2013 Norco Aurum 1 Test

Norco bikes have been making, designing and breaking their teeth on the Canadian North Shore for almost a half century. Many of us will recall the days of the VPS and Shore bikes. These bikes were running the FSR style rear suspension system and were overbuilt to take the abuse that North Shore riding put bikes through. Those of you needing a history lesson check out the video below to find out more about Norco.

The Norco bikes of today have shed the weight in key areas while lowering the bikes center of gravity. They still use the tried and true FSR (Four Bar) rear suspension system that is licensed through Specialized. The FSR system stays active under braking while providing a progressive leverage curve. This is not the best pedaling platform but since the introduction of the 5th Element with platform dampening in the early 2000's the bob that was once a very noticeable aspect of a FSR bike has been drastically reduced resulting in a Downhill Bike that has decent pedalling. Along with the platform based shock Norco has also updated the FSR layout on their frames to pedal better than the standard design.

The claimed benefits of the FSR system are listed below.

• Reactive to small hits

• Variable wheel/shock ratio

• Handles large hits

• Progressive leverage ratio

• Non-linear/vertical wheel path

2013 Norco Aurum 1 Review