norco opinions

[tombre2]

i was riding the norco atomik and then i rode the a line and
i though they were pretty shabby for their price's. What do you guys
think, i though the a line would have been better but it wasn't

[ajay]

what exactly didnt you like about it?

I ride a team dh (and i think its tops!) it has a great part spec and its a solid well built frame, the only thing not to like about it is the geo (thats a personal thing anyway) or the suspension design (again this is a personal preference which doesnt detract from the quality of the bike)

I have riden the a-line aswell, its also a great bike althogh it needed to be set up right to suit your chioce...

BTW - when you "for the price" - name another bike with 888's and a dhx for that price...

[One Kill]

Its a bit hard to completely judge a bike like that unless you actually use it for its intended purpose, unless you intend to use them for carpark thrashing. Norco's are awesome bikes when they are set up properly. I just came off a 2003 A-Line, which i had dialed to perfection, and i loved it. I did everything with it, and it never failed me....Well, apart for the dodgey chianstays...4 down. but that problem is a thing of the past as they are now using much larger stays for this year. I rate 'em high, although i would rate anything that is well set up, as would anyone.

[trailskeen]

I ride a Norco VPS A - line 04 and with the exception of a Specialized Demo 8 i have never been on a nicer bike.
My mates M1 feels like a kmart bike compared to my aline. Like other people said though, it is a matter of personal preference, if you dont like the feel, buy something else. They certainly are pretty high spec for the money.

[wombat]

i was riding the norco atomik and then i rode the a line and
i though they were pretty shabby for their price's. What do you guys
think, i though the a line would have been better but it wasn't
Where the bikes set up for your weight and riding style? Did you give them a proper run over varying terrain?

Or was it a car park thrash on un-tuned shop stock?

[sammydog]

I just sold a 2004 Atomik frame. For what you pay this was a great bike and it served its purpose extremely well. It was fun to ride and did most things pretty well.

I'm now building up a 2005 Aline frame (see my thread in Post your Ride). It is looking pretty sweet at the moment. My brother has a stock 2005 Aline and has had no complaints with it at all so far.

If all youve done is a carpark test, then I really don't see how you can coment on a bikes peformance, unless of course that is the type of riding you do.

For me though, I have never had a problem with Norco or their VPS range.

[tombre2]

it was probly the fact that it wasn't set up probly but it
felt really off, in the geometry terms and the forks didn't
appeal to me, i must have a grudge against marizocchi or
something but i didn't really like the geo or the 888

i hoping it was the fact that they weren't set up right

cheers

[ajay]

My mates M1 feels like a kmart bike compared to my aline.

must've been a fully sick A-line ;)

or a really shit M1... ;)

[polza]

theres alot other better stuff norco is over advertised performance bikes youre joking i and freinds always had endless problems now we ride other bikes with out the extra shit that always happens with norcaas.

[Fallsrider]

Well I have been riding a Norco hardtail for over a year and have no probs.

Recently a few months back I rode a 05 A-Line and thought it was sweet as, especially with it set up on the slacker setting. The forks however are below par and I'd swap them at the shop straight up.

I think an 05 A-Line, considering it's last years Team frame, properly set up and with 888rcs instead of the cheaper 888s would be an awesome ride. It felt good when I rode it.

Why people have this view that Norco make chepa bikes I don't know, remember the only Norco item is the frame, the spec is up to you whether you swap it or keep it stock. Sure Norco are not the best out there but I believe they make great bikes for damn good prices.

[ajay]

its probably more the geo that some people dont like... they dont make "cheap bikes" - look at intense, whats their stigma? they crack?
Norco's only stigma is.... um ..... well, nothing really. if you like the geo they are a top bike that rate against anything on the market.

[polza]

there still crap

[RCOH]

I have owned 3 Norcos: an 02 Atomik, 03 Drop & 01 125. The Atomik was thrashed as I learnt to 'Huck to flat'. This bent the steerer on the forks so i traded up to the Drop. The Atomik frame handled more abuse & crap landings than I am sure it was desinged for & I never had 1 problem.

I raced the Drop in 2003 national DH championships, 1 national round, an entire state series & 1.5 year sof club races, as well as hucking, weekend dh & freeriding bashes, stairgaps & urban & learning to DJ & once again the frame never even looked as if it would break. Alot of components broke but this is to be expected. I sold this bike looking to buy a complete DH set up, regrettably, it is the best bike i have ever owned

The 01 125 i used as a street bike, but it got stolen not long after i built it up how i liked it. I still stairgapped decent size gaps on 63mm elastomer xc forks, hucks to flat & other urban abuses & once agian the frame was still in perfect condition (apart from aesthetics). I also commuted on all 3 bikes.

So IMO Norco make good quality frames & put together good value bikes. and as you can see I have experience to back up those claims. If the specs of the 06 norcos are as good as listed in another thread then i will prabably get another one. 5/5!!

[S.]

there still crap

So what problems have you had with Norco frames? Broken a few? Or are you talking out your arse?
Also, some coherency and demonstrations of grammatical knowledge probably wouldn't hurt you. Punctuation would be an added bonus.

Back to norco: I had an 02 Atomik and an 02 Team DH. The geometry on both of them was pretty crap (high and steep) and the Team DH stays cracked. That said, they both worked alright. Weren't the best frames in the world, but damn the spec was impressive for the price (and still is, probably even moreso). The new bikes appear to be even better (check out the 05 Team DH's), they gradually refine the geometry each year (at this rate they'll have it all dialled by about mid 2010 :p I don't get why they don't just drop the BB through the floor and rake it out a bit instead of altering it by 0.1 inch/degree per year). As for the A-lines, they're very well specced bikes for the price, but maybe slightly undergunned compared to the Iron Horse and Giant equivalents.

[Derek Yates]

Back to norco: I had an 02 Atomik and an 02 Team DH. The geometry on both of them was pretty crap (high and steep) and the Team DH stays cracked. That said, they both worked alright. Weren't the best frames in the world, but damn the spec was impressive for the price (and still is, probably even moreso). The new bikes appear to be even better (check out the 05 Team DH's), they gradually refine the geometry each year (at this rate they'll have it all dialled by about mid 2010 :p I don't get why they don't just drop the BB through the floor and rake it out a bit instead of altering it by 0.1 inch/degree per year). As for the A-lines, they're very well specced bikes for the price, but maybe slightly undergunned compared to the Iron Horse and Giant equivalents.

ARRGGHHHH!!! For farks sake. Geometry is personal preference. Some people dig a choice in geometry because they ride bikes differently or on different terrain. In the past Norco's had a very 'North Shore' Geometry on the high end bikes. The last 2-3 years the Team DH has been refined to work a lot better as a DH racer. They still retain the higher settings if you want them but that's what VPS is all about (VARIABLE position system). The 05 Team DH has a super relaxed geo and low BB in the lower settings (Website and catalogue specs show the higher settings BTW). Check out the VPS Tech manuals that come with the bikes for explanations of all the settings.
For 05 Team DH the slack settings give the following geo:
H/A - 65.1 degrees
B/B - 13.94"
C/S Length is 17.5"
Travel is 8.43"
That's in the ball park of any of the top DH sleds out there! You have 4 travel/geo points to play with so you can get more settings than most people will ever need.
Sorry Rant over. Geo sledging is getting to me this year, especially when it's not right....
S - This is not aimed specificly at you (just to clarify). And thanks for buying a couple of Norcos. :)

Cheers,

Derek @ Norco.Au

PS. Dunno if it'll atttach but here's the 05 VPS Manual with ALL the settings, geo, blah blah blah..... Have a look.

[S.]

S - This is not aimed specificly at you (just to clarify). And thanks for buying a couple of Norcos. :)

No worries, I bought them second hand. :)

And I thought VPS stood for "very poor suspension"? :p

Ok seriously the 05 Team DH's look the best that Norco has ever made in terms of geometry, what I said before was a bit of an exaggeration and more aimed at the differences from 02/03/04 being relatively minor each year. Now just fix up that chainstay length and make it so that it has that geometry with a fork that's slightly shorter than a telephone pole and we're in business :)

[Derek Yates]

No worries, I bought them second hand. :)

And I thought VPS stood for "very poor suspension"? :p

Ok seriously the 05 Team DH's look the best that Norco has ever made in terms of geometry, what I said before was a bit of an exaggeration and more aimed at the differences from 02/03/04 being relatively minor each year. Now just fix up that chainstay length and make it so that it has that geometry with a fork that's slightly shorter than a telephone pole and we're in business :)

Second HAND!!! SECOND HAND? Are you serious... We'll thanks for nuthin... :P

I LIKE Telephone pole forks. Better than those stubby little, flexy goofy things....
06 A-Line gets a geo based around an 06 Super T... for those who like forks on the skinny side.

Dammit... he got me... sucked in.

Cheers,

Derek @ Norco.Au

[Inverted]

I have and 02 Dh and a 04 Shore. I feel the shore is better for DH than the 02 DH, but thats my opinion. As far as components are concerned, there rock especially the saint and super Ts.
Dude I think you need to get the right bike for you ability, dont sledge a bike when you havent even given it a fair go.

Oh yer they look after their warrentee's, not like bike other companies out there.

[wombat]

there still crap
You dug up a three month old thread purely so that you could add your three word dribble? What the hell is wrong with you?

[Sutek]

theres alot other better stuff norco is over advertised performance bikes youre joking i and freinds always had endless problems now we ride other bikes with out the extra shit that always happens with norcaas.

Go away and check out Ebay. Some bloke is selling a "grammatical gene". You would be well advised to have a closer look.

Everybody's opinion is welcomed here, but it just sucks when people like you can't be bothered to at least type something remotely legible.
Thanks for the effort though..... :rolleyes:
......Squid, you wonder why I haven't been around here for a while :mad:

[blt2ride]

I know one person who has one, and he seems to really like it. I've ridden with him, and he loves to go really big! There is a picture of him in Decline a few months ago hitting a HUGE step-down road gap...