The 2017 Norco Sight

Back in November of last year, we undertook some detective work after some clues had been dropped via the Norco Bikes website and the Instagram feeds of sponsored athletes, Bryn Atkinson & Jill Kitner. In that article, we alleged that Norco was soon to drop two new bikes; the 2017 Sight and Range. As of today, we can confirm one of those rumours.

Taking design inspiration from the new Norco Optic that was released last year, the 2017 Sight sees updates to the suspension design, frame geometry and internal cable routing. Like the Optic, you’ll also now be able to get a Sight in either 27.5in or 29in wheelsizes. Both options share a similar frame design, with geometry that Norco believes is near-identical between the two. Suspension travel is slightly different between the two, with the big wheeler getting 130mm of rear travel, and the 27.5in model coming with 140mm of travel.

“Balanced climbing and descending capability combined with grin-inducing playfulness and nimble handling make the Sight the ideal accomplice on any aggressive All-Mountain ride. The dialled spec includes metric rear shocks, 1x drivetrains, integrated frame protection, wide tubeless-ready rims, stealth dropper posts, and other thoughtful details that make the Sight Carbon feel like a custom build, straight out of the box.” – Norco Bikes.

The 2017 Norco Sight features:

• Carbon fibre full suspension trail bike
• 29in and 27.5in wheelsize options
• Rear travel: 140mm (27.5in) – 130mm (29in)
• Fork travel: 150mm (27.5in) – 140mm (29in)
• Head angle: 66.5° (27.5in) – 67° (29in)
• Revised A.R.T suspension design
• Enduro MAX pivot bearings
• Metric rear shock with Trunnion mount
• Gravity Tune: Shorter rear centres on smaller frames, longer rear centres on bigger frames
• Gizmo internal cable routing system
• Stealth dropper post routing
• Integrated downtube armour
• Compatible with Side Swing front derailleurs

As is the latest trend, Norco has made the new Sight slacker, longer and lower. To be exact, the designers have lobbed off half a degree from the head angle, steepened the seat angle by a full degree, dropped the bottom bracket by 5mm, and extended the reach across the board. The goal was to produce a slightly more aggressive trail bike, and they’ve carried that ethos through both the 29in and 27.5in models.

In fact, Norco claims the two bikes are almost identical in fit. While the 29er has 10mm less travel, both frames feature the same rear centre lengths (that’s chainstay length). Like other Norco full suspension frames, the Sight uses the Gravity Tune design, which sees the rear centre length tweaked between sizes. That means a Small 27.5in Sight gets a 420mm rear centre length, while an XL 27.5in Sight rocks a 440mm rear centre length. The idea is to keep the weight distribution between the front and rear wheels the same whether you’re 5’0″ or 6’4″.

One thing to note is that Norco is only offering the Sight 29er in Medium, Large and X-Large sizes. If you’re on the shorter side, there will be Small and X-Small frame sizes in the Sight 27.5in.

Also new on the 2017 Norco Sight is a reworked suspension design. It’s still called A.R.T, but Norco has tweaked the kinematics to deliver a more efficient pedalling platform. The main change as come from the rearward chainstay pivot, which is now a touch higher than it was on the previous generation Sight. The result is a less rearward axle path, which reduces overall chain growth, and there’s a fraction less progression too.

At the business end is a new Metric sized shock that features the in-vogue Trunnion mount. Norco states that sensitivity has been improved thanks to the cartridge bearing pivot, and along with the reduced chain growth, there should be less pedal feedback overall. All pivots are running Enduro MAX bearings.

Other details on the 2017 Sight frame include Boost 148x12mm spacing, and updated Gizmo internal cable routing with adaptable port covers that allow you to mix and match for your desired setup. Being a brand new high performance mountain bike, the Sight is built with a carbon frame that uses Norco’s Armorlite carbon fibre that’s as smooth on the inside as it is on the outside. Harder to see is the ‘Size Scaled Tubing’, which means the carbon walls change get thicker on the bigger frame sizes to maintain overall stiffness as rider weight increases.

So there you have it – the 2017 Norco Sight. That’s all the details we have so far, though we’re due to receive our test bike in the very near future, so we’ll be sure to keep you updated once we’ve got one to sit on and play with.

In the meantime, what do you think of the Norco Sight? If you’ve got any questions, submit them below for us, and we’ll do our best to answer them as quickly as possible for you.