2024 Norco Fluid FS Carbon
Wheel Size: 29’’
Travel: 130 mm rear / 140 mm front
Material: Carbon / Aluminum
Price: Complete bikes $4,099 to $5,999 USD
Intro
Last year, Norco updated the Fluid FS Aluminum, which is their relatively affordable full-suspension Trail bike that is nevertheless meant for real mountain biking duty. It features an aluminum frame with more price-conscious parts attached to it, but today they’re bringing a new Fluid FS to the market, this time with a carbon front triangle and some new build offerings, all while keeping the price under $6,000 USD.
The Frame
As you might guess, this is the most significant difference between the two Fluid FS versions — the new Fluid FS Carbon has a carbon front triangle (surprise), while keeping the Fluid Aluminum’s 6061 aluminum rear triangle. Norco claims weight savings of 600 grams (21 ounces) over the aluminum version, which is definitely enough to be noticeable. What hasn’t changed is the core of this bike, though; it’s still a 29er Trail bike with 130 mm of rear travel from Norco’s familiar Horst link layout, meant to be paired with a 140 mm-travel fork.
This new carbon frame might make the Fluid Carbon seem even more like their other Trail bike, the Optic, but Norco is quick to refute that claim. Norco’s take is that, while both bikes evolved from the prior-generation Fluid, the Optic is focused more on high-speed descending capability, and the Fluid Carbon is meant to be a more well-rounded, versatile option. From Norco:
“The Optic’s sharp focus has always been confident high-speed descending capability with geometry, suspension curves, anti-squat, and component spec focused on absolute clarity at speed over challenging terrain. The Fluid FS Carbon, however, focuses on a more complete, well-rounded performance Trail character with suspension and pedaling traits that ensure confidence and efficiency over a wide variety of terrain.”
These may be bold claims, but the ~130mm-travel category is home to a lot of super-versatile bikes that can comfortably handle a wide variety of riding styles. The Fluid Carbon does look like a well-rounded, well-thought-out bike that would be suitable for a wide range of folks, from beginners to more advanced riders.
While the rider’s budget is a clear priority with this bike, the Fluid Carbon is still a well-featured, modern frame. You get internal cable routing through the front triangle, a threaded bottom bracket shell, room for a water bottle inside the front triangle, as well as an additional accessory mount under the top tube. Like the Fluid Aluminum, you also get molded rubber protection on the chainstays, but the Fluid Carbon also has molded rubber protection on the downtube, which the Fluid FS does not have.
Tire clearance is stated at 2.6’’ for folks who want to bump up for some extra grip (stock tires are all in the 2.35’’ to 2.4’’ range) and each model has two choices for frame color, one being “Black Chrome” and the other being a more colorful option.
Fit & Geometry
Norco offers the Fluid Carbon in four sizes, Small through XL, foregoing the XS and XXL sizes available for the Fluid Aluminum. They say that the Fluid Carbon’s size range covers riders from 5’1’’ to 6’3.5’’ (155 to 192 cm), and like the Fluid Aluminum, all sizes get 29’’ wheels at both ends. Reach on the Fluid Carbon ranges from 420 to 510 mm in neat 30 mm increments, and Norco varies the chainstay length to match, with the Small bike starting at 425 mm and each size growing by 5 mm, up to 440 mm on the XL. The headtube angle sits at 65° across the board, but Norco makes the effective seat tube angle slightly steeper for each size jump with the Small starting at 76º and the XL rounding out the range at 77º, with the Medium and Large falling in between.
This geo chart looks like a good recipe for a bike that can do many things reasonably well. There is nothing that stands out as being unusual, which is a good thing for a bike that is supposed to be easy to ride and handle a bit of everything.
(It is also notably similar to the geometry of the Norco Optic in most respects, with the one big difference being bottom bracket height — with 30 mm of BB drop, the Fluid FS is by no means especially high, but with 38 mm of drop, the Optic is notably low. That’ll make for a very real difference in handling feel, and just on that basis alone, Norco’s claim that the Optic is more stable checks out.)
The Builds
Norco offers three builds for the Fluid Carbon, starting at $4,099 USD and going up to $5,999 USD for the top-spec Fluid FS C1 — and despite not being super expensive by today’s standards, that C1 build still gets you a SRAM GX Transmission drivetrain and RockShox Ultimate suspension. All of the builds get four-piston brakes, relatively long dropper posts, and so on — Norco has clearly taken their goal of making a proper, but more budget-friendly mountain bike seriously, and the Fluid FS Carbon is a really nice value for money across the model range for those who prefer a carbon front triangle. Norco also offers a frameset in Canada only for $3,299 CAD.
- Fork: RockShox Pike Select
- Shock: RockShox Super Deluxe Select+
- Drivetrain: SRAM NX Eagle
- Crank: SRAM SX Eagle
- Brakes: SRAM DB8, 200 mm front / 180 mm rear rotors
- Wheels: WTB ST rims / Bear Pawls hubs
- Dropper Post: SDG Tellis (S: 150 mm; M: 170 mm; L/XL: 200 mm)
- Fork: RockShox Pike Select+
- Shock: RockShox Super Deluxe Select+
- Drivetrain: SRAM GX Eagle
- Crank: Truvativ Descendant
- Brakes: SRAM G2 RS, 200 mm front / 180 mm rear rotors
- Wheels: WTB ST Light rims / Bear Pawls hubs
- Dropper Post: SDG Tellis (S: 150 mm; M: 170 mm; L/XL: 200 mm)
- Fork: RockShox Pike Ultimate
- Shock: RockShox Super Deluxe Ultimate
- Drivetrain: SRAM GX T-type
- Crank: SRAM GX T-type
- Brakes: SRAM G2 RSC, 200 mm front / 180 mm rear rotors
- Wheels: Crank Brothers Synthesis Enduro Alloy wheelset
- Dropper Post: SDG Tellis (S: 150 mm; M: 170 mm; L/XL: 200 mm)
Some Questions / Things We’re Curious About
(1) The new Fluid FS Carbon looks like an extremely well-rounded, versatile Trail bike at a good price, but does that hold true on trail?
(2) Is the Fluid FS Carbon going to be a bike mostly suited for beginners and intermediates, or is it a viable option for more aggressive expert riders on a budget, too?
(3) Who is best off on the Fluid FS Aluminum, and what sort of riders out to consider upgrading to the Fluid FS Carbon?
Bottom Line (For Now)
Piggybacking off the success of their Fluid FS Aluminum, the new Norco Fluid FS Carbon takes their affordable all-rounder Trail bike platform and adds a lighter, carbon front triangle and higher-end build kits. They’ve set out to make a bike that can do a lot of things reasonably well without breaking (or at least, demolishing?) the bank on a super high-end build spec, and on paper, it looks like Norco is really on to something. We’re hoping to get a Fluid FS Carbon in for review soon, so stay tuned for more to come.