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Our Norco Range C 7.1 long term test bike just showed up a few days ago so we decided to bust out some lights and get some decent photos of it’s key features before we got it too dirty.
With 160mm front and rear travel, the Range settles nicely into the “Enduro” category.
To us, the bike’s most promising asset just might be it’s geometry. A roomy top tube, 66º head angle, 16.9″ chainstays and a13.5″ BB, the bike is ready to rally. One thing that’s unique to Norco is that they scale their bikes according to size. For instance the chainstays on the small/medium/large/XL are 4mm different and increase in length with each size. The same goes for top tube, standover and many other size variables. Pretty brilliant.
Up front the bike features a Rock Shox Pike with travel adjust. It’s nice to be able to get the front end down for the climbs but you lose the ability to use the Bottomless Tokens to tune the fork’s progression. Maxxis high roller 2’s fitted to DT hubs and Stan’s Flow EX rims round out the wheels. Our bike came with tubes but swapping to tubeless was a snap.
Out back the Cane Creek double barrel air manages the travel with a high volume air can. Independent adjustability of high and low speed compression and rebound gives us a great deal of tuning options. The sturdy bolt on/removable downtube guard is nice reassurance against errant rocks.
A 125mm travel Rock Shox Reverb will be quite nice on the steepest of decents.
The Reverb and the rear SRAM guide brakes feature a nifty little quick connect(shown above) to make life easier with the internal cable routings that the frame features. The SRAM guide RSC brakes are a proven winner in our book…180mm rotors front and rear.
The rear linkage sandwiches the rear triangle for added stiffness.
The linkage and seatstay yoke are also super stout. This bike is built like a tank but is still quite light.
The Race Face 35mm cockpit feels just right so far. The only thing we’ve changed on the bike is the grips. Not bad.
The seat and chainstays are curved to leave some room for your heels.
Massive head tube for a bit of extra stiffness.
(Mostly) Full SRAM XX1 drivetrain with an e.13 guide. The bike features the pinned together X1 cassette to save a bit of money.
Internal routing part 1…
Internal routing part 2…The openings in the frame are fitted with two rubber grommets so the cables stay nicely put. The hardware is mostly accessible from the drive side and aside from a couple fittings, it’s possible to tighten/loosen everything with just one wrench.
Details everywhere – we can’t emphasize it enough. Even the rear shifter cable rides on a smooth metal sheath so as not to damage the carbon frame as the rear end moves through it’s travel.
Our bike weighed in right at 29 lbs without pedals and set up tubeless. US price is $7115. Full spec sheets below. Stay tuned here for a full review in the future. For more details visit Norco’s website.
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