2017 Liv Intrigue SX vs 2017 Norco Sight A7.1

My wife is looking for a bike for herself. We've narrowed the bikes down (kind of) to a few, but right now the top two are the LIv Intrigue SX and the Norco Sight A7.1.

A little back story on my wifes riding. She started on my old 01 bullet and wished she never got rid of it. When we moved to Canada, she got a NOrco fluid 2 (2008) and hasn't felt comfortable on that bike ever. Her bike broke and she hopped on my 06 Specialized Enduro pro and loved it. She felt like she could take on everything she was walking before. Night and day.

I've set up a spreadsheet and narrowed down components and angles, the two above meet the closest (special mention also goes to Devinci troy carbon GX, Spec rhyme and stumpjumper fsr expert and Giant reign advanced1).

She's not a goat, and enjoys the down more and would rather sacrifice some up for the down fun and confidence she gained using my Enduro Pro.

The question is: Does anyone have experience with the two? Side by side pros and cons. I know it's all personal preference, but is there anything that sticks out?

Can not do a side by side but my wife could get a deal on the Giant and also a Trek but picked the Sight due to how it fit and rode. She has more than one bike and the only time she takes out her Trek Slash 9 is when she goes to the bike park. Not that the sight can't handle the park under her but the slash just has that extra cush.

p.s.: Decline's trail bike of the year is the Sight

http://www.pinkbike.com/news/2016-norco-range-and-sight-christmas-clearout-sale.html

some good prices on 2016 norcos…

Liv Hail! Shit, I want one for myself.

Thanks for the replies. Buying a bike shouldn't be this hard. lol Of course it's not for me, and my wife has to like how it looks (remember the reactions to the specialized color schemes of 2009ish).
The Trance sx she hated the red on baby blue
The Hail she thought it looked like someone puked a bunch of non related colors on the frame

So from 15 bikes we're now down to 4

2017 SC Bronson AL (maybe Carbon) "S" build
2017 Norco Sight A7.1
2017 Devinci Troy Carbon GX
2017 Specialized Stumpjumper FSR expert

Maybe I should make a poll.

This would probably be easier if you posted pics of said wife.

Troy likely has the best value. Even more tasty in alloy.

Saying that only bike I've ridden is the Sight from yesteryear.

Thanks for the replies. I think what is making this decision so hard is they are all pretty good bikes (at least on paper).

Has she ridden, or got the opportunity to ride any current bikes? Does she know what characteristics she wants from a bike? An old Bullit is going to be light years from a modern enduro sled. And I don't necessarily mean 100% in a bad way. I've owned an old Bullit and other than the brake jack which was solved by not braking….it was fun and versatile. I've got a '98 Super 8 with a set of Z1s and this bike should be dreadful but there are aspects of it that I prefer over a 10ft long 'game changer'. Basically I'm saying ride some bikes rather than looking at spreadsheets :) I've ridden plenty of bikes that I thought that I'd like but ended up hating, and vice versa. Some bikes just feel 'right'.

Has she ridden, or got the opportunity to ride any current bikes? Does she know what characteristics she wants from a bike? An old Bullit is going to be light years from a modern enduro sled. And I don't necessarily mean 100% in a bad way. I've owned an old Bullit and other than the brake jack which was solved by not braking….it was fun and versatile. I've got a '98 Super 8 with a set of Z1s and this bike should be dreadful but there are aspects of it that I prefer over a 10ft long 'game changer'. Basically I'm saying ride some bikes rather than looking at spreadsheets :) I've ridden plenty of bikes that I thought that I'd like but ended up hating, and vice versa. Some bikes just feel 'right'.

Yes do the demos.
What I thought I was going to buy and what felt best was a surprise on my last one.

Has she ridden, or got the opportunity to ride any current bikes? Does she know what characteristics she wants from a bike? An old Bullit is going to be light years from a modern enduro sled. And I don't necessarily mean 100% in a bad way. I've owned an old Bullit and other than the brake jack which was solved by not braking….it was fun and versatile. I've got a '98 Super 8 with a set of Z1s and this bike should be dreadful but there are aspects of it that I prefer over a 10ft long 'game changer'. Basically I'm saying ride some bikes rather than looking at spreadsheets :) I've ridden plenty of bikes that I thought that I'd like but ended up hating, and vice versa. Some bikes just feel 'right'.

I threw you off mentioning the bullit. The bullit was the last bike she owned before the norco 2008 fluid 2. When the brakes failed on her right before a ride, she took my 2006 Specialized Enduro pro and it blew her mind. The Spreadsheet I put together compared the fluid and my Enduro which showed the differences. Her fluid weighs about 5lbs less than my enduro so I threw that number out as the enduro allowed her to climb better and of course with the extra squish allowed her to descend waaay better (the slacker HA helped I'm sure).

According to the spreadsheet, the bikes I've mentioned are the most similar to the ENDURO (not the bullit, which I didn't put in the spreadsheet). I suspect that the four bikes at the top will be very similar with only the suspension types being the biggest differences.

We don't really have the opportunity to ride these bikes to test (except the norco and specialized) thus this thread. :)

My wife just did the new bike thing this year.
after many demos she settled on the 2016 Specialized Rhyme Comp.
In the end the choice between the Liv and the Rhyme came down to the fact that the Specialzed was mostly black with a hint of pink vs.. the 'girlie' colours of some of the other or the 'ugly' colours of the mens bikes.

she was smart about her demo too, and stuck to the same short trail loop for them all so that she could see how they could climb and descend, and keep the bike as the only variable.

good luck and cheers!

All those bikes are good and she will enjoy them! I would get the Sight (I may get one of the 2017 29er versions) or the Spesh…even though I feel bit dirty saying that…

My wife also bought a 2016 Specialized Rhyme Comp after demoing many bikes, including the Intrigue and the Sight. She liked the fit and the look of the Rhyme better than the others. I personally liked the Sight better but she was not as happy with it. Since your wife is already familiar with Norcos maybe she will prefer the Sight. Is the Range more bike than she wants? If she really enjoys the downhills she might want to check one out.