Riding the New Norco Range - First Ride Report and Discussing this new 170mm enduro-ready 29er. HD

Although our testing period so far has been short, there may not be any other bike in our current stable that has us itching to hit the trails quite as much. The new Norco Range is a very awesome bike for those in the market for an aggressive 170mm 29er. We did strike the lower link area trying to climb up tall obstacles at very slow speeds and we are not sure if that will be a once in a blue moon sort of thing, or something that becomes an issue. Obviously, it is not something a majority of riders encounter on regular rides, us included, so we’re optimistic it won’t be a big deal. Beyond that, with a little more cockpit refinement, a handlebar swap and more time, this bike will likely be one of the hottest sleds in the shop. According to senior product manager Jim Jamieson, the new 2022 Norco Range all started with the quest to make a true, EWS level, enduro-ready race bike. The Norco Range has a lot of history in the decade it has been around. The latest generation was introduced in 2017, so it was certainly a bit long in tooth and this redesigned frame puts it right on the cutting edge of current bike technology. Norco Bicycles’ team sought out key ride characteristics they wanted in a long travel 29er and how they could make it a truly capable enduro category 29er that allows riders to focus on the gnarliest trails and challenges without distraction while simultaneously conserving energy and speed for faster race times. Let us take a look at some of the key factors that make this the most capable, and bad ass Norco Range we’ve ever ridden. NEED FOR SPEED Before we ever hopped on our stealthy new Range, we spent some quality time discussing the bike with key members of the bike’s development team. Two of those members were senior development engineer Colin Ryan and engineering manager David Cox. According to Cox, Norco had noticed that with the release of the new Norco Sight, that many riders had actually chosen to go with a shorter travel bike that was for many riders, more capable and better riding than the current Range. This shift towards the ever-capable Sight combined with the recent release of Norco’s new Shore meant that there was a bit of a hole in the lineup. With the Shore being a full-blown freeride, park ripper and the Sight being a bit more of the Swiss Army knife, Norco set out crafting a very cool aluminum test mule with data acquisition equipment. That mule featured lots of different adjustments and mounting points on the frame that helped testers and engineers find the right combination of link arm, shock tune and suspension kinematics to get the desired feel. That desired feel is an isolated one. “We wanted to allow riders to focus on the trail ahead without distraction, conserve energy for longer descents, stay safer when things get gnarly and isolate that rear wheel from affecting the entire bike and rider,” said Jamieson of the new bike’s goals. Many brands are shifting to high pivot designs with idlers as a way to gi