TGR Tested: 2022 Norco Range C1

Norco's new High Pivot Range will outperform most DH bikes on the descents - and it will get you up the hill too. | Katie Lozancich photo.

You know that split second when Clark Kent runs inside a telephone booth and becomes Superman? Or when Diana Prince does her little pirouette thing and transforms into Wonderwoman? That’s basically what happens when you sit on the saddle of Norco’s latest enduro machine, the Range. Granted you don’t instantly get a superhero cape, but that’s okay. Instead, you get a surge of confidence for riding steep chunky terrain at ungodly speeds. Sounds enticing, right?

The Range is a bike that commands attention. The first time I saw it out of the box it felt like a spaceship had arrived in my garage. It felt futuristic with its beefy down tube, shock tucked away in the frame, and high virtual pivot suspension. Other riders at the bike park would often ask if I was riding an e-bike due to its unique appearance. This eye-catching look is a big part of its story. The Norco team spent countless hours reinventing the Range, testing model after model until the bike was just right.

I’ll dive more into that backstory later, but for now, what you need to know is that Range could be the most capable enduro bike the world has ever seen. Designed to top EWS podiums (though it’s been seen competing in freeride events like Hardline), it has this uncanny ability to mow through whatever the trail throws at it. And while racing was at the forefront of the Range’s ideation, it’s just as appealing of a bike for a recreation-oriented rider. If you love riding steep, challenging terrain and want a bike that can step up your riding, then the Range might just be what you need.

Background

10 years ago, Norco debuted their first iteration of the Range. It’s important to remember that at the time, this was a pre-enduro world, so that bike was more of an aggressive all-mountain bike. It was an ideal choice for someone who wanted a jack-of-all-trades, but when Norco released the Sight in 2013, folks began to favor it over the Range. It performed significantly better on the uphills, becoming the all-mountain bike choice of their lineup. Suddenly Norco found themselves in a unique position. Rather than just keep making the same bike, the team saw an opportunity to reimagine the Range and its identity.

Coil is the only option for the new Range - the frame's kinematics are designed specifically around a long-travel coil shock. | Katie Lozancich photo.

Their starting point? Enduro World Series racing. By then, the EWS was an integral part of the industry. Putting the racer’s needs and wants first, Norco began scheming how the Range could complement this growing segment of mountain biking. For one, the bike had to be capable of handling big challenging descents, but not be so burly that it was a slog to pedal uphill. The bike also needed to have the racer’s back in terms of reliability. Anyone who’s raced an enduro will tell you that it’s a grind. You’re racing for several hours, carrying your tools and water, and often dropping into completely blind terrain. The bike needed to minimize rider’s mistakes and give them the confidence to go full throttle when they needed it. With this wishlist in mind, the team got to work.

The final result is an aggressive carbon machine with 170mm of suspension in both the front and rear. It only comes as a 29er, and if you try to mullet it, you'll disappoint the engineers. They suggest you don't go messing with the finely-tuned kinematics on this bike! Perhaps the most obvious design feature is the high virtual pivot suspension. On most mountain bikes the main pivot is located low on the frame near the cranks. It’s not necessarily a bad thing, but it means when your rear wheel hits an obstacle, the rear axle will move up and forward as it goes through its travel. High pivots, however, allow the axle to move in a rearward path, which allows the bike to “grow” over an obstacle - making it more stable right when you need it most. It might not seem like a big deal, but it does a better job of absorbing all kinds of impacts—and you feel the difference. Essentially it sucks up the bumps, turning the chunder into a magic carpet ride.

The Tech

The Range comes in three different configurations: C1, C2, and C3. This summer I tested the top tier build which comes with Fox Factory 38 fork, Fox DHX2 Factory Coil shock, SRAM X01 Eagle drivetrain, We Are One Union carbon rims w/ Onyx Vesper hubs, meaty Maxxis tires (Assegai DD 2.5 on the front, and Dissector DD 2.5 on the back), and SRAM X1 Eagle carbon cranks. Along with it comes a steep price tag of $9,500, but Norco argues that you get your money’s worth, which looking at the well-curated parts, you actually do. The bike is ready to race at the highest level straight from the box, therefore eliminating the need to upgrade anything. Even the cheaper C3 build—priced at $5,599—is a capable race bike straight from the box. Despite being a cheaper build, it comes with the same Fox Factory DHX2 shock and Maxxis tires, which is a nice touch. There’s also just a frame-only option for those wanting to build up the bike on their own.

The bike's magic lies in the high-virtual pivot suspension design - allowing the rear axle to move freely out of the way of any incoming obstacle. | Katie Lozancich photo.

Noticeably absent is an alloy option. The Range only comes with a carbon frame due to limitations the engineers found with aluminum. Due to the geometry’s unique shapes and tube profiles, Carbon was the only material that worked with the design. Given that this isn’t an entry-level bike, the pricing, while expensive, isn’t out of the norm. It tracks with what most enduro bikes are costing these days.

The geometry embodies Norco’s Ride Aligned philosophy, which tailors the bike’s frame just slightly for each size. For example, as the bike grows larger, the head angle slackens, the seat angle steepens, and the wheelbase grows longer. It’s not by much, but it’s enough to tailor the fit for different-sized riders. For example, the engineers noticed that shorter riders often had a harder time keeping their weight forward in comparison to taller riders. As a result, they steepened the headtube angle to compensate. Additionally, on the XL frame, the seat tube angle is steepened, otherwise, riders would feel like they’re sitting back and riding a one giant Big Wheel Bike. Unlike many other enduro bikes, the Range doesn’t feature a flip-chip or offset headset cups. I never found myself using those adjustments on other bikes anyway, so it was nice that the range didn’t have any unnecessary bells and whistles. While the 170mm Fox Factory 38 fork feels like plenty of fork on the bike, you can fit a longer 180mm fork on it as well. The bike can also be fitted with a dual crown fork if you want it to be your main bike park steed (spoiler alert: the Range loves some lift-serviced laps).

The Riding

I put the Range to the test this summer in New England and found that the bike was well-suited for the Northeast’s unruly and grueling terrain. Having just moved from Jackson, Wyoming to Western Massachusetts, I found that my local trails suddenly became more rooty, rocky, and technically challenging. There’s a reason the saying “if you can ride in the Northeast, then you can ride anywhere,” exists. My first couple of rides quickly schooled me and left me wondering if I knew how to ride a bike. The Range, however, quickly inspired confidence on this newfound terrain. It had a knack for floating over bumps and carrying momentum and speed on trails littered with all kinds of obstacles.

The Range in its happy place - the most chewed up trails on the mountain. | Katie Lozancich photo.

Initially, I was a little intimidated by the bike. It’s a hefty machine but surprisingly doesn’t ride like one. I quickly got a taste of what it was capable of when I pedaled it up to a network of trails in Charlemont, Massachusetts that hosts the Eastern States Cup Enduro every summer. Before the Range, I slowly built my confidence on an easier black diamond trail called Red Zone. It was an approachable and fast trail in a dense forest of Maple and Birch, featuring all kinds of root webs, rock gardens, and fun straightaways. I had cleaned at least 80 percent of it but kept getting hung up on a couple of steep rooty sections. That is until I rode it with the Range. On the new bike, I flew down the trail, glossing over sections I normally had to walk. Before I knew it, I was at the bottom dumbfounded and a little giddy. Before I could let the adrenaline dissipate, I sprinted back up the road climb and rode the trail again. On this second ride, I pushed my comfort zone by riding faster through each section. Normally, I’d be too scared to ramp it up like that, but the Range makes riding at high speeds approachable. You crave it the more you ride the bike. You’re not riding a bucking bronco, but instead, it’s more like a couch you can relax on while it mows over the most intimidating terrain.

For a bike that thrives on descents, it climbs okay. It won’t be the bike that will earn you the top spots on the Strava leaderboard, but it’s capable of comfortably grinding up a fire road climb. Its steep seat tube angle keeps you nicely centered over the bike, which makes the ride enjoyable. With that being said, if you’re someone who enjoys technical climbing, then this bike will feel like a tank. It does weigh in at 37 pounds, and in comparison to my trail bike that tips the scales around 30 pounds, I certainly noticed the bump in weight. Still, I favored it over my lighter trail bike when I knew the descent was fast, consistent, and full of fun obstacles. For the more varied New England trail riding I did, I kept the Range at home. It just isn’t as fun to ride if you’re climbing more than just a fire road or purpose-built climbing trail. But for the riders who only climb as a means to reach the descent, this won’t be a problem. Isn’t that the spirit of enduro anyway?

The Range is one of the most confidence-inspiring bikes we've ever ridden. | Katie Lozancich photo.

Norco may have designed the Range to be a tool for winning races, but it’s also a perfect bike for lapping the bike park with your buds. Despite not having a dual crown fork, the Range rides just as well as a downhill bike. In many ways, it feels like a DH bike with an EWS identity crisis. It was my steed of choice for riding Thunder Mountain Bike Park, which has all kinds of roots, rocks, and east coast loam. For a beefy bike, it was still deft and nimble. It took berms and tight corners with ease, and I never found myself wanting something smaller. Its ability to smooth out the bike park’s scariest-looking features allowed me to ramp up my progression with each consecutive ride. I especially loved having it on a trail like Juggernaut, which is pretty much one long rough, steep descent. The only odd thing I noticed about the Range, is it didn’t love flat sections of the trail. If I didn’t carry enough speed into a flat straightaway, the bike would decelerate, therefore forcing me to pump a few cranks to get back up to speed. Granted this only happened on our meandering green trail, which is not what the Range was built to be riding. It’s best to keep it on where it wants to be: the steeps.

Final Thoughts

Right after I started riding the Range, I coincidentally came across a post from a friend on Facebook. She wrote this long testimony about how she had been mentally struggling with a particularly gnarly trail in Washington called Predator. Those who’ve ridden it will tell you that one of its defining features are two back-to-back rock rolls that look like giant cobblestone paths—except they're nearly vertical. As it wore in over the years, it got gnarlier and gnarlier, and she started to psych herself out on the trail completely. However, she couldn’t avoid it for much longer because she had to race it this summer as part of the Tiger Enduro. She faced her fears and did it with the Range in hand. Overcoming those mental blocks took time and practice, but she credits part of her success to the Range, continuing to say that it “was the ticket to unlocking my confidence.”

It might be a huge bike at first glance, but the Range will unlock new levels of your riding. | Katie Lozancich photo.

I knew exactly how she felt. The Range has this insane ability to make anyone feel like a hero the second they start riding it. You still need to put in the work to get there, but it sets you up to take the next steps with your riding. If you’re an advanced rider who’s been hitting a wall with your progression, then the Range might be the secret ingredient you’re craving. For the ultra-advanced rider reading this, you’re just going to find that the Range not only meets your limits but will redefine them.

While it’s an incredible bike, my main caveat is that it’s not the most versatile. It’s an ideal fit for a freeride, enduro, or bike park-oriented rider. If you live somewhere with plenty of purpose-built or fire road climbs like the PNW, only want to ride a bike park like Highland or Killington, or only care about going downhill, then this bike might be your match made in heaven. However, where I live in the Northeast, there are just not enough long descents to justify having such a niche bike. Not to mention, the price tag makes it hard to imagine that I could afford it as a second bike. In a perfect world, I’d have it as the bike I grab when I just want to go fast and ride steep, scary terrain. Inversely, if you’re a rider who’s always had a trail bike and downhill bike, the Range could be the perfect middle option between the two, thus eliminating the need to have two specialty bikes.

That being said, I don’t think it’s a problem that Norco made such a unique and specific bike. It’s incredible that they set their sights on such a particular goal—racing EWS—and tailored the product to fit their consumer’s needs to the slightest of details. It tells me that Norco is paying attention to what each kind of rider is looking for in their bike. As a result, you’re not going to get another run-of-the-mill kind of bike, but instead, something that will be unforgettable. And that’s exactly what they’ve achieved with the Range. 

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About The Author

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stash member Katie Lozancich

TGR Staff Writer and photographer. Fond of bikes, pow, and dogs. Originally from Northern CA, home for me has ranged from the PNW to a teepee in Grand Teton National Park.