• Climbing Ability 90% 90%
  • Downhill Ability 80% 80%
  • Overall Fun 80% 80%

Travel: 150mm rear/ 160mm fork

Head Tube Angle: 63.5

Seat Tube Angle: 77.7

Reach: 480mm (large frame)

Weight: Starting at 32.23 lbs

Price: $6,399

What We Like: Strong Climber, Stable Descents

What We Don’t: Not As Playful As Older Versions

The 2021 is not very different from the 2020 Norco Sight, but it is very different from the 2019 Sight. So know that before reading any further. The new 2021 Norco Sight is a long bike with long chainstays and steep seat tubes to keep everything calm, cool, and collected on climbs and speedy descents. Paired with Norco’s Ride Align app, you can easily dial in your suspension settings to get the most out of your new ride and get cruising. Definitely not the flashiest bike or the bike you ride if you want to let your hair down and show off to your friends. The Sight is rock solid and a hard-charging all-mountain bike that could find itself in some enduro races.

We participate in affiliate programs to help us fund Gear Hacker. Some of the links in this website are affiliate links, which means that if you purchase a product using our link, we will earn a small commission. Don’t worry! This comes at no additional cost to you, and we will never base our reviews on whether or not we earn a commission off of a product. With that said, if you find our review helpful and decide to purchase an item we review, we would be very appreciative if you use our links to do so. It will help us bring you more awesome content in the future!

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See Our Best Long Travel Mountain Bike Review 2021 Article HERE!

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Head Tube Angle: 65.2

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Reach: 480mm (large frame)

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Head Tube Angle: 63.9/ 64.3

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Cons

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Seat Tube Angle: 75

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As quite a far cry from the 2019 version of the Sight, the new Norco Sight is a stable, downhill oriented bike. With version 3, not a lot has changed from the 2020 version, but from the 2019 model, the Sight is a totally different bike. The Optic has come in as the poppier trail bike with similar geometry but a shorter chainstay to keep the manuals coming and the corners snappy. The Sight has now planted itself in the enduro category, as it would definitely make for a good race bike. The geometry has created a very stable and here it comes… confidence-inspiring ride.

Best Long Travel Mountain Bikes: Norco Sight - Gear Hacker

The Bike

With some interesting but very dialed geometry numbers, the Norco Sight definitely has found it’s new niche of “all-mountain” verging on Enduro charger. The seat tube is a steep 77.7-degrees, and with a fairly slack 63.5-degree head tube, things are already interesting. The chainstay numbers change with frame sizes, so the balance will remain the same throughout frames. A large frame has a 440mm chainstay, and the reach is 480mm. This setup is becoming pretty standard on this style of bike.

The Norco Sight does come with Norco’s Ride Aligned app to help every rider dial in their perfect suspension. Some riders have had issues getting the rear suspension perfectly dialed in order to stop it from bottoming out too quickly. Every Sight also comes with 4-piston brakes with 200mm rotors on the front and 180mm rotors on the rear, which is definitely a good amount of stopping power for what the Sight will make you think you can ride.

Best Long Travel Mountain Bikes: Norco Sight - Gear Hacker

Climbing

Right off the bat with the steep seat tube angle the Sight climbs well. The slack head tube doesn’t feel overly floppy or hard to manage while trudging up steep fire roads. The centered seat keeps the rider right over the vertical rear suspension, and this helps to reduce any pedal bob. While the lockout is not necessary on most climbs, there is a lockout switch just in case.

The rear suspension is not the most pedaling forward platform, but the geometry makes a big difference and the Sight just keeps on climbing. This is definitely a good choice if your trails are a long way from home, and you like to “earn your turns.” With Norco, there are several options for the drivetrain as well, so if you prefer Shimano to SRAM or vice versa, there is a Sight for you.
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Downhill

Steadfast and sturdy are two great words for the Norco Sight. With the longer chainstays, reach and steep headtube, you can move at speed with lots of confidence. The Sight was designed with speed and stability in mind. You can get cruising over some rough terrain, and with the burly tires and 4-piston brakes, the bike will get you out of any trouble you may find yourself in.

Cornering is still really comfortable and controlled. The bike doesn’t feel too long and is able to burn out of corners as quickly as it entered them. It can still get airborne, and manuals are not a thing of the past on this beast—they’re just easier on the Optic or a bike with slightly shorter frame specs. The hubs are pretty quiet, which is something I personally prefer, though I know others like to sound like a mob of mosquitos as they fly down the trail.
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Build Options

There is—without over-exaggerating here—a Sight for every budget. Norco has done a good job of creating quite a diverse range of build-outs and components. There is the option to customize your Sight on Norco’s website, which gives you the option to choose wheel size, frame color, and material. Then you can choose suspension and drivetrain, so the bike will be pretty close to being one of a kind.

In the build options, there is the option to choose a carbon or aluminum frame, and then within the builds, there are options to choose SRAM component builds or Shimano. The price of the Sight ranges from $12,500 (for wireless things) to $4,000 for an aluminum frame build. Both material frames are available—with the aluminum costing $2,099 and the carbon frame costing $4,099.
On all of the bike builds, the Sight comes with a downtube guard for the bottom bracket and for where the bike would sit on a tailgate. They also have a top tube mount area for aftermarket bags or accessories. Additionally, all bike frames—except for the small—will fit a 750ml water bottle.
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The Bottom Line

While it is a different bike from two years ago, it is still a high-quality Norco ride. I mean, but, we’re all a little different from ourselves from two years ago, aren’t we? As a descending biased ride with capable uphill skill, there isn’t too much else to ask of the Sight. Sure it may not be the most exciting bike on the market but it is a solid bike that some riders are really going to enjoy. It can handle high speeds and choppy trails, wet or dry. If you like to pedal long distances up steep things to enjoy speedy downs with chunder sections, look no further.

We like the number of options that come with the Sight to allow everyone to find their perfect version of the bike. All frame options can come in 27.5” wheels and there are aluminum frames as well. The Norco Ride Align app will dial in the suspension settings for your riding style and body and away you go!

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We participate in affiliate programs to help us fund Gear Hacker. Some of the links in this website are affiliate links, which means that if you purchase a product using our link, we will earn a small commission. Don’t worry! This comes at no additional cost to you, and we will never base our reviews on whether or not we earn a commission off of a product. With that said, if you find our review helpful and decide to purchase an item we review, we would be very appreciative if you use our links to do so. It will help us bring you more awesome content in the future!