I really really cant decide between:

Norco Range A.7.1 (2016) – OR – Mondraker Dune R (2015)

Any advice very much appreciated.

The Norco is available for £150 more than the Mondraker but seems better spec?

Its for general enduro riding and i would like to do some races. My normal ride is between 1-3 hours with a fair few uphills but also heavy dh sections. Any advice is much appreciated. (if anyone can let me know the weight difference between them i would be grateful as i cant seem to find this information anywhere!)

Thanks… Please help

NORCO: http://www.evanscycles.com/products/norco/range-a71-2016-mountain-bike-ec121328

MONDRAKER: http://www.evanscycles.com/products/mondraker/dune-r-275-2015-mountain-bike-ec074251

Have you riden either of them?

What colour do you like the best?

Ive ridden the Mondraker around a carpark! The geometry seemed spot-on… I have only sat on the Norco (medium) and i think i would like the extra room of the large but i would have to try it to see how it feels. Im a bit worried that its climbing ability will be rubbish compared to the Mondraker and its innovative forward geometry?

Looks wise..I much prefer the look of the Mondraker but i cant justify buying a bike fashion over function! Which is why i desperately need some help!

This won’t probably help you at all but I’ll post anyway 🙂 I have the 2015 Range and I really like it. How tall are you? I’m 5’9 and have a medium.

It does have good grip on the climbs – the ART suspension does a great job. I wouldn’t say its an agile climber though.

I’ve taken mine to Antur and it coped just fine. Its a solid bike. I wanted a ‘do it all ‘machine and I’m happy with what I got.

To add – do you do you own maintenance? You can probably tell the Norco has lots of pivots. Something to bear in mind, it needs love.

That useful info… how do you find its weight in comparison to other bikes? The 2016 Range A7.1 comes with 170mm forks upfront but I am guessing that it shouldn’t make too much difference on its climbing ability as flatter bars and/or different stem could counter this? – like I have been told.. it is designed for 6 hour enduro riding so I cant be too bad…?

In all honesty it feels like a fairly heavy bike. I remember demo’ing a 2015 Mega AM at the start of last year and that was lighter and more agile. My budget couldn’t stretch to that at the time however!

Weight for me wasn’t on my requirements list, and neither was climbing ability. I’ve put dual play maxxis tyres on mine (mainly for Antur!) so quite a lump to shift.

I’ve done 4 hour rides on it and not felt uncomfortable. Mine has a Pike fork, not the new 170mm Fox one.

If your after a good climber, then yes the Norco will do it. But I cant say its an amazing one (just my experience). I still love it though 🙂

Thanks for the feedback. I suspect the dual ply tyres would make it seem alot heavier due to the rotational inertia! On paper though i shouldnt have thought that there is a ‘standout’ component on the Norco (when compared with the Mondraker) that should make it significantly heavier? The fox 36s with 170mm travel im guessing are going to be the biggest component that cause an increase in weight between the Norco and Mondraker (with its 160mm Pikes). Other than that surely the rest of the components are relative?