23' Norco Bigfoot vlt

[darwink1]

Decided to upgrade my perfectly good 19' bigfoot vlt with a 23' vlt1... because I'm a nerd and I have a problem. Honestly, I just wanted the ep8, removable battery and new style speed sensor.

So far it got a 150mm mastadon ext pro, magura 200mm mdrp rotors, chromag lift saddle, chromag bza 35mm stem, 4.5 studded cake eaters, a gold kmc chain and custom lock on foam grips. Still waiting on a oneup ebar and oneup flat pedals. I have a new set of hayes dominion a4 brakes for it as well, just have to talk myself into messing with the stupid internal routing.

I'm trying a set of Loam Lab Counterpunch finger protectors on it as well. A tree tried to rip my pinkie finger off a month and a half ago so I figured I'd give them a go. So far they do what they claim to and actually give me a bit more confidence when the trees get tight.

I've gone for 2 rides so far and I'm getting along with the bike really well. The bigger wheels take some getting used to but roll very nicely. The 23' weighs roughly 7lb more than the 19' due to the larger battery (720 vs 520) and heavier wheelset (19' has an i9/whiskey carbon wheelset) but it carries it well. It takes a bit more muscle to throw it around and get the tires off the ground but thats just a bonus upper body workout lol.

Only real complaint so far is that the stock norco handlebar is really weirdly shaped and may have been made by someone who's never ridden a bike.

D

 

[darwink1]

Threw a Oneup ebar on today.

D

 

[Haveland]

I love mine and the oneup bars were a nice improvement for sure. I've had mine for about 2 months and about 500km on it so far without issues. I have the 900Wh battery and the thing just lasts for ever.

 

[darwink1]

Have you weighed yours with the big battery? Mine large is 59.xxlb with the 720 if you trust my Amazon scale while my 19' bigfoot vlt comes in at 52.xxlb.

D

 

[Haveland]

I haven't weighed mine but I did get the weights of them from Norco because I'm thinking about buying a Slight as well. Prices are in CDN.

wh	weight (grams)	price (cdn)
900	4570	1700
720	3880	1400
540	3190	1150

 

[darwink1]

Threw some wrathchildren on the bike yesterday. They're 27.5x4.5 but look smaller than the 4.5 cake eaters that were on there.

The matchy matchy oneup pedals also came in. Much better than the purple ones it was sporting.

D

 

[darwink1]

Went for a rip during the day Wednesday then another with my buddy Dan at night. Good times.

 

[darwink1]

Loving this thing more and more.

D

 

[Prairie Dog]

A big howdy from a first time fat biker from Alberta. Took delivery of my '23 BF VLT 1 (900Wh) from the LBS and immediately rode it from there to the nearest single track. What a machine! This will be my winter ride exclusively so I have to eke out the few remaining weeks before the big meltdown. It's still basically stock only with the addition of a set of 45Nrth Wrathchilds and also had it ridewrapped.

Here's a hastily edited video of my first ride after I picked it up from the LBS

 

[darwink1]

The Bigfoo got some upgrades before winter set in. Threw a set of hayes dominion a4 brakes on as well as some 76mm wide 27.5" Whisky carbon/i9 wheels. She stops a hell of a lot better with the hayes compared to the shitbox sram Guidos that came on it and the tubeless carbon wheel setup shed a few pounds off the boat anchor.

Mint!

D

 

[Haveland]

Nice upgrades!! I got new brakes coming for mine as well -- should be here today!

 

[darwink1]

Thanks! The upgrades still didn't keep me from eating shit today lol. What was left of the old snow was packed and icy with a inch and a half of fresh floof on it so the rocks were super sketchy.

At least I had someone to console me and bring me sticks while I was down...

D

 

[darwink1]

I wish they made tougher fat bike tires.. I can handle losing studs during the in between seasons but the flimsy sidewalls suck.

D

 

[Haveland]

Have you found any solution for shorter cranks? I find in the shoulder season my biggest issue is crank strikes.

 

[darwink1]

Have you found any solution for shorter cranks? I find in the shoulder season my biggest issue is crank strikes.

I'd love a set of 155 or 160mm. I tried bugging 5dev to make shorter fat cranks for the ep8 but im guessing its a limited market...

Shoot them an email, can't hurt to bug them a bit more..

 

[darwink1]

First rips on the e fattie last night. Took the summer wheelset off and threw the winters on a couple days ago but still insisted on riding the bullit in the snow on friday. It wasn't bad but then we got more snow and I had to ride a hardtail again.

On a side note, the bike powered up in the garage but the mode selector wouldn't work and I couldn't get it going no matter how many times I checked connections. Turns out the beep boops needed to be updated through the shimano app lol. So freaking frustrating but it worked in the end. I always forget about updates..

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D

 

[Tilt]

The Bigfoo got some upgrades before winter set in. Threw a set of hayes dominion a4 brakes on as well as some 76mm wide 27.5" Whisky carbon/i9 wheels. She stops a hell of a lot better with the hayes compared to the shitbox sram Guidos that came on it and the tubeless carbon wheel setup shed a few pounds off the boat anchor.

Mint!

View attachment 130359 View attachment 130360 View attachment 130361 View attachment 130362 View attachment 130363 View attachment 130364


Super belle les roues carbon

 

[Tilt]

super belle les roues carbon

 

[darwink1]

Well, this happened yesterday.. Lucky I have a spare wheelset so she's back up and running already. Let's see if they warranty another one.


D

 

[darwink1]

Some bikes leaning on things and dog pics lol.

D

 

[darwink1]

Wintery rock slab rolls and whale music lol.

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Enjoy the videos and music that you love, upload original content and share it all with friends, family and the world on YouTube.

youtube.com

D

 

[darwink1]

This happened on Saturday..

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D

 

[Zuninet]

Heya! Curious how hard the brake upgrade was? I've done it on my Trek, but not sure how much of a PITA the Norco routing is. I'm torn between new SRAM Guide RSC levers to get more adjustment and a better feel or just replace the brakes with Shimano SLX.

 

[darwink1]

It was a pain but doable. You have to drop the motor to route the rear then find the right combination of bolts and washers to make everything work. I went to 200mm rotors front and rear btw.

D