Norco 2011 part 2 - DH, Shore & Shinobi

More travel and more wheel

Words by Stuart Kernaghan. Photos by Stuart Kernaghan.
Date: 2010-07-25

In the first installment of Norco’s 2011 bike launch, I looked at the Range, the Vixa and the Fluid as well as the new A.R.T. suspension design and the new 142mm rear end standard. This time, it’s the 2011 downhill bikes, the Shore and the Shinobi. I also spoke with Pete Stace-Smith, Norco’s marketing manager, to get more insight into some of the changes that happened this year. 

First, the 142mm rear end. According to Stace-Smith, the Syntace system had many of the design features that Norco needed and wanted to integrate into the A.R.T., including a lower profile on the non-drive side, a stiffer rear end and easy removal of the wheel with a 5mm Allen key. Norco also felt that the slightly wider rear drop-out width made it possible to get the perfect chain line and eliminate tire rub - without being as wide as a 150mm rear end. Hub makers are adopting the 142mm width as a new standard, and it's even possible to convert many 135mm hubs to 142 with a spacer / cone swap, so the change isn't exactly revolutionary.

Next, A.R.T. When asked, Stace-Smith left little doubt about the company's plans for the new design. "We feel the A.R.T. design really has no negatives but only brings some key positives to any full suspension bikes without any real weight penalty," he noted. "So, yes, this suspension design will be incorporated and integrated into many other platforms as soon as we can." That will mean 2011.5 for certain bikes and 2012 for others, as production and design schedules allow.

Now, on to the bikes...

The Team DH, A-Line and DH
The Team DH, the A-Line and the DH are common sights in bike parks, on shuttle runs and race courses – especially in western Canada. They’re designed to be fast, relatively light and competitively priced with similar bikes. All three bikes share geometry and design, with the main difference being a heavier tube set on the A-Line to stand up to park riding or regular shuttling. Head angle is 64°, while the seat angle is 71.2°. Bottom bracket height is 14.09” and the wheelbase is 46.18” for a medium frame. 


The 2011 Team DH, with a very impressive spec - especially for this price point.

Other common design features include a 150 x 12 Maxle rear end, an interal 1.5” headset, a low centre of gravity thanks to the low frame, low bottom bracket and shock mount. The frame has also been anodized to save weight, and is available in three sizes: small, medium and large.

For 2011, riders will be able to adjust rear travel on the big bikes from 8” to 9”; that option was available in the past, but phased out. Now it's back. There have also been tweaks to the component spec, with Shimano Saint taking over in most cases for SRAM parts.

Expect these three bikes to get a major makeover for 2012, when they’ll be revamped with the A.R.T. suspension design. In the meantime, they’ll use the proven VPS design. Availability for these bikes is set to be September 2010. 


The rear ends on the Team DH, A-Line and DH all use the standard VPS system for 2011, which has worked well for a number of years. They'll be getting the A.R.T. rear end in 2012.

Specs for the three bikes are as follows:

TEAM DH COMPONENT HIGHLIGHTS
Rock Shox Boxxer R2C2, Rock Shox Vivid RS rear shock, Shimano Saint brakes, Saint drivetrain including cranks, e13 LG1 chain guide, Sun EQ 29 rims with Kenda Nevegal 2.35” tires

Weight - 38.4 lbs
MSRP - US$4,785 / CAD$5,575

A-LINE COMPONENT HIGHLIGHTS
RockShox Boxxer RC CL, Fox Van RC rear shock, Avid Code R brakes, Saint drivetrain, Gravity Light MegaExo DH crankset, Kenda Nevegal 2.5” tires

Weight - 40.3 lbs
MSRP - US$3,415 / CAD$3,925

DH COMPONENT HIGHLIGHTS
RockShox Boxxer RC CL 200mm, Fox Van R rear shock, Avid Elixir 5 203mm brakes, Shimano Deore front derailleur / SLX rear derailleur, FSA Moto X MegaExo DH crankset, Kenda Nevegal 2.35” tires

Weight - 39.1 lbs
MSRP - US$2.785 / $3,175

The Shore 2 and Shore 3
The Shore is Norco’s freeride / park bike. It’s been very successful bike, and like the 8” Norco bikes, is a popular choice with a lot of big bike riders. Shores have 7" / 175mm of rear wheel travel, a 66° head angle, a shorter wheelbase than the DH bikes, and a very swoopy hydroformed main frame that seems to either wow people or really turn them off.  


The 2011 Shore 2 is a big step down in component spec and price from the 2010 Shore 2.

The one big knock against the Shore from most riders was weight – most Shores were in the low 40 lb. range for a medium bike. Some models came with a front derailleur, but they were still a challenge to pedal uphill. The fact that the bike had an interrupted seat tube didn’t do anything to make climbing easier.

Norco took that feedback, as well as input from team riders like Jay Hoots, to heart and went back to the drawing board with the Shore. That means a completely new frame design using the A.R.T. suspension design and a full-length seat tube. Unfortunately, the bike is still in development and won’t be available until some time next year. Expect to see a 2011.5 model, with its own launch. Norco was showing of a prototype of the bike, though, and my first thought is that it's going to be a lot of fun to ride.


The new Shore 2011.5 prototype. This rideable sample was put together for the product launch, so dealers in attendance could do some planning for the new year. Note the A.R.T. rear end and non-interrupted seat tube.

Rather than producing a 2011 high-end Shore with the existing frame design, Norco decided to only offer two Shore models this year. Both are significantly less expensive than previous Shores – even for the same model; they’ll be available in October 2010.


A very beefy welded link arm will ensure the rear end stays quite stiff.

Once testing is finished with the new design, Norco will be rolling out a high-end Team Shore; the Shore 1, which previously held the top spot in the line, will become the #2 bike.


Prototype means that this isn't the production version of the bike. Expect things to change. Note the rear brake caliper mount - it's an 8" post mount, right on the seatstay. No more adaptor!

SHORE 2 COMPONENT HIGHLIGHTS
RockShox Domain 180mm fork, Fox VAN R rear shock, Avid Elixir 5 brakes, SRAM X.5 shifters and X.7 rear derailleur, FSA Moto X Mega Exo crankset, Kenda Nevegal 2.35” tires

Weight - 38.6 lbs
MSRP - US$2,140 / CAD$2,475

SHORE 3 COMPONENT HIGHLIGHTS
Marzocchi 55 RS 180mm fork,  Marzocchi coil R rear shock, Funn F3 brakes, SRAM 8-speed X.5 shifters and rear derailleur, FSA Step Up double crankset, Kenda Nevegal 2.35" tires

Weight - 39.5 lbs
MSRP - US$1,625 / CAD$1,825

The Shinobi
Another all-new treat from Norco for 2011 is the Shinobi, a 29”-wheeled full suspension trail / light all-moutain bike. 29ers tend to polarize people, especially around the Shore, but there are some real advantage to riding wagon wheels. Larger wheels have less rolling friction, offer more comfortable ride, have slacker angle of attack that makes it easier to roll over obstacles and they have a larger contact patch for better traction. They used to the last refuge of tall riders, but lots of other people are riding them now and enjoying the experience – in spite of some drawbacks.

Along with the good stuff listed above, you also have to content with more rotating mass than a 26” wheel, which takes more effort to get moving, added weight (bigger rim, tire and tube) and a higher center of gravity. 29er bikes can also have longer wheelbases and a very tall front end, unless the designers work to minimize those characteristics. Do the advantages outweight the shortcomings? More on that in a few minutes…


Damn, those are some big wheels. The '11 Shinobi, with a pre-production fork. Retail bikes will have a 140mm fork and 120mm of rear travel.

Head angle on the Shinobi is 69.0°, while the seat angle is 74°. Tall folks will appreciate the fact that the XL Shinobi is a 21” frame with a whopping 25.6” (650mm) top tube length. Bottom bracket height is 13.18”, which is 0.59” lower than the 140mm Fluid. Interestingly, the wheelbased for the Shinobi is exactly the same as the Range for the respective sizes. 


The Shinobi has a short head tube and flat bars in order to keep an already-tall front end from getting any taller. 

Some other details on the Shinobi: it has 140mm of front travel and 120mm of rear travel. There are four sizes to choose from, from small to extra large. It also gets the 142mm Syntace rear end and the A.R.T. suspension. The CNC’d link arm is specially designed to accommodate the larger wheels without affecting rear travel. Shinobis should be arriving at dealers in December 2010. 


The Shinobi uses a uniquely-shaped link arm to accommodate the larger rear wheel without lengthening the wheelbase or giving up stiffness. The seatstays come around the front of the seat tube.

SHINOBI COMPONENT HIGHLIGHTS
RockShox Reba 29er 140mm fork with a tapered steerer, RockShox Monarch 2.1 rear shock, Norco SL 29er flat handlebar, Avid Elixir 5 brakes with 185mm rotors, Shimano SLX 3 x 10 speed shifters, SLX front derailleur and XT Shadow rear derailleur, 11-36T cassette, SLX crankset, WTB LaserDisc Trail 29er rims, Continental Mountain King 29 x 2.2” tires

Weight - 30.2 lbs
MSRP - US$2,850 / CAD$3,175

Ride Impressions - the Shinobi
Before the Norco ’11 bike launch, I’d never ridden a 29er. I didn’t have any interest, didn’t think it was something I needed to do and didn’t want to buy into the niner hype. These bikes are hugely popular in some areas, but not here on the Shore and that was just fine with me. I was also a bit of a skeptic. How much difference could 3” really make?

Hopping on the Shinobi, the first thing I noticed was that the front wheel looks a lot closer to the bars than it does on a 26” bike. It is, though, so that makes sense. The front end didn’t feel particularly tall with the flat bars and the short head tube, but at 6'4" I don’t really mind a taller front end anyway. That may be a concern for shorter riders, however.

The day’s ride was a pedal up Fromme, another North Shore mountain, but this time one without any shuttle options. It's a gravel road that's long, and kind of tedious. I discovered that the big wheels rolled smoothly once they got up to speed, and it was relatively easy to keep the bike at speed. That may have also had something to do with the fact that the Shinobi comes with 10-speed gearing. I got in the middle ring and the 36T ring and kept on spinning all the way up to a trail called Pipeline, which is approximately 5 km from the trailhead. The ride up seemed to take a lot less time than in the past, but it was hard to tell if the wheels had anything to do with that.

Pipeline is a moderately technical trail, with some stunts and plenty of rooty, rocky sections to roll through. It was a perfect place to test the Shinobi. The first thing I discovered was that there wasn’t any of the front wheel flop I was expecting. The wheels tracked well through the corners and it was easy to keep the momentum going once the bike was rolling. It took a few minutes to get used to the shorter-travel forks (pre-production test bikes had 120mm forks; production models will have 140mm forks), as I’m used to a 160mm fork, but that wasn’t an issue. I also found the bike handled technical corners very well, in large part because the bike didn’t feel any longer than other all-mountain bikes I’ve ridden. More momentum from bigger wheels was also a good thing.


The author enjoyed the Shinobi's big wheels on rough, rocky sections like this.|| Photo: Dustan Sept

Most noticeable for me was the way the bike rolled through the flatter or slightly uphill / downhill sections of trail that were rooty and rocky. Trail obstacles that normally bounce you around or throw you off your line virtually disappeared, and it was very easy to keep the bike rolling. The larger wheels decrease the angle of attack (the angle between the ground and the front edge of your tire), meaning there’s less resistance when the front tire hits an obstacle. It’s an odd sensation to ride through a section of trail that you know bounces around on a different bike and not have any issues. It was a bit of an epiphany, to be honest.

I didn’t have much of a chance to ride the Shinobi at speed, but this seemed like one of those bikes that would respond well to being pushed hard. The better you got to know the bike, the more it would be able to do.

Weight for the Shinobi is listed at 30.2 lbs (and probably a bit more for the XL bike I was demo’ing). I certainly didn’t feel that weight on the climbs, and it wasn’t an issue on the downhills. It would be fun, though, to build a lighter 29er and really rip on the trails.

So, am I a 29er convert? No, but I’ve gone from being a skeptic to being interested in spending more time on one. And while 29ers likely aren’t ideal for every riding situation or terrain (it wouldn't be my first choice for the Shore, for example), I think a niner would be a hell of a lot of fun for technical trail riding and epic backcountry rides, wherever you live.

- Stuart Kernaghan

Like what you see? Believe that the new Shore will be THE bike to have? Want to roll wagon wheels but afraid your friends will shun you on principle? Go to the boards and rant / rave.