Michael reviews the 2023 Norco Optic

With a modest 125mm of travel out back, the Optic slots into the shorter end of the enormous trail bike segment, but this bike is about as far from a leggy XC rig as you get. And with that short rear travel figure, the Optic could be overlooked by some riders who feel they need more. In fact, I was one of those riders, instead opting for the longer travel Sight when I last purchased a bike.

Don’t let those numbers turn you off; the package that Norco has put together can mix it up with bikes that sport much longer travel numbers, and it can do it while putting a big smile on your face that won’t disappear on the pedal out. But this platform is about four years old now and a lot of things have changed in that time.

Of course, Norco has also released a new Fluid in both alloy and carbon, which also sports 125mm of rear travel. We reviewed the aluminium Fluid FS last year, however according to the local Norco distributor, Advanced Traders, the Fluid Carbon won’t be available in Australia any time soon. So in the meantime, we decided to get our grubby mitts on the current Optic, which has received a number of important spec updates since it was released in 2019.

Despite its age, going through the parts list and geometry chart, it’s clear that the Optic is far from outdated.

Norco Optic Geometry and Set Up

When it was released in 2019, the Optic was extremely progressive and quite a departure from its predecessor. Our medium-sized test bike has a 450mm reach, 65° head angle and size-specific 430mm rear centre. Norco makes a big deal about using size-specific rear centres to keep the rider in a consistent position between the wheels across the size range, which will help to keep the handling characteristics more consistent whether you’re on an XS or an XXL. The seat tube angle is modern at 76° and the wheelbase comes in at 1196mm. Despite its age these numbers still hold up today, highlighting how progressive this bike is. The Optic’s geometry has certainly stood the test of time.

Setting up the Optic is a straightforward process, there are no flip chips or custom frame adjustments to be made. As with all new Norco’s you can use the Ride Aligned app to find a starting point for your setup. The recommendations are usually pretty close, strangely for the Optic I found the suspension settings way too soft. I needed to add a lot more pressure and as a result, make a few rebound and compression changes compared to the recommendations. Even with the Rider Skill Setting cranked all the way up to Professional, the rear end was a little soft.

I tip the scales at 65kg kitted up and settled on 180psi in the RockShox Super Deluxe Ultimate DH shock with the stock 4.5 volume spacers. The low-speed compression was wound fully open, with five clicks of rebound added from closed. The fork on the Optic is a Pike Select+ with a Charger 3 damper, I set it up with 71psi, one token, no low-speed compression, and three clicks of high-speed compression from closed. These settings gave the bike a balanced feel and enabled the suspension to be fully utilised on most rides.

Thankfully the bike comes tubeless-ready and even ships with sealant in the box. I settled on my usual 21psi front and 23psi rear for the duration of the test period on the Vittoria tyres. Again, these numbers are higher than the Ride Aligned app suggestions, however, with my local trails being Nerang, rock slices and impacts are far too common. So higher pressures make sense.

Climbing

The stiff carbon frame helps the bike maintain speed when climbing, it also aids those quick bursts often needed to get up and over obstacles. I have been impressed with how nimble and manoeuvrable the bike is, and it requires very little effort to pick up the front end and place it where you want it to go.

The climbing position is comfortable with its 76° seat tube angle, it places you right in the middle of the bike. Despite its relatively short 45mm stem I didn’t find the front end wandering when tackling steep climbs. The shock doesn’t have a climb switch, but it does have a very supportive tune, I never felt the need for a firmer platform when climbing.

With the massive gear range of the SRAM 52T cassette combined with the 32T chainring, long climbs are easily handled as the bike effortlessly spins up the hill. The supportive suspension helps transfer power to the pedals quickly, making the Optic a great climber. It’s the type of bike you could easily spend hours on, and it won’t shy away from technical climbs either.

The contact points help your body handle those prolonged ascents and deliver ample support to limit fatigue. The Fizik saddle and WTB grips deserve a mention here for doing exactly what they are designed for. While these components are very subjective, I have hardly thought about them when riding. This is a good sign, as you usually only think about your grips and saddle when they are causing trouble or pain.

Descending

Put simply, a bike like this should not be able to descend as well as it does. It provides a very similar and familiar riding position to its larger brother the Sight. The Optic carries speed through all but the roughest and most technical terrain. The firmer suspension tune enables the Optic to push off the trail and build momentum with ease. I were surprised at how fast I could get up to speed with minimal input from the pedals when pointed downhill.

The RockShox Super Deluxe Ultimate DH shock does an impressive job of keeping up with repeated hits and compressions. It’s only a small shock at just 190x45mm and delivers 125mm of squish. However, it feels like you have so much more to work with. Credit to Norco for working with RockShox on a custom tune for the Optic, they have nailed it.

Early on in testing, I bottomed the shock out repeatedly as I was dialling in pressures and clicks, and what impressed me most was that it was hard to tell. The bike doesn’t see one of the new Super Deluxe shocks so there’s no hydraulic bottom out. Even still I didn’t experience the tell tail harsh thud when full travel was achieved. Each time it happened I was surprised I had used full travel as the bike felt composed throughout the bigger hits.

When that hard end of the travel did become apparent was on larger flat drops and landings, this is where the short travel rear end couldn’t hide that it had reached its limit. Provided the jumps had a decent smooth landing the bike handled them with ease.

On flow and undulating trails, the Optic is in its element, it feels light, and nimble and wants to be thrown around. I found myself looking for little features to jump off or new lines into corners. Riding the Optic helped freshen up my local trails by encouraging me to try new lines.

The stiff frame and supportive suspension work very well together most of the time, where they come unstuck is on the rowdier technical descents. This is where some harsh feedback can be felt through the frame and fork. I found it harder to maintain rough and tumble lines as the bike wanted to bounce off rocks instead of ploughing through them. In fairness, I don’t think many 125/140mm travel bikes would be capable of this, it’s just the confidence and capability of the Optic’s geometry and handling that makes you even consider tackling the gnarlier stuff that many other short travel bikes would run from.

Cornering with the Optic is a blast, its agility helps riders lean the bike over more to really dig into a corner and then change direction again once you have exited. The wheelbase is comparatively shorter than some other trail bikes, this helps the bike change direction quickly and makes tighter turns easier as there is less bike to drag along with you.

Another strength of the bike is jumping, it feels light and responsive when in the air and the suspension tune helps riders easily generate pop off the lip of jumps. The slightly shorter wheelbase also enables the bike to handle steeper lips that longer bikes may struggle with. During testing, I managed to overshoot a few jumps as the bike generated pop so easily that it took me by surprise. Once I had time to recalibrate, jumping became one of the many highlights of this bike.

Norco Optic Components and Features

The Optic C2 comes with a well-thought-out build kit. You can select from either a Shimano/Fox build or a predominantly SRAM/RockShox build that I’ve been testing.

New on 2023 builds is the recently updated Pike Select+ with the Charger 3 damper. You get high and low-speed compression and low-speed rebound adjustments with 140mm travel. Unlike the previous generation Pike, 140mm is the maximum amount of travel available. Those wanting to extend their forks will need to swap the Pike out for a new Lyrik that now starts at 150mm. The new Pike is a welcome addition to the Optic, it might lack the suppleness of its Fox counterpart, but it still performs well in most scenarios. Only feeling under-gunned on longer rough sections where it feels harsher and stiffer than I would have liked, even with all the low-speed compression removed too.

As mentioned earlier the Super Deluxe Ultimate DH with a custom tune takes care of the rear end, it shines and is a real highlight of this bike. It manages to balance suppleness and support; it was also easy to dial in once I hit the right air pressure and sag.

Shimano takes care of stopping duties with its non-series MT501 levers paired to its MT520 callipers. The rotors are a generous 203mm up front and 180mm in rear. While lacking some of the features of Shimano’s higher-end brakes, these still get reach adjustment via a 2.5mm Allen key and, to be honest, perform just as well as its flashier family members. Once bedded in, these brakes provide plenty of stopping power and are a great choice for this bike and its intended purpose.

Shifting is an all-SRAM affair with a GX shifter, derailleur, and crankset combo. Gear changes are crisp, precise, and reliable. Surprisingly there is no chain guide on the bike, given its rowdy ability. However, the clutch on the GX derailleur did its job and there were no dropped chains during our test, even after plenty of dodgy lines taken on rough descents.

The cockpit is mostly taken care of by Norco’s in-house components, they supply the bar and stem combo along with the dropper post lever. As far as in-house components go, these work nicely and don’t give riders any reason to swap them out straight away. Even the Norco dropper post lever is ergonomic and smooth in operation.

Speaking of the dropper, the X-Fusion Manic dropper post is a real quiet achiever. Other than being a little shorter than ideal at only 150mm in length, it is smooth and fast in operation and so far, reliable. This is more than can be said for many big brand alternatives that cost a lot more.

For wheels, the Optic C2 gets a DT Swiss/Stan’s combo. Hubs are the updated DT Swiss 350 model laced to a pair of Stans Flow S2s. The S2s have a 30mm internal width and a relatively low profile at 18.2mm. While not the lightest rims available they do have a nice balance of strength-to-weight and should serve riders for many seasons without issues.

Mounted to the Flow S2s is a 2.4in Mazza and 2.35in Martello combo from Vittoria, and they certainly impressed. They roll well and provide predictable traction and braking, on a range of trail conditions. I tested them on everything from smooth hard packed trails to the infamous Nerang loam, known for its thousands of sharp loose rocks. I was a bit wary of the trail casing rubber, however they have remained plug and slash free through our testing period. Tyre choice is always terrain and riding style dependent, however, the Vittoria combo is versatile enough to suit a lot of riders who have chosen the Optic.

Our medium test build kit came in at 13.6kg set up tubeless with no pedals. While not a featherweight, it’s no porker either.

Flow’s Verdict

Norco’s Optic is a real trail slayer. While this term is often used by marketing managers to sell their new bikes, I think it applies to the Optic. It is so much more capable than a 125mm/140mm bike should be. It generates speed easily on a variety of trails and loves to be flicked around corners and pushed into jumps.

Versatility is the key to this bike. It’s an efficient and comfortable climber that will reward your hard work getting up the hill by making you smile on your way back down.

It’s not a flat-out enduro race bike and can come unstuck on more technical tracks. However, it would be a great choice for many of the smaller, local enduro races such as the Rocky Trail Superflow series. Events like these have a limit to how technical the trails will be, and a bike like this with its efficient pedalling platform and impressive jumping ability, could shine. It would also suit those who love ripping up trails in a more playful way and are constantly looking for new lines to try or jumps to hit.

The build kit on our C2 test bike is on point, money has been spent where it’s needed — suspension, wheels, and hubs. Other areas such as brakes, drivetrain, and the dropper post all receive lower spec but equally as reliable variants. These components are usually the first port of call when upgrading, however, this package from Norco just works so well, the insatiable urge to bolt on ever shinier parts won’t be because of a lack in performance.

With an RRP of $6,899 AUD I should note some earlier 2023 models shipped with a slightly different spec list to the current build available. I confirmed with a local Norco retailer some C2 builds from last year received the older Pike RC, SRAM DB8 brakes, an E*13 handlebar, and Flow S1 rims. Make sure you confirm with your local store when ordering as to which version you will get.

So, is a bike with a four-year-old design still worth buying today? I think so, the Optic C2 has been refreshed with some component changes and updated graphics and color scheme. Underneath is the same, very progressive geometry and reliable frame that, despite its age, can still mix it up with bikes released this year. So much so that it would still be near the top of our list of trail bikes to buy today.

ABOUT THE REVIEWER - Michael Cooper

Hometown

Gold Coast, QLD

Height

173cm

Weight

65kg

RIDING STYLE

Over calculated yet imprecise