Longterm Test: Norco Range Carbon LE 2014 Review

Norco hits the enduro-market with the all-new Range-series, in issue #10 the Range Carbon LE already showed its capability in the ‘Enduro World Series Bikes Test’. In a strong field of bikes the Norco finished third and impressed us for pure enduro racing. After the EWS-Bikes test we took the Range home and made some bigger plans for her.

We have been testing the Norco Range Carbon LE for nearly 1000 kilometers, on all kinds of terrain and in all kinds of weather and discovered it has an impressively wide capability. The Carbon LE isn’t available in Europe, but the other – also more affordable – models are, both in carbon as also in aluminum.

enduro mountainbike magazin norco range limited edition le reviewed longterm test team tested-16

The Frame

The Norco Range has a super solid carbon fiber frame, only the small chainstays and the rocker are made from aluminum. The design presents an impression of durability, all the tubes are super oversized and all frame junctions are clean. The headtube is a slack 66 degrees, the chainstays are rather short – 431mm – and the low top-tube provides good clearance. Cables are routed internally through the downtube, and on the right side also through the chainstays. The overall looks are simply clean.

The carbon frame with some nice graphics

Components

The Range Carbon LE has an extraordinary price of 7890CAD, showing off with only the best components. Norco says they specified this model 100% how they personally would like it themselves and it’s good. The suspension is provided by a Pike fork and a Cane Creek Double Barrel CS shock, both working perfectly together and both delivering 160mm of travel.

The drivetrain is a mixture of the SRAM XX1 and XO1 components and fit the bike’s purpose very well. The drivetrain covers a wide range of shifting with the 32-tooth chainring and the 10-42 cassette, but didn’t always work perfectly, in very dry conditions the shifting performance simply wasn’t the best. Also the derailleur is so big that we couldn’t avoid several impacts from rocks and (small) crashes. This surprised us as in our experience, XX1 has generally been very reliable, but in this case we encountered problems

Canecreek Double Barrel Air Climb Switch — Cane Creek Double Barrel Air Climb Switch

Sram XX1, by principle really good, in reality some small issues. On the Norco we counted seven times where the chain fell off. A chainguide would be the solution — SRAM XX1, in principle really good, in reality some small issues. On the Norco we counted seven times where the chain felt off. A chainguide would be the solution

The Sram XX1 derailleur with some scratches, but working good. — The SRAM XX1 derailleur with some scratches, but working well.

The wheels on the Range are Notubes XTR Flow 650B Rims on DT Swiss 340 hubs with Maxxis High Roller II tires. Nicely stiff and light with a wide rim-bed, but we experienced poor build quality. The spokes in the rear-wheel loosened up from time to time which was frustrating. A nice extra Canadian touch to the bike is the Raceface cockpit, the 65mm Atlas Stem with the SIXc 785mm bars are a great combination. The stem might seem to be a bit long, but it does fit really well. This test bike is a size large, on the medium and small they mount a shorter stem.

The Raceface cockpit, just clean and perfect

Some small but effective tuning: this avoids more noise than you might think!

The Rockshox Reverb could have been 150mm instead of 125mm, but works really well. The build up of the Norco finishes with the Ergon grips, XO Trail brakes and WTB Saddle. It’s just a sick selection of components; we certainly had nothing more to wish for.

Minor issues: the entrance of the internal cable routing kept popping out

Trails

On our hometrails around Stuttgart we’ve spend most of our time on the Norco. The whole bike weighs only 13.1kg and accelerates well. It doesn’t have the most efficient suspension, but the Climb-mode on the shock works great. Don’t expect a lockout, Cane Creek believes in shock performance when climbing. When you switch into the Climb mode with the little lever on the shock, you change both the compression and also the rebound. The lever isn’t available as a remote, but works great and feels durable. When riding trails on low speeds, the Climb-mode works really well.

Climbing

The Pike fork travel can be dropped down and gives the bike a whole different feeling, for long ascents this is very recommendable! The Climb-mode on the Cane Creek shock performs brilliantly on uphill trails and really makes you fast. But as above, don’t expect a lockout. When it comes to the drive train the lightest gear is a 32-42 ratio. On long steep climbs you definitely have to be fit to pedal everything, but it’s doable.

Downhill

On one of the first trips with the Range, we went to Finale Ligure in Italy, where we also performed a big EWS-test. With the Range we spend nine days including three days of shuttling. My two amigos brought their Santa Cruz V10c and Trek Session carbon; first I was a little scared riding with them on just an enduro bike. In Finale we found all kinds of tracks, a lot with good flow, but also very rough tracks like the ‘Madonna’ where the Athertons trained during the winter on their DH-rigs.

The Norco impressed immediately on the flowy-downhill tracks, and worked so precisely and fast. On the rougher tracks I expected nasty situations trying to keep up with my friends on their DH bikes, but this is where the Range really convinced, it performed so well! The low weight combined with the near DH-performance really makes it a danger weapon in rough terrain.

The nine days of riding in Finale were hard for the Range and pretty much all the bolts in the frame loosened up during the week. The rear-wheel needed to be re-adjusted three times and even the X12 rear-axle came loose 2 times. All these little issues have nothing to do with the quality of the components, but just the assembly. If you’re getting the Norco Range, we would recommend adding a little more loctite to all the bolts.

Good and rough times in Finale Ligure, Italy

Downhill? Enduro? It doesn't matter, the Norco Range handles a lot! — Downhill? Enduro? It doesn’t matter, the Norco Range handles a lot!

Bottom Line

Every bike has its purpose, and the Norco Range Carbon LE will fit those who look for an enduro bike that can handle very rough terrain. The components are a dream and details of the bike will keep impressing those who just want the best.

Text: Ruben Torenbeek Photos: Christoph Bayer & Robin Schmitt

Did you enjoy this article? If so, we would be stoked if you decide to support us with a monthly contribution. By becoming a supporter of ENDURO, you will help secure a sustainable future for high-quality mountain bike journalism. Click here to learn more.