Reply To: Norco Sight A3 vs Scott Genius 960

#506645

I haven’t ridden these two bikes but here’s my two cents.

By geometry, the Genius is more of a long-travel Trailbike while the Sight is more of an Endurobike—long, low, slack. If you do all-around trail riding, pick the Genius. If you want a sled for technical descents, get the Sight.

The Genius has frame clearance for 2.6 tires and comes with 2.6 Trail tires. The Sight comes with some serious heavy-duty 2.4/2.5 Enduro tires and likely only has frame clearance for 2.4 tires. I’m not a big fan of Enduro tires because they can be heavy and slow-rolling. I am a big fan of 2.6 Trail tires and I think all Mountainbikes should have clearance for them. My all-time favorite Trail tire is the 2.6 Maxxis Rekon, front and rear.

I’m not a big fan of Twinlock or any bike that comes with bar mounted lockouts. A great bike should perform well without having to use a lockout all the time. In my opinion, lockouts are for paved or gravel roads only.

Have you considered the Ibis Ripmo/Ripmo AF. Reviewers claim that the Ripmo is the ideal balance between a Trailbike and Endurobike. It climbs very well without needing a lockout, rides like a Trailbike, descends like an Endurobike, and has clearance for 2.6 tires. With lighter Trail tires the Ripmo is a good all-around Trailbike but with serious Enduro tires, it’s a great descender.

Well, there’s a whole lot of “in my opinion”. In addition, I have one more question for you. Are you sure you need a bike with that much travel? I think that something like the shorter-travel Ibis Ripley makes a much better all-around Trailbike. Do you really do so much technical descending that you need 150-160mm of travel? The longer-travel Enduro bike might be the bike you want but the shorter-travel Trailbike might be the bike you need.