Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Norco City Glide

Norco City Glide 8
Norco is a major Canadian distributor, and also makes a number of good bikes. Unfortunately, they have few dealers for complete bikes in the United States, but there is probably a shop that can order one of these bikes in a major city. Canadians may be able to try one out in person, and get slightly better prices. They may also be found in the UK and Australia.

The City Glide 8 stands out with an 8-speed internal nexus hub, roller-brakes front and rear, and by including a double-kickstand and front fork spring, making it easy to load up a front basket or rear rack. It has a sensible geometry, with 72 degree angles sufficiently slack to get a toe down at stoplights. Unfortunately, the chainguard is not paired with a chainring, so snagged clothing is a slight possibility (though less risky than with most bikes), the gearing is set a little too high, and no lights are included. But at a suggested price of only US$ 665 , you should have a few dollars left to make those changes.

The women's version is less aesthetically successful, to my taste, but has a nice front basket, instead of the rear rack, and otherwise has the same specifications:

Norco City Glide 8 W

These specifications and geometry are for the City Glide 8 (men's version), similar to the women's version:

Specifications:

Frame: 7005 Alloy City Glide Frame 
Fork: Chromoly with threaded steerer
Rims: 700c Double wall alloy - Black 
Tires: 700x37c Continental TownRIDE w/Breaker 
Spokes: Black Stainless w/brass nipples
Front hub: Shimano HG-IM40 Roller Brake hub 36hole 
Rear hub: Shimano SG-8R31VSA 8-speed IGH 36hole [Regular 8-speed, I believe, not "red band"]
Shifter: Shimano Revoshift SL-8S20 
Crankset: Alloy 44T - Black 
Bottom bracket: Cartridge BB
Rear Cog: Nexus 20T
Chain:  KMC Z610H
Pedals:  Alloy pedal with non-slip tread 
Front & rear brake:  Shimano BR-IM41 Roller Brake Front and Rear
Brake levers:  Ergonomic brake lever w/integrated bell 
Handlebar: Alloy city bar - Black
Grips: Cork grips - Dark Brown
Stem: Alloy quill stem - Black 
Headset: CH-903SW black threaded waterproof
Seat post:  Alloy - Black, average set-back
Saddle:  Norco City Comfort 
Chainguard:  Partial, without chainring [unfortunately]
Kickstand:  Dual-leg, fold-back
Fenders:  Powdercoated Alloy
Extras: Bell, Rear rack w/ low pannier hook, Front stabilizer spring [Women's has a basket instead of the rear rack]
Colors:  8: Army Green - 8W: Light Blue - 3:
Sizes:  S-18 / M-19 / L-21
Weight: 34 lbs claimed


The 3-speed version costs $140 less, or about $525, and are similarly equipped otherwise (but lacking a dual kickstand, and with calipers instead of rollerbrakes): 



Frame Geometry

FRAME SIZE
Seat Tube
Top Tube
Head-T Angle
Seat-T Angle
Head Tube
Fork
Length
Chain stay
Front Center
BB Height
Wheel base
S-17
432
585
70
72
160
410
457
637
285
1087
M-19
583
600
70.5
71.5
180
410
457
641
285
1091
L-21
533
615
70.5
71.5
180
410
457
656
285
1106
WS-16
406
575
69.5
71.5
180
410
457
627
285
1078
WM-18.5
470
590
70.5
71.5
180
410
457
630
285
1081

The geometry is similar to a Breezer Uptown, with sloping top tubes, reasonably long chainstays, and moderate but not-too-low seat and head tube angles. The bike should be stable and easy to ride hands-free (based on the low amount of rake on the fork, and the slack head tube angle), and it should be relatively easy to get a toe on the ground at stoplights without hopping of the saddle, if you need to, without setting the saddle low.

The Norco City Glide also comes in a Shimano Altus 21-speed derailer version, for $370, lacking the kickstand and rack:

Norco City Glide (Derailer)


If you know a local shop in your city that stocks these bikes for test-rides, or if you have ridden a City Glide yourself, let us know in the comments.

6 comments:

2whls3spds said...

FAIL

No XS in the women's and no XL in the men's. That means they will not fit either me nor my bride.

Not to totally blast Norco, they are in the majority. Only a small handful of manufacturers make bikes in the two extreme ends of the size scale. Even though a reasonable percentage of the population falls into those two extremes.

Aaron

Joseph said...

Aaron,
If you are over 6'6" you probably are too tall for the large, for this bike and many others. But your wife must be very short to be too small for the women's small, which has a 16 inch seat tube and a low stand-over. I would think that would fit anyone over 4'6", perhaps after changing the stem or handlebars to bring them back and down a little.

2whls3spds said...

I take back what I said about the women's frame size. She can and does typically ride a 16" step through frame.

I still think the men's large is going to be too short. I typically ride 64-65cm (25.5") frames. A 53cm is hard to get set up and will never handle properly to me. I do own and ride them but prefer larger.

FWIW I own a similar bike, the Redline R530(no longer being made) in XL. It is great to have a bike that fits, yes it is huge, no it doesn't fit on many car racks, and forget the Amtrak box. But I love the way it rides.

Aaron

Loving the Bike said...

These are some great bikes. My wife is actually looking for something like this right now so I'm going to have her come take a look.

Darryl

Joseph said...

Aaron, Re: "I own a similar bike, the Redline R530(no longer being made) in XL."

Torker makes the T-530, which used to be exactly the same as the Redline R530 (both from the same company). The 2011 model is a little different, but similar to your R530.

2whls3spds said...

Unfortunately Torker has dropped the XL size with the 2011 line up. That leaves the largest frame as a 19".

Aaron