Orange lowers, a pearl white paint job and rolling on chrome — the new Norco Range VLT C1 certainly looks ready to rip. But is there real substance behind all that style? I’ve spent the last few days finding out.
The first thing you notice when you jump on the bike is that the sizing feels spot on. I’m 5’11 and felt instantly at home on the S3. The next thing you notice, once the Bosch motor has powered you up to the trailhead, is this bike is fast. Properly fast.
Drop into the first trail, let off the brakes (more on those later), point, shoot and the Range instantly picks up speed. The Fox Factory suspension and high-pivot rear end get to work straight away, smoothing out rocks, roots and dealing with square-edge hits with confidence.
The bike feels balanced and planted in a straight line, but it takes very little input to pick it up and place it exactly where you want it. It retains that playful nature of the Sight VLT, but adds the extra travel and muscle needed to deal with proper technical terrain and serious chunk.
In fact, I often found myself arriving at corners carrying a serious amount of speed, wondering which bush I was about to end up in after inevitably blowing through the turn.
Fortunately, the Range has you covered.
Turn in, push through the heels and the Norco snaps around the corner like it’s on rails, firing you straight into the next section of trail. The front end on this bike is superb.
Helping keep everything rubber-side down are Shimano’s new XT brakes. Braking was consistent and the four-pot XT calipers delivered plenty of power, even with the 180mm rotor on the rear. However, heavier riders, or those riding long and steep terrain, would benefit from swapping it out for something a little bigger.
The redesigned levers allow your fingers to hook in nicely and although the lever feel isn’t the lightest out there, I can’t say I noticed this when actually riding the bike. I had full confidence getting on the brakes late, knowing I could rein the charging Range VLT.
I only had time for a couple of quick rides on the Norco, but I came away slightly confused — in a good way. I couldn’t quite work out how a bike that feels every bit like a full-fat long-travel e bike when it’s ironing out the trail can suddenly feel so active and alive when you spot a last-minute gap or came hurtling into a corner.
Don’t get me wrong — you know you’re riding a bike designed to take a hammering. But it also eggs you on to have some proper fun along the way.