2020/2021 Sight sizing and builds

I posted this over on the other site but I’m but looking for some feeback here as well

I’m thinking a 2021 sight but I have two concerns

At 5’10” and coming off a 2017 era medium Devinci will I find the recommended large Sight way too long. Anyone my height on a medium?

Wondering about the performance/feel between the RS Deluxe vs Fox X2.

Unfortunately there have been no demos this summer to test

There are plenty of demos, go talk to a Norco dealer and ask them to get in touch with Jason @ Norco about setting one up.

FWIW I spoke to multiple people at Norco / Live to play including some of the Sight engineers, I'm 5'9 and every single one of them said I would be on a large in 29 or 27.5

Posted by: thaaad

There are plenty of demos, go talk to a Norco dealer and ask them to get in touch with Jason @ Norco about setting one up.

Interesting. Two dealers I went to here said there are no demos. The shops definitely don’t have them and they did not offer any other option. I will try this.

There is a demo program that the dealers have access to. I'm not 100% sure how it works but the bikes aren't in the shops, Jason @ Norco keeps them at the warehouse. I would try John Henry since they're the official Norco shop and ask them to get in touch and get a bike brought in.

Edit - Also, I know there are demos because I've seen the racks of them at the warehouse, and I've talked to Jason personally. I wonder if the shops thought you meant in store demos.

For myself at 1.75m Norco recommends a Large frame in Aurum, Range, Sight. I’m wondering how much dropper post I’d be able to use with the ST length of 435mm. 

Commencal recommends a Medium Meta TR but I’m thinking a Large would be better. Probably need a Squamish demo soon.

29"? 

Demo'd before Covid, 29 feels bigger than 27.5.

I'm 5'10", average torso/leg. Longish arms at 6' wingspan. Parking lot test notes:

Sight. 800mm bar, 40mm stem.

M 29. 455mm reach, 612stack, tiny bit short. Maybe 5-10mm?

L 27.5. 485mm reach. Maybe 5-10mm too long?

L 29. 485 reach, 621 stack, 24.45" TT. Tall, slow, ungainly. Like 10mm+ too long?

For the shore? In 29 I personally probably would have demo'd a medium first with 50mm stem. In 27.5 I'd have tried large first.

I'm 5'9 and typically prefer a shorter/taller bike and come from a trials background. I rode a medium Range for the past few seasons and picked up a medium 2020 Sight this year. It's definitely longer than I'm used to, especially for my riding style, but it works really well on "normal" trails. I miss having a shorter bike when it comes to playful, stunty trails, but I'm weird that way, preferring to be over the wheels instead of between them. I've even considered trying a small with a 60mm stem, but we'll see. 

As others have said, Jason (@griztour on IG) runs the demo program and would be a good person to reach out to.

I just wasn't sure if I should drop his insta lol, wasn't sure if he kept it separate.

If griz doesn't work out, RideHub in Squamish rent Sights. Maybe they'd do some sort of package deal where you could try both sizes? 

I'd definitely try both sizes. I was on the cusp of going XL at 6' tall and people were saying that I should have gone that way. It's huuuuuuge though and I'm glad stuck with L. Fox has better bottom out resistance compared to RS. I had RS.... Also I chose 29 but it's what everyone is riding, but I preferred the  27.5 when riding around the car park. It doesn't have the 'floppy' low speed steering that the 29 has. Anyway, great bikes but quite different feeling dependent on sizing, spec and wheel sizes so I'd take the time to figure out what works for you rather than blindly going with what other people say.

Looks like he advertises his title with Norco in his headline. Also has a post about arranging demos at Metro Van Norco Dealers...

Remember to consider ESTA when you're looking at those huge-seeming reach numbers. The steeper seat angle will reduce effective top tube so sometimes those big reach numbers don't always mean a bigger bike, just a shift of the rider forward on the bike.

Posted by: craw

Remember to consider ESTA when you're looking at those huge-seeming reach numbers. The steeper seat angle will reduce effective top tube so sometimes those big reach numbers don't always mean a bigger bike, just a shift of the rider forward on the bike.

Very true!

I had the Range XL and the reach was 480mm, the new Sight XL has a reach of 515mm. When sitting on the bikes they felt the same. I even had to slide the seat back for more room on the Sight(I have a long torso proportional). I'm 6'1" for a reference.

Not sure where you live, but if it's Lower Mainland, I believe Kinetik Cycles in Coquitlam had a Sight demo program this summer. 

I also made the jump from a five year old 27.5 to new modern geo 29er recently. Went from a reach of 440 to 480 and a wheelbase of 1188 to 1248. It was a big jump for me and I was worried it would be too long, but feels really nice. Definitely way more of a charger than my old bike. A few strikes though, not as nimble in the tight old school trails and not as flickable on jumps. And don't rely on a parking lot test, these new long bikes feel like tanks in the parking lot. You really need to get them onto the trails with some serious vert to see how they really feel.