The Norco Shore Returns – and it’s not for racing

It’s about ten years since the Norco Shore was last given an update, and 20 years since it was first released. This new release goes big everywhere except the wheels, and has a coil shock with a high pivot Horst link and idler pulley.

The coil shock is just about all it has in common with its ancestor. Remember the days when bikes looked like this?

Maybe its just our eyes that are accustomed to modern bike shapes, but we doubt there will be many that think that this new Norco Shore isn’t an awful lot prettier than the old ones. The only question we have is how many places there are in the UK that are big enough for a bike like this – especially the Park model? There are only so many uplifts in the UK – but maybe this is the kind of thing you’ll keep for weekends at Dyfi Bike Park and holidays to the Alps. Apparently, it’s not for racing:

The Shore is designed for riders looking for a confident bike for jumps, hucks and long Big Mountain rides in rowdy terrain where good times and progression are the goal, and stopwatches or finish lines are not even part of the conversation.

With its alloy frame, it’s not quite the super pricey carbon machine that you might feel too guilty about keeping in the shed for occasional use. Norco says ‘While carbon does have its place in MTB, we felt that Freeride isn’t it’.

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Freeride might be about tricks, free expression and interpreting the landscape as you choose, but apparently it doesn’t mean messing too much with the intended design of a bike. The PR makes it clear that the Norco Shore has been designed for 27.5in wheels only, and anything else will compromise your ride:

‘27.5 inch wheels provide excellent strength/weight/agility for Freeride and aggressive Big Mountain trail riding. We prototyped and tested the Shore in multiple configurations. 27.5” wheels front and rear proved to be the most effective overall for the type of riding the Shore is intended for.

‘A 29” fork and wheel up front would negatively affect the Shore’s ride quality. The change in head angle and larger wheel diameter would impact the steering geometry while the redistribution of mass would put more weight over the rear of the bike and have a negative effect on kinematic support.‘

They also advise against swapping out the coil shock, saying that too will negatively affect the bike’s performance: ‘running an air shock is possible, it’s inadvisable, as the spring and damper won’t allow the suspension to react as it’s been designed to.’

The Norco Shore will be available in three models:

Norco Shore 1

• Not available in the UK
• 180mm of travel front and rear
• 225x70mm coil shock Fox Factory DHX2, Coil Spring
• air sprung single crown Fox Factory 38, GRIP 2, Float
• SRAM Eagle drivetrain
• Trans-X long-travel dropper post with adjustable travel option

Norco Shore 2 

• £3,399
• 180mm of travel front and rear
• 225x70mm coil shock RockShox Super Deluxe Coil Ultimate DH, Custom Tune
• air sprung single crown RockShox Zeb R, Charger
• Shimano 12-speed drivetrain
• Trans-X long-travel dropper post with adjustable travel option

Norco Shore Park 

• £3,699
• 190mm of rear travel, 200 front travel
• 225x75mm shock RockShox Super Deluxe Coil Ultimate DH, Custom Tune
• 200mm DebonAir sprung RockShox Boxxer fork 
• SRAM GX 7-Speed DH drivetrain
• no dropper – ‘designed to be going downhill ALL THE TIME!’

Norco Shore Geometry

The 180mm RS Zeb and 200mm RS Boxxer share similar axle to crown measurements ensuring that the intended geometry is maintained between all models.

We’re told that the Shore 1 will not be coming into the UK, but the Shore 2 and Shore Park will be brought in in relatively small quantities. Recommended pricing is £3,399 for the Shore 2 and £3,699 for the Shore Park, both are due to be available in Spring 2021.

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