DB Vancouver Broadway

Store Blog

2012 Norco Sight Review

Posted: Oct 11 2011 in Reviews, We Ride

Norco's New 140mm Trail Bike

A review by Dan @ DB Van

My first impression of the 2012 Norco Sight was one of intrigue. I must say that Norco has gone above and beyond this year with the new bikes and technologies they’ve launched. With that in mind, seeing the Sight for the first time, I was excited to see what it had to offer as a new entry to an already popular category.

• 140mm travel
• Advanced ride technology (Art suspension system)
• 12 x 142mm Syntace rear axle
• Single piece link arm for rigidity and stiffness
• Iscg 05 tabs included
• Tapered head tube
• 425mm rear chain stays (short!) for a more aggressive cornering feel
• Full XT kit that now comes with loads of XTR technology from previous years
• Fox rp23 high volume rear shock and Fox Talas 32 front fork w/ 15q/r
• 25lbs

The 2012 Sight is an eye catcher. Norco engineers state, "a bike is only as good as the sum of its parts." Being true to their statement, they spec’d the Sight with top end parts and a fantastic frame as foundation.

The tubing is custom hydroformed for maximum strength-to-weight characteristics. This is typical of many of the new Norco bikes and provides rigidity in the frame where needed while reducing weight.

A few important frame features that stand out are the tapered head tube for increased front end tracking and firmness at speed. This is common on many top end bikes now but is always worth mentioning as it makes a huge difference in the overall ride of the bike.

My test ride allowed me to take the Sight up Fromme for some real world testing on some trails I’m pretty familiar with. The climb was probably one of the easiest I’ve done – weighing in at 25lbs the Sight doesn’t leave you with any excuses for a slow ascent! The 2 x 10 Shimano drive train, Rockshox Reverb adjustable seat post and frame/shock characteristics make this bike an incredibly capable hill crushing machine. I could have easily ridden to 7th Secret however I was more interested in how this bike handled the descent.

I found myself ripping down Bobsled in 2:30 on a 140mm travel bike - this really is a fun way to see what a bike can do (beyond how well it pedals up!) The 67.5 degree head tube angle, 425mm short chain-stays and Norco’s A.R.T. suspension was all I needed to rip through bermed corners at speed and clearing the rough patches and drops easily.

Heading into the lower sections of Fromme – Natural High and Lower Griffin were a breeze on this nimble descender. The fun factor was increased by the lightness of the bike – jumping and popping easily off every small rock or root on the trail.

The fox suspension kit is always a great addition and it maintained traction and control while I pushed the bike as fast as I wanted.

Note the one piece rocker arm for added lateral stiffness.

When I needed to slow up for some of the tighter switchbacks the XT brakes were well at hand. Fantastic modulation was completely unaffected by heavy braking due to the vented pads.

New XT levers with lots of tech from last year's XTR (above left); Vented pads allow for heat dissipation and unhindered braking performance (above right).

The 142 x 12mm Syntace rear axle is another nice feature – available in q/r or allen wrench options. Norco utilizes the Syntace system to remove the dated q/r setup that many bikes in this category had been running. Syntace replaces it with a hassle free, super stiff design.

Overall the Sight was a fun ride and will be an excellent option for 2012 bike buyers. I had a great opportunity to test it on some familiar terrain and I was more than happy with its performance. It’s a perfect fit for those looking to complement the dh bike that you don’t want to pedal, or more appropriately, as that one trail capable bike to conquer whatever you want to throw at it.

Read more DB Vancouver Broadway Store Blogs »