Norco vs. Author

Stench said:

I am having doubts about wheter I should buy a Norco Mountaineer or a Author
Profile SX. Their price is about the same (almoust a maximum of what I can
afford), and I know I can't expect too much from them, but still, I'd like
to hear what other have to say about them.

All advices, experiences, oppinions and more than welcome.

Don't know about Author, but I have a Norco, and I am happy with it, I
know some of the guys at Norco, nice fellows.

W

In article <[email hidden]>,

Stench said:

I am having doubts about wheter I should buy a Norco Mountaineer or a Author
Profile SX. Their price is about the same (almoust a maximum of what I can
afford), and I know I can't expect too much from them, but still, I'd like
to hear what other have to say about them.

All advices, experiences, oppinions and more than welcome.

I had a freebie older Mountaineer for a while (rigid fork, v-brakes,
Shimano grip shifters, 7-spd screw-on freewheel.)

The cheap-o chainrings[*] wore out too quickly. I swapped-in
my favourite, bulletproof Sugino crankset and all was well again.
Then the seat tube cracked, just below the binder bolt slot,
just above the top tube. I put that down to my fault; the 18"
frame was slightly undersized for me, and I probably had too much
seatpost sticking up. But I don't like the seatpost binder config --
the seat tube extends pretty high above the top tube, and the
binder bolt is located at the top & front of the seat tube.
I've since defaulted back to my ancient, '80s Norco Bigfoot frame.
Same size, but the binder bolt is lower and at the back of the
seat tube.

cheers,
Tom

[*] The crankset was some Shimano sub-LX thing where the individual
chainrings can't be replaced.

--
-- Nothing is safe from me.
Above address is just a spam midden.
I'm really at: tkeats [curlicue] vcn [point] bc [point] ca

In article <[email hidden]>,

Stench said:

I am having doubts about wheter I should buy a Norco Mountaineer or a Author
Profile SX. Their price is about the same (almoust a maximum of what I can
afford), and I know I can't expect too much from them, but still, I'd like
to hear what other have to say about them.

All advices, experiences, oppinions and more than welcome.

Never heard of the Author, and for interesting reasons, the bike is
almost un-Googleable. Do you know the URL of the company, or any other
details (where they are from, etc).

Norco is good bike-maker, but they make a _wide_ variety of bicycles.
the Mountaineer, in its current incarnation, is what I might charitably
call a "non-awful" bike. It is sporting some very low-end but
serviceable parts. The trade-off is probably some performance
(especially with the fork), a fair bit of weight, and some long-term
durability (plastic pedals wouldn't be my first choice). The frame
itself is probably the nicest part of the bike.

Where do you want to ride this bike? That would make a lot of difference
in my suggestions.

The Mountaineer would be quite at home doing occasional bike-path
duties, or taking on modest trails. It won't do anything well, but it
shouldn't do anything wrong either.

My only caution would be this: for the same price as this bike, two
years ago I bought a used 1998 Kona Kilauea, an old but well-equipped
(XT bits, early Marzocchi Z2 coil & oil fork) mountain bike. With
regular service, I expect that it will last quite a long time, and I use
it as a race bike in my own rather uncompetitive fashion (well, I did
win a beginner's cyclocross race on it last year, so not that
uncompetitive).

If you want to ride for-real off-road trails, I would commend an older
but serious used mountain bike. Check the condition of the fork, and
possibly budget for a rebuild or tune-up of the bike, but you'll
probably end up with something lighter and faster than the Mountaineer.

If you're looking for a bike mainly for bike-path use or on-road riding,
I would commend the Norco Yorkville or Olympia models to you.

--
Ryan Cousineau [email hidden] http://www.wiredcola.com/
"I don't want kids who are thinking about going into mathematics
to think that they have to take drugs to succeed." -Paul Erdos

Ryan Cousineau said:

In article <[email hidden]>,

Stench said:

I am having doubts about wheter I should buy a Norco Mountaineer or a
Author Profile SX. Their price is about the same (almoust a maximum of
what I can afford), and I know I can't expect too much from them, but
still, I'd like to hear what other have to say about them.

All advices, experiences, oppinions and more than welcome.

Never heard of the Author, and for interesting reasons, the bike is
almost un-Googleable. Do you know the URL of the company, or any other
details (where they are from, etc).

Google "author profile sx" turned up

http://www.author.sk

as the fifth hit. SK is Slovak Republic which, as far as I can tell, the
website confirms...

--
Benjamin Lewis

Now is the time for all good men to come to.
-- Walt Kelly

Quoted message said:

Where do you want to ride this bike? That would make a lot of difference
in my suggestions.

The Mountaineer would be quite at home doing occasional bike-path
duties, or taking on modest trails. It won't do anything well, but it
shouldn't do anything wrong either.

I need the bike for driving arond the city, and recreation (driving on light
forest trails or dirt roads, nothing extreme...actually nothing I didn't do
with a city bike when I was a kid :-) ). The only problematic thing could be
jumping from the sidewalk. But, if I want a bike that can take those jump,
I'd have to give much more cash...

As you probably see, the basic of the problem is money. I can afford a bike
(including a certain amount of equipment) till the maximum of 250 euros,
what is actually a very low price.

At this moment I think I will take that Norco (it's on a large discount in
one shop, and I think it would be wise to use that opportunity), and upgrade
it with metal pedals, taken from an old bike.

Anyway, thanks for advice!

a wise man once told me...when you buy a bike get the best frame and
wheels you can get.....a good wellmade light frame properly sized will
last forever,assuming you don't crash it into a tree..LOL...and strong
light wheels(aluminum) will not rust, and since wheels are rolling
weight, every pound you take off your wheels is like taking two pounds
off your frame....The idea of a new bike is always fun, but with ebay
and such available, it might be wise to spend your 250 euros on a
better quality frame that is used, but is upgradeable and will make
your riding MUCH more enjoyable in the long run....

In article <[email hidden]>,

Benjamin Lewis said:

Ryan Cousineau said:

In article <[email hidden]>,

Stench said:

I am having doubts about wheter I should buy a Norco Mountaineer or a
Author Profile SX. Their price is about the same (almoust a maximum of
what I can afford), and I know I can't expect too much from them, but
still, I'd like to hear what other have to say about them.

All advices, experiences, oppinions and more than welcome.

Never heard of the Author, and for interesting reasons, the bike is
almost un-Googleable. Do you know the URL of the company, or any other
details (where they are from, etc).

Google "author profile sx" turned up

http://www.author.sk

as the fifth hit. SK is Slovak Republic which, as far as I can tell, the
website confirms...

I somehow missed that. Oops.

--
Ryan Cousineau [email hidden] http://www.wiredcola.com/
"I don't want kids who are thinking about going into mathematics
to think that they have to take drugs to succeed." -Paul Erdos

In article <[email hidden]>,

Stench said:

Quoted message said:

Where do you want to ride this bike? That would make a lot of difference
in my suggestions.

The Mountaineer would be quite at home doing occasional bike-path
duties, or taking on modest trails. It won't do anything well, but it
shouldn't do anything wrong either.

I need the bike for driving arond the city, and recreation (driving on light
forest trails or dirt roads, nothing extreme...actually nothing I didn't do
with a city bike when I was a kid :-) ). The only problematic thing could be
jumping from the sidewalk. But, if I want a bike that can take those jump,
I'd have to give much more cash...

As you probably see, the basic of the problem is money. I can afford a bike
(including a certain amount of equipment) till the maximum of 250 euros,
what is actually a very low price.

At this moment I think I will take that Norco (it's on a large discount in
one shop, and I think it would be wise to use that opportunity), and upgrade
it with metal pedals, taken from an old bike.

Anyway, thanks for advice!

Stench: I took a second look at the specs, now that Benjamin has pointed
out the Author site.

The Mountaineer has a good frame and low-spec parts. The Profile has an
awful, awful frame (hi-tensile steel) and somewhat better parts. In my
opinion the Mountaineer is a better choice.

That said, for your use, I would think about the "city" bikes I
recommended, as I suspect the front fork will just be extra weight, and
you would be happier with slick tires (I recommend that if you get the
mountaineer, you change the tires for slick tires first thing, even
before the cheap pedals).

As for doing curb drops, I do 'em routinely on my racing bike, with 23
mm tires and not enough spokes. Any bike can do that.

--
Ryan Cousineau [email hidden] http://www.wiredcola.com/
"I don't want kids who are thinking about going into mathematics
to think that they have to take drugs to succeed." -Paul Erdos

Ryan Cousineau said:

Stench: I took a second look at the specs, now that Benjamin has pointed
out the Author site.

The Mountaineer has a good frame and low-spec parts. The Profile has an
awful, awful frame (hi-tensile steel) and somewhat better parts. In my
opinion the Mountaineer is a better choice.

That said, for your use, I would think about the "city" bikes I
recommended, as I suspect the front fork will just be extra weight, and
you would be happier with slick tires (I recommend that if you get the
mountaineer, you change the tires for slick tires first thing, even
before the cheap pedals).

As for doing curb drops, I do 'em routinely on my racing bike, with 23
mm tires and not enough spokes. Any bike can do that.

Yes, you're right, when I looked better on the Author Profile SX frame live,
it seemed to me like I was looking at a 50 euro bike. It's heavy + the
geometry seems crapy.

In the end I went to both shops and realised a thing or two - I am buying a
last year model bicycle, and in both cases, the last bicycle in the shop, so
I can assume that these ones might not be the best examples of their kind.
Today I
accidentally passed by another shop and there I found a Jumpertrek bike for
the same price, who's size is perfect, has excellent pedals, brakes and
wheels, and also an aluminium frame. Only the derailleur is crapy (Shimano
Revoshift (21), with TX-50 on the back).

Thanks for the advices, they were helpful!