New Bike Day! Norco Ithaqua 6.2 Fat Bike
Norco recently released the Ithaqua fat bike. The new bike blends a light weight carbon frame and capacity for 5” tires with geometry that should offer confident handling in loose conditions. I saw one in the shop and was smitten, so I got one of my own on order. The $3199 Ithaca 6.2 sits in between the smartly priced $2699 Ithaqua 6.3 and the uber-build $4299 Ithaqua 6.1, a model complete with carbon cockpit, crank, and X01 drivetrain. All Ithaqua models share the same carbon frame and fork.
The bike hasn’t been ridden yet, but here are some photos and notes on the Ithaqua 6.2 build. Stay posted for first impressions and a long term review.
Things that impressed:
- SUN MuleFut Rims have a reputation for easy and trouble free tubeless setup. At 80mm wide they should offer a reasonable mix if snow flotation and summer handling in the dirt.
- GX1 11 speed drivetrain shifts pretty much on par with it’s pricier XX1 & X01 siblings, with just about 1/4 lb more weight.
- This is my first RaceFace Cinch crankset (Turbine), it’s pretty light, and the modularity of the assembly is genius.
- Wide 760mm bars are welcome, especially with so much tire to control.
- SRAM Level TL brakes have a great reputation, hopefully they hold up to sub zero temps.
- Cable routing is clean, and there are provisions for internal routing of a stealth dropper post.
- Complete bike actual weight, with tubes, but without pedals is 28.2 lb (12.8 kg). The tubes are 520 grams each, so I expect the bike to be 26.5 lb (12.0 kg) or less once it is set up tubeless.
Things that could be better:
- No dropper post! I’ve had them on fat bikes in the past, and for descending single track in the snow, they are almost a must have.
- 1x drivetrain only. No provisions for 2x drivetrains, so if you’d like one, you’re out of luck.
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Thanks to Biker’s Edge in Kaysville, UT for getting this bike (and a few other Ithaquas) in stock so quickly![/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]
