Great sizing, quick rolling, excellent finish

Product Overview

Overall rating:

Score 8

Norco Charger 2

Pros:

  • Great sizing, quick rolling, excellent finish.

Cons:

  • Skinny tyres offer poor grip in loose and loam.

Product:

Norco Charger 2 (2018) review

Manufacturer:

Price as reviewed:

£725.00

When we unboxed the Norco Charger 2 we thought it was a commuter bike, due to the skinny 2.1in WTB Nineline tyres.

>>> Hardtail of the Year 2018: best mountain bike under £500, £750 and £1000

The small knobs are fast rolling, but don’t cut it in deep loam or sticky mud. They are easily changed though, so we won’t let them detract from what is actually a really good package.

norco charger 2

With smooth welds and a crisp, silver frame finish the Charger 2 is one of the sleekest looking bikes here. It also has the most modern sizing and feels really roomy when you jump on-board.

Suspension fork travel is limited to 100mm and the Charger 2 also has the steepest head angle in class. It’s no slouch though, because the increased roll over of the bigger 29in wheels makes it surprisingly quick through the rough stuff. It’s balanced too, so hitting the brakes hard isn’t going to do anything unexpected to the attitude of the bike.

Those fast rolling tyres do make short work of the climbs and while the Norco does have old-school 2x gearing, if you want to clock up some serious miles, which you can easily do on this bike, at least have a small gear for the ups and a big gear for the downs.

The Charger 2 has the best attributes of the 29er wheels and is great for longer distance rides, but for anything more challenging you’ll need to splash out for some new tyres.

norco charger 2

Details

Frame:6061 aluminium
Fork:RockShox 30, 100mm travel
Wheels:Joytech hubs, WTB MX21 rims, WTB Nineline 29x2.25in tyres
Drivetrain:Suntour XCM chainset, Shimano Deore r-mech, f-mech and shifters
Brakes:Shimano M365 160mm
Weight:13.69kg (30.18lb)
Sizes:XS, S, M, L, XL
Size tested:L
Contact:evanscycles.com