2023 Norco

Optic C3

125mm rear wheel travel might have you imagining something of an XC bike, but think again, as Norco’s latest high pivot Optic blurs the boundaries and brings maximum downhill attitude to the short travel trail bike segment

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The 2024 Norco Optic 125mm trail bike gets a high pivot and idler pulley from its big siblings and makes a case for the suspension system on shorter-travel bikes.

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The new 2024 Norco Optic relies on a distinctive high pivot suspension design. Does it even make sense on a trail bike?

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It’s been more than four years since we’ve seen a Norco for sale in the UK, after distribution through Evans Cycles fell apart, but now in 2024 Norco is back with two new analogue bikes, the Sight and Optic. And what a change the US brand’s made, embracing a high pivot idler on its longer-travel Sight and on the 125mm travel Optic. Need to know Carbon frame trail bike with high pivot suspension and idler High pivot suspension design with idler delivers 125mm travel Idler gets around 19 teeth, narrow profile and coating to reduce drag Size-specific chainstays and seat tube angles, that grow with the sizing 29in wheels, or switch to mullet with the Missing Link Kit that swaps out rocker link and shock mount Frame gets space for bottle on each size, gear hangar, sleeved internal routing Meaty chainstay and seatstay protection to quiet the chain C1 Fox Factory build with SRAM XO T-type drivetrain unavailable in the UK C2 build is in the UK, at £6,999 with mix of Fox and RockShox suspension That makes the Optic pretty unique, we’ve only seen the high pivot idler idea used on one other short-travel bike in modern times, aboard the 130mm Forbidden Druid. It took the Canadian brand two goes to deliver the right balance of small-bump sensitivity and support, but by the second generation we rated it as one of the best short travel trail bikes around. It’s a high bar for the Optic to clear then. High pivot proposition There’s a good reason why most brands don’t attempt the high pivot and idler design on the short travel bike, traditionally it’s added more noise, drag and weight. This is less of a problem on downhill or enduro bikes of course, where weight matters less, and which partly explains why there are a shed load of brands sporting the idea, with the Trek Slash the latest to the pile. The other reason is suspension performance, of course. A high pivot design and its rearward axle path is said to make bikes better able to swallow big hits, more composed on rough terrain and generally feel like they’re delivering more travel than the numbers suggest. Norco’s Virtual Pivot Suspension | High Pivot suspension design There’s plenty to talk about with both the new Sight and Optic, but I’ll dive straight into the most interesting feature, the suspension. Norco’s calling it Virtual Pivot Suspension | High Pivot, a design that sends the wheel more rearwards than a conventional low-pivot design… although by how much we don’t know as the brand hasn’t shared this information.  The idler is mounted to the chainstay, it’s there to manage the chain growth and stop the pedal-kickback that would plague any high-pivot idler bike if left with a regular chainline. There’s no second idler pulley below the chainring, like on the Trek Slash, and this is because the Optic’s idler is positioned more rearward. In short, there’s enough contact with the chainring not to need …Continue reading »

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For the right person, someone who wants a little bike that can push beyond its purview when truly ridden hard, the tradeoffs might just be worthwhile.

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