With their headquarters just down the road in Vancouver, B.C. it’s no surprise to find Norco as a regular fixture at Crankworx Whistler. This year everyone passing by stopped to check out Bryn Atkinson’s amazing custom painted Range, but Bikerumor looked a little closer… We got the scoop on the redesigned 2019 Fluid full suspension line, and found out the new Range and Sight trail bikes have once again stretched their legs. And yes, there are more photos of Bryn’s bike below!
Norco’s revisions to the Fluid full-suspension lineup is their big news for 2019. The Fluid line is where many new riders might start out, offering trail-capable bikes that sell for prices you can actually call ‘entry level’.
The new Fluid frames are all made from aluminum, but the smoothly ground welds behind the head tube fooled me on my first glance! The front ends look very similar to the curvy carbon junctions found on the Sights and Ranges.
The frames have been redesigned with more modern geometry; most notably the head tube angles have been slacked out to 66° on the 27.5” bikes and 66.5° on the 29” models and their top tubes have grown longer.
Regarding the wheel sizes, it’s important to know that the Small frames will ride on 27.5” wheels, the Mediums will come in either size, and the Large and XL bikes are built up with 29’s.
The Fluid frames have also been updated with Boost spaced rear axles, internal cable routing, metric rear shocks, and they’ve axed the front derailleur mounts.
As for components, the Fluid 1 and 2 both come with 12-speed drivetrains, while the 3 and 4 models are 11-speed. All models now come stock with dropper posts, and both the 27.5” and 29er’s roll on 2.6” wide tires.
Base price for the new Fluids will be the Fluid 4 at $1,599 USD, and the highest-spec Fluid 1 model will retail for $2,899. The new models should be in stores this fall.
2019 Norco Sight & Range
As for the Sight and Range trail bikes, not much has changed except that the forks have grown by 10mm across the board. Initially these bikes were equally sprung front and rear, but Norco soon extended the forks to 10mm more than the rear ends, and for next year they’ve jumped again to a 20mm difference.
As of 2019, the Sight 27.5” will still offer 140mm or rear travel but now has a 160mm fork, while the 29er is now 130mm rear/150mm front. Similarly, the Range 27.5’s remain at 160mm rear but will be fitted with 180mm forks, while the 29er Range now boasts 150mm/170mm travel.
Now for some eye candy!
Bryn Atkinson’s Custom Painted Norco Range
This Range was custom painted for Bryn Atkinson by Bellingham, Washington’s Tony Baumann. He’s the artist behind Made Rad By Tony, and his online gallery includes some very impressive custom bikes and helmets.
This incredible snake-themed paint job took about 80 hours from stripping the frame to finishing the artwork. Apparently Atkinson was hesitant to say he’d be seen racing on this one! It’s most likely going to wind up as a display trophy rather than ever get dirty.
