Announced earlier this week, Canadian brand Norco’s second EMTB is a significant departure from the full-suspension Sight VLT launched late last year. Although it does follow the same philosophy of taking an established Norco bike and augmenting it with a healthy dose of integrated E*POWAH.
‘Snow joke… Canadian bike builder unleashes Bigfoot
Boasting 80 mm wide rims and 4.8” tires, the Bigfoot VLT weds Shimano’s E8000 powertain (with choice of batteries up to 630 Wh) to an aluminum frame optimised for climbing. Norco says that its geometry has been developed to “increase rider comfort, stability and control in undulating and mixed terrain.”
While the Bigfoot VLT will dominate mud and sand, the focus is clearly on winter riding in the snow. According to Norco, “months-at-a-time of access to snowy riding conditions has inspired us to create a bike that doesn’t just survive but thrives through any ride Canada serves up.”
Staying true to its mission, Norco selected components that will perform best in freezing temperatures, including a cold-weather optimised Manitou fork with 100 mm of travel and hydraulic disc brakes that use DOT fluid instead of mineral oil. They even tested which dropper post works best at low temperatures.
Norco is certainly bringing some interesting looking EMTBs to the mix, which can only be a good thing. Accept that the Bigfoot VLT is only available in North America for now. Ok, it may be overkill for most UK riders – even despite this week’s ‘snowbomb’ – but we’re sure that plenty of Scandinavian and European riders could put Norco’s new cold weather, all-mountain EMTB to good use.
There could be hope yet though. While the Sight VLT is still not available in the UK, it can now be purchased in Europe. So, the Bigfoot VLT may follow suit. Watch this space… and if snow really is your thing, don’t miss Knut’s 45NRTH Nicotine studded tyre video review posted earlier today.
