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2021 Norco Optic

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2021 norco optic
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#41 ·
Hey all,

Following up re: the brake lever swap situation. So without doing it myself (I traded brakes with my old bike), I'm very confident you can mount any Shimano lever you want on the stock hoses. You'll need to use different connection bolts and likely the rubber connection bolt cover as well - but the olive/barb is the same across the whole lineup. There's only 3 bolts in common use and 3-4 covers. The bolts and covers are typically included in the hose kits which of course you ideally won't be buying. The levers don't come with these.

We have a kit called "Shimano Brake Parts Kit A" or something that contains everything you need to make the swap to any other lever. Not to be confused with Parts Kit B. So before you buy levers, see if your LBS has the kit - and make sure the kit is reasonably well stocked. You don't wanna show up there with everything to find they only had one of the covers you needed.
 
#42 ·
There are only 2 types of Shimano brake hose I believe: SM-BH90 for newer more powerful systems or SM-BH59 for older lower powered brake systems. There are a bunch of different connectors and banjos which shimano use to qualify the brake hose description identifier further eg SM-BH59-SB but there are only 2 different hoses.

you can find all the info on which brake is compatible with which hose at the shimano web site here --> 2020-2021 SHIMANO Product Information Web
 
#43 ·
j-t-g said:
Hey all,

Following up re: the brake lever swap situation. So without doing it myself (I traded brakes with my old bike), I'm very confident you can mount any Shimano lever you want on the stock hoses. You'll need to use different connection bolts and likely the rubber connection bolt cover as well - but the olive/barb is the same across the whole lineup. There's only 3 bolts in common use and 3-4 covers. The bolts and covers are typically included in the hose kits which of course you ideally won't be buying. The levers don't come with these.

We have a kit called "Shimano Brake Parts Kit A" or something that contains everything you need to make the swap to any other lever. Not to be confused with Parts Kit B. So before you buy levers, see if your LBS has the kit - and make sure the kit is reasonably well stocked. You don't wanna show up there with everything to find they only had one of the covers you needed.
Click to expand...
The hoses that come stock for C3 Optic are Bh-90. I also have a spare BH-90 kit and the bolts appear to be the same. I'm thinking you can easily swap the levers when they come back in stock.

Erik
 
#44 ·
mrkm said:
There are a bunch of different connectors and banjos which shimano use to qualify the brake hose description identifier further eg SM-BH59-SB but there are only 2 different hoses.
Click to expand...
This is unhelpful and off topic, but after like 7 years of working in the industry a few weeks ago I found out that they aren't banjos, they're bonjos. Isn't that nuts?
 
#45 ·
One last thing before I go to bed is the 2021 Large chainstay length is 440mm which is different than the published 435mm. So with the redesign they extended the chainstay by 5mm and now matches the Sight dimensions.

Erik
 
#46 ·
I got out for my first ride on my C2 Shimano yesterday, I think it's going to be a fun bike (as pretty much everyone has said)! I'll need some time to get used to the longer and slacker geometry, plus the big wheels. I haven't been riding in the last few months due to injury and weather, so I'm definitely a bit rusty (plus the Vittoria tires are new to me, will take some time to get comfortable with them). My initial thoughts are that it climbs pretty well though there is some perceptible suspension bob (not sure it is actually affecting climbing much). Going down felt really good, very predictable on jumps and cornered really well. The ride aligned settings feel really good for the fork, but I was bottoming the DPX2 constantly. I'm going to pick up the air volume tuning kit and see if the next bigger spacer helps things. One thing that really bugged me was the finned Shimano pads, they rattle so much. I'll have to look into how people are quieting them down.
 
#47 ·
I have the M7120 4 piston brakes. I took the pads and spring out and bent the little spring arms wide open. It was a slight challenge to get the spring back between the pads and insert them back all into the calliper but I have not had any rattle since.
 
#48 ·
matsf said:
I got out for my first ride on my C2 Shimano yesterday, I think it's going to be a fun bike (as pretty much everyone has said)! I'll need some time to get used to the longer and slacker geometry, plus the big wheels. I haven't been riding in the last few months due to injury and weather, so I'm definitely a bit rusty (plus the Vittoria tires are new to me, will take some time to get comfortable with them). My initial thoughts are that it climbs pretty well though there is some perceptible suspension bob (not sure it is actually affecting climbing much). Going down felt really good, very predictable on jumps and cornered really well. The ride aligned settings feel really good for the fork, but I was bottoming the DPX2 constantly. I'm going to pick up the air volume tuning kit and see if the next bigger spacer helps things. One thing that really bugged me was the finned Shimano pads, they rattle so much. I'll have to look into how people are quieting them down.
Click to expand...
Adhesive backed soft side Velcro. Two thin strips per caliper, under the full length of the fins.
 
#49 ·
Thanks for the brake pad suggestions, that's pretty much what I found online. I'll try it out with some mastic tape I have instead of velcro. I also ordered 2 sets of MTX red brake pads without fins that I'll try out. Various reviews say they increase modulation for Shimano brakes while maintaining power.
 
#50 ·
matsf said:
Thanks for the brake pad suggestions, that's pretty much what I found online. I'll try it out with some mastic tape I have instead of velcro. I also ordered 2 sets of MTX red brake pads without fins that I'll try out. Various reviews say they increase modulation for Shimano brakes while maintaining power.
Click to expand...
Mastic will deaden the sound a bit, perhaps to your satisfaction, but the Velcro (which is thicker) takes up all of the play between the pads and caliper and still allows it to slide when the pistons push the pads in. Completely silent this way.
 
#52 ·
Just got a 2021 Norco C2 Shimano and I'm totally pumped about it!
I've seen some questions about sizing - I'm 185cm (6'1") and I got an XL. Fits me perfectly. I sat on a Large and it seemed cramped for me. I lean towards more XC style riding so that might factor in too.

I took it for a very short ride today to shake things out a bit. Everything seems dialed except for the rear XT hub - when free wheeling it randomly goes from a normal ratcheting sound to being silent. I wouldn't mind one or the other consistently but it's a bit disconcerting to have it changing. Anyone else experience this? Is it anything I should worry about? It's obviously not enough to sour my feeling for the bike - it's a sweet ride - but I also would like to know now if this could become a problem and have the dealer address it right away.

1911920
1911919
 
#53 ·
kitsilanobob said:
Just got a 2021 Norco C2 Shimano and I'm totally pumped about it!
I've seen some questions about sizing - I'm 185cm (6'1") and I got an XL. Fits me perfectly. I sat on a Large and it seemed cramped for me. I lean towards more XC style riding so that might factor in too.

I took it for a very short ride today to shake things out a bit. Everything seems dialed except for the rear XT hub - when free wheeling it randomly goes from a normal ratcheting sound to being silent. I wouldn't mind one or the other consistently but it's a bit disconcerting to have it changing. Anyone else experience this? Is it anything I should worry about? It's obviously not enough to sour my feeling for the bike - it's a sweet ride - but I also would like to know now if this could become a problem and have the dealer address it right away.

View attachment 1911920 View attachment 1911919
Click to expand...
Sweet bike!

That's normal for the XT hub.
 
#59 ·
I don't really concern myself with weight on the Sight (ok that's a lie it's 35.2 with burly tires and Cush Core), but swapping to Nobl TR33/101 (I had the rims from a previous wheel set) dropped 450g from the stock Flow/XT on my Optic. It's quite noticeable.
 
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