Norco Magnum Touring Bike

Photos of my 80's touring bike

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So here it is, my vintage Norco touring bike!

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I sort of agonized over the saddle and whether to have it sprung or not. In the end I decided that worrying about weight on a touring bike that I would be loading with gear was silly, and that I would be thankful for prioritizing comfort in the long run. I guess we'll see.

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I had an extra set of eyelets added to the frame for a second water bottle, making the bike more suitable for long distance riding. The cages are from VO. After riding it, I now see why cyclotouristes used to twine and shellac their bottles; the metal bottle in a metal cage makes a lot of noise when you hit a pothole!

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The handlebar bag was a nice finishing touch. It's old and french, I would guess a TA bag from the 80's. Now I use it instead of a backpack, and I'm looking forward to using the map holder on longer trips.

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Wherever possible, I wanted all the bearing systems on the bike to be sealed cartridge. I also wanted to maintain the look of the bike. So the VO Rinko headset fit the bill for me. As an added bonus, it's steel (I like steel! It's durable!) and it allows the fork to be removed without tools! Cool!

This also gives you a good shot of the back of my handlebar bag. Those pockets are handy!

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The handlebars are old Nittos, the only original piece on the bike aside from the brakes, and I replaced the original Nitto stem with a new Nitto Technomic to get the height I wanted.

The VO leather bar wrap should prove much more resilient than cork bar tape, is much cheaper than other leather bar tape, and of course it looks great! People make a big deal about how hard it is to install, and though I found it more time consuming, it was no more difficult than wrapping bar tape.

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It seemed fitting to get Dia Compe levers to match the brakes, and I actually like non-aero levers. As I built this bike, I was picturing myself servicing it on the side of the road in the middle of nowhere. So I like the idea of being able to change housing and cables without having to re-wrap the bars. It also maintains the older look of the bike, while the gum hoods look great with the VO bar wrap.

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I wanted 35mm tires on my bike. Which was a problem, because there wasn't nearly enough clearance for both the tires and fenders. People who know me can tell you that I hate compromise in all it's forms, and I really wanted fat tires and fenders! This required a little creativity, but as you can see, I made it work.

This photo also illustrates some of the other compromises I refused to make; that the sealed cartridge headset I insisted on didn't leave room for a brake hanger, and that the front rack I got from Velo Orange didn't reach the canti bosses without putting the rack at a funny angle (sure, I could have mounted the rack from the fender eyelet of the fork, but that would have been a compromise!). A fork mounted brake hanger solved the first problem, and the folks at VO helped me solve the second. They sent me a rack strut from their rear rack, which is a bit longer, and after bending it to the proper angle the problem was solved. I was really impressed with the folks from VO for helping me figure this out.

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These Dia Compe Cantilever brakes, along with the handlebars, are the only original parts left on the bike. I actually got new Tektros to replace them, not realizing that they weren't compatible with the older boss placement of the frame (on older frames made before mountain bikes really took off, the cantilever posts are set further in, leaving more narrow clearance than modern brakes can handle). So I polished up the old Dia Compe's as best I could, and now i'm glad I did. They work well and look great.

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Both derailleurs are old Shimano 600 with the "arabesque" detailing. They work great with the gearing range, though they're definitely both at their max potential. The shifters were mounted with "adapters" pillaged from later model Shimano shifters. I'm still playing around with washer combos to get it just right.

Despite their beauty, this shifting system was produced en-masse and found it's way onto many mid-range bikes. Today these derailleurs are a dime a dozen. This was actually something that attracted me to them. Actually, none of the parts on this bike are top of the line. It's really a pretty modest bunch of parts on a modest frame. I think the fact that most bike snobs would turn up their nose at it is actually part of the appeal. ;)

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The pedals are MKS Urban Platforms, with toe-clips that were lying around. I wanted something that would be comfortable in regular shoes, and again it's styled after vintage french parts. It's also the only bearing system on the bike that is not sealed cartridge.

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With the added versatility of the 8 speed cassette, I decided that a compact double crankset would be perfect, and an old 50.4 BCD would fit the look. At first I was envisioning Stronglight or TA, and then I came across this Nervar crankset. I think it looks just as elegant as Stronglight, even better than TA, and best of all, cheaper than both.

The big chainring is an old Stronglight, the small a newer TA Cyclotouriste, 46 teeth and 30 teeth, respectively. The bolts were replaced with new allen bolts from VO, and a Shimano self-extracting crank bolt, so the whole set up can be maintained with allen keys alone.

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SRAM 8 speed cassette with KMC chain. It will never look this clean again!

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For hubs I went with the Velo Orange grand Cru touring hubs. The rear dropouts had to be spread to 130mm to take them. I was tempted to go with something older with a shorter OLD, but felt that the practical benefits of a cassette and sealed cartridge bearings for a long tour outweighed the cool factor of an old 6 speed freewheel. also, the freehub can be removed without tools, enabling roadside spoke replacement. Cool!

I'm still a bit nervous about these hubs, since they haven't been around long enough for dependable reviews to even exist. But so far, so good! they roll super smooth and are way cheaper than Phil Wood or other well known touring hubs.

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Here's a few more of the rear rack. I decided to just run with the french influence, hence the hammered fenders from Velo Orange.

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Much of the build took it's cues from this vintage lowrider touring rack, made by Meral in France, probably also in the 80's. Obviously, my frame wasn't made for it, so I had a framebuilder braze on eyelets to the seat stays. The rack was made for a bike with different geometry, probably a smaller frame, which is why it shares eyelets with the fender stays, and the eyelets traditionally used for the rack remains empty. The rack also has a detachable upper platform that sits over the fender like a more conventional rack, though I'll need to have stays fabricated to match my frame's geometry.

Marinoni did the braze-ons, while also adding brase-ons for a second water bottle and doing the celeste paint job.

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My vintage Norco touring bike from the 80's. Not sure of the exact model,I think it's a Magnum GT, though it might be a Magnum S7. As you can see, I've made lots of modifications...