Hi all, I know you lot hate this kinda shit, but I value your advice! Been offered a deal on a Norco, either Sight or Range. I mostly hit trails (North/South Downs) and already have a gravity bike, so what do you lot think would suit me best?
Is the 140 travel not enough for silly-ness? Will the Range be a bastard to pedal? I like the climbs and to grind up as well as hit stuff hard on the way back down and looking for a sled I can get on and tear around for a good half a day.
Ta.

what year Sight? , if its a 2013 / 2014 Alloy one I wouldn’t go near it, the seat stays are known to fail, Ive been through 3, they have added more weld to the 2015 stays so hopefully this will sort it, Carbon sights get the odd paint chip but seem to be sound. The 2014 Carbon Range had a total recall for cracked BB’s, and 2013/2014 alloy range had similar issues with the stays as the sight. As for ability i ran a sight with 150mm pikes and cane creek dbair on and it got me down everything I could throw at it, lake district, scotland. In that set up its a great bike, Ive put the old revelations rtc3’s and the fox ctd back on and it will still take a beating but you get thrown around alot more on the rocks and root. Im not from south but while visiting a mate rode straight down the north side of devils dyke on it. A sight with pikes and a 1/2 decent shock will cover most riding.

Thanks man. Looking at new. So a deal on a 15 or 16 year.

hopefully you should side step all the frame issues then, they both ride really well and the sight in the right setup feels like alot more bike than it is, the horst link is really active, great for downhill but not so good uphill especially if you are a big guy and like pedaling out the saddle on climbs, you will feel a lot of bob, and need to use the climb switch a lot. if you want a big bike and want to hit big jumps and drops on trails go range otherwise the sight will handle it.

I have a 2015 Carbon Sight 7.1. I use it for everything from my commute to work, weekend blasts around Swinley and North/South downs and have done a week in Morzine this summer. The bike is more than capable on everything I have ridden on. Certainly it is a more capable bike than I am a rider! My experience has been that it is an excellent climber. I previously had a custom built Ibis Mojo SL which has maybe 2 pounds lighter than my Norco but I would say the that I find my Norco is easier on most climbs, and I only ever use the climb switch when I am riding on the road.

I bought a new 2015 Norco Sight 7.1 Carbon at the end of July this year.

2nd run on it, the seat tube cracked:

I’m currently awaiting delivery of a 2016 as a replacement.

They have ‘changed’ the frame for this year, by adding a front mech / chain guide mount:

It was until that point the best bike I’ve ever ridden.

Can wait to get the new one….

Shizz – that crack is a bummer. (mind you, my mrs has put on some weight – her arse has mrs crack than Harlem!). I’d go for an Aluminunimumummnm one as I regularly run out of talent!
So – seems the Sight gets the love then.

I’ve got a 2013 Range Killer B-1. Albeit completely different from stock. 160mm Pikes on it with PUSH tuned fox ctd shock on the rear, 1×10 with an oval ring. Best bike i’ve owned, climbs incredibly well for the travel, not overly heavy, bottomless feeling travel on the way down, has been way more capable than me (which isn’t hard) and has bailed my ungraceful talentless arse out on numerous occasions. Love it. It has had the weld beefed up where the top tube meets the seat tube as a hairline crack appeared in the paint, wasn’t confirmed as an actual crack in the frame but welded up anyway just incase.