I've ridden quite a few bikes in my day having worked for several shops in the SoCal area, some I've had the chance to put some serious time on but man, one day on the Range VLT C1 and I had to buy one.
It's 170mm of plush coil goodness. When I first looked at the bike I didn't expect to like it. It LOOKS weird, and that's because, well, it kind of is. The geometry is just different than anything else I've seen in the e-world. Slacked out had tube, super steep seat tube, long front triangle, PERFECT for an old DH racer with some physical disabilities and gray hair. The bike itself is awesome. No joke, FIRST ride I set 19 PRs and 7 other 2nds on Strava; and I didn't feel nearly as fast as I did on my tried and true trusty ol Levo. (2017 comp but heavily upgraded).
I was in disbelief, as some of the times were significant, and it was a trail that I ride OFTEN. I didn't even play with the suspension. I set the fork ride height and checked tire pressure and rode it. Over the past few weeks, I have done a lot to the bike. Swapped wheels, I put my i9's with Easton ARC '40s mated up with DHF / DHR II 2.8's at 17 / 19 psi and watched those times shrink even more. Like, all of a sudden I'm a fast guy again. Then I swapped bars, stem, seat and put some Saints on it (I seem to be the only person I know that despises the SRAM brakes, whatever). Again, times where getting shaved, albeit much smaller margins and not nearly as broad-spectrum in regards to the trails. Then I dialed in the fork, removed a token, slowed down the rebound just a tad and for the first time ever with a rock shox fork, had to dial in some compression damping. Slowed down the rear rebound and increase slow speed comp just a tad and HOLY F'N WOW did this bike come alive. I'm not exaggerating when I say, I scared myself a few times. I found myself hitting stuff so much faster, that if I was offline, my old feebleness couldn't correct quickly enough. My main riding buddy is non-e-bike, but he's a fitness trainer for the Marine Corps and 15 years younger than me... and he can't ditch me anymore! In fact, on a 3 mile downhill run just this last Saturday, he was holding me up and I have the video to prove it. Hahaha!! I also swapped the rear derailleur for an SRAM AXS, just because I could.
There is another review out there of this bike that mentions some of the flaws... or, just stuff that isn't ideal. I'll say this, anytime a review points out the tires as the weakest point of a bike... A. It's a shitty review. B.... well, see A. Like, swap the tires numbnuts. I will say this, the stock 2.5 Asshatagai or whatever they're called, while maybe a good choice for a normal-sized human, SUCKED for my 6'5" 240lb sasquatchish figure. That's really a moot point in my opinion on any bike though. The stock wheels are good, but not great. Again, normal-sized people wouldn't have any issues.
The bike's biggest problem is also one of the things I love about it. The sealed battery in the downtube. This is an area where Norco could REALLY improve their bikes. RUN A FRIGGEN CONDUIT!!! If you have any issues with your rear brake, derailleur cable, display cable or anything else running in there a full motor removal is required. That is really not a huge deal, but it's a pain in the ass for sure. Way worse than that is getting all the crap back up into the downtube. You're shoving a giant battery up and hoping the cables line up where they need to and not getting pinched or pulled. Royal pain in the rear end for sure. Cable management isn't the best. The grommets they used are, mediocre and come out of the frame way too easily. I've had to pop the one back in several times in the past few weeks. The chainstay protector sucks, it's pitiful actually. It doesn't run nearly far enough down the length of the stay and is just on there with low-grade adhesive. The other big gripe is the sensor. There is tons of room for improvement here. It's just bolted on to the chainstay and uses a spoke magnet. Like, what's up 1980 bike computer technology? Horrible and makes taking the rear wheel off / on way more of a chore than it should be. I'll also just say this, I don't really care for the Shimano motors, especially compared to the Brose. I am getting used to it though. Ohh, and that damn maple leaf. "Sorry, not sorry" for covering that up.
So back to the good. All the bad, is stuff that doesn't affect how the bike rides and that was clearly the focus over there at Norco. They wanted a legit enduro bike that could climb the steepest steeps and bomb down the gnarliest stuff out there and well, mission accomplished. The bike just handles everything you throw at it. I wasn't surprised how well it soaks up the bigger stuff at all. With the big coil shock and 170/180 mm travel it really does shine in the rough. What I did find surprising was how well the bike handles. With the slack head angle I thought it would be slow and maybe even a little unresponsive and sluggish. That's not the case though, the bike will snap a turn through a berm with the best of em! The geometry lends itself to a more forward position, and I think that's the key that gets this bike to work as well as it does. And while I previously admitted I didn't like the Shimano motor, I LOVE that 635Wh battery! "RANGE" for sure and a good balance of weight to capacity.
In short, this is the best e-bike I've ridden, for how and what I ride it's nearly perfect. Why there is no Norco specific category on this site, I don't know, but there should be because these guys are crushing it.
It's 170mm of plush coil goodness. When I first looked at the bike I didn't expect to like it. It LOOKS weird, and that's because, well, it kind of is. The geometry is just different than anything else I've seen in the e-world. Slacked out had tube, super steep seat tube, long front triangle, PERFECT for an old DH racer with some physical disabilities and gray hair. The bike itself is awesome. No joke, FIRST ride I set 19 PRs and 7 other 2nds on Strava; and I didn't feel nearly as fast as I did on my tried and true trusty ol Levo. (2017 comp but heavily upgraded).
I was in disbelief, as some of the times were significant, and it was a trail that I ride OFTEN. I didn't even play with the suspension. I set the fork ride height and checked tire pressure and rode it. Over the past few weeks, I have done a lot to the bike. Swapped wheels, I put my i9's with Easton ARC '40s mated up with DHF / DHR II 2.8's at 17 / 19 psi and watched those times shrink even more. Like, all of a sudden I'm a fast guy again. Then I swapped bars, stem, seat and put some Saints on it (I seem to be the only person I know that despises the SRAM brakes, whatever). Again, times where getting shaved, albeit much smaller margins and not nearly as broad-spectrum in regards to the trails. Then I dialed in the fork, removed a token, slowed down the rebound just a tad and for the first time ever with a rock shox fork, had to dial in some compression damping. Slowed down the rear rebound and increase slow speed comp just a tad and HOLY F'N WOW did this bike come alive. I'm not exaggerating when I say, I scared myself a few times. I found myself hitting stuff so much faster, that if I was offline, my old feebleness couldn't correct quickly enough. My main riding buddy is non-e-bike, but he's a fitness trainer for the Marine Corps and 15 years younger than me... and he can't ditch me anymore! In fact, on a 3 mile downhill run just this last Saturday, he was holding me up and I have the video to prove it. Hahaha!! I also swapped the rear derailleur for an SRAM AXS, just because I could.
There is another review out there of this bike that mentions some of the flaws... or, just stuff that isn't ideal. I'll say this, anytime a review points out the tires as the weakest point of a bike... A. It's a shitty review. B.... well, see A. Like, swap the tires numbnuts. I will say this, the stock 2.5 Asshatagai or whatever they're called, while maybe a good choice for a normal-sized human, SUCKED for my 6'5" 240lb sasquatchish figure. That's really a moot point in my opinion on any bike though. The stock wheels are good, but not great. Again, normal-sized people wouldn't have any issues.
The bike's biggest problem is also one of the things I love about it. The sealed battery in the downtube. This is an area where Norco could REALLY improve their bikes. RUN A FRIGGEN CONDUIT!!! If you have any issues with your rear brake, derailleur cable, display cable or anything else running in there a full motor removal is required. That is really not a huge deal, but it's a pain in the ass for sure. Way worse than that is getting all the crap back up into the downtube. You're shoving a giant battery up and hoping the cables line up where they need to and not getting pinched or pulled. Royal pain in the rear end for sure. Cable management isn't the best. The grommets they used are, mediocre and come out of the frame way too easily. I've had to pop the one back in several times in the past few weeks. The chainstay protector sucks, it's pitiful actually. It doesn't run nearly far enough down the length of the stay and is just on there with low-grade adhesive. The other big gripe is the sensor. There is tons of room for improvement here. It's just bolted on to the chainstay and uses a spoke magnet. Like, what's up 1980 bike computer technology? Horrible and makes taking the rear wheel off / on way more of a chore than it should be. I'll also just say this, I don't really care for the Shimano motors, especially compared to the Brose. I am getting used to it though. Ohh, and that damn maple leaf. "Sorry, not sorry" for covering that up.
So back to the good. All the bad, is stuff that doesn't affect how the bike rides and that was clearly the focus over there at Norco. They wanted a legit enduro bike that could climb the steepest steeps and bomb down the gnarliest stuff out there and well, mission accomplished. The bike just handles everything you throw at it. I wasn't surprised how well it soaks up the bigger stuff at all. With the big coil shock and 170/180 mm travel it really does shine in the rough. What I did find surprising was how well the bike handles. With the slack head angle I thought it would be slow and maybe even a little unresponsive and sluggish. That's not the case though, the bike will snap a turn through a berm with the best of em! The geometry lends itself to a more forward position, and I think that's the key that gets this bike to work as well as it does. And while I previously admitted I didn't like the Shimano motor, I LOVE that 635Wh battery! "RANGE" for sure and a good balance of weight to capacity.
In short, this is the best e-bike I've ridden, for how and what I ride it's nearly perfect. Why there is no Norco specific category on this site, I don't know, but there should be because these guys are crushing it.
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