SEAN’S NORCO FLUID FS A1
£4,399 • 29in • zyrofisher.co.uk Sean hits the ground running thanks to Norco’s Ride Aligned Setup Guide
Pulling the Fluid FS from the box revealed a trail bike with some spec choices that were new to me. At this price point, Norco has bucked the ‘carbon frame with low-rent suspension’ trend and treated this aluminium A1 model to a Fox Float X Performance Elite shock and Fox 34 Factory fork with the well-regarded GRIP2 damper. Both are suspension components that I’ve had little experience of. There’s plenty of adjustment potential, with low and high-speed compression dials, so care is needed to get a realistic starting point and not stifle the shock or fork’s action.
Now, plenty of brands have suspension base settings for their bikes, allowing owners to find a good starting point. Usually it’s a simple calculation based on rider weight matched to the suspension components, giving air pressure settings for the fork and shock. Norco, however, steps this up a notch with its Ride Aligned Setup Guide, using a wider range of factors to give more accurate base settings.
And for Norco this seems like a natural progression, after 10 years of its Gravity Tune, where the brand pushed the benefits of frame size-specific chainstay lengths which grow accordingly with an increase in front centre measurements. Now, seat angles are dialled to frame sizes for a better fit and improved weight distribution. Clearly it’s a brand that sweats the details.
So the Ride Aligned Setup Guide is an all-encompassing approach to bike set-up. To start, you pick your bike from Norco’s range, add your weight and height and then adjust a sliding ‘Rider Skill’ scale to suit. Then tick a box to say whether you bias your weight more forward or rearward, and press go. The results are incredibly detailed: tyre pressures front and rear, fork and shock air pressures and damping settings (along with suggested volume spacers), all of which makes for a great starting point. It goes further though… recommending an optimal bar width and stem length and even the stack of headset spacers to sit below the cockpit.
I must say, it’s saved me plenty of experimentation and got me out on the trail promptly. I’ve not trimmed the bars yet, or cracked open the fork and shock to tailor the volume spacers; but I’ll get some miles in on the suggested settings and then assess the results.
WHY IT’S HERE Because it compares fullsuspension to a hardtail