Submitted by
bert Heathwood
a Downhiller
from Adelaide, Australia
Date Reviewed: June 25, 2005
Strengths: LIGHT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Weaknesses: Two for the price of one would be nice
Bottom Line:
I've raced 24hr solo on this thing, ridden nasty trails, raced 1hr XC races, mucked around in car-parks, couriered on this...
My Fireball has dents and scratches, it's had two hard riding owners, has, clambered up mountains, crossed creeks, dropped of rocks, and even climbed podiums.
Sweet, light, responsive, reliable... When I clone a child, I'm gonna name it Fireball...
Bike Setup: Duke SL's, XT mechs, LX shifters, Armor hydros, Mavic CrossRoc's, XTR cluster, Wippermann 908 chain, EA70 bar, Ritchey WCS stem, Eggbeaters, gaffa tape, cable-ties
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Submitted by
James
a Cross Country Rider
from Penticton, B.C. Canada, EH?
Date Reviewed: April 30, 2003
Strengths: Great Geometry, straight from the North Shore. Fantastic for climing, light, light, light. Formula B4 Hydraulic discs front and rear are finicky, but work real sweet onces set up. Loose on downhills at first but once you adjust your riding style and let the bike do the work you are in the zone. I ride the 2001 so it has a little different groupo than the 2002, having said that every shop sells it with a different groupo.
Weaknesses: Formula B4's, built for those who actually 'kid glove' their bikes. I'm just too careless.
Bottom Line:
Went from my 5 y/o GT Zaskar(cracked frame), reluctantly as I have a fond place in my heart for my old bike. Smilin' like an idiot right out of the box. One super tight bike. The wheel set is too sexy for the trail and makes everyone take a second look. If you spend real time on your bike and you can honestly call yourself a regular trail rider this bike has everything you need. The geometry and weight is a great blend for all round use including racing. I super responsive on the trail and technical tight spots. If you are a heavy rider or a 'Tanker' you may wish to go to a beefier bike. I do some drops, but not much more than 3-4 feet. I stand 5'8" at 160lbs. Norco, British Columbia bike manufacturer, that really understands what we use our bikes for. Before this bike, never really put a whole bunch into the 'bike makes the rider' theory.
Similar Products Used: Rode a GT Zaskar prior to this. Talk about adjusting to new geometry.
Bike Setup: Easton Monkey Lite Riser Bars, Race Face Rings and Crank, XT front DR, XTR rear DR, RockShox SID SL forks, Shimano M575 Wheel set, Bontrager Kevlar/Ti saddle.
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Submitted by
Luke
a Weekend Warrior
from Australia
Date Reviewed: April 20, 2003
Strengths: light, strong, tough, fantastic overall packaging and colour
Weaknesses: hard seat
Bottom Line:
A fantastic bike that i got really cheap second hand even though it was in immaculate condition. I don't race, i don't compete all i do is go for a short ride now and then or i might try to do some tricks on the bike and all i can say is that it is a fantastic bike that i love and will always look after.
Bike Setup: stock with huffy wireless speddo + wellgo pedals
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Submitted by
John Young
a Cross Country Rider
from Queensland, Australia
Date Reviewed: March 23, 2003
Strengths: Great climbing and acceleration, solid on the downhills, nice front forks and r/d shifts well. Light frame is great for alround use and can be upgraded.
Weaknesses: F/d is a bit hard to shift under pressure, my chain has come off when shifting down a couple of times.
Bottom Line:
This bike was great value (i got it secondhand after the first owner only did 35kms) and it has served me well. No real problems at all, and it absolutely rockets up climbs and is a great alround bike that can be used for racing. I recommend this bike and with a few upgrades (wheels and f/d mainly) the bike could be an awesome trail weapon that could rip up the race course
Similar Products Used: none really - my first decent bike
Bike Setup: Basically standard, i have this &#%@ Kenda back tire that i need to change asap
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Submitted by
Chris
a Cross Country Rider
from Corner Brook, Newfoundland Canada
Date Reviewed: October 11, 2002
Strengths: A light frame that is well made. A great climbing frame , has some flex that allows better climbs, but is still very effient on the flats and tight trails. Better racer than the Nitro but not quite as steady on the downslopes as the Nitro frame
Weaknesses: My only beef is that the braze on for the rear brakes is for a disc cable. Requires me to tape my v-brake cable in place, no big deal really.
Bottom Line:
This is a good frame for me. I am a light rider who likes minor racing and cross country riding on trails, bogs,or whatever it takes to get from point A to B without riding the same trail twice. This frame is a little lively but once you get used to it you can make it snap into turns on tight single track. Norco makes a good product and this is a worthy frame for cross country and racing.
Similar Products Used: Norco Nitro eastone elite tubing
Bike Setup: Panaracer XC Pro, sun rims, Deore lx drive and shifters. XT v-brakes.
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Submitted by
Sheldon Benoit
a Weekend Warrior
from Debert, Nova Scotia, Canada
Date Reviewed: July 30, 2002
Strengths: Light and strong frame. Super fast on the trail. Awesome climbing as well as decending. Increased my speed ten fold.
Weaknesses: top tube gives me cable slap on the trail. just gets annoying after awhile on the trail.
Bottom Line:
Just lovin' the bike. Has a nice race feel as it should. Hand built by Hub Cycle and hand picked by myself. Hope to race this machine soon. I find myself alot faster in everything I do now compared to my old GT.
Bike Setup: XT front and rear derailleur, Formula Evoluzione 9.5 Open System Disc Brakes, Truvativ Firex SL cranks, Easton carbon bar, carbon seat post, Time Alium clipless pedals, Single Track disc rims, XT chain and cassette, Panracer Trailblaster 2.1, LX shifters and Bottom bracket, and others stuff I failed to mention.
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Submitted by
Wayne Groen
a Cross Country Rider
from Belleville ON Canada
Date Reviewed: June 11, 2002
Strengths: Fork, brakes, wheels, tires, frame
Weaknesses: Handlebar, cluster
Bottom Line:
I changed the handlebar to a 1 1/2" riser bar, as well as the clipless pedals to better Shimano pedals. Overall very happy with it. Bought it cause I was fed up with my Trek 9800 and its drivetrain, which consistently gave me chain suck. I find the fork quite good considering I weigh 240lbs. and I'm 6'4". For the price, I don't think there is anything out there that I would rather have. Hats off to Norco, and this product.
Submitted by
Tristan Bennett
a Racer
from Melbourne, Vic, Australia
Date Reviewed: June 1, 2002
Strengths: Bang for your buck. Nice and light, great for sprinting up hills. It's a Norco... nuf said :) I was a bit concerned about the hmx1's, but they have been great.
Weaknesses: Mavic crossroc wheelset sucks. They are very week. My rear wheel no longer holds air (cleaned up a hidden drain pipe), so I am forced to run with a tube and normal tire. One is also unable to get replacment rims here in Australia. The only ones you can get are the CrossMax. The importer said (I rang them) that they are not importing x3.1's because there have been some troubles with then, but the crossroc uses the same rim...go figure.
Bottom Line:
Great bike apart from the wheelset. I will probably be building my own wheelset from 317s. Tubeless systems though great are too expenive here in Australia.
Bike Setup: Stock. Upgraded to LX fd. Mosquito for the front tyre and Python for the rear. This compination works very well.
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Submitted by
Alex
a Cross Country Rider
from Mebourne, Australia
Date Reviewed: May 21, 2002
Strengths: Light, fast, good mix of parts, Easton, Mavic UST tubeless, Duke SL forks, strong.
Weaknesses: Lack of frame gusseting. Frame uses Alpha X-fusion aluminium instead of Easton Elite (2001 model). Stock Kenda tyres aren't very grippy in loose terrain.
Bottom Line:
A fast, light, XC MTB with a good combo of parts. A new buyer should consider upgrading the LX levers, deore front, stem (115mm is too long)and possibly bars. Wheelset feels good at the moment but may flex under heavy rider (24 spokes per wheel).
Bike Setup: Duke SL 80mm, Easton EA70 MonkeyBar, Mavic Crossrocs, Time Alium, Avid SD7s, Hayes HMX-1 mech discs, LX/XT drivetrain.
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Submitted by
Luke
a Racer
from Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Date Reviewed: February 26, 2002
Strengths: - light weight - strong
Weaknesses: - none so far
Bottom Line:
Just bought the frame and it feels pretty good. The geometry is well suited for going fast, i.e., racing. The frame is extremely light. Have to wait and see whether the new designed, triangular tubing will hold up. Based on a couple of weeks of riding, i would suggest this frame for someone looking at racing, who wants a fairly cheap, light bike.
