Norco 2016 Aurum A7.2

 The main reason I am going to give this bike 4/5 is just because of the components, the frame it self is amazing, and so is the geo. This is the MOST AWESOME BIKE I HAVE EVER OWNED!!!!
Once you upgrade the fork this bike is a 5/5!!!

All I upgraded so far is the Fork, and bash guard. I will upgrade the rear shock at some point too. After I upgrade the rear shock, I have no intention of messing with anything else.

First I will talk about the negatives.

-The suspension it comes with is lower end, but there is nothing wrong with it. You can still go huge and fast with this stock bike, but at some point you will want to upgrade your fork and shock if you are very serious, for a weekend warrior it is fine. The range of adjustments is just not that big. To be honest, the Domain fork is just as good as the basic Boxxer, it just weighs a little more, internally it is the same fork. You can put a charger damper in the Domain fork as well if you like. I used both a Boxxer RC and the Domain on this bike, and to be 100% honest I Preferred the Domain as the stanctions felt stiffer than the Boxxer.

The rear shock is meh. It works, and works well. However if you are a very serious rider you will find yourself not impressed with the range of adjustments. I feel like the rear shock rebound is either too slow or too fast, and the compression doesn't seem to do much when actually riding. Although it is reliable, and you could have a mechanic custom tune it if you want.

Next, this isn't unique to Norco, but all new DH bikes seem to be using bash guards that mount to the frame. This is stupid because you could damage your frame. I ended up bending a sprocket and the bash guard pretty bad. I ended up getting a new bash guard that mounts to the outside of the sprocket, that way if it gets hit really hard it wont hurt my frame. However like I said that isn't unique to Norco, that goes for all newer bikes. I guess newer bikes want to be lighter and stuff, but sacrificing weight for that bash guard design is stupid.
On the same token, I have hit my BB a few times. This is going to happen with all 8'' travel bikes that have low BB's. Just something to be mindful of if you are blowing through your travel in rough stuff. If you get a proper bash guard that wont be an issue though, and honestly I only had this happen throwing random cliffs in the desert that didn't have groomed landings. So the problem might just be my riding style. Again, this is not unique to Norco.
I upgraded the bashguard for 40$, and just modified the chainguide to work with the old school style bashguard. That is chump change for a supreme upgrade.


The Pro's
-This bike is honestly the most awesome bike I have ever owned. The faster I go, the more stable it feels. This bike is capable of more than I could ever dish out. Extremely stable bike, corners amazing, and very playful. I don't want to seem like I am exaggerating, I have gone faster through rock gardens with this bike than I ever have any other bike in my life. This is truly a race bike that can handle huge jumps and drops with ease.

-The rear suspension design is very nice. It bottoms out very smooth and soft. I have hucked my bike off some pretty big drops and over cleared stuff. The bottom out is so smooth, honestly amazing. Most of the time I bottom out, I can't even feel that I bottomed out. I just know I did because of how far I over cleared or something along those lines.

-This bike not only goes where ever you point it with confidence, but it has great control. You can easily turn it and throw it around as you please.

-I threw a Fox 40 fork on the front, and this bike is completely amazing. I ride faster and bigger than I ever have before. This bike is truly confidence inspiring.

-The value in this bike is amazing. I picked it up for 1,999$ brand new. If you plan on upgrading the fork or rear shock anyway, get this bike and sell the Domain. It is a hell of a deal, and this bike will perform just as well as other top level bikes.

-Buy with confidence, THIS IS THE SICKEST MOST AWESOME BIKE I HAVE EVER OWNED!!!!!!!

I LOVE THIS BIKE, AND IT HANDLES LIKE A DREAM!