i think these days if you're careful a stock bike can work. i bought my first complete in 20 years last year: a 2020 norco optic c2. i demoed one beforehand and was pretty convinced i would be happy with it as spec'd out of the box. fast forward 18 months later and the list of changes i felt i "had" to make to enjoy riding the bike includes swapping the bars and stem (31.8mm > 35mm), upgrading the ratchet in the dt swiss 350 hub (36 poe vs. 18\[wtf!\]), swapping the rims (flow d's are PIGs), and buying new tires (i'm fussy). pretty happy with the way it went down
Dec. 14, 2021, 7:12 a.m. - boomforeal
i think these days if you're careful a stock bike can work. i bought my first complete in 20 years last year: a 2020 norco optic c2. i demoed one beforehand and was pretty convinced i would be happy with it as spec'd out of the box. fast forward 18 months later and the list of changes i felt i "had" to make to enjoy riding the bike includes swapping the bars and stem (31.8mm > 35mm), upgrading the ratchet in the dt swiss 350 hub (36 poe vs. 18\[wtf!\]), swapping the rims (flow d's are PIGs), and buying new tires (i'm fussy). pretty happy with the way it went down