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Optic gen 3 HP rider experience

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Optic gen 3 HP rider experience

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flag carter
Posted: Aug 11, 2026 at 21:56 Quote
Quick question for Optic HP owners, I am very intrigued with this bike but one question I have is, since the rear wheel moves rearward when compressed how does this make the bike feel when doing manuals or bunny hops up curbs? It seems like it would mess up the timing and feel? What’s been your experience?

I ride like I’m 18 again and pop off everything I can but still want something that climbs and pops up better than my 38lb Meta AM with a 38.

Maybe not an issue, I have a C3 in my cart for a day when I have an itchy finger.
flag mxracer185
O+
Posted: Aug 13, 2026 at 20:40 Quote
I've got the v3 which replaced a v2, it is a very fun bike and also pedals quite well.

I don't think it lost any playfulness compared to the v2 but it's massively more capable descending.

It doesn't have any of the strange pitching forward feeling on jumps or in berms
flag carter
Posted: Aug 26, 2026 at 8:54 Quote
mxracer185 wrote:
I've got the v3 which replaced a v2, it is a very fun bike and also pedals quite well.

I don't think it lost any playfulness compared to the v2 but it's massively more capable descending.

It doesn't have any of the strange pitching forward feeling on jumps or in berms

I’m glad to hear it hasn’t lost its soul, I thought the HP would have lost some pop and playfulness.

I’ve ordered a C3, should be here next week hopefully.
flag mxracer185
O+
Posted: Aug 26, 2026 at 11:48 Quote
carter wrote:
mxracer185 wrote:
I've got the v3 which replaced a v2, it is a very fun bike and also pedals quite well.

I don't think it lost any playfulness compared to the v2 but it's massively more capable descending.

It doesn't have any of the strange pitching forward feeling on jumps or in berms

I’m glad to hear it hasn’t lost its soul, I thought the HP would have lost some pop and playfulness.

I’ve ordered a C3, should be here next week hopefully.

Nice! A friend of mine just picked up a c2 for an insane price and is loving it as well.

I think the high pivot has scared a lot of people away, but it's really more like a mid pivot and manuals/jumps very well.

And the giant idler makes the efficiency loss pretty minimal, it definitely is better than the v2 on technical climbs
flag carter
Posted: Oct 1, 2026 at 11:24 Quote
mxracer185 wrote:
carter wrote:
mxracer185 wrote:
I've got the v3 which replaced a v2, it is a very fun bike and also pedals quite well.

I don't think it lost any playfulness compared to the v2 but it's massively more capable descending.

It doesn't have any of the strange pitching forward feeling on jumps or in berms

I’m glad to hear it hasn’t lost its soul, I thought the HP would have lost some pop and playfulness.

I’ve ordered a C3, should be here next week hopefully.

Nice! A friend of mine just picked up a c2 for an insane price and is loving it as well.

I think the high pivot has scared a lot of people away, but it's really more like a mid pivot and manuals/jumps very well.

And the giant idler makes the efficiency loss pretty minimal, it definitely is better than the v2 on technical climbs

For anyone searching for Optic ride experiences like I was - this guy is totally right. The front end pops up easily and jumps so confidently.

I just finished riding my first real mountain ride at Kicking Horse. In the parking lot you’ll see most people have 170mm+ DH/Enduro bikes and at first I thought I was quite under biked with only 125mm rear travel and 140 up front.

I am pleased to report the bike was flawless. It jumps so confidently that I was clearing doubles on my first run, and the only time I ever felt more travel might have helped was going over extremely chattery stuff that even on a DH bike would be rough. In the berms it cuts through like a razor.

It climbs exceptionally well imo, I’ve always had DH/Enduro bikes and wanted something that climbed well but still felt fun going down and this thing delivers both in spades. I have found the perfect bike for what I was looking for, I could not be happier.
flag mxracer185
O+
Posted: Oct 1, 2026 at 15:17 Quote
carter wrote:
mxracer185 wrote:
carter wrote:


I’m glad to hear it hasn’t lost its soul, I thought the HP would have lost some pop and playfulness.

I’ve ordered a C3, should be here next week hopefully.

Nice! A friend of mine just picked up a c2 for an insane price and is loving it as well.

I think the high pivot has scared a lot of people away, but it's really more like a mid pivot and manuals/jumps very well.

And the giant idler makes the efficiency loss pretty minimal, it definitely is better than the v2 on technical climbs

For anyone searching for Optic ride experiences like I was - this guy is totally right. The front end pops up easily and jumps so confidently.

I just finished riding my first real mountain ride at Kicking Horse. In the parking lot you’ll see most people have 170mm+ DH/Enduro bikes and at first I thought I was quite under biked with only 125mm rear travel and 140 up front.

I am pleased to report the bike was flawless. It jumps so confidently that I was clearing doubles on my first run, and the only time I ever felt more travel might have helped was going over extremely chattery stuff that even on a DH bike would be rough. In the berms it cuts through like a razor.

It climbs exceptionally well imo, I’ve always had DH/Enduro bikes and wanted something that climbed well but still felt fun going down and this thing delivers both in spades. I have found the perfect bike for what I was looking for, I could not be happier.

Glad you're enjoying it! I feel like Norco killed it with the new optic and sight, but everything I see online seems to disagree.

I really hope they stick with high pivot for both.

If you've got enough seat height, you get get an extra 10ish mm of travel in the rear by taking out the travel reducer. I set mine up as if it has the shorter stroke and it just gives some insurance for when you push a little too hard
flag carter
Posted: Oct 2, 2026 at 15:46 Quote
mxracer185 wrote:
carter wrote:
mxracer185 wrote:


Nice! A friend of mine just picked up a c2 for an insane price and is loving it as well.

I think the high pivot has scared a lot of people away, but it's really more like a mid pivot and manuals/jumps very well.

And the giant idler makes the efficiency loss pretty minimal, it definitely is better than the v2 on technical climbs

For anyone searching for Optic ride experiences like I was - this guy is totally right. The front end pops up easily and jumps so confidently.

I just finished riding my first real mountain ride at Kicking Horse. In the parking lot you’ll see most people have 170mm+ DH/Enduro bikes and at first I thought I was quite under biked with only 125mm rear travel and 140 up front.

I am pleased to report the bike was flawless. It jumps so confidently that I was clearing doubles on my first run, and the only time I ever felt more travel might have helped was going over extremely chattery stuff that even on a DH bike would be rough. In the berms it cuts through like a razor.

It climbs exceptionally well imo, I’ve always had DH/Enduro bikes and wanted something that climbed well but still felt fun going down and this thing delivers both in spades. I have found the perfect bike for what I was looking for, I could not be happier.

Glad you're enjoying it! I feel like Norco killed it with the new optic and sight, but everything I see online seems to disagree.

I really hope they stick with high pivot for both.

If you've got enough seat height, you get get an extra 10ish mm of travel in the rear by taking out the travel reducer. I set mine up as if it has the shorter stroke and it just gives some insurance for when you push a little too hard

Which shock did yours have? I have the Delux which as far as I know does not have the travel limiter.

As for the Internet love for it, or lack there of: I think most opinions are based upon the high pivot and they’ve never actually tried this one. Not all high pivots were great. I’ve had MANY bikes over the years and this is by far my favourite. It gives me og Bottle Rocket vibes with how it rides better than the travel numbers suggest.
flag mxracer185
O+
Posted: Oct 2, 2026 at 18:07 Quote
I've got the float x, which is pretty easy to convert. The rockshox ones with hydraulic bottom out are a little more effort, you've got to replace a part of the damper with the HBO which requires a full damper service. I also have a sight that came with a vivid which I sold and replaced with a 205x65 x2 I already had.

Yup, I really hope they stick with it. But I might just have to keep the optic forever...
flag carter
Posted: Oct 2, 2026 at 18:44 Quote
mxracer185 wrote:
I've got the float x, which is pretty easy to convert. The rockshox ones with hydraulic bottom out are a little more effort, you've got to replace a part of the damper with the HBO which requires a full damper service. I also have a sight that came with a vivid which I sold and replaced with a 205x65 x2 I already had.

Yup, I really hope they stick with it. But I might just have to keep the optic forever...

Ahh okay, when the time comes for a service I’ll be looking into that. This bike just hits the sweet spot for me, I’ll have to keep mine forever too lol
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