NORCO OPTIC | $4,500

IF IT WERE A DOG, IT WOULD BE A BULLDOG. IF IT WERE A BIKE, IT COULD ONLY BE A NORCO OPTIC.

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When you think short-travel, you probably think lightweight, über-efficient bikes with steep head angles and rear suspension that doesn’t work all that well. That pretty well describes the last Norco Optic we tested, at the 2017 Bible in Bentonville, Arkansas. We called that bike “unapologetically XC-biased,” “not exactly playful” and an “XC-race refugee.” We were, in short, a little underwhelmed and a lot confused as to whom the Optic was for. It was efficient, obviously, but also long and stable and yet overdamped in a way that prioritized climbing.