2017 Norco Highlights
Fluid Plus
Norco first ventured into plus tyre territory with the 2016 Torrent hardtail. For 2017 the Torrent gains a fully suspended cousin in the Fluid Plus. The Fluid offers 120mm of rear wheel travel with a 130mm fork.
As with the other non-plus Fluid models, this is a value oriented model with an alloy frame. The Fluid Plus 7.1 pictured here comes with a RockShox Sektor fork and a SRAM NX 1x11 drivetrain. It retails for $2,799 and even includes a dropper post at this price point which seems pretty sharp in the value stakes. The dropper post looks good too; it’s a TranzX post with an easy to activate paddle under the left side of the handlebar.
Norco has spec’d the Fluid Plus with moderately sized 2.8 inch tyres but there’s tons of frame clearance, so 3.0 tyres will fit with ease, not that you’d really need them with the 120/130mm of suspension travel that the Fluid offer.
Torrent Hardtail
The Torrent frame carries over unchanged for 2017 but the parts selection is quite interesting. Most noteworthy is the inclusion of the highly reputed DVO Diamond fork. This fork features independently adjustable high and low speed damping and is quite a boutique spec for a bike that sells for $3,199. It also bumps the travel up to 140mm (previously the 7.1 used a 130mm travel fork) which should make the Torrent even more capable on steep and rough descents.
Storm 4.3
Aside from these ‘big bikes’, Norco’s line of kid’s mountain bikes also caught our eye. The Storm 4.3 mightn’t be a new model but it’s a great example of what Norco is offering for our up and coming mountain bikers. Built around 24 inch wheels with 1.95 wide tyres, the Storm sells for $549. It features a 1x7 drivetrain, complete with a simple top mounted chainguide (just like mum and/or dad’s bikes), alloy rims and a tidy looking 35mm long four-bolt stem—a pretty capable bike to get started on and they also offer a dual suspension model for the kids who want to hit the trails hard!
Optic, Sight & Range
We’ve already introduced the new 2017 Optic line and you’ll find a review on the Optic A9.1 in the August/September/October issue of Mountain Biking Australia. Aside from this the popular Sight and Range models remain the same as 2016 but with sharper pricing and the inclusion of 1x11 drivetrains at lower price points, thanks largely to SRAM’s new NX component group. More bikes come stock with dropper posts too, with Norco including the TranzX dropper on many of their value oriented trail bikes.
The full 2017 line-up will be on the Norco site from the 31st of August.
