[Tested] Norco Fluid FS A1

This Winter, Norco sent us a mid-duty velocipede which happens to be their most upper value offering – the Fluid FS A1. A 29″ trail velocipede with 140mm travel up front and 130mm travel out back, the Fluid features a tousle of parts that vary from upkeep to flagship, all while self-aggrandizing highly refined aesthetics. Thanks to its polished welds one could hands mistake it for a stat webbing frame. In any case, this velocipede has a highly well-flavored mix of components with modern geometry and promising features at an spanking-new price of just $3,999 USD – let’s see how it performed on trail…

Details

• 29″ front and rear
• 140mm front / 130mm rear travel
• SRAM UDH compatible
• “Ride Aligned” geometry
• 5 sizes: S, M, L (tested), XL, XXL
• $3,999.99 USD

At the front of the bike, a flagship Fox 34 Factory RC2 boasts a Grip2 cartridge and four way damping adjustability. This fork is well-nigh as good as things get at the Trail level in terms of duty. I had zero complaints with it, although at times, due to the Fluid’s upper level of sufficiency I thought a slightly beefier 36 could moreover have been quite appropriate. At the rear is a Fox Float X Performance Elite featuring a lockout and single rebound/compression adjusters. Props to Norco for spec’ing a piggyback shock where many brands would simply offer up an inline shock. The wing of a reservoir keeps things increasingly cool, wifely and placid on long descents and offers a largest overall ride quality.

There is nothing that stood out on the cockpit as stuff ultra flashy, but the Trans X handlebar had well-appointed angles and at 780mm wide it offered up the right value of control. The in-house 40mm stem was a solid, no frills match for the bar and put me in the right spot both in terms of height and length. I wasn’t a huge fan of the WTB grips as they were a bit thin and blocky for me, but I’m sure plenty of riders would have no issue with them. The Fizik Alpaca saddle had a short and wide profile which seems to be popular as of late. No issues with that either.

My test rig came with a Trans-X seatpost with 170mm of travel, which was a solid performer. However, the spec sheet on Norco’s website lists the SDG Tellis 170mm dropper seatpost. Regardless, Norco scales the seatpost travel by frame size wideness each model, which is a laudable touch.

The TRP Trail EVO brakes are phenomenal, expressly at their price point. The thick 2.3mm rotors are tougher than most and the large calipers and well-appointed lever blades finish out a unconfined set of brakes. I run these on a personal velocipede as well, so take that for what it’s worth…

A 12-speed Shimano XT drivetrain at a $4k price point is certainly nothing to scoff at. I moreover found the Praxis Cadet cranks to be a solid, utilitarian offering that got the job done. All in all – unconfined shifting and plenty of range.

I must say, the subscription and hose routing on the Fluid was quite dialed. I didn’t have any of the worldwide problems with the grommets up front slipping or popping out, and at the marrow of the downtube a screwed on imbricate and zip tie guides help alimony things tidy and quiet. At the rear of the velocipede I have to requite Norco props for the 2-way exit from the chainstay. The upper one works largest with Shimano’s rear derailleur subscription wile and the lower one works largest with SRAM’s.

The Stan’s Flow S1 rims are moreover a unconfined upkeep offering. They full-length stainless steel rim eyelets and a 29mm inner diameter. The S1s are laced to in-house hubs but they gave me no hassles and got the job washed-up with decent engagement.

The wheels are wrapped in Vittoria tires – a Mazza 2.4″ up front and a Martello 2.35″ out back. This was my first time riding Vittorias and I have to say I was pleasantly surprised. The tread patterns were both platonic for their respective duty’s and they rolled withal fairly quickly. Although I’m unsure of the word-for-word rating of the casing I suffered no flats running them in the upper 20 PSI range on mixed terrain. The recipe was what I would describe as middle of the road. It’s not a gushy ultra upper performance rubber, but rather strikes a smart, economical wastefulness between softness and durability.

A couple increasingly final details on the frame…I unchangingly fathom having a second whatsit mount under the top tube. This is the next weightier thing to in frame storage in my opinion. As far as protection goes, a singular molded rubber chainstay baby-sit kept the noise lanugo and the paint job intact.

Geometry

A quick overview of the numbers here reveal some very tranquil and modern geometry. On my size Large a 480mm reach and 440mm stays is exactly what I’d request if I was having a custom velocipede built. Kudos to Norco for having size scaled chainstay lengths specifically for each size on a value bike!

Norco Fluid FS on the trail

Starting with setup, I was very impressed with Norco’s setup guide. It is simple and straight forward, but what I expressly liked is that it includes a section with a slider for skill level as well as two options for position bias: increasingly forward or increasingly rearward. I referenced the same guide, set up my velocipede and whispered from running a couple increasingly pounds of tire pressure found it to be sufferer on perfect for my liking. Setup guides that get you to a good baseline are unconfined and all, but stuff worldly-wise to dial in based on skill level and how you ride your velocipede takes things to the next level in getting it right, right out of the gate.

On the climbs I found the Fluid to walkout a neutral on trail feel. I didn’t really fuss over using the lockout lever, save for longer climbs, and the velocipede had a peppy finger combined with zaftig traction on the punchier bits. Suspension whispered the velocipede gets a good portion of its ascending prowess from its relatively steep seat wile – in the specimen of my Large 76.7º (effective). This put me in a natural and well-appointed upright position where I could get my soul weight over the front wheel on the steeper sections and was never struggling to pull myself forward on the long grinds. All in all a worthy climber.

Getting into the fun stuff this is a velocipede that punches whilom its weight both in terms of sufficiency and value. On the sufficiency front I kept mistakenly thinking that the Fluid was a 150mm/140mm rig. Even to the point that I got unprotected up saying that to friends a couple of times and then had to correct myself and let them know it unquestionably has 140mm/130mm of travel. While this velocipede doesn’t have any particular nature or components that scream “aggressive”, it can hold its own very well. Often bikes at this price point can get the job washed-up but start to finger a little wobbly or frail when push comes to shove under a increasingly warlike rider. This was not the specimen with the Fluid and I think much thanks is owed not to one single speciality but rather to a little bit of everything – upper end suspension, sturdy frame construction, strong brakes and well chosen spec to tie it all together. I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention that unconfined geometry goes a long ways as well.

As far as some handling and suspension nature are concerned the Fluid simply felt middle of the road and competent. No particular foible stuck out to me. While that might sound boring, it’s not really a bad thing. Riders looking for a velocipede at this price point probably aren’t geeking out and splitting hairs over the ride quality of a pair of $2,000 stat webbing wheels or picking untied kinematics charts and graphs. Rather, they are likely looking for a dependable, utilitarian rig that they can trust as a daily suburbanite and the Fluid is exactly that. The suspension lines was very middle of the road – it wasn’t too linear or too progressive, but rather just right combination of light off the top, supportive in the middle and well capable of resisting rough marrow outs.

Once then with the “neutral feel” theme, I didn’t snift any perceptible restriction jack or squat and I found the Fluid to have a stiff, sturdy finger in the corners that was devoid of any noticeable frame flex. The link and pivot hardware is all upper quality and easy to maintain, which is helpful, and the well though out subscription routing kept things quiet making for a lark self-ruling ride. Lastly, I think much of this bike’s prowess and unconfined handling comes from well chosen geometry that is properly scaled and proportionate within each riders size. When poring over reviews of bikes that forfeit double the value of this model, that is something we’re getting yawner to seeing but it’s worth pausing and giving Norco some props for bringing this concept lanugo to lower price points as well as recognizing that they’ve been taking this tideway longer than any other trademark out there.

Overall

All told the Fluid FS A1 boasts a value that we rarely see in the velocipede world – expressly from a trademark that is not working on a consumer uncontrived model. Its thoughtfully chosen parts and brilliant, well-turned geometry engrain it with a very upper end finger and a level of sufficiency that makes it stay cool, wifely and placid when you get in over your head. The simple, proven four bar suspension layout provides the goods without bogging you lanugo with anything gimmicky or weird and the frame is tied together and finished off with unconfined features. The only sticking point that I did have with this velocipede is that the headset couldn’t properly adjust. It either had a touch of play or was overtightened. This is likely just a fluke and it’s the type of thing that would get sorted by your dealer without any major fuss.

All in all, that is a pretty short list of issues and this is the perfect velocipede for the type of rider who is taking the swoop and getting serious well-nigh investing in mountain biking. It’s moreover perfectly suitable for anyone who places upkeep as their primary snooping but doesn’t want to sacrifice performance on the shrine of value. When it comes to zinger for the buck, this velocipede is tough to write-up so hats off to Norco on a job very well done!

www.norco.com