Norco Faze One: It's Stupid Fast

A Review By O9Man
Sometimes on very special days you ride perfectly. Your legs and lungs co-operate with the rest of your body and mind in a performance that leaves your heart pounding more out of excitement than exhertion. For most of us those days are few and far between, and the idea of having one on an unfamiliar bike just isn't a reality. I suppose that makes the 2007 Norco Faze One unreal. I'd also go further and say that my special day was more due to the Faze than the concert of my being.

So our review may be a year- scratch that, nearly two years old! Fear not, the 2008 Faze One shares the same frame geometry and general build, and if you like those three magical letters 'XTR' then you'll love the factory build.

The Faze I rode was a demo unit, and thus had a custom build:

What I first noticed were the Avid Juicy 7 Brakes with carbon levers. The levers caught my eye and screamed bling. They were greatly appreciated. The first time I tapped the brakes I nearly subjected myself to an unexpected test of the theories of projectile motion. These things have some stopping power! With some more caution and a few test stops I got the feeling of the Juicy 7s, and later at home I put them on my Christmas Wish List.

Despite my best tuning efforts, the Marzocchi Corsa fork seemed stiff. On open and smooth trail at high speed the stiffness was appreciated. But it just didn't react quickly enough on the rocky, rooty terrain that we're so accustomed to in Nova Scotia. It got the job done, and on a lesser bike the Corsa wouldn't have raised an eyebrow, but on the Faze I would have expected something more for front suspension. The Fox Float RP23 rear shock was a treat, no complaints at all.

The RaceFace carbon seatpost has a screw adjustable slider that moves up and down the post to specify the angle of your saddle, it was very handy! I managed to strip the threads on the seat post clamp which, if done on purpose, was great engineering. I'd rather buy a new seat post clamp than a new carbon seatpost due to over tightening. Unfortunately, I was nowhere near sufficient clamping torque at the time of failure. It would seem that frequent adjustment of the seatpost may cause a failure in the clamp. Be careful! The Ritchey Carbon bars and Ritchey Stem combined for a rigid but not too rigid feel for your upper body.

The carbon FSA cranks were very stiff and the power transfer was efficient. I'm always a fan of Crankbrothers Eggbeaters so I was pleased to find them attached to the cranks. Eggbeaters may have more play than other pedals, but I don't mind that and I love their engagement and disengagement.

Finally the Sram XO shifters and rear derailleur. I'm a Shimano guy so I wanted to be able to 'poo poo' Sram's top shelf business. Unfortunately I couldn't. My XTR Dual Control Shifters allow me to gear up multiple gears at a time. The Sram XO shifters let me gear down multiple gears at a time. That took me a while to consider. I've concluded that I find myself needing to down shift quickly more than I need to gear up quickly. It's always frusturating to be presented with an unexpected climb or obstical and not being able to shift down in time. Well done Sram. The derailleur moved the chain around nicely to boot. (Not quite as smooth as my XTR, but I suppose I am biased.)

Components aside this thing rode fast. One ECMTBer who had a whirl struggled to speak for a few seconds after his turn due to excitement, but when he calmed down he exclaimed that "it's stupid fast!" And fast it was. The Faze destroyed the Ribbon of Love's climb like it was a flat. On the humps it was as if the bike was on a set of rails. The rear suspension keeps the vertical motion of the rider's center of gravity nicely damped as good XC suspension should. Simply put, the second I sat on this bike I was faster. This is a race bike though, and at a casual pace it felt awkward like a Formula 1 car might feel prowling at the speed limit through downtown Halifax. The bike wants to go fast, but don't worry, so do you when you're on it!

At a MSRP of $5050, one might say that the Faze One had better perform well! They'd be right. There is a magic price at which one expects great things from their bike and it's well South of $5k. The magic words in this review are "the second I sat on this bike I was faster." The consumer needs to put their own price tag on that, and evaluate accordingly. For those of us who, regardless of desire, can't afford a bike like this there is hope. Norco paid attention in Trickle Down Technology Class. In 2008 there are three Faze models, all with the same geometry. The '08 Faze One's MSRP raises the bar a little more than the '07 at $5549, the Faze Two comes in at $2999 and the Faze Three at $2019. Both the Two and Three have decent components in their own right, and would be fine bikes to ride.

Thanks to Jeff at Sportwheels for the loaner!

Posted by O9man at September 16, 2008 11:19 PM

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