2022 Emtb Shootout - Norco Range VLT C1 Review
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- čas přidán 24. 05. 2022
- Norco built the Range VLT to offer an electrified version of their big mountain crusher, with aggressive geometry all round and 170mm of coil sprung suspension. We’ve already reviewed the Norco Range VLT at length before our 4th Annual eMTB Shootout, so we’ll keep this write up a bit shorter and more focused on the ride impressions and who we think the ideal buyer of this bike might be. If you want to see the longer, full-length written review of the Norco Range VLT, hit the link here and be sure to watch our full length eMTB Shootout video to see what we think are the best eBikes on the market for 2022.
THE DIRT
As with many of the bikes that came to our eMTB Shootout, the Norco Range VLT C1 saw plenty of miles on our PNW trails and we had a solid understanding of where it excels and who we thought the ideal consumer would be. Being able to test that verdict head to head with many other bikes on new terrain yielded much the same result.
Our crew all loved how planted, plush and confidently the Norco Range VLT rode. This bike absolultely devours the trail beneath it. Whether we were charging gnarly rock gardens at Windrock Bike Park, or Baker Creek Preserve, the bike felt like it was floating on air. Minimizing big hits and small while allowing the rider to look down the trail and focus on going fast. Of course, the downside to that is it won’t be the ideal bike for riders who aren’t regularly attacking the gnarliest trails or want a playful ride.
The Norco Range VLT is at home on the chunkiest and roughest of terrain. When you put the Range on smoother, trail center trails, or mild flow lines, the soft suspension and hefty weight will be noticeable. Don’t get us wrong, it loves to jump and get in the air, it just needs a bigger lip or harder yanks to get it into orbit. Our best suggestion would be to evaluate what you ride and what you’re looking for most.
If you want stability, confidence, safety or the ability to take your hands off the brakes and plow, this is the bike for you. Impressively, it also climbed rather well for such a downhill-beast. Yes it’s a bit long and slack, so tight switchbacks and more technical portions of trail will require a bit more work. Nevertheless, if you want a backcountry explorer or like covering big miles before getting to your gnarly downhills, this could be a great option.
[ This is just a short snippet of our written review. For the full write-up, visit the site. ]
Weight as Tested: 56.2 lbs
Review:
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Great review again, watched all of them so far.
I like the section discussing “Who is this bike for” it really adds to the review
Congrats!
Thanks for that! Obviously our opinions and experience on the bike is just that. We know that not everyone rides the same way or on the same trails. Some people have very different goals from their eBike so we try out best to put ourselves into those people's shoes and so the best purchasing decision can be made. These are not cheap investments and we'd hate for people to be bummed on it.
We appreciate you watching.
I bought mine 3 months ago , it failed to start 4 times at home , it started each time by connecting the charger for 2 minutes . today it just quit on the trail with 3 bars . charger enabled it to start again - I don't trust it and doubt Norco or Jenson will correct this from my previous dealings . Super fun bike
I live in Squamish BC and owned an A2 bike. I sold it recently and back onto my acoustic specialized enduro and I regret selling it. I think I might buy it again but this time I am looking at the A1 as the nicer suspension will be appreciated but the A2 was not bad at all either. I had the 900w battery. I rode this bike back to back against my new specialized enduro on Cypress mountain (proper DH trails) and much much much preferred the VLT A2 to my enduro. Both had 180 up front and 170 rear. Just felt so planted, much more like riding a DH bike, and was keeping up with other dedicated DH 200mm travel DH bikes. My biggest thing was it was a lot to get out of the back of a truck if you are shuttling with friends without E-bikes. But all in all. This bike does not get the love I think it deserves so I had to give my 2 cents. I agree with the bolt thing though as you need to remove the bolts and put thread locker on them, I hear this comment from anyone with a Norco, so I hope they fix this asap.
Great review again guys. Brilliant. From memory this is the 1st review that really highlights the loose bolt issue. But you mentioned it is a problem more generally as well. Was the norco worse? Are some worse than others? Or is it the same across the range? Cheers!
The norco's were the worst, which we've chalked up to having preproduction bikes that we've beaten on for a year. The SCOR linkage bolts kept loosening, and a handful of others as well.
@@TheLoamWolf thanks mate. Obviously something I will have to be more mindful of on my new Levo expert (which is about 4 weeks away) compared to my Ibis Ripmo. The latter did have a wayward linkage bolt but locktight basically solved that. Cheers
Absolutely love my norco carbon sight non emtb, however if only they offered the same in the emtb as in 27.5 wheels along with a Bosch motor id buy it, for now I stay with my Cube 160 SL, issue is all brands are either full 29 or Mullet, when will the day come where as a consumer I can pick what wheels and motor......
As an owner of this bike, this is spot on. So stable and confidence inspiring, and such a good backcountry tourer. Not a bike for people who want something super sporty though. Opinion is still out if I have any bolt or motor issues…
Agreed. Do you have any creaking issues? I feel like the linkage around my shock is the culprit but can’t get it to go away!!
@@brettmoseley86 can u put some lube in ur linkage?
@@brettmoseley86 my wife and I both have Range C1 VLTs, and both had the creek at about 60-100kms. It was the rear pivot, linkage side on both rigs. Cleaned and greased, creek came back after 40k. Went with RWC needle bearing kit, as I run them on my other bikes. Ultimate solution 👌... creek eliminated
Is it more of downhill bike? Or an all around?
Got the C2 model of this bike in November ‘21 with 900wh 🔋and have put 2100 miles and 500,000 vert on it. Agree w the review, it’s a big heavy beast that plows like a dh bike. Swapping to Saint brakes was mandatory. Rest of spec solid. Yes, at this point my bolts come loose every ride. Just something you learn to check every time you lube the chain. I do have some play in the rear linkage possibly caused by riding with loose bolts. Rubber motor cover is poorly designed, replaced w moldable plastic after it fell off. Clips to retain cables on the lower pivot are not stout enough to hold the cables long term. Recently my motor has started giving me error e010 and isn’t giving full power. This bike shreds if you push it hard. Love knocking out 6k ft rides in 2.5 hrs. Needs a few tweaks but overall it’s rad. I’d be hesitant to buy if I didn’t have a local Norco dealer to deal w warranty and other issues.
Thank you for the detailed input Christian. It is a rad bad overall, with an intended user, but as you also found out, it needs an attentive eye.
Code R brakes are terrible :-) E bikes need the best since your charging harder into each turn - great Fun !
Were you able to use the existing adapters and rotors with your Saints ? I want to switch to my Saints too - Thanks !
@@MrGregoryGriffin Yes. But had to drop motor to route rear brake.
I think the bolt comment is a worthwhile mention for anyone with an eMTB. I've had issues with the Marin E1 in terms of linkage bolts needing to have very regular checks - I just think it's simply something that riders of electric bikes just need to get used to. These are heavy bikes in any guise. I'd wager a lot of riders don't do a basic 'M' check before they hit the trails but I think that with eMTBs you have to accept that check needs doing without fail.
Yeah it certainly is more commonplace on the eBikes these days... I think we're in a spot where regular bikes were in the 90's. The demands of the equipment were greater and changing faster than the companies could imagine or keep up with. I'm hoping in the next 2 years we'll have bigger bearings, stronger bolts, better thread retention. Until then, check your bolts everybody!
@@TheLoamWolf 100% agree. It's sometimes easy to forget that, although eMTBs do have some proprietary products they can utilise, on the whole they're still using the same hardware as bikes weighing 20lbs+ less (but, arguably, being ridden even harder). Keep up the great vids - enjoying the content!
@@TheLoamWolf 4 or 5 loose bolts and lost a motor mount on my Rise. Never had this issue on analog bikes in recent times. Kinda sucks to pay $10k for a bike that rattles apart. Worth it tho because fun factor
You have to check the bolts just as much on a normal bike.
Low strength or medium strength loctite ?
Maybe if norco put an extra small chainstay on an extra large main triangle I would consider one. I prefer shorter chainstays.
Anyone change to a 220mm rear rotor on the Range VLT?
the prices are insane....10k , it just absolutely makes them out of reach for most people right now. How easily we have accepted this as the norm.
We don't disagree, however, this is the "top of the line" Range VLT, you can still get the alloy A2 with a solid spec between 6400 and 6800-dollars.
@@TheLoamWolf It is, but in reality it isn't even nearly worth 10k€/$. The only reason it costs that much is that people accept the prices.
10k to fall apart. its the audi of emtbs then. with an ep8 motor its not a choice for me.
I know quite a bit of people including myself that will go out of their way to NOT get an EP8 based bike at this point. Bosch just seems to be way ahead of everyone else in terms of reliability and quality motor wise. They just need to fix their crap interface.
We don't mind Shimano units at all. We've never had any reliability issues beyond a few Error codes a couple years back. They may not have the outright "artificial" feeling power of the Bosch, and if you're racing, that is a real concern, but for casual ebike riders, we have no qualms.
@@TheLoamWolfthe rattle can noise kills it for me which is still a thing with EP8. There's just no way that the rattling isn't causing issues in there.
@@GustavoSanchez64 Had my EP8 powered emtb for ~year with over 5,000 miles on rides of all types, absolutely no mechanical issues. Would prefer a less noisy motor but for me it's not a deal breaker. Seems like newer EP8's rattle less.
looks very good - but not 10k dollars without the battery?! That's way too much!
Its 10k with the 720WH battery. The bike itself is $8,999 with no battery but Norco requires the customer to select one of the three battery options to finish the build. Batteries start at $899 (540) to $1,299 (900).
@@TheLoamWolf I understand, thanks
Damn, you could pay your pal to shuttle you up for that money. Easily biggest present downside to e-bikes is the cost.
10 grand for a 60 lb bike that is falling apart during a demo. That's unacceptable.
In Norco's defense, this was a preproduction bike that we have been hammering on for a year now. It's unlikely that consumers will have the same issues, but we wanted to mention them just in case.
@@TheLoamWolf Check out AstonMTB's Norco Shore videos...
Norco needs to figure out how to shave off some of that weight.
It’s a shame it’s fitted with the EP8 as the norco is a cracking bike.
There is only so long shimano can keep suppressing the issues with this motor.
Bearing failures, torque sensor failures, spindle failures …
Shimano and Tesla should partner hehehe
Canyon sells the best bikes for your moneys worth I don’t care what anyone says they are truly the best