The Norco Optic C2 is a smaller travel bike that ventures into big travel terrain and doesn’t bat an eye. The combination of quality, plush suspension and aggressive geometry make the Optic C2 a trail bike well worth considering for riders who love to shred downhills hard while still being able to pedal back to the top.
Pros
- Slack, aggressive geometry
- Playful yet stable
- Superior descender
- Agile on corners
- Plush suspension
Cons
- A bit on the heavy side
- Can be sluggish on climbs
- Aluminum rear triangle adds weight
Bike specs
Frame
Carbon Front Triangle, Aluminum Rear, 125mm Travel
Geometry
For size large Norco Optic C2 SRAM
| Spec | Measurement | |
|---|---|---|
| Reach | 480mm | |
| Chainstay | 435mm | |
| Head tube angle | 65° | |
| Seat tube angle | 76° | |
| Wheelbase | 1235mm | |
| Bottom bracket height | 337mm | |
| Bottom bracket drop | 38mm | |
| Standover height | 698mm |
Suspension
Front fork
RockShox Pike Select+ RC, DebonAir 140mm
Rear shock
RockShox Super Deluxe Ultimate DH Custom RC
Brakes
SRAM DB8, 4 Piston
Tires
Front: Vittoria Mazza 2.4″ Trail G2.0
Rear: Vittoria Martello 2.35″ Trail G2.0
Drivetrain
Shifters: SRAM GX Eagle
Rear derailleur: SRAM GX Eagle
Cassette: SRAM XG1275 Eagle
Seatpost
X-Fusion Manic Dropper
Bike weight
31.1 lbs
Handling and overall bike impression
The Norco Optic C2 is a trail bike with an attitude.
Built for riders who love hard charging descents while still being capable of getting you back up the hill reasonably well, Norco has done a great job at making the Optic C2 a blast to ride on downhills, while keeping the bike balanced enough to do more than just that.
The Optic C2 is set up with a slack head tube angle of 65°, helping to provide a feeling of stability and confidence riding down those steep trails. Its long wheelbase of 1235mm helps even more with making the bike feel stable on downhills and at top speed.
Despite how stable it is, the Norco Optic remains playful thanks in part to keeping the chainstay relatively short.
Some mountain bikers may believe that the travel on the Optic C2 (125mm in the rear suspension, 140mm up front) will make it less capable. We disagree. While not as capable on pure downhill performance as longer travel downhill mountain bikes, the Norco Optic C2 has good, quality suspension in the RockShox Super Deluxe Ultimate DH rear shock, and the premium feeling RockShox Pike Select + up front.
The suspension feels plush through its whole range of travel. It performs well over rough terrain, except when at very high speeds – things can start to feel a little choppy.
However, by having shorter travel on the Optic C2, Norco has created a bike that feels very playful and fun to ride on a wide variety of trails, including uphill, downhill and flatter XC terrain.
Longer travel bikes can feel a bit muted and boring on trails that are not purely downhill oriented, a problem that the Optic C2 does not have.
Descending
There is no doubt the Norco Optic C2 is built with descending, speed, and gnarly trails in mind. And if you ask many riders, that’s what mountain biking is really about to them.
The bike’s suspension nails the balance between being supportive while also remaining plush through choppier terrain. While its not the longest travel trail bike, especially rear travel, the Optic’s suspension gives it a supportive firmness in the right places, while being soft enough to moderate and big impacts smoothly and efficiently.
The Vittoria tires are burly and provide awesome grip while descending, allowing you to lock in on tight turns and berms, and giving you the confidence you can stop in a hurry when its required.
Climbing
While its no speed demon on climbs, the best word to describe the Optic C2’s climbing abilities is adequate. No, you won’t be blown away by how fast you get to the top of the hill. However, the bike is a very comfortable ride, including for climbing, and its geometry, including its steep seat tube angle, puts you in a good position to pedal from.
Speaking of pedaling, the SRAM GX Eagle drivetrain on the Optic C2 keeps pedal strokes feeling smooth and efficient.
On longer climbs, the bike can start to feel a bit sluggish mostly because of its weight, but keep in mind you’re not getting a Norco Optic C2 to race up hills.
The bike comes standard with a quality X-Fusion Manic dropper post, which allows you to get your saddle height just right for climbing, and of course to drop it back down low for any rough or descending trails on the other side of those climbs.
The Optic C2 also has a climb switch allowing you to lock out your rear shock, so you get to avoid pedal bob while climbing (and the energy loss to your pedaling that comes with it).
Rough terrain, jumps and drops
Rough terrain
Thanks to its strong suspension and aggressive geometry, the Norco Optic C2 more than holds its own when it gets into rough trails and terrain.
The bike’s suspension when things get rough goes above and beyond what you’d expect from the amount of travel it has. If you didn’t know better you could easily mistake this bike for having 140mm of rear wheel travel and 150mm of travel in the front, solely based on how it feels when the terrain gets chunky.
Jumps and drops
The bike feels right at home in the bike park, and inspires confidence while hitting jumps.
It’s slack geometry helps to keep the front wheel out in front of you, and its suspension allows for smooth, balanced takeoffs, even on steeper jumps, while also offering plenty of forgiveness for those less than perfect landings.
One key benefit of the Norco Optic C2 having a bit smaller footprint in the suspension department, it allows it to be ridden aggressively while stile feeling nimble and playful enough to easily maneuver while in the air to score style points.
Frequently asked questions
The Norco Optic C2 is for anyone looking for a trail bike that can do it all, but especially handles fast descents and rough terrain well.
The Norco Optic will never be as fast a climber as XC bikes, but for a trail bike built primarily with descending in mind, the bike climbs adequately. Its comfortable, albeit a bit sluggish on long climbs due to its weight. This would be an issue with most trail bikes, however.
The best way to think of the Norco Sight in the context of our Norco Optic review is think of the Sight as a bigger, longer-travel version of the Optic. While the Optic has 125mm of travel in the rear and 140mm of travel up front, the Norco Sight has 150mm of travel in the rear and 160mm of travel in its fork.
This makes the Norco Sight better suited to hitting larger jumps and terrain, and more heavily skewed towards pure downhill use. By contrast, the Norco Optic C2 is better for all around riding and can be used at both the bike park and your local trail system.
Mountain bike review criteria
When reviewing mountain bikes, these are the things we look for:
- Frame quality
- Component quality
- Bike weight
- Bike style and aesthetic appeal
For a detailed breakdown of how we assess each of these criteria, see How We Review Mountain Bikes.
Conclusion
With its short but sweet suspension performance and superb design in terms of geometry, the Norco Optic C2 just might be that trail bike you’ve been dreaming of\. Take it to the bike park, the dirt jumps, the local trail system – all are sure to be a blast on the Optic C2.