2024 NORCO SIGHT C1 REVIEW

HIGH PIVOT PEDALER?

Words by Drew Rohde  |  Photos by Dusten Ryen

Featuring the all-new VPSHP, high pivot suspension platform, our crew was excited to review the new Norco Sight C1. The high pivot design may seem to be a drastic departure from previous generations of the Sight, but if you’ve been paying attention to Norco’s longer travel mountain bikes then the 5th generation Norco Sight shouldn’t be all that surprising.

Nevertheless, we’re certain that the newly designed rig has divided the camp, and we’d love to hear what you have to say in the comments down below.

Originally the Sight was a 50/50 bike, balancing climbing and descending bias. Over the years, it morphed towards a 60/40 bike, and now the 2024 Sight may have hit a 65% DH focus. That said, it still retains some pretty impressive climbing capabilities, which we’ll get into down below.

ABOUT THE 2024 NORCO SIGHT C1

SUSPENSION | Sporting 160mm of travel up front with a 150mm VPS_HP rear suspension system, the Sight can be run with either a mixed wheel platform or dual 29” wheels. Consumers will need to swap a linkarm, purchased separately to compensate for any changes to geometry and maintain ideal performance. The Missing Link Kit retails for $134.25 and helps maintain kinematics and geometry as you swap wheel sizes.

Norco’s engineers worked to give this bike some solid climbing chops for a high pivot rig, without compromising the traits some riders have grown to love from high pivot bikes. The rear wheel axle path moves 12mm back before it starts arcing forward into the travel. This is a less rearward axle path when compared to the Range and many other aggressive high pivots, and we’re happy about that. The shorter rearward path reduces the unwanted consequences of a lengthening rear end off slower speed drops, lips of jumps or in the middle of corners.

GEOMETRY | Following trends once again, the new 2024 Norco Sight sees some more aggressive numbers across the board, which should provide riders with more confidence to let off the brakes and push. The Sight’s sizing structure now follows a numerical offering, from size 1 to size 5.

At 5’11”- 6’1” and with what appears to be a preference for more “conservative” (we’d like to say playful) Reach numbers, we found ourselves in a bit of a no-man’s land. We received the size 4 Sight C1 to test, which has a 497.5mm reach. This is a chunk larger than our 480-485mm ideal reach number, yet the S3’s 472.5 reach may have left us feeling a bit cramped, even though it would have been more fun on tighter bits of trail. We’ll get into that a bit more in the rider impressions.

HOW MUCH DOES THE NORCO SIGHT WEIGH?

Our size S4 Norco Sight C1 weighed in at 36lbs. It’s certainly heavier than some more XC-biased 150/160 bikes, but the flipside is the Sight’s burly, planted and sturdy feel. It seems more riders are starting to prioritise durability and downhill performance in this space, and we appreciate the extra capability it adds to bikes like the Sight.

MODELS AND AVAILABILITY

The Norco Sight V5 is available in Carbon (C series builds) or Aluminum (A series builds) and can also be purchased as a frame kit. Pricing starts at $3,999 for a complete alloy bike or the Carbon frame-only; and goes up to $7,499 for our carbon Sight C1 review bike. All-in-all, Norco is offering quite competitive value and nice spec selections from a brand that still relies on brick and mortar dealers.

The Sight comes with Norco’s “No Other Way” limited lifetime warranty, which should add some confidence that they will have your back if you have any issues.

WHICH MODEL IS THE BEST VALUE?

We’re personally big fans of aluminum bikes, as they can offer some advantages to comfort, and arguably some improved durability in the event of tip overs. However, weight weenies likely won’t appreciate the 2lb weight penalty. We like the look of the A2 MX quite a bit for a bike that gets you out on the trail and ripping right away. It’ll give you room to grow and upgrade with some parts that may still be heavily discounted in the future.

If you have a bit more to spend; must have carbon; or want a little “higher” performance, we’d likely skip up and go with the Sight C2, as it has some nice RockShox spec; improved brakes and drivetrain, as well as some better wheels that should hold up for aggressive riders a bit longer.

THE DIRT

I was able to get the Norco Sight dialed in rather quickly, thanks to Norco’s Ride Aligned calculator. It helped to get the setup close before I even hit the dirt, which was much appreciated. The Sprindex also helped get our coil shock dialed in and gave some adjustability depending on the terrain we were riding.

A couple of our testers spent time aboard the bike on trails from Washington down to Oregon. We rode everything from purpose built MTB trails to backcountry pedal epics and old mining/logging trails deep in the forests.

With a 497.5mm reach, we found ourselves running out of trail on the tighter backcountry and raw trails. The length of the bike made it a challenge to navigate some of these super narrow bits of singletrack or tight switchbacks. However, when it came time to open things up, the Sight absolutely blew us away.

The biggest standout in the character of the Norco Sight was its rear suspension. This is coming from someone who’s not exactly a high pivot-prophet! But Norco, have done a great job balancing playfulness, support, pop and ground-tracking compliance. Even under braking, the rear suspension does a good job remaining planted, and keeps you trucking on. Stay off the brakes and the bike rewards you even more with speed and composure. It really is one of my favorite 150/160mm bikes of the year.

With the fun out of the way, the Norco Sight was fine on the way back up the trail for another lap. It didn’t make us want to give up and push the bike up the hill, but was not the light and spritely Sight of yesteryear, either. Noise from the idler is noticeable – moreso on drier chains – but was not a nuisance. The compliance and comfort were there on the way up, which meant sitting down and spinning over the roughest climbs still remained comfortable. Similarly, traction on the climbs was impressive, as the rear tire just hugs the terrain beneath you.

The Wolf’s Last Word

While there are certainly some polarizing things about the Norco Sight, our overall impression of this bike was a very positive one. Riders who prioritize suspension stiffness and low weight for climbing efficiency will likely prefer the outgoing Sight compared to this burlier generation. Other notables on the negative side include some occasional cable rattle, and we could see some people being upset about the lack of in-frame storage. It wasn’t a huge issue for us, as we swap bikes too often to leave tools and bits in all of our test bikes. The last complaint we had was with the sizing, which split our ideal Reach zone of 480-485mm, and was a bit of a bummer. Obviously this is very personal and can depend on rider style and local terrain, but that’s our opinion and we have verifiable reasons.

Moving onto the plentiful list of positive accolades, the Norco Sight could really let trail riders push harder, go faster and progress as descenders. The confidence the suspension platform and general geometry of the bike provided meant this bike was ready to be pushed hard and forgive mistakes. It remained supple and lively enough to keep tires planted when we needed to plow the trail, but also lifted into the air without much effort or the high pivot drawback. The lengthening of the rear end is not as drastic as their Range or some more aggressive HP bikes, and this meant less negative effects of a high pivot. There is no weirdness in corners from an overly growing wheelbase; popping off smaller roots and features is still fun, and you’ll definitely be reaching for new gaps aboard this thing. Climbing traction and comfort were equally impressive, as the rear end’s suppleness stood above many other bikes we’ve tested recently.

WHO SHOULD BUY THE NORCO SIGHT?

If you’re an all-around mountain biker who spends time on rougher terrain, and you’re seeking a mountain bike with a supple and fun suspension platform, the Norco Sight is worth a look. If you like tackling chunky or technical climbs, and aren’t super concerned with being the first one up, then this will be a great trail bike for you! Provided the reach numbers work for your height and local terrain.

Price: $7,499.99
Weight: 36lbs (C1 size 4 – tested)
Website: Norco.com