08/21/2008

2004 Norco 4By (A.K.A. 4x4) Guest Reviewer: Cory Booker Photos by: Cory Booker & Jim Maybee

After fifteen weeks and countless hours of riding everything from a six-hour XC enduro race to a day at the Whistler bike park, here is what I know about riding a 2004 Norco 4By.

The Plan

When I moved last winter from Victoria, BC to Salmon Arm, BC, I talked to locals as much as I could to learn about the local riding. I decided I needed a tough, light bike with lots of standover clearance and a single crown fork. It had to be able to tackle the extended climbs, but still stand up to my descents. It turns out I got three of my four criteria in the 4By -- it is not light!

What I really wanted to do with my 4By was try to recreate my old 2002 Fluid. Sticking with Norco, I could have gone with either of two similar frames: the Six or the 4By. I decided that I did not need six inches of travel at the back, and besides, the weight of the Z150 fork on the Six put me off. Unbeknownst to me, the DJ3 on the 4By was barely lighter.

The complete 4By in all its glory

A Different Spec

My first modification to Norco's well-thought-out spec was to pony up a little extra dough and trade the Marzocchi DJ3 for a Z1 FR.

Since I do very little dirt jumping and very much aggressive trail riding, I also wanted two chainrings and a front derailleur. I have had problems with my previous Norcos dropping their chains in rough sections, so I replaced the BlackSpire DS1 chain guide with a BlackSpire Dewlie with 22 and 32 tooth rings. As a result, I own one extra drive-side crank arm because the stock crank arms are not drilled to allow you to mount a small chainring. My shop gave me a good deal on the crank, but I would have preferred that the bike just come with one that had already been drilled.

I have never made my peace with Grip Shift, so I opted for a Shimano trigger to actuate the new front derailleur.

As minor personal touches, I replaced the stock 8" rear brake rotor with a 6" version and replaced the stock seat with a Setlaz Freeride saddle.

I obviously weigh more than Norco's target market for the medium frame even though I am a shade under 180 lbs, so after bottoming the shock on every ride, I ended up buying an 800 lb spring to replace the 700 pounder.

Aside from all that, the bike is catalogue stock.

The Buying Season

I ordered my bike in February and had to wait two months for delivery while Norco did a second production run. Fortunately, the trails here do not open much before mid-April. Apparently for lower volume bikes like the 4By, you have to get your order in early or risk not getting a bike. I was fortunate that I wanted a medium frame rather than a small.

I would like to quickly thank Skookum Cycle and Ski in Salmon Arm. They were very patient with me while I made several component changes, and gave me a fair price on the bike that I traded in (which was later stolen from the shop!). The whole buying experience was very pleasant, except for the long wait.

A Whole Lotta Beef

For those who might be curious, I figure my 4By tips the scales at a hefty 41 lbs. This is measured using my oh-so-scientific method of weighing myself on the bathroom scale and then weighing myself holding the bike. I repeat this and average the two if there is any difference. I was shocked at how much beef there was to a bike with only 4.25" of travel in the back. Bear in mind that I actually shaved almost a pound by replacing the stock Dirt Jumper with the lighter Z1 FR. The good news is all that weight adds up to a strong bike. Norco has never made any apologies for making its bikes durable at the cost of a little extra weight.

The Riding Experience

I finally got my bike on April 22. I had signed up for a six-hour enduro to take place on April 25, which I had planned to ride on my old hardtail. After one ride on the 4By, I decided that since there was no chance of me winning the race anyway, I should at least have some fun and ride the big bike. Near the end of the second lap (of four for me, nine for the winner), I started to experience shifting problems. I limped in on one gear and flipped the bike over to find out what the problem was. It turned out I had broken a spoke in the rear wheel and damaged several others. All I could do was twist the spoke up out of the way and keep riding. Through the remaining two laps the wheel stayed more-or-less true and caused no further problems. I have heard people complain about the Alex Supra N wheels, but after that experience, I have no problems with them.

I really like the Truvativ pedals. I had to replace the left one under warranty within the first two months when the bearings seized, but I like the grip they provide without being serious shin gougers. Some might say they could benefit from replaceable pins, but on the flip side, if the pins are fixed, you will never have one loosen and fall out. These might be my new favourite flat pedals for all around riding.

The FUNN stem and bar are great. The bar is shockingly wide, especially if you are used to all-mountain or cross-country bars, but you learn to deal after you ring your hands off a tree or two.

The fork came a little under sprung for me, but not enough to cause any serious problems. What does cause problems is the adjustment knobs. In probably half of my crashes, the fork spins around and the knobs work their way under the cables. The frame is obviously not designed with these ugly, tall, knobs in mind because when they work their way under, they chew up the outer cable housings and make it difficult to get the fork back around. I sincerely hope Marzocchi and Norco have figured this out for 2005 and will provide lower profile adjusters on the forks. I am told that the Norco Six, with its similar frame design, also experiences this problem.

The Z1 FR comes with Marzocchi's Extension Travel Adjustment (ETA) to allow for easier climbing. This feature is great! Unfortunately, I lost the use of mine after one of the aforementioned crashes and I am not ready to send the fork away for warranty work during the peak of riding season. When my ETA worked, it made a noticeable difference for fire road climbing. I'm not sure I would use it much for climbing single track, but I loved it for climbing the many forest service roads that lead to trails around Salmon Arm.

To activate the ETA, you flip the lever at the top of the left fork leg forward, lean over the fork, and give it a good push down. The fork compresses to leave you a small bit of firm, but still active, travel. At the top of the climb, you just slide the lever back and the fork pops up to its full 130 mm.

The QR20 system on the Z1 FR is unlike any I have used before. It requires no tools to remove the front wheel. There are two metal tabs that you cinch down with finger screws on the top and then tuck up to tighten around the closures that hold the axle in place. I might feel safer with the standard Allen bolts on one of the larger forks, but for this fork it is a brilliant system.

Pedaling is not as bad as you might expect on such a heavy bike. Norco uses a four-bar rear suspension with Horst link (under license from Specialized) to achieve what is widely regarded as one of the best all-around suspension designs. On top of that, Fox added Propedal to all of its shocks this year, which is apparently not as effective as a stable platform shock at eliminating bob, but certainly helps. Some might complain about not having a compression adjustment on the shock, but to be honest, I don't miss it.

This bike is designed to be tough and does not disappoint! Even when I bottom the shock, I never feel that I am really hitting close to the bike's limits. The bike easily stands up to my often-graceless landings on flat or very shallow trannies.

Where the bike really shows its Supercross geometry is on loose, fall-line sections of trail. The 70-degree head angle does not leave a lot of room for error when tackling a loose or sandy steep section. The steep head angle combined with a shorter fork has resulted in several crashes where a more DH-oriented bike would have had no problems.

Fortunately, the Kenda Blue Groove and Nevegal combination are my new favourite tires. Even though my last bike had 2.65" tires, I have never missed having more than 2.35" between me and the trail. I was worried about Kenda tires after cursing the Kinetics on my old VPS Buzz, but Kenda has made leaps and bounds in tire quality since 2001. This is especially fortunate because it does not look like you could run much more than 2.35" tires in the rear. There is very little clearance.

The author riding a teeter totter that empties onto a log on "Mo' Butta" in Salmon Arm, B.C.

My 4By came with Hayes '04 HFX-9 HD brakes, and I have the same problem that everybody seems to--my reach-adjustment screws back out during a ride leaving me pulling the levers to the bar to get any sort of response. Upgrade to HFX-Mag brakes or get a tube of BLUE (not red) thread locker to solve this problem. Eds. Note: Other reviews have has similar problems with the HFX-Mags as well.

Where the whole bike really hooks up is on Whistler's A-Line and Dirt Merchant. Fast, flowy, and mostly smooth with big tabletops are what this bike is all about. Even through the rough section near the bottom, I was able to just let go of the brakes and trust the bike to get me down.

Conclusion

Was this a fair review? I bought a bike that was designed to do one thing and put it into service doing another. I do not spend much time dirt jumping and have never raced 4-cross, which is what the bike is really meant for. My enjoyment of A-Line really brought that point home. This bike performs best when the terrain points down and is littered with jumps. That said, I really enjoy its trail manners as long as the descents aren't too steep.

An overall rating of 3.5 might seem a bit harsh for a bike that I actually love riding, but I have had a number of component failures, and I have reached a maturity in my cycling where I appreciate a higher-end spec than the 4By comes with (tires, pedals, and stem excepted).

*Specs: 3.0  Ride: 4.0  Price: 4.5  Overall: 3.5

Pros: Cons: - Frame design (except cable routing) - Colour, appearance - Quality of front and rear suspension - FUNN stem and bar - Truvativ Pedals - Kenda Tires - Cable routing and resulting paint damage - HFX-9 brakes - Adjustment knobs on fork not clearing frame - Soft spring - Steep head angle - Rear tire clearance - Cheap drivetrain

The 4x4 is available at Norco dealers for $2290 CND, the 2005 version of the 4by comes available in December 2004.

Our guest reviewer, Cory Booker, is an avid mt. biker from Salmon Arm, BC. If you would like to submit a review for a bike, email Cam McRae, NSMB.com Editor.