 sells for $8999 here in Australia surprises me even more.
The most unique feature people are drawn to is the idler, always the idler! It is an essential component on a high pivot bike and enables the manufacturer to have favorably high percentag- es of anti-squat and pedalling efficiency with little to no pedal kick back. Pedalling forces and suspension forces move independently to each other and the rider is left with a bike that pedals great and doesn’t want to blow you off the pedals when you’re charging rough and janky trails, especially when you are using flat pedals. The idler is good quality and it ran silently in all the conditions I have inflicted on the Range test bike. Thanks to the quality of the idler, little additional drag can be felt under load.
Norco has designed the Range around a coil rear shock, specifically the Fox Factory DHX2 which gives riders of all three carbon models complete tuning options on this highly capable machine. Tuning the DHX2 has been made as easy as following Norco’s Ride Aligned Setup Guide which includes a recommended spring weight. I first set our Range up following the guide and after some additional pressure in the fork I had it balanced and feeling familiar. I would highly recommend working out what spring weight you will need at the point of sale, in consultation with your Norco dealer.
Apart from setting up the Range tubeless, with the Stan’s NoTubes sealant and valves provided, I ran our Range stock out of the box and very close to Norco’s Ride Aligned Setup Guide online, which is easy to use. The Range C2 did tip the scales at just over 17.35kgs which makes it one of the heavier hitters I have tested of recent years. That may not be an issue for you, but more on that later.
78