After a year of testing the high pivot Forbidden, Lewis Buchanan has made the switch to Norco for 2021. The Scottish rider has over 10 years of DH and enduro racing under his belt and will be continuing his chameleonic role as both a racer and a content creator for the brand. A big goal for the Scot this year will be the EWS finale in October that is taking place on his local trails in Innerleithen. Lewis has been spending plenty of time on those trails this winter aboard his new Norco Optic, one of the many bikes Lewis will be riding for Norco this year.
It's still early days for Lewis on the bike and he hasn't finalized his suspension set up but we still decided to take a look around what he's riding for his new sponsor. Let's dig into all the details of Lewis' ride below:
He does have his OneUp steerer tool set up and ready to go though.
TRP provides the brakes. The bike is pictured with 223mm rotors but will be switching down to 203mm soon as he thinks the larger rotor is a bit overkill.
WHY do I keep seeing longer dropper post posts basically becoming a meme at this point. What am I doing wrong, why don't I understand the constant talk about longer and longer droppers.
Nothing wrong with a 150mm (or even 125mm) post if you're that height, same as you don't need a 500mm reach frame.
Regarding longer droppers, most bikes now have shorter seat tubes to accommodate a longer dropper. In other words, you can get the seat further out of the way while still having proper seated height. The key word there is most. Not all companies have jumped on board yet.
Before you chop a whole 25mm off your dropper, or cut the tube, maybe get the adjustable post from PNW? That way you can have a 146mm dropper if that's what you need.
The key is being able to have your optimal saddle height when climbing in all cases, but if your frame does not allow your seatpost to go far enough into the frame resulting in too high of a climbing saddle height, then you will need to get a shorter dropper post. you can of course get a different post with the same amount of drop but with a shorter insertion length, too. For example: I could only fit a 175mm Fox Transfer in my bike, but can easily fit a 210mm OneUp Dropper as the insertion length is much shorter.
More saddle clearance from your cheeks = better (in my personal opinion)
www.pinkbike.com/news/ridden-and-rated-13-of-the-best-dropper-posts.html
Also people like the longest dropper their frame can take, because longer dropper = more room for activities.
Here you go mg.co.uk ????
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Norco specs the bikes this way because with it upside down on the XS and S size frames riders can get a proper size water bottle in there. Totally understand the thinking behind this but its a bit of a pain for changing settings and I have noticed more crud and shit hanging around my seal when out for nasty day rides.
Where I ride being able to adjust my low speed and or my rebound throughout the day can happen. Not having to legit stop everything I'm doing to make a quick adjustment is nice.
PRESS RELEASE: Norco announces that Lewis was just drawing scribbles randomly on pics of his bikes.
In an interview with the rider he stated the following "yeah i just took a picture and put in into MS paint, added some scribbles and let people wonder what it is."
Interesting, I just picked up a large 2021 C3 optic and I live a place with alot of mud in the winter (currently summer here) and I was wondering how much crud was going to get into the upside-down shock. Do you have any links to threads where the shock as been flipped?
It's not because that's the only size that PNW makes?
I am currently looking to change my bike and I am really interested by the Norco Optic C3. However, I have a few questions:
1) It does indeed seem that the running gear is very heavy: Stan's Flow S1 29" rims at 2.2 kg per pair and Vittoria tires at more than 2 kg per pair as well.
I was thinking of changing the wheels to DT Swiss M 1900 or XM 1700 and the tires to Maxxis Dissector 2.4 (front and rear) or Dissector / Minion DHRII (front / rear).
What do you think of this assembly, do you think it's worth it and that it will make the bike more dynamic and lighter?
2) Regarding the brakes, they seem undersized to me compared to the possibilities of the bike. I was thinking of changing them to Shimano SLX 4 pistons. So, what do you think of this change?
3) Do you see other avenues for improvement that remain accessible?
Thank you in advance for your answers !
My 2020 optic frame failed recently, and had to use Evans for a warranty claim. It a week and a half, then i got a call to say my replacement 2021 frame should be with them any day now.
I feared the worst when having to deal with Evans, but it turned out ok.
Although an employee in the Gatwick showroom told me Mike Ashley (Evans owner) is trying to make them more like Halfords, cheap bikes sold in big numbers. Lots of shops will be closing, just like the Gatwick warehouse and showroom is.
day. There are good components outside of the big 2 brands! Shocking I know. Sounds like you’re just a fan of the boring status quo though. Also, what’s ugly? Would you prefer a bright orange Fox fork on there? That would look way better ????
Fixed it for you
Designer: *looks at Revel
Norco: "Perfect, yeah, use those"
Mountain bikes have been around a long time now....lol
Can’t believe I have to explain this basic stuff.
Downvotes? I guess because most people are okay with compromise and don’t really think shit through. All the masses think about is stiffness and puncture resistance.