Norco Sight Carbon 7.1 - Review

REVIEWED

Norco Sight Carbon 7.1

WORDS Mike Kazimer
PHOTOS Colin Meagher

Back in 2012, Norco first introduced the Sight as an aluminum framed, 26” wheeled trail bike with 140mm of travel. In keeping with the changing tides of the mountain bike marketplace, 2013 saw the launch of the 27.5” version, and now, for 2014, the popular trail bike is available with a carbon fiber frame. According to Norco, going with carbon fiber allowed for a 25% reduction in frame weight, a savings that had our size large test bike weighing in at a very reasonable 26.6 pounds. There are four possible build kits for the Sight, two of which employ a single ring, 1x11 drivetrain. We tested the 7.1, which retails for $5252 USD. The base model carbon version is $3545, and alloy versions are still available starting at $2409.


and fluorescent yellow paint job draws the viewer's eye from the generously sloping top tube all the way back to the chain stays in one continuous motion, and the 1x11 drivetrain combined with internal cable routing helps to maintain the clean and sleek aesthetic.

The frame's front triangle and seat stays are constructed from carbon fiber, while the chain stays are made from aluminum for additional durability. For their carbon fiber construction, Norco uses a process they call 'SmoothCore', which the company says helps eliminate any potential wrinkles in the material during the layup, and creates a frame that is as smooth and finished looking on the inside as it is on the outside. The process isn't just for looks though, and this extra attention to detail is meant to improve the frame's strength to weight ratio. Joining the carbon seat stays to the rear shock is a one piece aluminum link arm, a design that's meant to increase the bike's lateral and torsional rigidity.


A tapered head tube, ISCG tabs, and a BB92 press fit bottom bracket ensure that the Sight's frame design fits right in with the current crop of all-mountain and trail machines. Norco uses Syntace's X-12 thru axle to secure the rear wheel, a system that uses an aluminum pinch bolt to hold on the derailleur hanger. This aluminum bolt is designed to break before the derailleur hanger does in the event of a hard enough impact, hopefully saving the derailleur and the hanger from costly damage. Thoughtfully, a spare bolt is threaded into the downtube of the Sight's frame should it ever be needed. The bike's cable routing is well managed, with the brake, shift, and dropper post housing all tucked nicely inside the frame. We did find that the internal cable guides had a tendency to come loose from their press fit perches in the frame, slightly detracting from the bike's polished looks. A frame protector is in place on the underside of the frame to ward off rock strikes, and there is an integrated chain stay guard to muffle any chain slap noise.



Geometry and Suspension Design

Specifications Price $5252 Travel 140mm Rear Shock Fox Float CTD Performance B/V Fork Rockshox Revelation RLT 140 mm travel Headset FSA Orbit C-40-ACB Cassette Sram XG 1195 10-42 11 speed cassette Crankarms SRAM X1 X Sync hollow forged w/ 32 T Bottom Bracket SRAM X1 PF BB92 Rear Derailleur SRAM X01 Chain SRAM PC XX1 Shifter Pods SRAM X01 Handlebar Race Face Turbine 760mm Stem Race Face Turbine stem Grips Ergon GA1 EVO Brakes Sram Elixir Trail 7 Hubs DT 350 XX1 rear hub Spokes DT Champion black stainless steel spokes Rim Sun Inferno 25 Tires Maxxis Ardent 27.5 x 2.25 EXO Seat WTB Volt Race with chromoly rails Seatpost Rockshox Reverb Stealth 30.9 mm Compare to other All Mountain/Enduro/XC

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Riding the Sight Carbon 7.1

Climbing and Fit

The first thing we did before hitting the trails was to swap out the 90mm Race Face Turbine stem that our size large test rig came equipped with. For us, that's almost double the length we prefer, and in all honesty, we can't see why any modern mountain bikes are still showing up with stems over 70mm. It's become a refrain that we'll keep repeating until it's no longer an issue: short stems and wide bars are better. Period. Luckily, the Sight comes with a 760mm Race Face bar, so half of our cockpit preference was already met.

With a sub-27 pound fighting weight and a stiff carbon frame, the Sight was a quick climber, and made short work of the stepped rocky ledges that Sedona's trails are filled with. Even with a shorter stem installed, the front end stayed planted and predictable, and there was plenty of room at the front of the bike for shifting our weight where it was needed. We did find the rear suspension to be a little more active on the climbs than we would have liked, but switching the Fox Float's CTD lever to Trail mode helped to calm things down. By the same token, the more active rear suspension helped keep the rear wheel glued to the ground, allowing the Sight to scamper up anything that got in its way, especially after we swapped out the skinny 2.25 Maxxis Ardents for a wider set of tires. If turning the screws on your riding buddies for the last few hundred yards of a soul crushing ascent is something you enjoy, the Sight has enough gusto on the climbs that it seems to encourage this type of behavior; on more than one occasion we found ourselves standing and sprinting over the final crest of a hill, laying down a final burst of power to get to the top first.




Technical Handling / Downhill

'Precise' best sums up the Sight's handling in technical terrain. The stiff carbon frame went a long way towards keeping it on track, even when faced with sections of trail that required threading the needle through sharp rocks and even sharper cactus. The response to rider input was quick but not twitchy, facilitating the last minute direction changes that are often required when riding an unfamiliar trail. Slow speed maneuverability was commendable as well, making it easy to navigate through challenging sections of rocks or roots. When it comes time to descend, the Sight's geometry lets an aggressive rider light up the trails, and the trifecta of a 67.5° head angle, generous front center, and relatively short chainstays comes together to create a bike that carries speed extremely well, and stays composed even on steep, tricky downhills. The nimbleness that the Sight exhibited on the climbs translates into a bike that can execute complicated technical moves with surgical precision. The Sight does falter slightly on rougher, high speed downhills, those choppy horror shows where the best strategy is to hang on and plow through. On trails likes this it was necessary to rein things in to avoid getting deflected off line, but after all, this is a 140mm trail bike, not a DH sled.

The one issue we ran into was that at times the rear suspension felt harsh, especially at the top of the stroke, and it lacked the plush, bottomless feeling that encourages letting off the brakes and firing the afterburners through the rough stuff. We thought part of this may have been due to the tires, since the 2.25” Ardents are on the narrow side, so we swapped them out for a set of Schwalbe Hans Dampfs we had on hand. This did make a difference, adding more rubber between the bike and the trail to soak up some of the chatter, but we were never able to completely erase the impression that the rear shock choice could have been improved, maybe with a reservoir style shock like Fox's Float X. Granted, this would slightly blur the line between the Sight and its big brother, the Range, but we're not looking for more travel, just more control and a better feel from the travel that's already there. The Sight's geometry begs to be pushed hard, encouraging a fast, aggressive riding style, so it's reasonable to want the rear end to be able to keep up.



Component Check

• Wheelset – The Sight 7.1 comes equipped with a DT Swiss 350 rear hub and a Formula front laced up to Sun's Inferno 25 rims. While the wheels held true throughout our time on them and there were no hub issues, we would prefer to see wider rims spec'd, since the 20.3mm internal width of the Inferno 25 is on the narrow side of things, and this is a bike that deserves wide tires.

• Avid Elixir 7 Trail Brakes – During one of our first few rides on the Sight the rear brake leaked from the fitting near the rear brake caliper, contaminating the pads and making for a more exciting ride than we would have liked down a steep, switchback filled trail. Once the line was replaced and the pads were changed there were no further issues, and there was plenty of power and modulation on tap for everything we rode.

• Ergon GA1 EVO grips - We've mentioned before that these aren't our favorite grips due to the shape of the outer locking collar, and the sentiment still holds true. Trade these in before hitting the trails.

• RockShox Revelation RLT Fork – It may not have the cachet (or the Charger damper) of the Pike, but the Revelation held its own during out time on it, and we didn't have any trouble getting it set up to our liking.

• SRAM X01 drivetrain – The 1x11 drivetrain worked without any shifting issues or dropped chains, and the bike's light weight meant that the 32x42 gearing was low enough to get up the steepest climbs we encountered.




Pinkbike's take:
www.norco.com