# Northrock Bikes (Costco)



## dernbiebs (Nov 24, 2016)

Picked up a Northrock XJ24 bike from Costco Canada (ya ya, hear me out..). Price was $269.99 CAD ($200 USD). There really isn't much info on the web about these bikes, but some frame measurements I took seem to put the bike in similar geometry to the 'real' bike brands I was looking at (e.g. Trek Wahoo). Components list is not published anywhere that I can find, but Costco says it has an aluminum frame, tektro v-brakes, Tourney rear mech, 14-28 freewheel (7 speed), Revo grip shift, Velo seat, 32T chainring, and 1.95" low profile knobby tires. My scale says it weighs 25lbs. Pretty sure the crankset, fork (rigid), seat tube, handlebars and hubs are steel. One odd thing about the bike is that the derailleur hanger is a part of the frame, which is a bit concerning given the frame is aluminum. But I feel like the Tourney derailleur is likely to be the weak point and therefore bend before the frame does. 

I'm not 100% married to this bike, and I haven't let my daughter ride it yet as I may still decide to return it, but when I saw them at the store I thought "buy now/think later" as kids bikes have been selling out fast during covid and I need a bike this year for my daughter. If I end up keeping it I plan to buy a wider aluminum handle bar, a trigger shifter, new grips and most likely the Tourney "megarange" 14-34 freewheel for easier climbing. I figure these parts will cost about $85, putting total cost of $355 CAD. Question for the MTBR community is, is this a bad idea to stick with and upgrade this bike? Am I asking for trouble? I was fully prepared to drop up to $600 ($475 USD) on a bike this year (probably the Trek Wahoo 24 at $589.99 CAD), but saving nearly $250 is nothing to scoff at. Right now the biggest reason to pony up for the Wahoo is to save about 4lbs of weight, and I'm not 100% sure $250 is worth it. Thoughts?


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## DtEW (Jun 14, 2004)

If it came with Tourney... it's pretty much a bike-like object for riding to the 7-Eleven and not feeling too bad when it gets stolen after being inadvisably parked. Or parked on an urban street with a lock system that weighs (and costs) as much as the bike itself to make the whole thing unattractive on-balance to a professional thief.

Altus (what comes on the Wahoo 24) is billed as, "for support of first time off-road experience," i.e. entry-level dirt capability.

What is the intent of this bike for your daughter? Something for her to ride to school and/or around the neighborhood with her friends? Or something for you to take her onto bridle/easy trails occasionally and lay the foundations for MTBing in her future?


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## dernbiebs (Nov 24, 2016)

Ya, I see what you're saying. Tourney is definitely the bottom of the barrel, but I honestly didn't consider the Tourney to be much of a deal breaker. Mostly because I discovered a bunch of "real" mountain bikes come equipped with Tourney (the $680 CAD Trek Roscoe 24 for example). So I figure if Trek is ok speccing nearly $700 bikes with Tourney, then Tourney can't be _that_ bad, can it? This is also why I began to justify just going with the cheaper Costco bike, because why spend $150-$250 more for a bike that has 90% of the same components as what Norco, Specialized, or Trek is offering?

Honestly, most of her riding will be in our cul-de-sac, riding to the playground and the local pump tracks/skills park. I used to be in the camp that she needs hydro disc brakes and an air sprung fork with wide knobby tires, but have sort of taken a step back and been thinking that she really doesn't _need_ those things (as much as I like them). I think V-brakes should be more than sufficient for her weight and riding style, and most bikes with an air fork are way out of budget, so I'd rather stick with a rigid fork than a boat anchor coil fork like Suntour XCT. Since many of the bikes in my price range seem to have Tourney or maybe Acera w/ similar gear range, and V-brakes, and rigid fork, my assumption (maybe I'm wrong?) is that _performance_ should be a mostly similar experience across any one of these bikes, so then what I am most focused on at this point is the weight. Is a 25lb bike going to be a chore to ride? Is it going to be the difference between her wanted to join me on a trail ride or not?


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## northy185 (Feb 10, 2019)

IMHO, based on what you said, @dernbiebs, I think this bike will suit your daughter just fine. It's easy to get caught up in wanting the best bikes for our kids at a given age, for them to just outgrow them super fast. If she is super into biking after riding this rig for awhile, upgrade her! If she thinks bikes are lame and just wants to cruise the neighborhood on this bike with her friends, then you nailed it on the price point. (remember pricepoint.com, where the price is the point??!)


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## Pkovo (Aug 22, 2012)

I agree with Northy. Looks like a fun bike to me. I have three daughters, One progressed on where I needed to build her something custom, but the other two were fine with bone stock basic bikes. And even the one that progressed and needed a purpose built bike still rocks a bone stock basic Trek for neighborhood cruising. That thing must weigh 30+ lbs, has some junky grip shift, but she rocks it just fine. If your daughter gets hooked on biking, I would think upgrading some parts on that frame would be a good start. I say it's a score for the price you paid. Everything in the bike world is priced through the roof right now


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## Swerny (Apr 1, 2004)

Some quick comments on the XJ24.

I just picked one up for my son who's 7.5 years old and tall for his age (approx 52 inches tall)

He's a very new rider, he started late, just got off training wheels last year, did a bike camp and got hooked. We rode our first "trail" the other day.

He's coming from a Norco Samurai with 1 speed and 20 inch wheels.

The 20 still fits him (just) but i wanted him to learn how to use gears and wanted a 1x setup.

Availability is the main issue. Bikes are out of stock everywhere. I managed to snag a Northrock.

Some bizarre parts specs on the Northrock.

The handlebars on the 20 inch Norco are wider than those on the 24 inch Northrock. I measured approx 540 mm compared to 520 mm. They're also skinny 25.4 diameter.

By comparison, a 24 inch Norco Storm has 640 mm wide bars, the Trek Precaliber 24 has 560 mm bars.

The brakes and levers are really quite basic. No name, not Tektro. 

I might try to swap all the Norco cockpit and brakes over to the Northrock.

Mine came basically half assembled off the floor of the store.

Tires seem plasticky but that's an easy enough change.

I have been comparing kids bikes from all brands for the past week and it really is interesting to see the different parts specs between brands,

Bar width, crank length, # of gears, brake types, tire width etc.


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## thisisausername (Jan 5, 2021)

In regards to the Tourney derailleur, that's a pretty inexpensive fix if you want something nicer. I've done a few project bikes where I've swapped out the Tourney for an Altus or Acera for under $30. Less of an issue for a neighborhood 24" bike but the new Altus, while technically not short cage, uses large enough jockey wheels that it has really nice ground clearance.


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## zward (Mar 16, 2021)

Keep in mind there are multiple Tourney models, but they usually get lumped together. The "high-end" Tourney TX800 RD doesn't strike me as that much different than the Altus M310 RD for example.


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## CyNil_Rider (May 21, 2014)

First of all, an integrated derailleur is a terrible idea on a geared bike. Is that even legal?

Second, how heavy is your daughter?
25lbs is a light bike light for me, but I weigh 165+.
And I would definitely notice the 4lb difference, so you can bet she will.

Thing is, nobody wants to ride a crappy heavy bike, and it is never a good deal if she doesn't ride.
OTOH, everything depends how seriously she takes biking, lol!


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