Ride On
The Wild Side
Serious fun: Norco gave the
Rival a two by eight drivetrain,
bur ly cran ks , and a frame with
more bod y armor than a
Baghdad army convoy, This
bik e is bu ilt for serious abuse
and will stand up to your
demands if you ride Intellig ently.
The Norco Rival
What they say: :-':orco' s mounta in b ik es fa ll int u ] I r .rte ­
(cro ss- r oil n try ra ce ,111(\ 1mrdr uil , .rll-mouutain cross­
C0 111ltlY .11ld Ion!! 11"<w l:1 . dirt /xt nx-r. Sh ore hnrdtail. advcn ­
go rit'~
tun: X. udvc n turc, nll-mou nt a in bla ck-diuin ond lit e, bluek ­
d iamo nd and downh ill/gruvitv ]. \\' hew ! So where doc. the
Riva] fir in') 11 is a n ad ven t ure X bik e th at Norco defi n es ,J,_
black-dia ruo nd frame geo mc trv nnd compone n ts at pcrfor
m nn ce levels for n ew mountain h iker s.
What you get: The Norc o Rival ', fram e te.nu re s he nvv­
dut v ulumiuuu: tu b ing w ith geo met ry dc s inn ed around :1 4 .7·
inch -travel lork. The LOp tub e and dow ntube a re square -to­
Hll IJ H.! ta pe red, If lJnrr,v Bond s' but s had been mad e :IS so lid
looki ng as th ese tubes, he w ould n 't Iww needed ste ro ids .
Norco slo pe s till' top tub e to give t ill" Ri vnl rid er pleru v of
s ta ndovc r clcura nc e. T he chui n stay b ends in to al low plenty
o f lu -cl clearance a n d th e n bend s out behi nd the bottom
brack et to all ow clearance for a bi !~ tar tin'. T he seals t[lys
lo o k lik e you co u ld ra ke a sl cd gcbummcr to th e m . The
Marzocch i Di rtJ limpe r ;l fork ha s an exter na l spring preload
adjustment and :l2-miJlinwter diam et er steel stanchi ons.
Norco gives you mounts for two watcrboule cages,
72 '" ww.mb. moo,com
\Vhat it does: Wh ile :J rider in good s ha pe ca n take th e
Rival trn il rid in g, th a t is no t what th is o ilier is a ll ab our. The
Iti-sp ced driver rnin . almo st :t:; po und weight a n d th e Din
ju mp er :3 for k shou ld he a ll th e informntion you need to di s­
ce rn this bike's int entiou. You pedal th e R ival (in no hi g
hurry) to a st u nt, ro ck drop, pu mp track . ski n ny o r yo u r OWII
se cret s pot :1I1l1 th en yo u get creative . The Ri val bl:gs yo u ( 0
lo we r th e sadd le a nd expe rim en t . Jnlllp it. D rop in w ith it.
Rail it. Wh celi« it. Whip it. A!llISC it. And th en n :]1C;1\ until
voi: an ' drippin g: swe nt, ble eding, o r .1'0 \1 need to g iVL? th e ar ms
a rest. This tough little session king will embarrass the llagg,l'
sh or ts oj't' riders mounted on Shore-inspirer) l -ikes that sell for
three time s as m uc h , The Mur zouchi fork is up to the pound­
ing that the Irnmc cnn hand le. In the hands of' all expe rie nced
rid er, the Rival cun nrc omplish any stunt you co u ld ima gine.
In the hands o t' u bcgiuncr, it is tou gh e uo ug h to recov er from
missteps and live to ride anoth er d:1)' , It accele rates with the
fo rce yo u need to d rop into wh atcvc:: situat ion your co n fi ­
deuce w ill allow YOU to attempt. Cliinhing is ,! time fo r ki ck ­
ing hac-k a nd resting, because throwing do wn a hard effort
will be a fruitless expe ndi ture of l'llcrgy. Sav e it 1;')1' the down­
h ills ~I Ill] stunts.
What stoked us out: The Shimano
thumb/t rigger Alivio shifter combo. The
super fatty ' I'r uva tiv Hussetelt bar and
stem. The Sun Single Track rims. The
Kenda Nevegal tires. The Marzocchi Dirt
Jumper 3 fork . The 8-speed cassette. The
Avid BBS brakes and brake levers. The
quick -release seatpost clamp. The burly
frame (and cu tt in g-edge graphics). The
saddle (really comfortable and the most
innovative cover we've come across in
200S). Its attitn dc.
What freaked us out: The grips (you
are going to rip them for sure, so replace
them with a jock-on type).
What is the word: If riders start to
talk about the Riva l's climbing merits
(or lack of them), they' have already
missed the point. It' you are looking at
this bike from a traditional trail rider's
mindset, you won't get it. It takes a
rider new to mountain biking to sec th e
potential a nd beauty of this bike. It is
not the bike you'd wan t on , I thre e-hour
adve nture ride. Instead, it is the hike Oil
which you'd want to turn every minute
yo u spend in its saddle in to all
adventur e. 0
Head of the class: The
Marzocchi Din Jumper 3
had the most robust feel of
all the shootout bikes.
Price $879
Country of origin Taiwan
Weight 34 .6 po unds
Hotline (800) 663-8916
Frame tested 17.25"
Bottom bracket height 12.75"
Chainstay length 16.7 5"
Top tube length 23 "
Head angle 70S'
Seat angle 73 .5 0
Standover heIght 29 .5"
Wheelbase 43 .25 "
SuspensIon travel (front) 3.9"
Suspension travel (re a r ) None
Frame material Aluminum
Fork Marzocchi Dirt Jumper 3
Shock None
Rims Sun Single Track
Tires Kenda Nevegal (2 . 1")
Hub KT disc
Brakes Avid BBS
Brake levers Av i~ BBS
Crankset Tr uva t iv Ruk tl o n
Shifters Sh imano Alivio
Front deraille ur Sh im a no Alt us
Rear derailleu r Shimano Alivio
Chainrings Truvativ (32/22)
Cassette Shimano HG·40. a.speed (I 1-30)
Pedals W ell go LU-3 I3
.:"Ii' 20 08 I MOuH ' 1'1 a:r,£ A('JION
73
SECOND PLACE
MARIN ALPINE
TRAIL 3X
FIRST PLACE
GIANT YUKON
Thi was the easy purr . The Giant is
by tar th e most versatile 01' the bunch, It
provides II faurasri r trail riding exp ri
ence by doing iv 'rything in anaccorn­
plished, manuel'. Clinibing,
cornering, descending and
ju t riding along, the Yukon
delivers. If vou oulv wan t one
hike in the ~ragc, 'it
. hould he the Yukon.
'-_~
~
--=-_ _ '
SECOND PLACE
GT PEACE 9R MULTI
Ea sily the most stunning hike of the
gro u p. Marin's attention to det a il is
mind-blowin g. How th ey del iver thi s
bike for the pri ce is 11 mystery. You
ca n ' t overlook that 29 -inc h wheels are
not for everyone. They clo require more
periodic mainrcnance than 2G-inch
wheels, there are few er tire choices,
J and th eir weight is a hi,g negative, es pe­
cial ly at thi s price point, Still, if you
/
ri de loose terrain. lik e to sta y on top of
th e gear and ride trails that tlow, you
w ill fly on th e A lpine Trail 3X .
Lif e is not fnir, especially in a
sh oot our bas ed solely on :1 bike 's sug·
gested ret ail price. It is highly unlikely
rhar :1 rider is going to Ill: cho os in g
between rI co n ven tiona l ha rdtail or
dual- su spension bike and a rigid throw­
back to th e days of peace , low and cb s­
tome!' s us pe ns io n. The Pea ce HR Multi
is a refresh ing experien ce that will
imp rove iI rider 's skill atl(1 co ndit ioni ng .
It reconnects the rider with the trail
because th er e is no suspen sio n tra I'd to
confuse th e translation. Still, th e Peace
9R Multi makes the most sen se as an
addition to a rider's stable or for that
rid er who still wears a tic-dyed 'I-shirt
and is proud of it.
76 Vll'll'i.mba<tion, rom
SECOND PLACE
NORCO RIVAL
SECOND PLACE
TREK 6000
Trek piled their yea rs of experience
designing aluminum hardtuils into the
Trek GOOD, 3 hike that ten years ago
would probably have sold for three
tim es as much. It does n 't br eak :IIlY
new gro u nd (it is, aft er :III, an alu­
minum hardtail w ith Zfi-inch wheels),
but you can feel yea rs of refinem ent in
cverv pedal stroke, You want II trusty
trailbikc that doesn't n eed :1 lot of
attention a nd do esn 't place 11 lot of
dcrna nd s on its rid er':' YOIl found it. 0
The Riva l doesn 't offer the vc rsarilit v
of th e Giant. T rek or Marin. hilt it is so
good ill its gnll1e that it ha s to be taken
serio usly. Man y bike com pnn ics wo n' t even offe r <I bike
QUICK COMPARISON_ _
intended for ex treme ridi ng at
SOME WEIGHT COMPARISON~
thi s price point because they
Front
RI
iaddle.'
are afra id (maybe rightfully so)
Bike
Pedals
.earpost
\\ heel
\\
that young and old grommets
Gi ant en .s)
1
1.6
4 .7
;)
alike call he rough Oil bik es
(iT (:lO.S)
1
l.3
s
(j
with their passion for pushing
Norco
(34.6)
1
1.5
.'iA
fi
the envelope. We believe the
Marin (33)
1
i.s
S.7
7
Rival is up to the task.
T rek (2 H.B )
1
1.5
4.4
s
Weight~ (ill pounds) of easily upgradablc compnneu