[Closed] Norco Fluid, Sight

Nice bikes, good value

I had a Sight with the Rockshox kit. The rear suspension bottomed out waaaaaay too easily and had to go beyond the 'pro' setting on their Ride Aligned set-up suggestions and add more tokens, and then you lost small bump sensitivity. Seen loads of snapped shock hardware because of this. The Fox shock seemed better due to larger bottom out bumper and slightly longer stroke IIRC.
They climb well without the need for a lockout / climb switch, although I'd rather have slightly less efficiency uphill (and a climb switch when needed) and better performance on the downs.
I also didn't like the 'oversteer' feeling but others like it so that's personal preference.
I know people who like them but I never gelled with mine.

I've got a Sight A1 as it was in stock around the corner and was the nicest bike I could get my hands on at the time. I haven't used it much yet but I like the feel of it. Top spec for the money but I did grab it in the sale.

It's my first 29er but since I'm coming from a Geometron it actually feels very small and agile so I'm enjoying popping wheelies and boosting every little bump. Also I like carrying a water bottle and tool pouch.

Sorry I can't give you in in depth analysis but I think if it's in the ballpark for the kind of riding you like you can't go too far wrong. There's nothing weird or unusual about it.

Edit- as above^, I'm running the rear shock much harder than it suggests on their set up guide. No big deal. Mostly because I've been riding out from home on the road before I get to any fun stuff.

What I'm looking for is as beefy of a bike that I can still ride out to trails and ride to the top of runs in places like Machen and Wylie. Machen Mountain has some great tech from the top but it's quite a serious climb to get up there, either technical or v steep road.

Honestly, it's a well proven, horst link design frame, with a pretty standard progression and curve compared to others in the market that are similar (Transition, Commencal, Spesh, etc), i've got the optic, it works well, feels pretty similar to other horst link bikes i've had, can't really complain about it in any way, rear shock set up as always is a bit of a mess about, as stated earlier, it's pretty much a similar progression and curve to the competition, so a few tweaks can work well, i changed rear shocks as i had the option, and it worked well without having to mess about with spacers too much.

Think they're a good option nowadays, with Tredz (Halfords) now being the distributor and sales company it makes life a bit easier for any issues, but they are in their infancy at this, and due to covid it seems to have been a struggle to get stock and spares, but they are starting to come in.

^ The Optic isn't the Sight though. I've not heard of any bottoming out issues or broken shock hardware with the Optic. The first time I went off a drop (that I built and know well) on my Sight, there was such a loud 'crack' that I thought I'd wrecked my frame. But it was just a viscous bottoming out of the shock.
Despite the local Norco rep claiming that the sky will collapse if you put a coil on the Sight, I know people that have had good luck doing this. Again the large bottom out bumper probably helps with the end stroke.
Anyway by all means buy a Sight 😀 Just make sure to get the upgraded lower shock hardware with the 30x10 shaft and proper bolt, rather than the spindly two piece bolt that inexplicably joins in the middle of the hardware. I've seen a shock destroyed from this design flaw.

I have a Sight, and had the bottoming issues with the standard super deluxe, so I installed a megneg, have only ridden it twice, but it felt way better.
Just need to dial the Lyrik now…

I’ve had bottoming out on the optic, but as stated, it’s a Horst link with the usual issue that it’s quite linear in the last third of the travel

There’s a few ways you can sort it, I went with the increased volume spacer, on the sight you could do this, megneg it, cascade link it, or go coil with a progressive spring, loads of options available to dial in the suspension

I haven't ridden a Horst link bike since 2005! However there are lots of options at this price so I don't need to put up with potential issues.

Sorry molgrips for the hijack, but I'm in a similar place with the Optic. Feels lovely, but kept bottoming out (never felt harsh, though).

Went to set pressure by sag, 220psi got me to 26, 27% sag. Quite a bit above the 180 recommended by the Norco. Not cracked the can open to see what spacers are in there. RockShox serial# lookup says 4, Norco reckon 4.5, which they say is the max.

Putting more air in is the last thing you do, as it just makes the ride harsher, check the spacers, see what you can do there, high speed compression is also a good thing for this, if your shock has it, you can put this up to reduce those bottoming outs.

Reality though is that bottoming out happens and if it's not the big harsh hits, is it a real problem for you, that's why they have the bungs in there to reduce any damage, if you're bottoming out all the time it's an issue, but every so often when you're doing the big stuff, that's just using the suspension on your bike, Optic is 125mm, i can blow through that easily if i treat the bike like an enduro rig, which i do every so often as it replaced my Transition Patrol, another Horst link bike ;o)

Yup, I'd much rather whack some spacers in, but I thought I'd try setting pressure by sag, and was surprised how much more pressure it took to get below 30% sag.

Bottom outs aren't a big issue. I only notice when I look at the o-ring but I'm only 10 rides in after 30 years on hardtails, so it's all way cushier that before! Also, I'm just riding local trails at the moment, and it would be good to find some settings which work for bigger stuff without messing about with pressures every ride. No HSC, only L.

Yeah, just check if you can add a spacer, realistically your bike has x amount of travel, and you can use it all up depending on what you do, that's just physics, i tend to live with it with the Optic as i know that it does what i like well, and if i take it to BPW/417/FoD i can get away with some heavier stuff, albeit knowing it'll bottom out.

Personally i'm more worried about rebound and being bucked when that happens!

They look nice enough, but with the issues mentioned and the fact that Tredz are distributing, I'd just look at something else like a Vitus, Nukeproof or Canyon.

The Canyon Spectral in standard or 125mm version should be fantastic for those Valleys off-piste trails.

Spectral is a contender yes. The Valleys trails in question are steep but not overly rocky usually so yes I wouldn't need a lot of travel. But on those occasions when I've taken my Patriot to rocky places I love being able to float over rocks at any speed so I'd be concerned that 125mm would not be enough. Probably want 150/160mm.

Yeah, me too.

I'd definitely consider the Nukeproof Mega AL if I lived down there as well.

It pedals very well for its travel and is a decent weight.

Yeah, looks great. Wondering if it's a bit too much bike still though? I think I want something at the rowdy end of trail or the nimble end of enduro. However, I don't actually know - never ridden an Enduro bike so I don't know what they are like on longer rides; similarly never ridden a trail bike so I don't know what they are like on tech descents.

Beginning to think the Spectral 29 is the best option.

for some reason my 2018 sight has a 29+ fork on it rather than a normal 29

If it matters (and it does), Norco seem to have nailed the lovely paintwork aspect. I recently bought a Torrent hardtail from Tredz and the colour and finish is best described as 'spangly'

Only problem with the Canyon is getting them and the support, had a look at them before going with the optic, same issue i had thinking about a YT Izzo, bloody brexit!