Incoming: 2014 Norco Sight 7.2

So here it is, the new Norco Sight 140mm travel trail bike in all its carbon loveliness. We could only get our hands on this base model, the 7.2, which allows you to get into a carbon frame at a minimal cost, but it’s pretty well loaded in this form.
I’ve had a few rides so far and I can tell you that it’s very stiff. Not the liveliest of bikes, it’s very planted, inspires confidence, and handles fast and rough trails pretty well. It’s a bit chattery over stutter bumps (roots and stuff) so I’ll be swapping the shock out for a Monarch Plus for a point of difference. It feels a bit sluggish when climbing too; it needs a middle setting on the shock compression, but we need to remember this is the base model. It really does rock when you open it up and rides well beyond its 140mm “trail” moniker, so much that I’m going to have to put a Pike on it to balance it out… 150 or 160mm? Life is full of tough decisions. Let’s have a closer look…

Here we see the first of the new Formula C1 brakeset. Note the quick release hose fitting for the rear brakeline. This allows you to dismantle the bike more easily for all those plane trips to exotic riding destinations. A 740mm wide bar is good to see, shame about the 90mm stem though, that’s so 2010. It’s a Race Face which is good for this price point but a 50mm version will be on this bike before you can say “over the bars”. The fork is a 140mm Revelation RL which matches the rear shock as far as adjustments go. It’s a great fork with a very linear stroke. RockShox are on top of the fork game at the moment.  There’s a lot of meat in the Syntace axle area and the good old Horst Link is still alive. All the pivot points feature trick anodized hardware and everything here put together makes for a very stiff frame. The brakes look good too for a base model.

Ever since I saw the clean lines of this little trail weapon, I’ve been trying to get my hands on one. Did I mention this is a Large? Great standover huh? Wheels are Formula hubs with Sun Inferno hoops.

I’m pretty impressed by the downtube guard. It sits about 8mm proud of the frame so will absorb some big knocks.Dropper post from X-Fusion with 125mm of remote operated travel. Shame this one has about 10mm of auto drop, but we’re told this is a simple matter of topping up the oil (must have got a bit seasick on the boat ride over).

A long cage X9 type II rear mech seems a bit odd with a 2×10 drivetrain. See how the hanger is held by the “breakaway ” bolt. I’ll be swapping that mech out for a mid cage. The cable routing is the best I’ve seen, ever. Everything is internal except dropper, (but there is a spare feed for this) with big holes for easy threading with little screw on covers to tidy it up.

A 200 x 57mm stroke RockShox Monarch RL handles the abuse at the rear. Two settings, open or locked (very firm compression). Also check out the spare derailleur hanger bolt in front of the shock. The hanger is designed to snap the bolt instead of bending or breaking the hanger. Such a great feature.