Norco Bling for 2010

What better a location than Vancouver could Norco have chosen to host its 2010 Product Launch from? Ok, Maui would have been nice, but at least here I could sleep in my own bed. Not to mention riding the trails in our collective back yard with the newest rigs from Norco. Journalists and shop owners from out of town were put up in the Sheraton Wall Centre downtown, which was also the base location for presentations and most of the meals. Big props to Norco for choosing such a fine location. The product launch was spread over a couple of days. During the morning of the first day, everyone gathered in one of the large ballrooms at the Wall Centre to watch the presentations of the new bike lineups, and have a chance to look at every one of the 120+ models that Norco produces.

  ^{It was like a mini Norco-only Interbike at the Wall Centre, minus the booth-babes.}
I was impressed with Norco’s huge lineup of bikes. I’ve only ever been aware of their shore, dh and Whistler bikes. In the spirit of the Tour de France, I have to mention their sweet new all-carbon road bike (CRR SL). I’m sure it weighs less than the wheels on my hardtail. For the unaware, Norco produces bikes that cover the gamut: road, belt-driven, urban commuters, classic style city cruisers, 29inchers, 700c hybrids, bmx, every conceivable type of mountain bike and a new electric bike branded under the name Slipstream. Of course our main interest lies in the freeride genus.

  ^{Linkage on the new Team DH is one-piece forged with cnc’d details. The yoke is also forged. A Rockshox Vivid coil is on duty in the back.}

When the big mountain bikes were presented, I heard a fair bit of murmur from the crowd applauding the new graphic design. It’s definitely a little more subtle than last year on both the DH models and the Shore models. The downtube on almost all of the big bikes is also much more appealing to the eye: “less swoopy” is one random quote from the crowd. The toptube and the downtube are new hydroformed shaped for 2010. The head tube is also newly designed, stiffer, and lighter. The Team DH, DH, Atomik, Shore 1 and Shore 2 all share the same new frame. The A-Line also shares the new design, but has thicker walls and stays. New to the A-Line is a 1.5″ headtube that will fit a step-down headset.

  <sup>2010 Norco Team DH. Rockshox Boxxer Team and Rockshox Vivid Coil. Photo courtesy of Norco.

  Rear-end detail of the 2010 Team DH.</sup>

Darcy Turenne has been hard at work helping Norco refine her signature free ride bike, the Vixa. It was a big experiment last year and has proven highly successful. Darcy is a big fan of her bike and says that she can take it to any unknown terrain knowing that it’s going to work. Rumour has it that Jay Hoots wants a Vixa. Small modifications to the 2010 model include a 5mm shorter chainstay, added brake lever adjustment, and the large size sees a 5mm increase to the toptube. In addition to the Vixa, Norco also offers a range of other women specific bikes including a new 5″ travel all mountain setup named Phena.

  ^{2010 Vixa in sexy black and an intentional lack of girly-girl flare.}

After lunch was served, we gathered our gear and jumped into some shuttles to take us up to CBC for a multi-lap shuttling extravaganza. Surprize surprize! Who should meet us at the top? Why it was Mr. NSMB.com himself, Cam McRae. Cam joined us to test out the new Shore 1.

This is what Cam had to say about the Shore 1:

The new Norco Shore frame looked sleek and fast to my eyes from the get go. The underside of the hydroformed downtube has a pleasing chevron profile that suggests strength and velocity. Over the years I’ve gotten better at swinging a leg over a strange bike and sorting it out, but it still usually takes time. The geo, components and suspension of the 2010 Shore were so dialled there was no ramp up needed; the bike felt like I had been riding it for a week – straight out of the CBC parking lot. Up front the Totem coil was predictable and impressive without any break in. The Fox DHX 4.0 in the rear end felt a little less than lively mid stroke at first but it became more plush and distinct and by the second lap it felt great.

^{The 2010 Shore 1, the model Cam rode with us. It’s also the bike Jay Hoots considered riding 65km in the BC Bike Race!}

I flatted on Pingu on lap two and got a chance to work with the 150mm Maxle rear end. The system was very easy to use and removal and replacement were a breeze. My repair was worthy of Ricky Bobby – and I think I heard someone say ‘shake and bake baby!’
Lap two included Boogie Man and the steep sections near the end of the trail were no problem on the Shore One. Again I felt like I was riding a bike from my own stable. Without confidence in the machine I wouldn’t have been tipping my front wheel into some of those dark and scary sections. The Elixir brakes were part of this equation and they were excellent as expected. I don’t envy other manufacturers in having to compete with the Elixir models because they work wickedly and while weighing very little.

  ^{Cam mastering the chained teeter in a canoe on Boogieman. Photo: Derek Vanderkooy}

The biggest revelation on the bike was Hammerschmidt. I had ridden Truvativ’s innovative front transmission on flat ground at Interbike, but on the trail it’s a whole new ballgame. Because the shifting happens inside the mechanism – and the chain never leaves the chainring – you can shift at any time; pedalling, coasting, under full power or even when you are stopped or track standing. In fact you could even shift while pedalling backwards in the air. The tricky part is knowing whether you are in high or low because there is no indicator and you can’t look down to check. I’m sure that over time I’ll get that sorted and then the ability to grab a gear at any time will be a huge advantage. On top of that there is increased clearance at the bb and you can use a short cage rear derailleur. At the end of the day you have enough range to climb any mountain, no need for a chainguide and the ability to shift in any situation. When I get a chance I’m going to mount up Hammerschmidt on my personal DH bike and give it a go.

  ^{Dimitri Lehner from Germany’s Bike Mag. Dimitri was riding a Team DH, and it took everything he dished out.}

A nice touch on the Shore was the telescoping seatpost. The only disadvantage to an interrupted seattube is the lack of post adjustment and the tele solves that. Overall the Shore 1 looks to be a great bike for a rider unafraid to pedal a big bike and one wanting much of the stability and squish of a big bike on the way down. This bike would be right at home from Garbanzo to A Line and anywhere else the riding is gnarly. The only small details I didn’t like on the Shore were the Sunline stem and grips. The stem I found boxy and extremely hard on the eyes – particularly on a frame so swooping and svelte. The grips locked on inboard and had a snap-on aluminum cap at the outboard end. The inner ring was a little loose and this allowed the grip to slip inward, which caused the outer cap to be broken off the end.

Small exceptions to an otherwise flawless build.

Thanks Cam!

  ^{Dimitri rolling in.}
I spent the ride on a large size DH. It was kitted out with a Rockshox Boxxer Race, Marzocchi Roco Coil, Avid Elixer 5’s with 8″ rotos front and back. The drivetrain is SRAM X-7 with an FSA Gravity Moto X Mega Exo crank. When I grabbed the bike off of the rack in the Parking lot atop CBC, I spent some time adjusting various bits including the suspension. Full suspension bikes are unfamiliar to me on the Shore because I still rock my 243 hardtail.

  ^{2010 Norco DH, the same bike I was riding on the first day. Photo courtesy of Norco.}
As it turned out, I didn’t have enough air in the rear shock and as the riding progressed through the day, I found myself having more issues with the bike than I should have. It was definitely a user error. Excluding that, I was impressed with how well a big DH bike handled the nooks and crannies of some of the tighter sections on the trails. I was always expecting to lose the back end on some of the tight skinnies with corners, but somehow managed to ride them without too much trouble. I did my best to turn on the acceleration in sections that were appropriate, and the DH was eager to respond, building speed quickly and feeling stable.

  <sup>Me on the DH. I know, it’s hard to comprehend the ridiculous amount of action I’m dishing out. Photo: Derek Venderkooy

  Dustan Sept from Norco modeling my bike for me on the log once called The Swamp Monster by our own Nat Bailey.</sup>
Good news to everyone being affected by the “current economic situation”. Despite increased costs in materials and manufacturing overseas, Norco has done their best to manage the MSRP’s on all of the new 2010 big bikes and have been able to price them lower than last year. If you’ve got specific pricing questions, please post them in the Article Discussion forum. I didn’t get a price list with my media kit, but will happily find prices for you.

   ^{Jay Hoots no-footing off of the Pile Driver on Boogie Man. This photo demonstrates why you should always carry a flash with you.}

Stay tuned next week for part 2 of my coverage of the 2010 Norco Product Launch when I look at some of the cool urban rides as well as the new lineup of Fluids. If you have any comments or questions, please post them here.

Fergs