Norco Mountain Bikes (26'ers / Pre-1999)
 

Hi, curious as to the model range of Norco hardtail mountain bikes with parameters as per the thread title. Anyone care to add?

Have these thus far (in no particular order):

Sasquatch
Mountaineer
Rampage
Big Foot
Norco team issue
Nitro
Pinnacle
Bush Pilot

In order of introduction:

Sasquatch
Bush Pilot
Yukon
Conquest
Pinnacle
Bigfoot
Mountaineer
Rampage
Alpine
Cherokee
Mountaineer SL
Kokane
Rampage
Rampage Prestige
Katmandu
44Magnum
Rampage d'Equipe
Nitro
Bigfoot SP
Jammer
Magnum
Tango
Mocha
Java
Torrent
Team Issue
Lobos Comp
Lobos Pro
Scrambler
Wolverine
Cypress
Team 853
Team Ti

This should comprise the vast majority of the models, as I have catalogues or price lists for ten of the years between 1985 & 1999.

Hi T-Mar, that's quite a product roster they had - many unknown & unseen names. I didn't know they had made a Magnum series of MTB (I've seen the road variety around). Do you know of a link to where some of these old Norco Catologues are posted?

Nothing on these sites about Norco - VeloBase.com - Catalog Scans or https://2velo.com/?s=norco&post_type=post or Manufacturer Archive Page 6 | Gallery & Archive | Retrobike

Sorry, I'm not aware of any online sources for Norco catalogues. The model list came from my personal collection of Norco literature which covers 1985-1987, 1990-1993, 1996,1997 and 1999. I've also got a few pre-ATB ctalogues from the early 1980s.

Hi T-Mar,
I have, what I believe to be, a 1995 Norco Team Issue. Can you send me a picture from the 95 catalog and the spec sheet? Thanks in advance. I have the 99 catalogue and a friend has 98 so I can scan anything you need from those.
Cheers.

Sorry to bump an old thread but any chance that you’d have the original specs for a 1986 Rampage? There seems to be zero info online about these bikes.

It's probably a 1987 model manufactured in late 1986, as it's not listed in the 1986 catalogue. The serial number should confirm the build date. My scanner's out of commission and I don't want to spend a lot of time typing, if it turns out to be other than 1986, so please post the serial number and pictures.

Sorry that I missed your post the first time around. If you had added the @ symbol in front of my name, I would have received a notification at the time. Unfortunately, if you look back at post #4 , you'll see that I don't have any 1995 literature. Still, there's a possibility that it is a 1996. manufactured in late 1995. If you post the serial number and pictures, I may be able to determine the model year and we can proceed from that point.

I have just seen this thread. I know it has been some time since the original post.

Here are the names of some more Norco MTB models that I think meet the original criteria:

LRT Express
Sekine Express
Super Sasquatch
SunDowner
Ptarmigan
Tuktoyaktuk
Dakota
TNT
Berretta
Bomber
Voltage
Scorcher

Hey! Might be beating a dead horse here but does anyone know anything about bush pilots? Just got one in a really pretty specked blue and pink, but I don’t know much else about it though but it seems pretty nice

Norco nitro 1998 rs
 

Hey T-Mar i have what I believe to be a norco nitro 1998 but am unsure, top tube sticker is gone. And has racing series decals on it also, unfortunately I’m new to the group so unable to post picks . Any chance you’d be able to help me identify this bike or anyone here. Cheers guys

Norco made a Sekine? Some interesting names there which don't (haven't yet here locally) show up often. C'mon! They made a Ptarmigan???!

The Bush Pilot was manufactured from at least 1985 through 1996, so there was quite a bit of change. Based on the colours, it sounds like it's from the the latter half of the time period. Photos and the serial number would help.

Your Norco has the later version of Shimano STX-RC, with the four arm crankset spider and V-brakes. That would place it 1998-1999. Unfortunately, I don't have 1998 literature, only 1997 and 1999. In both those years, the Nitro used Deore LX components. The STX-RC bicycle is 1997 was the Mocha, while in 1999 it was the Sasquatch. However, there is another complicator. I see you're located in Australia and it's possible that the models were spec'd locally, in which case the model names may not align with my Canadian literature.

It's worth noting that the 1997 Mocha specs a Rock Shox Indy suspension fork, like your bicycle, while the 1999 Sasquatch has moved to Marzocchi. The combination of the crankset and suspension fork does look like it could point to 1998 model year, though whether it's a Mocha, Sasquatch or something else that is unique to the Australian market, is open to question. The serial number may provide more confidence in the model year, if not the model itself.

Here are some pics, not all of them are mine.

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...512351658e.jpg
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...827158a922.jpg
Ptarmigan, 1990 or 1991, similar to the Kokanee.

https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...dc89554263.jpg
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...9691791c84.jpg

Tuktoyaktuk, 1990 or 1991. Aluminum frame.


https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...21b24994d2.jpg
https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...5a135ec206.jpg

Sundowner 1988.



https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...2e5131edc4.jpg
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...f0abce84b6.jpg

LRT Express and Sekine Express, 1986. These were city bike type MTBs. There was a Norco Park Avenue city MTB prior to these.



The Norco Sekine, 1989, was not a mountain bike. It was a cruiser/BMX type. An example is in the link below.

https://bmxmuseum.com/bikes/norco/51815


https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...b2dc32c8f5.jpg

There was an MTB model Stikine from 1997. Not Sekine, but Stikine.

Hi Juzzy00,
welcome to the forum.

does your Nitro look like this?

https://www.bicycles.net.au/forums/v...rt=25#p1015276

If so, then I think it is a 1998 model year.

Thanks mate, yes it has stx Rc components and Indy fork, appears to be originally green in colour. The serial number is ACTH006585. hope that helps

I checked the bottom of the crank and found code MT9007. Unfortunately i cant upload pictures :(
Huge thanks for the help

The drivetrain components appear to be Shimano 200GS. If so, this narrows it down to 1990-1992. However, according to my 1990 price list, that year's Bush Pilot did not use 200GS.. Both 1991 and 1992 were spec'd with 200GS derailleurs but only the 1991 version used the 200GS crankset. The graphics are also consistent with 1991. So, it would appear to be a 1991 model. Photo assist...
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...1b76cacad.jpeg

Ahhhh that’s wicked! Never thought anyone would have that kind of info, again, huge thanks.

Welcome to T-Mar's world and that's some nice Bush Pilot!

I found my 1990 catalogue that goes with the price list. Curiously, the catalgue shows and mentions 200GS for the Bush Pilot, while the price list mentions Deore DX. However, there are several big differewnces between the catalogue and the Bush Pilot shown in post #19. In 1990, the U-brake was under the chainstays, the rear dropouts were stmaped requiring a claw mount derailler, gear changing was via thumb shifters and the model name was on the top tube with Norco on the down tube. So, it's still looking like a 1991 model.

I'd be hard pressed to include the LRT Express, Sekine Express, and Stikne in the list. In fact, I purposely omitted them from the list, as I don't consider them ATBs.

The LRT Express.was classified as a "city bike" by Norco themselves. It has insufficient gearing for off-road excursions except on the smoothest and flatest of trails, as it used only a double crankset and had a low gear of only 40/28T. Additionally, it was spec'd with street tyres and came factory equipped with fenders.

The Sekine Express was even more poorly suited. Again Norco classified it as a "city bike", it came with street tyres and fenders (yes, pictured that lone front fender is OEM) but gearing was even more limited. The lack of a front derailleur in the above photo is because it only employed a single, 46T chainwheel.

As for the Stikine, I'd classify it as a hybrid, as it came with a 700C wheelset and street tyres.

T-Mar sorry mate I forgot to tag you in, did you happen to see I uploaded the serial number. Any help is hugely appreciated

Yes, I saw the serial number but don't have any other known Norco of the same format with which to compare it. However, the "H" could be the year indicator (1998), as it's the 8th letter of the alphabet. This was a pretty common system, used by many bicycle manufacturers. As stated earlier, the particular version of STX-RC on your bicycle would provide a very narrow date range of 1998-1999.