Norco’s Range is solidly surefooted no matter how big the terrain. Its high weight and soft feel mean it lacks spark and focused authority when you want to light it up though.
Sturdy chassis draped in middling kit
While some designers use carbon to save weight, Norco have stayed on the sturdy side with the Range. The chunky size-specific frame tubes use a high-strength ‘ArmorLite’ resin, the bike’s belly is protected by a thick impact guard and the asymmetric alloy chainstays are buried under rubber bumpers.
A rear pivot ahead of and below the 142x12mm dropouts creates Norco’s ‘ART’ variant on the classic Horst Link system. The Fox Float X piggyback shock delivers 160mm (6.3in) of rear travel via a rocker on the kinked seat tube. Neat plugs seal the internal control routing, and the screw-in BB is a longevity bonus too. The Norco also has ISCG tabs for its e*thirteen chain guide.
ADVERTISEMENT
The extended seat tower allows a low standover height but slopes back dramatically. This makes the front end feel light when in the saddle and means that the reach and wheelbase are relatively short by modern standards despite the long top tube.
The thick legged, 170mm (6.7in) travel RockShox Yari fork gives the Range plenty of impact appetite but it’s – understandably – less smooth and controlled than the Pikes and Lyriks you'll find on some of the Range's competitors. Similarly, the Performance-series Fox shock isn’t quite as responsive and consistent as the RockShox dampers specced elsewhere, and the SRAM GX drivetrain with Race Face Æffect cranks is a grade below an X1/Turbine combo.
Sluggish climber
You can read more at BikeRadar.com
via BikeRadar All the latest from BikeRadar.com http://ift.tt/29gXsIL
No comments:
Post a Comment