I was excited and a little apprehensive about riding the Norco Sight. An injury had me sidelined for the whole summer, and I was just getting back on the bike as the first snows dusted the higher elevations outside Portland. In that time I had cast aside my 26” wheeled, 6” travel trail bike in favor of a new faster, lighter and more agile carbon 4” travel 29er. I was convinced the larger wheel-size could be my new “do everything” rig. I soon found myself wishing for more travel, but I didn’t want to give up the new found climbing ability and speed of the 29er. I also didn’t want to sacrifice the descending bliss that my 6” trail bike had provided me. Enter the 5.5” travel Norco Sight.
I had never ridden the 650b/27.5” wheel size and was convinced that it was all industry marketing hype, designed primarily to sell more bikes. I had also been a naysayer to the idea of the 29er when it was first introduced, but decided to keep an open mind this time around. The Sight that Norco provided me as a demo doesn’t exist in the wild as a stock bike. This was a custom build that consisted of their 2014 Alloy Sight 7.2 frame matched with their top end Carbon Sight LE FS build kit.
I decided to try out the bike at a snow covered
Sandy Ridge in sub-zero temps. The freezing temperatures hindered the suspension a little which made the bike act a bit sluggish. After getting used to the bike and acclimating to riding in snow again, my initial impression was good, but I wasn’t totally blown away. I chalked this up to several factors: my comfort level in the conditions, the fact that I was riding alone, and also that I had failed to set up the suspension properly for the adverse conditions. I sensed though, that this bike had massive potential. My first experience left me excited to give it a second go. So, fast forward to the second ride.
The Sight and I traveled to
Syncline for this next adventure, on the Washington side of the Columbia River Gorge. Not any warmer or less snowy than my first ride, the temperature hovered around 18ยบ F. This time I was better prepared and had set the suspension to handle the the below freezing temperatures. I received some funny looks from the hikers out that day, who were surprised to see me out riding in the biting cold. I opted to climb the switch-backed face of the Jeep Trail, figuring the snow would be tracked out better than Little Maui. The bike climbed great up the seemingly never-ending ascent. Even while out of the saddle, the suspension smoothed out the rocky, technical bits keeping the rear wheel firmly planted when traction was needed most. I proceeded to make my way over to Hidden Canyon to test the technical descending ability of the Sight. While I had been very impressed with it’s climbing prowess, I was completely blown away with how well the bike handled as I descended the newly rerouted Hidden Canyon. The upper part of the snow covered trail was all new to me but that didn’t really seem to slow me down thanks to how comfortable and confident I was on the Sight. Hidden Canyon is tech and provides plenty of pucker moments under ideal conditions. Even though the trail was covered in snow , I didn’t give a second thought to letting off the brakes and just allowing the bike go. The Rock Shox Revelation fork was smooth and buttery, the XX1 drive-train was silent over the roughest of terrain, and the Sight felt well balanced and confidence-inspiring thanks to Norco’s A.R.T. (
advanced ride technology) and
Gravity Tune suspension design, which optimizes rider weight distribution.
As I made my way to end of the trail, the sun was quickly disappearing and the temperature started to drop even further into single-digit territory. I really wanted to climb back up and ride the loop again and again, but common sense quickly prevailed and I begrudgingly rode back to the car. I can’t wait to ride the Sight on warmer, snowless trails.
The verdict: I absolutely love this bike. I am hard-pressed to find anything that I don’t like about it. In fact, upon returning from my ride, I ordered up the
Carbon Sight 7.1 for myself. If you are like a lot of riders, and are trying to achieve that mythical “do everything one bike quiver”, this is the bike for you.
www.norco.com
