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It is sad, but the reality is bike purchases are heavily driven by aesthetics. In some ways you want to respect companies that cling to their image but is it really worth doing so at the expense of failing? Ibis adapted by getting rid of the swoopy top tube. But Intense is another example of a company that refuses to get rid of questionable branding and may go the way of the dodo if they don't adapt. Need to take ques from the brands gaining marketshare... i.e. WAO & Forbidden, clean lines & minimal branding.
Bikes need to look sexy to sell. Like it or hate it. I'm sure I'll get downvoted for stating the ugly truth.
Sounds like the new Norco Sight high pivot is coming out this week.
I was surprised to see the early teasers coming out on social media. Supposed to be a March drop.
A little birdie told me something about the new Norco high pivot bikes. The Optic, Sight, and VLT versions of the Sight and Range designs will have a non-concentric idler wheel depending on the model. “Dynamic idler” was what I heard. Sounds like they won’t be positioned right at the pivot, but slightly off depending on how they want the specific bike to feel…
Yes but it's a prototype
Who's gunna be the first to run one of these bad boys in DH? 😂
https://www.instagram.com/reel/C1u5jMbSF3w/?igsh=MWIzdjhyaWNrZWlubA==
We've seen it and it's illegal in World Cup DH. I guess we can blame Palmer for looking so good in Moto gear. After him they banned skin suits.
Is that classed a skin suit though? A lot of the new kit is pretty borderline like that. The only difference is its one piece.
The rules specifically require separate long sleeve jerseys and pants
I would guess the optic is going to be the first one to launch. It will also be a high pivot if I remember correctly.
The new sight and optic look identical in I'd say every way possible. that goes for the alloy and carbon models. Just the springy bits are longer on one. Can confirm idlers are offset from the main pivot. Wagon wheel size idlers.
Norco got boned hard by the delays of rolling these two bikes out late because of overstock on the current models. They are now releasing these two rigs after the the Slash and Druid V2 releases have happened and have had time to take some market share away from them.
The Optic is going to be compared to the druid in every test and the Sight is gonna be compared against the Slash... Unfortunately for Norco looking at build sheets and pricing they may be coming into this North American HP fight with a point against em already.
Norco has always been a brand I have enjoyed having around and for the majority of the time I have been biking they have always had a model or two that's been a Blast to ride.... But man they got a mega uphill battle on their hands. Between this late bike roll out, the loads of cash dumped into their DH bike program, the cutting of like 60% of their staff, shutting down production of all their CX and gravel bikes and the rumours of the South African taking his lions share of payroll... Norco is either gonna come out of this a big player in the MTB market again ooooor death.
Silhouette wise the two Norcos look like the Slash but hands down the Norco's look sexier and a bit more refined. The Norco's have a Sexier head tube area (what a strange sentance).
Oh my,
oh.....Oh my
I can get behind this...... not too far though, with that wagon rear wheel....
I'm making an assumption that with the modular shock mount, theyre using the same front triangle for the Optic and Sight
I had just kinda settled on an Endorphin frame, or a mulleted Smuggler, I had almost forgot about the HP Optic on its way.
The purple colourway, with a silver Pike, Cascade link, Talon cranks, and some WAO wheels on silver Hadley hubs, GodDamn
Norco also quietly posted the new Fluid VLTs on their website that they teased last summer.
Pretty sure the Sight and Optic will have mullet capabilities. IIRC, the VLT Range and Sight are mullet only…
Correct
Sweet baby Jesus!
As long as its not Druid money, and weight.....(that Druid is a bit on the portly)
My dreams of re-using my fugitive rear wheel might be out the window...Damnit it looks good to me.
Man we must have a different relationship with what's considered "portly" haha.
As for price. I don't wanna let you down or anything...but maybe just wait till end of season to get one at discount, also known as "reasonable"
With the teases of the HP Optic, I have a question for those of you who have High Pivot experience. I'm HP curious, but my local trails which I ride 90% of the time, aren't the most technical. I mostly ride my 120mm single-speed hardtail or my Epic Evo, but I usually take 3-4 trips a year to "real mountains", usually Kingdom trails, Pisgah, Sedona etc. Is it pointless to ride a HP on mellower trails? Do you lose some of the benefits of a HP when there is less travel?
Any bike can be made to feel poppy, my dreadnought will if I crank the rebound. They really only feel different in chunky terrain, I’d say get a Dreadnought on sale now, norcos don’t seem to have the best reputation as far as reliability.
Where’s the tease of the new models in Norco’s Instagram?
Just the Sight for now.
https://www.instagram.com/reel/C1w9ddxOWY_/?igsh=ZWQ3ODFjY2VlOQ==
My druid carried me to a couple top 10s at the Canadian Enduro in my age category, a bunch of bike park time and roughly 1500kms of regular MTB trails in 2023.M
y typical riding is everything from single track blue trails with twisty fast corners, steep as shit loam trails, DH tracks and all things in between.My druid loves it all and never feels like the wrong bike.... well maybe on like XC tracks but I'm not seaking those out.
I'd consider my druid fun and playful and not all that different to every other bike I have ridden. It just does certain things better than other bikes and that's why I chose it.
Like all bikes, when picking a high pivot just be true to yourself and buy the one that beat suits your ACTUAL needs.
I saw the dreadnoughts on sale, but that's too much bike for what I'm riding. I'm getting ready to sell my 2021 Enduro frame because it's too much bike, I love it on big mountain stuff, it was a blast in Pisgah and Kingdom trails but despite how good it pedals, 170mm is only fun for about 3 minutes out of every hour of riding on my local trails.
I'm specifically curious about the benefits and ride characteristics of High Pivot on a more "trail" orientated bike i.e. 120-130ish mm of travel, meant to be pedaled 20+ miles. I'm aware there are plenty of non-HP bikes that fit exactly what I'm looking for: Smuggler, Stumpjumper, Fuel Ex, but while I'm constantly searching for my next trail bike, I'm simultaneously intrigued by High Pivot bikes.
Where were you when I bought my Range?
Absolutely love that bike. Such a beast. I got it for my passion for big mountain riding, but the only trails that are open around me in the winter are flow trail stuff. It works fine for that type of trail, but it’s just the equivalent of riding a downhill bike on them.
I got to demo an Optic a couple years ago and I’ve had one on my wish list ever since. Now the conundrum of getting an original version or waiting for the HP. I know my Range is a completely different design, but I’ve grown to love how HP rides a lot…
I'm in the exact same position, selling my 2021 Enduro for a Druid V2 or something similar.
It really doesn’t ride like a big bike though
Do us all a favour and leave Vitalmtb a review somewhere and say there wasn’t enough cars for you… then they can block you too and the rest of us can get back to actual tech rumours. Thanks in advance
Dude asked, I answered
Current VLT’s are all 29
sharing the front triangle across sight and optic is likely. They do this with the 3 VLT models and just change the fork height and rocker/clevis. It’s a clever way to make 3 bikes essentially from one.