Norco optic8/23/2023 If I'm on a shorter travel rig I'm typically going to be heading out for longer, more pedally rides, and an engaging bike like the Optic makes it easy to squeeze the maximum level of enjoyment out of mellower sections of trail, with plenty of capability in reserve for when things get more technical. I'm not sure what the unit of measure for fun is (Smiles per mile? Cackles per kilometer?), but my fun number was the highest on the Optic. The Norco Optic is my pick out of this batch of trail bikes, in large part due to how much fun I had aboard the green machine. What more could you want from a modern trail bike? Put those two things together and you have a bike that's just as much fun toodling down a flow trail as it is taking questionable lines on sketchy singletrack or doing a five-hour epic. They've done some serious wizardry to make 125mm feel this well-rounded, and the handling is out of this world. If I'm honest, I had already earmarked the Pole to spend some more time with me as it's an ideal Squamish trail bike that can easily hold its own anywhere and everywhere, and that's not something that many other bikes can say.īut then the frame failed and, well, I'm feeling a bit conflicted.īut I just rode the Norco yesterday and holy shit was it a good time. The Pole Stamina 140 and Norco's Optic approach trail bike design from different angles the former being all about traction and going fast, while the latter is more about laughs and going sideways. Whatever they're doing, it's working the Optic is a hoot to ride, and far more capable than you might think 125mm should ever be. Norco has some modern numbers for the new Optic while also touting how they're focusing on where the rider's center of gravity is over the bike. It's time to decide: Which bike do you want in your corner? So, you've watched the videos, read the reviews, and weighed the pros and cons. Read all about the specifics of that particular elephant in the room here. Congestive heart failure in a Paris hotel room took André from us, and a two-foot-tall ramp in an empty Squamish parking lot killed the aluminum Stamina. Besides both being the biggest of their peers, they also share something else: An early death. The André the Giant of this match has to be the rather large and extremely capable Stamina 140, although ol' André never had moves like the Stamina's, may they both rest in peace. It turned out to be more bike than skill, unfortunately for me but not for anyone else wanting to perform the Stone Cold Stunner to their buddies on every other corner. And when I look at the Primer S, I have flashbacks of some of the best corners of my life. When I see an Intense, I think of bald eagles and America, regardless of where the frames are coming from these days. Need a little more travel under you and prefer to be out in the boonies on an all-day adventure? At just a hair over 28lb, Orbea's 140mm-travel Occam might be the one that belongs in your corner. Those smart numbers, along with a sturdy build kit and suspension that does nothing but impress, reminded us that fun is nearly always better than fast. In the short-travel corner is the 125mm Optic, Norco's all-new reminder that geometry rules all.
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