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Submitted by
wunderkind
a Weekend Warrior
from BC, Canada
Date Reviewed: August 11, 2009 | | Favorite Trail: | Commute | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Price Paid: |
$400.00 | | Purchased At: | Caps | | Strengths: | Solid Aluminium frame. Good brakes. Stock tires are quite decent for day to day usage. Good saddle, once your butt gets used to it. | | Weaknesses: | 42t for the large chainring is not meant for cruising on the road. Can only carry one water bottle bracket at a time. | | Similar Products Used: | Trek 3xxx series. Devinci, Gary Fisher etc. | | Bike Setup: | Mostly stock. But swapped out the chainrings for faster gearing. Installed bar ends and rear rack. | | Bottom Line: | I use this bike for commuting and weekend rides. It is quite good for what it is once I swap out the knobby tires for faster rolling Kenda Kwest slicks. But now I have to compromise on the rougher terrain. I am disappointed with the rear derailleur. Norco should've put in better unit instead of the Tourney. But it works I suppose. The frame is strong. feels solid.
I don't know if the adjusable shocks is needed. It has no lockout feature. Overall it's a good entry level mtb with road riding capability (once you swap out the chainrings!) Disc brakes ensure reliable stopping performance in the wet. | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
steve
a Weekend Warrior
from windsor ontario canada
Date Reviewed: July 2, 2009 | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$387.00 | | Purchased At: | courtesy | | Strengths: | Strong rigid aluminum frame, reasonable entry level price, especially with two wheel mechanical disc brakes | | Weaknesses: | Plastic pedals and garbage Shimano Tourney rear derailleur. | | Similar Products Used: | Gary Fisher Wingra | | Bike Setup: | Everything is stock except at time of sale I upgraded to a Shimano Olivio rear derailleur and metal pedals thrown in for $450 Canadian ($387 US as of today) out the door. | | Bottom Line: | I like the fit and comfort of the bike. I might swap out the seat, but it's good enough for now. I wanted to upgrade the pedals and the rear derailleur right away. The seat can wait. Good price for a bike with 2 wheel disc brakes. I'm happy so far, even though I haven't had it long. I like the versatility of being able to do some light offroading because it gives me a better workout. When I want speed, I still have my Gary Fisher Wingra for the street. Good entry level bike for the money, I would definitely upgrade the Tourney derailleur right away. The bike is fully upgradable when things break down. I'm happy so far with my purchase. I recommend for people looking for an entry level mountain bike at an affordable price. If it gets wrecked, no big deal. Just upgrade the derailleur and pedals for sure. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
jbr
a Cross Country Rider
from Stettler, AB
Date Reviewed: June 2, 2009 | | Favorite Trail: | River Valley trails-Edmonton, AB | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Price Paid: |
$388.00 | | Purchased At: | Cap's Cycles | | Strengths: | Value for money
Rolls well on cheap stock tires
Plenty of space in frame
Shock works well (2005 Mountaineer)
More rust-resistant than my past few bicycles
Hard seat, but not bad for padding by new bike standards | | Weaknesses: | Cheap tires that ship with the bike were patched 20x in first year
Shimano Tourney shifts badly & is clunky
Top gear is too low for quick cruising on level ground
Gear indicator windows are crazing and internal plastic parts have failed once
Doesn't do well with little maintenance...I had to get the entire bottom end redone...a clunk you can feel is a bad clunk | | Similar Products Used: | Supercycles mostly, but they aren't really similar at all. A Norco hybrid that ended it's life with a broken frame and bent wheels, but made a few 500+ km bike trips. | | Bike Setup: | Stock handlebars, Shimano Tourney rear derailleur, Shimano front suspension, Shimano gearchange and crank. | | Bottom Line: | I have had my money's worth out of this bike, even after getting it overhauled. It's a great bike to start with and is a great street rider. Off-road, I think it would be a little light for stump jumping and falls. On road, it will go comfortably where cheaper bikes go to fall apart. Overall, despite the bad spots, I have found this bike to be a great all-weather commuter, and will probably go with another Norco in 20 years, when this one dies (could be 30, because the frame looks strong. The Tourney's plastic gears, however, don't.) | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Dmitri Lebedev
a Cross Country Rider
from Novosibirsk, Russia
Date Reviewed: October 5, 2008 | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Price Paid: |
$370.00 | | Purchased At: | trial-sport.ru | | Strengths: | Convenient saddle;
stiff rims;
good simple frame | | Weaknesses: | Heavyness;
very stiff front fork with very short travel (60 mm);
rear Shimano Tourney derailleur | | Similar Products Used: | Merida TFS 100 | | Bike Setup: | 7-speed Shimano Tourney rear, Alivio front deraileur, rear V-brake, front disc brake. Combo shifters. | | Bottom Line: | Not bad, but not the best for it's price.
The rear derailleur is the weakest point of the bike. It never worked perfectly, and even when the tubes and wires were renewed, and the derailleur set up properly, I had problems with gear switching after 2-4 hours of riding.
Tourney is the bottom product among Shimano derailleurs. Why did they install it? I guess, to compensate the cost of the front disc brake. (As I see, disc brakes on not-top bikes are installed at the cost of other parts - derailleurs and hubs)
The second most irritating thing was its front fork. It is too stiff for trail ride in the countryside. After riding 1 hour at 30 km/h on a gravel road, my wrists and especially fingers hurt a lot.
All the other parts, including front derailleur, worked well. The saddle is quite soft and doesn't distract from pedaling, though seat tube isn't long enough for me (I'm 173 cm tall, the frame is 17" size). The frame is simple, not large, with slots for 2 bottle cages. My one has a distinctive chameleon-orange colour. Now my mother rides it.
To sum up, this is a reasonable bike, not bad, but for this price you can find a more balanced configuration - a bike like Merida TFS 100, or Avalanche 3.0, without a fancy disc brake, but with a better derailleur and softer fork. | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
grantweckert
a Weekend Warrior
from Orange, Australia
Date Reviewed: September 18, 2008 | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Weaknesses: | fragile axles | | Bottom Line: | Bought this bike for riding to work - 7km each way, all on sealed roads.
Was quite happy with it until I started to pedal through an intersection and the rear wheel was rubbing on the frame.
Somehow, riding only on roads, the rear axle managed to bend - shop refused to fix under warranty, apparently Norco don't cover it.
Hate to think how long this bike would last if I ever took it off road. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Grant
a Weekend Warrior
from Orange, Australia
Date Reviewed: September 18, 2008 | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Weaknesses: | fragile axles | | Bottom Line: | Bought this bike for riding to work - 7km each way, all on sealed roads.
Was quite happy with it until I started to pedal through an intersection and the rear wheel was rubbing on the frame.
Somehow, riding only on roads, the rear axle managed to bend - shop refused to fix under warranty, apparently Norco don't cover it.
Hate to think how long this bike would last if I ever took it off road. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Chris
a Weekend Warrior
from Port Moody, BC, Canada
Date Reviewed: May 6, 2008 | | Favorite Trail: | Ridge Park | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Price Paid: |
$400.00 | | Purchased At: | Cap's | | Strengths: | Great value, components are generally good quality, front disc brakes, 600mm travel of front fork, easy to climb hills with and easy to portage (carry). | | Weaknesses: | Cheap plastic pedals (however, they don't gouge your shins when your feet slip!). I usually need to patch the tubes every few rides - maybe I'm too hard on it? Seatpost bracket which clamps to the seat is made of cheap metal. It often bent and the seat became loose. I eventually sheared it off after a half year. | | Similar Products Used: | Norco Katmanudu, Raleigh Rocky | | Bike Setup: | Stock with the exception of an aluminum seat post with a cast seat clamp. | | Bottom Line: | Great bike. Great price. I'm looking to upgrade to a full-suspension cross country bike and will hang on to the Mountaineer. | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
john szendrey
a
from canada
Date Reviewed: February 7, 2008 | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Strengths: | strong frame, aceptable breaks, tires are good for a while
good for road biking and for just starting single track | | Weaknesses: | really bad pettals, break easily, requires maintince everynow and then. really heavy 32 lbs | | Bike Setup: | stock- changed the tires though for better traction | | Bottom Line: | when it comes to mountain biking, u get what you pay for. I am 15 and so when i first started biking i couldent afford better. If you can get better, great do so ull find biking better. If this is your price range this is a great bike for its price. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Douglas Graham
a Cross Country Rider
from Kingston Ontario
Date Reviewed: October 31, 2007 | | Favorite Trail: | That's a secret | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Price Paid: |
$350.00 | | Purchased At: | Can't remember the name | | Strengths: | Great value!!! | | Weaknesses: | Cheap pedals broke 'em in no time.
Chain tends to come off derailer at bad times even when professionally adjusted. | | Similar Products Used: | Lot's of cheap bikes and a few nice ones my bro's got a Kona Dawg. | | Bike Setup: | Stock with smarties from (Crank Bro's) | | Bottom Line: | This bike is great value for the price I've done everything with it from 100k treks to technical trails and most of my friends have MUCH more expensive bikes.
I notice another poster mentioned it has little rolling resistance... I swear everyone who has tried this bike says the same thing!!!It's better than any bike I ever tried SERIOUSLY!! (does anyone know why this is?)
If you want a cheap bike and can't stand used ones go for it I have no regrets. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Lukas
a Downhiller
from abbotsford, BC, canada
Date Reviewed: July 15, 2007 | | Favorite Trail: | Ledgview or Timekiller | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$444.00 | | Purchased At: | bike shop(it sucks) | | Strengths: | Good for XC and its really light | | Weaknesses: | Components then the frame cracked. | | Similar Products Used: | norco scrambler, norco katmandu | | Bike Setup: | after market derailer an pedals | | Bottom Line: | this bike is good for XC and for finding you style in MTBing, it is alright... but you get what you pay for, is | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Étienne S Dupuis
a Cross Country Rider
from Montreal-Canada
Date Reviewed: June 27, 2005 | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Strengths: | Very good bike for entery level in mtb. I used it for cross country and with that fork I was available to jump 3-3.5 feet. its very good for a 60 mm travel | | Weaknesses: | The chain fell out of the cranckset so change the derailleur. Change the pedals made of plastic... When you start doing alittle bite more aggressive riding, you will get a lot of flats 3 per months... | | Similar Products Used: | none next bike, specialized hardrock comp disc or trek bruiser | | Bottom Line: | For people who tries mtb for the first time, it's a very good bike but you will soon have to change it if you decide to make a more aggressive riding. I am ready for a new bike 100mm travel and disc brake because with 60mm travel, the fork will reach the bottom very very very fast. In raining days, it seems there is no brakes. Of course it's because we're talking of v-brake but in sunny days it works correctly for cross country. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Jesse Brook
a Cross Country Rider
from Langley, BC, Canada
Date Reviewed: April 23, 2005 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$250.00 | | Purchased At: | Cap's Cycles | | Strengths: | This bike has very little rolling resistance. I've never had a bike that rolled this well, even my previous Norco with city slickers. | | Weaknesses: | I take my bike on long rides across everything from smooth blacktop to bumpy tree roots. It hurts a lot. The handgrips' texture digs into your skin and the seat cuts off circulation to your vitals rather quickly. | | Similar Products Used: | My previous bicycle was also a Norco, and it went over 5000km with me. The product name was the same, and that's what brought me back to Norco again. | | Bike Setup: | Stock with reflector on the rear, bell, headlight, front and rear fenders, added kickstand and a stout cable lock. | | Bottom Line: | I asked the salesperson for a bike I couldn't beat up if I tried. I'm confident that this will do the trick. I compare it to other less-expensive bikes, see their cheap shifters and thin frames and know that I got a deal. Every bike needs adjustment when you buy it though, and this one is no exception. The handgrips I can live with. The seat I can't. The ride, thanks to the front suspension fork, is a lot better for your hands than your rear. Otherwise, I love this bike and it's capability to take punishment has already been proven to me. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Chris Payn
a Weekend Warrior
from Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
Date Reviewed: October 14, 2004 | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Purchased At: | Ken Self Ride Cycle Centre | | Strengths: | Light n' strong; good brakes | | Weaknesses: | Not yet discovered | | Similar Products Used: | None | | Bike Setup: | Standard | | Bottom Line: | Recently bought this bike for my 55th birthday (ok, I'm not into 45 degree downhill racing!).
The store salesman, who rides a lot, listened to my requirements and steered me towards this bike and away from another, more expensive model. (How many salesmen will do THAT!?
I've used it a fair bit in the last month, on and off-road in our beautiful, mountainous island State. Great for a beginner like me. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
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