Norco Sight C1

With a rather conservative 160/150 mm of travel (f/r), the Norco Sight enters as the undisputed underdog in our 2024 enduro group test. However, its high pivot rear suspension promises to deliver plenty of speed on the trails alongside countless customisation options. How did the Norco fare against the big boys?

**Norco** Sight C1 | 160/150 mm (f/r)
16.2 kg in size 4 | € 8,499 | Manufacturer’s website

The Norco Sight refuses to be pigeonholed! With its 160/150 mm of travel, it’s the shortest-travel competitor in our 2024 enduro group test, and would have been equally at home in our trail bike group test. That said, the high-pivot rear suspension points in one clear direction: downhill! Alongside Norco’s popular Ride Aligned system, which was revised for the new season and provides detailed, sensible setup recommendations, the € 8,499 Norco Sight features the Canadian manufacturer’s proprietary Missing Link Kit, which includes a link arm and two lower shock mounts, allowing you to between convert between a full 29er and a mullet bike, without altering the geometry and kinematics. For this test, we rode the mullet variant, which tips the scales at 16.2 kg – still heavier than your average enduro bike, even with half the travel missing!

For an overview of the test fleet head to the group test: The best enduro bike 2024 – 14 of the most exciting enduro bikes in our 2024 comparison test

The 2024 Norco Sight C1 in detail

Although the Norco Sight generates less travel than the rest of the test field, it looks like a mean downhill machine. While the Sight still relies on a classic four-bar link suspension design with a vertically mounted shock, the latest iteration employs a high pivot suspension layout with an idler pulley, which mitigates the pedal kickback which would otherwise occur with a high pivot design. The idler is integrated seamlessly into the chainstay, ensuring a clean, discrete look. The cables are routed internally and disappear into the frame through conventional cable ports on the head tube. That said, the cockpit looks quite cluttered, and the cables rattle loudly against each other on the trail. Our test bike comes with a protective film at the front of the head tube and behind the shock, preventing the cables from rubbing against the frame. There’s also tape on the seat stays, which prevents your shoes from rubbing away at the paint. A generously sized seat and chainstay protector prevents paint chips and chain slap. While the Sight doesn’t have a storage compartment in the down tube, it does have a tool mount on the top tube, which can be used to secure all your trail essentials directly to the frame – and there’s a bottle cage mount on the down tube too! A big TPU plate in the bottom bracket area shields the frame against stray rocks, while a shuttle guard prevents chafing when you throw the bike on the back of a shuttle truck.

**An elegant solution**
The idler pulley is neatly integrated into the bike’s chainstay.

**Pasta Disasta**
The spaghetti chaos of cables makes for a rattly cockpit – annoying!

The spec of the 2024 Norco Sight C1

For the spec of the Sight C1, Norco rely exclusively on top-shelf components, and they also have a trick up their sleeve with the suspension: the FOX DHX2 Factory coil shock comes standard with a Sprindex spring, which allows you to fine-tune the spring rate – nice! The shock is paired with a FOX 36 Factory GRIP2 fork. Fellow Canadian brand OneUp supply the V2 dropper post, which offers a whopping 210 mm of travel, and can be inserted all the way into the frame. Braking is taken care of by SRAM CODE Silver Stealth brakes, which are paired with a 200 mm rotor at the front and smaller 180 mm disc at the rear. This makes the Norco the only bike in this test which doesn’t have a 200 mm rotor at the rear – we recommend upgrading as soon as you get your bike. Regardless of which category you put it in, the small rear rotor just doesn’t do the Sight justice, overheating on long descents and quickly leading to arm pump quickly.

**Coilshock Tuning is not a crime**
The Sprindex spring on the FOX DHX2 shock allows you to fine-tune the spring rate to suit your needs and riding style

**Ring of fire!**
The small 180 mm rear rotor overheats quickly on long descents, resulting in brake fade and an inconsistent bite point.

**I like to move it**
With a massive 210 mm of travel, the OneUp dropper ensures plenty of freedom of movement on the bike.

SRAM also supply the mixed, electronic Eagle Transmission drivetrain: mixed, because it consists of a cassette, chain and crankset from SRAM’s more affordable GX range, and a SRAM X0 rear derailleur. While this might look great on the shop floor, we don’t really see the point – it doesn’t offer any particular advantages on the trail over sticking with a full GX setup. For the wheels, Norco rely on a robust Stan’s NoTubes Flow S2 alloy wheelset and MAXXIS tires, combining a Minion DHF at the front and matching Minion DHR II at the rear, both in the puncture-prone EXO+ casing and hard MaxxTerra rubber compound. For more traction and control, we recommend upgrading to the softer MaxxGrip compound at the front. If you spend lots of time on rough trails, you should consider upgrading to more robust tires with a tougher casing, like MAXXIS’ DoubleDown.

Norco’s Ride Aligned setup guide provides detailed, sensible setup recommendations – many manufacturers could take an example.

€ 8,499

Specifications

Fork FOX 36 Factory GRIP2 160 mm
Rear Shock FOX DHX2 Factory 150 mm
Seatpost OneUp Dropper Post V2 210 mm
Brakes SRAM CODE Silver Stealth 200/180 mm
Drivetrain SRAM Eagle X0/GX Transmission 1x12
Stem Norco CNC Alloy 40 mm
Handlebar Deity Ridgeline Alu 800 mm
Wheelset Stan’s NoTubes Flow S2 Alu 29"/27.5"
Tires MAXXIS Minion DHF, EXO+, MaxxTerra/MAXXIS Minion DHR II, EXO+, MaxxTerra 2.5/2.4

Technical Data

Size 1 2 3 4 5
Weight 16.2 kg

Specific Features

Toolmount
Ride Aligned Setup Guide

Tuning tips: Tires with softer rubber compound at the front | More robust casing for better puncture protection

**Helmet** Troy Lee Designs D4 Carbon | **Goggle** 100 % Armega | **Shirt** Troy Lee Designs Sprint Ultra | **Shorts** Troy Lee Designs Skyline | **Knee Pads** Troy Lee Designs Stage | **Shoes** Leatt ProClip 5.0 Armega

The geometry of the 2024 Norco Sight

The Norco Sight is available in five sizes, which the manufacturer calls 1 to 5. However, reach values are on the long side across all sizes, with our test bike in size 4 rocking a massive 497.5 mm of reach – the longest in the entire test field. According to Norco’s recommendations, frame size 4 is a perfect fit for all our testers, who all measure between 180 cm and 185 cm. The massive reach is paired with a super short 430 mm seat tube which, together with the long-travel dropper, ensures plenty of freedom of movement on the bike. To ensure consistent handling across all sizes, the chainstay length grows with the frame size in 4 mm intervals, with our test bike in size 4 sporting a very perky 438 mm. The Sight rolls out of the factory on 29” wheels, but can be converted to a mullet bike using Norco’s Missing Link Kit. The special conversion kit, which consists of a link arm and two lower shock mounts, allows you to switch between the two wheel size configurations without altering the bike’s geometry or kinematics – awesome!

Size	1	2	3	4	5
Reach	422 mm	447 mm	472 mm	497 mm	522 mm
Stack	618 mm	627 mm	636 mm	645 mm	654 mm
Chainstay Length	420 mm	424 mm	428 mm	432 mm	436 mm
BB Height	353 mm	353 mm	353 mm	353 mm	353 mm
Seat Tube	350 mm	370 mm	385 mm	430 mm	445 mm
Head Angle	64°	64°	64°	64°	64°
Seat Angle	77°	77.25°	77.50°	77.75°	78°
Horizontal Top Tube	565 mm	589 mm	613 mm	637 mm	661 mm
Head Tube	105 mm	115 mm	125 mm	135 mm	145 mm
Wheelbase	1181 mm	1214 mm	1247 mm	1281 mm	1314 mm

The 2024 Norco Sight C1 on the trail

The Norco Sight 2024 C1 places you in a slightly stretched, sporty riding position, which is mainly due to the long reach. Nevertheless, the position is still very comfortable, and it’s perfectly suitable for long days in the saddle. Despite the tall stack height, the front wheel always remains planted on the trail, which is the main advantage of the sporty position. The rear suspension remains active and harmonises with the rider. Overall, the Norco is very comfortable and generates tons of traction on technical climbs. On gravel ramps, however, we often reached for the climb switch, which is easily accessible while riding. Despite the shorter travel, the Norco is one of the slowest climbers in this test, and roughly at the same level as the Propain Tyee.

The Sight is very composed, but also a little sluggish and cumbersome in tight, winding trail sections.

Although the Sight comes across as the underdog in this test, it clearly punches above its weight class, delivering a composed, confident ride.

Despite the coil shock, the Norco’s suspension lacks a little sensitivity, but in return provides a lot of feedback from the ground and plenty of reserves

The long reach is also noticeable as soon as you drop into a trail. There’s very little pressure on the front wheel, which forces you to actively shift your weight forward to prevent the front end from washing out. Above all, the length of the bike shows its dark side in slow, narrow trail sections, where it requires greater physical effort to negotiate sharp hairpins, switchbacks and tight berms – and that’s despite the smaller rear wheel, which is meant to improve the bike’s agility. However, when the trail straightens out, the Sight really comes to life. Here it impresses with great composure, playing nearly in the same class as the bad boys in this test, the Trek Slash and Yeti SB160, despite having less travel. This is partly due to the suspension, which, despite the coil shock, isn’t the most sensitive out there but offers plenty of reserves, ironing out fast consecutive impacts without breaking a sweat. With big compressions, however, you can feel the wheelbase stretching, which changes the weight distribution between the front and rear wheels noticeably – a typical side-effect of high pivot suspension designs that takes some getting used to.

Who should take a closer look at the 2024 Norco Sight C1?

The Norco Sight is a great bike for anyone who wants to ride a simple yet stylish high-pivot bike. Despite being more of a trail bike on paper, it feels at home on fast, rough trails. However, when choosing your size, you should bear in mind that the reach is significantly longer compared to most other bikes.

CHARACTERISTICS

UPHILL

sluggish
efficient

AGILITY

cumbersome
playful

STABILITY

nervous
confident

HANDLING

demanding
balanced

SUSPENSION

harsh
plush

FUN FACTOR

planted
poppy

VALUE FOR MONEY

terrible
very good

INTENDED USE

Cross Country

Trail

Enduro

Downhill

Our conclusions about the Norco Sight C1

While at first glance, the Norco Sight might look like a snail in a snake pit, it’s far more composed on the trail than many of the more potent enduro bruisers in this test. This is partly due to the long frame, but the suspension and geometry play their part too. That said, the Norco calls for compromises, both in terms of handling and agility. What’s really nice, however, is that Norco’s extensive Ride-Aligned setup is extremely helpful with the initial setup.

Tops

Very detailed setup guide
Enables different wheel sizes without altering the bike’s geometry and kinematics
Very composed

Flops

Cumbersome handling
Not very agile

For more info, visit Norco’s website.

The test field