Submitted by
chihui
a Weekend Warrior
from Malaysia
Date Reviewed: February 9, 2010
Strengths: Solid frame. Long travel that inspire descent fast. Wall ride, drops , gap. etc Bang on working spec, 185mm avid disc brake front and rear. Surprise by juicy 3 providing strong stopping power. The only problem is squeeze and kinda on and off feel.
Weaknesses: MZ 55. It leaks from the bottoms bolt, the oil reach the disc brake, causing the front brake not biting. I am lucky that is notice before a long steep descent. LBS fixed it within a day. Norco head angle is 69. A bit too steep for my preference. Wish it can 68 or 67. It is heavy. 15.6kg for skinny rider like me.
Bottom Line:
If you are looking on these, you are likely not willing to spend more for Santa Cruz Blur LT or others 5 stars bike. This is a bargain. The Norco LT3 and LT2 have similar spec. The shifters or MZ ATA on LT2 does not justify the extra premium either. Soon or later you might change to Fox?
Overall, nice bike. After 6 months of abuse, take up the bike and shake it, no click sounds other then the chain. Solid. No issue other then the MZ bolt fail.
Component that I wish to upgrade is the fork, handle bar and brake (For better modulation).
Submitted by
SHaDE
a Weekend Warrior
from Moscow, Russia
Date Reviewed: September 13, 2009
Strengths: Very-very sympathetic, it's do what ever you want ! You always feel what terrain under your wheels. FSR is the best: awesome grip, good climbing possibility - you can even go to race with XC-guys :) Fox DHX Air in stock is very good, easy to setup on current track. Two variants of rear travel setup, very useful for those who ride different tracks.
Weaknesses: Absolute failure of Marzocchi with this 55 R. I had a lot of problems with the fork.
1. It started to leak from lower bolt on the 3 day of my running. 2. Stacked cartridge in left leg. So I've used to repair it myself, because we don't have proper Marzocchi service in Moscow :(
After all repairing it started to work well, so i'am waiting for more problems... I want to change it on FOX fork..
Stock Wheels are not very bad, but the started to die on 1200km+ of milage.
Bottom Line:
This bike is VERY good for aggresive XC and freeride (In stock). After some tuning this frame can do almost everything :))))
Similar Products Used: Only hardtails (Haro, Jamis, Merida)
Bike Setup: Stock, exept pedals (DMR V12) and front braking pads (used to change after fork leakage)
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Rob
a Weekend Warrior
from terrace b.c
Date Reviewed: February 7, 2009
Strengths: great platform for a nice bike,takes alot of abuse
Weaknesses: the cursed fork toke it apart to rebuild and found theres not enough oil in the rebound side made it alot better but still has the click noise, also the cranks toke all off 2 weeks to bend,and the stock bar is a little out dated
Bottom Line:
great platform for a nice rig wished the head angle was 67 deg at least other than that once I get the S.O.S wheels off I think it'll be close to perfect
Similar Products Used: santa cruz heckler,giant ac
Bike Setup: more on the burly end with hollzfeller cranks, bar, stem also xt shifters,derailiers, dmr mag v12 pedels,blue groove,nevagal 2.35 tire setup,and sdg belair seat
Strengths: Almost rides itself, Feels very balanced, particularly on the way down. Marzocchi 55s are pretty plush for the price. Fox DHX air 3, despite any complaints I've read feels great once you get the pressure and sag right. Last but not least the frame is GREAT, love being able to throw the seat down low and get in a good spot for taking it on the downhill trails. The bike really is all mountain. Over all well speced for the price.
Weaknesses: Would have loved some juicy 5s. 3s are by no means terrible but they do lack a little bit of power (not like the upgrade costs heaps though !) Fork has a slight top out issue, but it doesn't affect the performance. Just put some headphones on and listen to some Black Sabbath and you wont notice it ! Pretty sure its not an across the 55 range issue, just the one I got.
Bottom Line:
After purely being an XC rider for a while this bike has opened up the glorious all mountain experience. Its not a bike you would want to do big road gaps on but it can take a beating. The great thing is you can ride it all over the place, it wont bob around on climbs and while its not going to climb like a 12kg hard tail it will get there. If you're looking for a bike to take anywhere and do it all this is a great option if you don't have $3 700 or $6 000 to spend on the LT2 or LT1 bikes.
Similar Products Used: First all mountain style bike.
Bike Setup: Stock at the moment. Might throw some juicy 5s or 7s on it some stage. Did put some wellgo MG1 pedals on it cause the pedals that came with the bike were more paper clips than pedals.
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
ashfuel
a Weekend Warrior
from Barrie
Date Reviewed: August 19, 2008
Strengths: Norco durability. Great all around'r. Great coulour.
Forks ++
Weaknesses: ummm...nothing.
Bottom Line:
Surprised how well this bike can climb. It loves tight twisty single track. Pointing it downhill is a blast...find myself searchin forthe crazy most technical lines.
Solid frame...feels bomb proof. Enspires you to attack the trail and take risks. This bike rocks!
Superb bike, great components. Rides amazingly downhill & cross country. Pedals just as well going uphill as it does going downhill. Not too heavy. As a first full susser I have found this has dramatically improved my riding and made it far more enjoyable. Cant fault it!
Submitted by
George
a Weekend Warrior
from Winnipeg Mb Canada
Date Reviewed: May 15, 2008
Strengths: A solid all around bike, sweet frame. Great place to start building up from if you don't like the spec of the LT 1 or LT 2
Weaknesses: Wheel set, X5 shifters, FSA cranks, fork is a little soft but I am carrying a little extra weight from the winter, find the rise of the bar a bit much.
Bottom Line:
Being that I work at a shop that sells Norco I got a sweet deal on the bike, and of all the other bikes I could get the Norco was the one that suited me best. This is a great bike and worth the money at retail. If you are like me get the 3 and spec it up the way you want, or if you aren't a fan of up grading jump right to the 2 or 1 to quote a bike mag "Norco ride lighter then they are"
Favorite Trail: Anything that gets me out of the city
Duration Product Used: Less than 1 month
Purchased At: Staff Deal
Similar Products Used: older Specialized FSR enduro, Devincci Magma, not simular but I also own a 05 Norco A-Line that I have spec'd out to Team DH level
Bike Setup: Swapped out the X5 rear der and shifter for X9 I a had sitting in a box of spare parts, Raceface Dues XC cranks. Have a set of Mavic Crossmax SX, Thompson Elite post and and Elite X4 stem on order. The bike came with Sun SoS on shimano 475 hubs and I am not a fan of sun rims or low end shimano hubs.
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
tim a
a Weekend Warrior
from connecticut
Date Reviewed: May 3, 2008
Strengths: first time out of box and I was blown away by the beauty and craftmanship in the welds.great standover with the hydroformed tubes...and this baby can climb and jump,great sofar...
Weaknesses: wish I had the dough for the LT1 or 2...none so far,with all bikes you need some time in the saddle to really get the feel. Avid brakes took me some time to get used to but I am liking them more each time I ride
Bottom Line:
...as stated before the bike is too new to really have the full appreciation of the ride, I'll keep you posted. But in just this short time the bike really has kicked some a--the paint and burlyness of the frame are definitly a conversation starter.You don't see many Norcos around CT but I am glad I have one. The bike wieghs around 34lbs but she climbs great, and she picks up speed fast on the downhills.Coming off '07 with a huge injury that knocked my whole season out,I wanted all around performance and this Norco has satisfied my '08 needs.
Im not sure if this is the right place for this but i figured it would be better to post in a more neutral section than the specialized section to get an all round opinion. I'm loo Read More »
I'm currently looking for a solid All mountain bike (I live for the descent...but I'm usually getting up there on my own so i need to be able to climb). Initially i was looking at Read More »
I have ran into another deal at the LBS and was wondering if anyone has any insight on this bike?
Norco Fluid LT 3 at $1500 at LBS.
[URL="http://norco.com/archives/2009/?id=48a Read More »
Hey
I've been biking for about 3 years now and my 2005 jamis Komodo 2 just isn't the greatest for singletrack, hard uphills and fun downhills. I have figured out that I want a f Read More »
