Commuting - Norco VFR

Hi just wondering if anyone else has a Norco VFR. I just bought one and I am wondering how they are after a few months of use. Mine is a VFR One (disc). Thanks and take care.

Has anyone had any experience with these. Even if you haven't please check out the parts on it. I would like to see what people think of it. http://www.norco.com/2007bikes/Road/UrbanPerformance&Fitness/model.php?id=133&view=1&deets=1

Looks good for the money. Personnally,I'd like a wider gearing range,but I have alot of hills. Like the hyd discs.

I would prefer drop bars but you could add bar ends and clip on aeros to give variety on long rides.

Yea, the gear range is a little tough on hills, but I don't have many to go up. I may add drops later but the straights are ok for now. The brakes are wonderful.

Yea, the gear range is a little tough on hills, but I don't have many to go up. I may add drops later but the straights are ok for now. The brakes are wonderful.

You probably will not be able to add drop bars and retain the hydraulic brakes (no hydraulic road levers)- might try some long bar ends instead. If you want more gear range (though 34-26 is pretty low) you could put a MTB casette on the rear end.

Overall, looks like a great bike. Throw some fenders & lights on there and you should have a good commuter.

You probably will not be able to add drop bars and retain the hydraulic brakes (no hydraulic road levers)- might try some long bar ends instead. If you want more gear range (though 34-26 is pretty low) you could put a MTB casette on the rear end.

Overall, looks like a great bike. Throw some fenders & lights on there and you should have a good commuter.

I once saw (on the internet) a setup that combined STI (integrated drop bar brake/shifters) with hydraulic levers. The hydraulic levers were mounted on the bar top, "cyclocross" style. Somehow, the owner had drilled a hole in the hydraulic levers and threaded a brake cable through that hole to the STI lever, so that pulling on the brakes from the drops caused the hydraulic lever to be squeezed. Kind of scary to DIY on the brake system, though, in my opinion.

ALSO, hydraulic road levers exist - Magura had a road hydraulic rim brake system (no integrated shifter, you'd have to use bar ends). I have no idea if the hydraulic rim brake lever would be compatible with a hydro disc brake setup.

Could XTR - type 'dual control' brifters be used in place of road brifters with drop bars?

I don't have a visual on this, so it's just a thought.

You probably will not be able to add drop bars and retain the hydraulic brakes (no hydraulic road levers)- might try some long bar ends instead. If you want more gear range (though 34-26 is pretty low) you could put a MTB casette on the rear end.

Overall, looks like a great bike. Throw some fenders & lights on there and you should have a good commuter.

Yea, I put some on right away. I bought a lock with $1200 CDN coverage, just wondering if any people have insured thier bikes, as I don't want to depend on the lock company. I live in BC BTW.

A little late on this but I just chopped in my Jake the Snake for a vfr1 and couldn't be happier. This bike fits and stops (more than I could say for Jake despite a year of fiddling with brakes and fit), has a wider gear range and more room for tyres and guards etc. Better spec at this pricepoint than the Dr Dew/Bad Boy etc as well. Happiness :)

I've been looking at Norco's for a few months now. They're an established brand in Canada looking to get more of the US market. I rode a VFR-4 which I really liked. Had some unexpected expenses lately, so haven't pulled the trigger yet, but plan to do so in the next two months.

boog

StankApe: believe it or no, we don't see these much round here, even though in Canada (eh?) -- if you've any more extended comment, would be really interested -- been thinking about these for a while now; is yours the disc version??
Cheers

I saw a guy in line at the checkout at rebelsports (a local sports warehouse doohicky) with a vfr and thought "Man, that's exactly what I want...700C flatbar with hydraulic discs". My bike at the time was the Kona JTS which had been a struggle since the get go...it always seemed too large (it's a special order here, so no sitting on the bike before purchasing) and the brakes were crap. I'd swapped out the brakes twice (Avid cantis to Shimano cantis to mini V brakes), swapped the bars and stem and swapped the saddle twice. I tried to love it but it still wasn't quite doing it for me, and that's from a fairly expensive bike. So I sold the Jake and started looking for a good replacement.
My nearest bike shops didn't have Norcos, so I looked at offerings from Trek, Giant, Kona, Scott, Cannondale and Mongoose. Something was always less than satisfactory at whatever pricepoint for those bikes...average or sub-average components, naff cable routing, alloy forks, cable discs.
So I expanded my search to the outer burbs of this large city and found a VFR1 on the floor in the right size. I was pleasantly surprised to see the bike was a nice gold/mustard colour (not the drab dark blue on the Norco site), that the carbon fork was painted (less of a thief magnet I reckon), that the fork has a wicked "backbone" layup, that the seat stays are sweetly curvelicious, that the seat was good for my butt, and that everything just fit perfectly. Nice components and really nice looking crankset.
I'm very happy. The only thing I've changed is swapping the slippery Ritchey grips for ODI ruffians. Further down the track I'll go for wider tyres that I can run at lower pressures, but for the now these tyres are fast runners for dry conditions (end of summer here). Price was A$1350, which is a bargain again the RRP of A$1399 for a Dr Dew (no disrespect to Doc owners, just making a point). You can definitely get racks/fenders on this bike and there's vast amounts of space for larger tyres and fender combos.
In short, I wish I'd bought this bike 2 years ago, it's all I want in a bike :)

Here's my new steed :)

http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s145/Stankape/norcovfr1.jpg

Norco, I'll stand on guard for thee.

I used to sell Norco bikes 10+ years ago, and was always very impressed. They didn't have the sweet paintjobs that the Treks and Specialized did, but they had the same components, often better frame materials and virtually identical geometry [R&D = Ripoff and Duplicate :D]. However, the price was always significantly less. Looking at their newer bikes, like the VFR and their road and CX bikes, I'd have to say they're on target more often than not. If I need a practical bike that represents good value, I'd seriously consider Norco.

StankApe/Pinkrobe: great to have that extended comment. As in post above, the VFRs don't show up much round here; my (much loved) LBS carries both Giant and Norco -- it stocks the Giant FCR (which I am considering), but not the VFRs, though can easily get them on order. I'm considering switching from road-ified mtb to a road-based bike, but do really like discs, which the FCR doesn't have (the FCRs are now the same frame as the Aust. CRS (or X??), but a disc version isn't available in N.A., unlike in Oz.

Very nice looking bikes. I like light, flat-bar, hydro disc brake equippped bikes for city use.
Cheers

Pardon the late reply. I just read your post now.

In my practical, performance oriented view: the 2006 - 2007 Norco VFR's are THE BEST performance city bikes that i know of, even considering the usu. overlooked yet v. important factors as price, availability, service, warranty.

WHY?
FRAME
1. V. lite DBL BUTTED and hydroformed AL frame (+ full rack and fender mounts).
2. Long sloping top tube and SHORT 16.5" chainstays! Only Gary Fisher Genesis frames are known to have that short and thus super responsive and performance oriented design touches!
3. Low BB ht. for easy mountg and dismountg from saddle and low cntre of gravity for max. stability.
4. Disc ready!
4. It LOOKS COOL. Nice tube shaping, integrated headset, tasteful minimal graphics.

VERY RESPECTED BRAND

Sorry gettin carried away.... i JUST got a VFR 5 - cheapest - so only ridden a few times but, and I'm standin behind its awesomeness, even though i prefer get a SMALL cuz i have a medium now.

Dude, be proud and confident that you basically got one of - if not the ultimate - performance city bike.

Rock on!

Dex

Another model[s] to look at would be the Devinci Sydney and Melbourne. I found a used 2007 Sydney (http://www.devinci.com/9747_an.html) for my wife, and was very impressed with the parts pick and the ride. It's way too small for me, but felt pretty nice on the test ride. I'm going to put on some mechanical disc brakes, since it comes with disc-compatible hubs stock. I think the Norco is cheaper, but double-check.

Another model[s] to look at would be the Devinci Sydney and Melbourne. I found a used 2007 Sydney (http://www.devinci.com/9747_an.html) for my wife, and was very impressed with the parts pick and the ride. It's way too small for me, but felt pretty nice on the test ride. I'm going to put on some mechanical disc brakes, since it comes with disc-compatible hubs stock. I think the Norco is cheaper, but double-check.

I agree (mostly) re. the Devincis; these are beautiful bikes, and I like the fact that they are actually (frame) fabricated in Quebec -- have tested them a couple of times. Just have two reservations (a matter of personal preference, really): the rear disc mount position (hanging off the back) strikes me as awkward/vulnerable/slightly ugly -- prefer the chainstay position as per this year's (08) Norcos (and many other brands now), and I (as per Bikefix above) do like the more road-bike length chainstays on the Norco (acceleration snap) as opposed to the more 'touring' length (for pannier clearance?) on the Devincis. Other than that, they really are lovely bikes.

BTTT with a few miles in...this bike plain rocks. Never before have I arrived at work and felt like keeping on riding. Totally happy. Have switched the grips, much better, and wrapped the seat stays with lekkie tape to minimise scratching when locking in the bike rack. Also extremely happy with the gearing and shifting, it rides like a dream. :)

I've had the VFR for about a year now. Like what others said, I would have preferred a better gear range for the hills. Other than that it's a wicked bike!