The all-new 2017 Norco Optic trail mountain bike slots in between their short travel Revolver XC full suspension bike and the 150mm travel all-mountain Sight. The Optic comes in both a 27.5″ bike with 120mm rear travel and 130mm forks or a 110mm travel 29er with 120mm forks.
As with the Revolver, which also gets both a 27.5 and 29er, the Optic will see matched specs and fit between wheel sizes. Boost 148mm rear axle spacing let them shorten the rear end, providing a rear center of 420mm on the XS 27.5, and that number increases by 5mm per frame size as things get bigger. Not only is fit and spec very similar between wheel sizes, so is frame weight.
Check out the new trail killer from the North Shore below…
The 27.5 and 29er frame weights are similar because the 29er front is a little longer, but the headtubes are shorter, so they end up almost the same. The Optic carbon will come in at 2,200g (size medium, w/o shock), and the alloy at just 2,550g. Fit was a big of the bike’s development, so the 29er will feel like the 27.5 frame, and vice versa.
The Optic uses their Horst Link A.R.T. suspension design. It has ISCG05 mounts and will fit a max 2.6″ tire. That’s not a plus tire, but there’s still generous clearance.
The alloy rear triangles use the same parts on all sizes, so BB position slides forward on front triangle to change the rear center. As a result, the seat angle effectively gets about 0.3° to 0.4° slacker per frame size increase, and larger frames will be able to run a larger chainring, too. It comes with a removable front derailleur mount.
The 29ers with Fox get Boost forks, and 650 bikes will get it as a running update as Fox inventory becomes available. To start, though, they’ll have 100mm axle spacing up front.
They’ll offer three carbon bikes (plus a carbon frameset) and two alloy bikes in each wheel size. For carbon, spec includes SRAM XX1/X1, Race Face Next SL, Guide Ultimates and Fox 34 Float Factory fork on the top level $9,799 9.1 and 7.1 (with the first number referencing wheel size, the second being trim level). Next down is the 9.2 / 7.2 with Shimano XT 2×11, Race Face Turbine cranks and a Fox 34 Float Performance Elite fork for $6,399 (shown in green), then the 9.3 / 7.3 with Rockshox Revelation RL fork, Magura MT2 brakes and SRAM GX1 for $4,999. Frameset is $2,799.
The Alloy 9.1 / 7.1 is $4,399 and comes with Fox 34 Float Performance fork, SRAM DB3 brakes and GX1 drivetrain. Below it is the 9.2 / 7.2 with a Rockshox Sektor Silver RL fork, DB1 brakes and GX 1×11 for $3,599.
The bikes come in sizes from XS to XL in 27.5, and all but the XS in 29er.
For the little groms that wanna take to the trails (or bike park) with a bike like mommy’s or daddy’s, Norco also makes a few sizes of full suspension kids bikes.
