WHO IS IT MADE FOR?

With 100 millimeters of travel, 29-inch wheels and no drop- per post, it’s clear that the Revolver has cross-country racing in its sights. After a closer look at the frame geometry and relatively slack head angle (for a cross-country race bike at least), it’s clear that the Revolver has more capability built into it than initially meets the eye. The price is very competitive, with the 9.3 starting at $3050 and the 9XX topping out at $7415 (with carbon wheels, RockShox RS-1 fork and a SRAM XX1 drivetrain). The 9.2 is near the middle of the line with a retail price of $4050.

WHAT IS IT MADE FROM?

Norco didn’t waste any time with varying frame materials. The Revolver is only available in carbon and uses the same frame and rear triangle across the whole platform. If you’re an aspiring racer or trail rider looking for your next long-term carbon bike but don’t have the coin to get a top-of-the-line bike right off the bat, the Revolver is a healthy starting point. A cable for every occasion: With full internal cable routing, the aesthetics of the Revolver is impressively clean. The cables are tucked away and protected and also make it easier to clean up the bike after rides. The Revolver uses Norco’s flagship ART (Advanced Ride Technology) suspension design, which appears on all of its full-suspension bikes. ART is the process Norco uses to design and apply the right type of kinematics to each bike. The Revolver uses a Horst-Link rear suspension, unlike the other full-suspension offerings in Norco’s line. The model-specific suspension is evidence of the attention to detail built into this cross-country whip. Designed for cross-country: The rear suspension felt active with the shock set to the open setting yet firm with the flip of a switch.

To go along with the suspension design and frame material, the Revolver uses a 12×142 thru-axle on the rear and a 15×100 up front. With this style of bike, we would like to see Boost spacing in the rear, but maybe that’s a refinement that could come later.

WHICH COMPONENTS STAND OUT?

There are several variations of the Revolver available, capping out with a full XX1 build, but the XT M8000 was all that we needed. From the full XT drivetrain to the brakes, the bike was poised to offer us solid performance in a very reasonably priced package. The DT Swiss X1900 wheels were sturdy and came tubeless- ready, which made the setup quick and simple. Ride hard: Shimano XT has a reputation for being a workhorse component group that doesn’t require much maintenance. If you’re the type of rider who doesn’t like to fiddle with the mechanics, the full XT build kit is a solid option. You’ll want the power: Shimano XT brakes are some of the best available on the market, offering riders excellent stopping power. Given how hard we pushed the Revolver on descents, riders will want every ounce of stopping ability they can get.

HOW DOES IT PERFORM?

We noticed right away that the Revolver had a very loud paint scheme that almost made it look as if it were battery-powered. The blue popped out and was eye-catching. We set the sag at 20 percent, which was a little soft for our smooth cross-country trails, but we wanted to get a solid feel for the Horst-Link setup.

Moving out: The stock build came with a short, 70-millimeter stem and 740-millimeter-wide flat bars. Combine this with a slightly longer reach, lower stack height and slack head angle, and you have an aggressive position that puts your weight firmly on top of the bike. Depending on your height and riding style, you might want to play with a longer stem or bars with more rise to make the position more upright. From racing to trails: 100-millimeter travel cross-country race bikes don’t typically have descending capability like this, but we found ourselves loving the descents a little more than usual. Cornering: With the aggressive geometry and wide bars, we were able to push the Revolver hard into corners and felt confident leaning the bike over. We were a little worried that the geometry would make us feel more conservative through corners, but instead we found our weight evenly distributed, giving the bike a more nimble feel. The longer wheelbase didn’t feel sluggish and pulled through tight sections with ease. Uphill with ease: The Norco floats uphill impressively well, and leaves enough in the tank to enjoy its descending prowess. Climbing: Cross-country races are won on the climbs, and the Revolver does not disappoint going uphill. Overall, the suspension platform gave us an efficient climbing machine. With the shock locked out, the Revolver was stiff and responsive when we were pedaling out of the saddle. Granted, this isn’t the lightest XC bike that we have ridden, and the weight did have an effect on the climbs, but that can be remedied with certain upgrades over time. Descending: Our test riders, who were primarily cross-country specialists, were impressed with the descending prowess of the Revolver. The aggressive position allowed us to push forward hard when we wanted and lean our weight back over the rear wheel when the trail got steep. The short stem and wide bars had our test riders feeling like they were on a longer-travel trailbike instead of a cross-country race machine. The Revolver felt just as at home on smooth, flowy singletrack as it did on more aggressive rock sections. Almost there: The RockShox SID did its job dutifully during our testing. We would have preferred to have a remote lockout for the fork at times, but given the mid-level pricing, we didn’t complain too much.

The rear suspension felt surprisingly supple. While this was largely due to our setup, much of the small-bump compliance could be attributed to the Horst-style suspension design, which felt active and muted braking bumps and other pesky imperfections in the trail. This added plushness detracted from the climbing capability slightly, but thanks to the adjustable pedaling platform on the RockShox Monarch shock, near-hardtail efficiency was only a flip of a switch away.

TRICKS, TIPS OR UPGRADES?

The components on this version of the Revolver deliver exceptional value. Given that it’s a full-carbon frame, we expected more compromises on components, but the full-Shimano XT build leaves little reason to upgrade right away.

After spending plenty of time climbing hills on this bike, we found ourselves wishing for a lighter set of wheels. The DT-Swiss XR1900 hoops worked dutifully but would be the first place we’d look to shed grams, especially if we were planning to push the Norco into cross-country racing. If you find yourself doing more trail riding, upgrading to a slightly longer-travel fork could give this bike even more descending capability, although we were plenty satisfied with the stock setup in this regard During our testing period we didn’t encounter issues, with the exception of a pivot bolt that fell out. We recommend keeping a close eye on all the pivot bolts and regularly checking their torque to prevent this from happening.

BUYING ADVICE

When it comes to cross-country race bikes, we typically have a hard time recommending them to everyone. Their sharp and quick handling can be a bit too twitchy for most riders’ tastes. The Revolver bucks that trend by delivering a lightweight bike with an efficient feel that climbs like a scalded cat but doesn’t throw descending prowess out the window.

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