Storm 120

The 2025-present Norco Storm generation marks a clear shift away from older entry-level cross-country hardtail conventions and toward a more contemporary trail-oriented layout. Norco slackened the front end to a 67° head angle, steepened the seat angle to roughly 75°, shortened the stem to 50mm, and trimmed rear-center length to figures such as 440mm on the 29er sizes. Taken together, those changes point to a bike aimed at newer trail riders who want a hardtail that feels more stable on descents and more centered over the pedals on climbs, rather than a nervous, steep-fronted bike built mainly around path riding or basic XC use.

This generation is also notable for its frame details. Norco specifies a tapered headset standard, IS42/28.6 | IS52/40, and wider recommended tire widths of 2.35in to 2.6in, both of which reinforce the move toward more capable trail use. At the same time, the frame keeps a 9x135mm QR rear hub interface rather than moving to a thru-axle or Boost spacing, which places the Storm in a more budget-conscious part of the market. An unusual detail at this price level is that the Storm 100 and Storm 120 do not share the same frame, suggesting Norco treated this refresh as more than a simple parts update.