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2006 Norco Team DH, Bontrager Big Earl Wheelset, Truvativ Howitzer Bottom Bracket and Holzfeller Crankset ...chairlift time, and things that make your bike move |
Words and photo by Corey Anderson
Change is good. Mountain bikers are picky, and each time you give us something new we will find something about it that could be just a little different to work that much better for us. If you don't listen to us, we move on to the next guy who has his ear to the ground.
Norco Performance Bikes is one of the guys who are listening to everything we have to say. The 2006 Team DH is a rolling testament to what drives this company and their bikes, which is rider input. The new Team DH takes many of the aspects of the '05 bike that won praise from its pilots, and refined some the aspects that they thought could be better.
The most obvious change to the bike is the finish. The previous bikes were only available in one skin, where the new bike can be had in either a painted white finish, or a new stealth-looking anodized black finish. The loud graphics on the '05 bike, of varying popularity, have been replaced with a subtler scheme that will satisfy the rider wanting something more low key and the rider who wants a bike that still looks "factory."
Once you get past the initial aesthetics, the subtle frame changes begin to stand out. The seat mast has been overhauled and now uses hydra-formed 6061 aluminium, maintaining a low stand-over height, and cleaning up the lines of the frame. The head tube has been shortened to bring the ride height of the front end down more, and excess material has been removed from the head tube, rear triangle and the rear drop outs to shave weight on the frame. The rear axle now threads directly into the frame for an even stiffer rear end.
 The 2006 Team DH. It even looks fast |
The build on this bike has also enjoyed a few changes. The SDG Bel Air saddle includes Ti rails. Power is now handled by Truvativ Holzfeller cranks mounted to an E-13 SRS chainguide. A nice addition to the package is the new 50/50 pedals by Crank Brothers. Big upgrades have been made to the drive train, which uses a SRAM PG-970 cassette (anodized red spider to match the bike), and a Black Box technology carbon fibre SRAM X.O shortcage rear mech, and a carbon X.O trigger shifter. It doesn't get much closer to Formula One than this set up.
Stopping is handled by Shimano Saint disc brakes, bolted up to Hadley sealed cartridge bearing hubs. Suspension features the top shelf Fox DHX 5.0 rear shock, driven by the VPS four-bar Horst Link rear end giving you up to 9" of adjustable travel. A Marzocchi 888RC2X fork sits up front, featuring new flat low ride crowns, and enough adjustments to keep you busy on a Friday night. Steering is handled by a Chris King Steelset, and traction is taken care of by dual 26"x 2.5" Kenda Nevegal sticky rubber tires.
The 2006 Team DH is available in two sizes, a small/medium and a medium/large,
each one being sprung for the different sized rider. Suggested retail is $5975
CDN. The 2006 Team DH can be found at your local Norco Performance Bikes
dealer. I will be taking to the hills with this bike for the next several weeks and
reporting back with a full long-term review. Stay tuned!
Bontrager Big Earl Wheelset
Words and photos by Stuart Kernaghan
Bontrager is a name that's familiar to old school riders. The storied brand has been turning out components for some time now, and continued even after it was taken over by Trek. When Trek decided it was time to get into the growing freeride market about two years ago, it banked on the brand recognition of the Bontrager name rather than starting from scratch. Trek also leveraged its association with Shore local Andrew Shandro to ensure it was developing a line of big-hit components would stand up to the abuse dished out by freeriders. Put all of that together and you get the Earl line of Bontrager freeride and DH components. |
 The rear hub with the six-bolt adapter, set up for QR |
King Earl sits on the top rung and Big Earl one step down, but it's still very high quality. And it's a funky green-gold ano colour. Big Earl was available to the public first, with the bars, stems, saddles, seatposts, cranks, and wheelsets available through retailers and on Trek bikes. Of those items, the most interesting is probably the Big Earl wheelset.
 The rear hub, minus the QR and six-bolt adapters |
What's so special about this particular wheelset? Simply put, adaptability. The 32-spoke hubs come ready for six-bolt rotors, thanks to a special adapter and some long bolts, but take off that adapter and you can switch to Saint centerlock rotors. On top of that, the rear hub can run a standard quick release or 10mm / 12mm through axles, courtesy of another set of adapters. The 32mm wide single cavity rims are anodized black, and feature a welded seam, brass nipples, and 14/15g black spokes. The front wheel is available in 20mm through-axle only. Claimed weight for the front is 969g, and 1202 for the rear QR axle; the rear through axle is pegged at 1200g. MSRP is US$230 for the front and $250 for either rear. Look for Earl components at your local Trek dealer. |
Truvativ Howitzer Bottom Bracket
and Holzfeller Crankset
Words and photos by Stuart Kernaghan
| Splined cranksets and bottom brackets are the accepted standard for freeriding and downhill. They have been for a couple of years. And while ISIS BBs made for a stronger interface, the durability of bearings on many of these bottom brackets was an issue. So companies moved the bearings outboard of the BB shell, allowing them to increase bearing size. As I reported from the SRAM product launch last year, Truvativ has done that with its new Howitzer bottom bracket. |  The Howitzer Team edition, with biiiig bearings |
The Howitzer is similar to other external-bearing BBs in some respects, but different in others. Rather than relying on an axle that is attached to one crank arm, Truvativ's design uses two threaded cups that screw into each side of the BB shell, a plastic sleeve to keep water out of the unit, and a solid axle that sits between the cups. Pull it apart and you're looking at something very similar to the old cup-and-cone bottom brackets that pre-date cartridge BBs.
 Holzfeller crankset with bashguard, hiding the Howitzer BB |
Howitzer BBs come in two different models, the Team and the XR, for 68mm, 73mm, 83mm, and 100mm BB shells, and several different chainlines. The BB is only compatible with Truvativ's downhill-rated cranks (Holzfeller, Hussefelt, and Ruktion) and Bontrager Earl cranks. The Holzfeller crankset that I'm using came with a 22/32 ring and bashguard combo using Truvativ's own translucent grey poly-carbinate bashguard, but you can choose any Holzfeller set-up from one ring and bashguard to three rings, in 165mm, 170mm, or 175mm lengths to go with the BB. MSRP on the crankset is US$250 and the BB is $50. |
| Previous Gear Shots | |
| Gear Shots #19 | Devinci Ollie, 661 Pro Pressure Suit, 661 Kyle Straight Knee Guards |
| Gear Shots #18 | Axiom H-Spec Freeride Saddle and Hydrapak Borracho pack |
| Gear Shots #17 | howies Skomer Jean/Merino Base Layer, Dakine Windblocker Hoodie, and Bontrager Big Earl Tires |
| Gear Shots #16 | Sombrio Roam pants, Race Face Downhill pants and the Turner RF 6 |
| Gear Shots #15 | Race Face Shuttle jacket, Cateye Double and Triple Shot lights, Sombrio Vapor jacket |
| Gear Shots #14 | 2006 Rocky Mountain Switch, Specialized Buzzsaw shoes, and BLT Dual Radium Lights |
| Gear Shots #13 | Race Face Diabolous post, Hutchinson Bulldog tubeless tires, Syntace bar and stem combo |
| Gear Shots #12 | Five Ten Impact Shoe, Large Components Bullmoose clamp stem, and Hayes El Camino disc brakes |
| Gear Shots #11 | Rocky Mountain Switch S3, Marzocchi 66RC fork, Marzocchi tires |
| Gear Shots #10 | Norco Six, Iron Horse 7Point7, and Norco Team DH |
| Gear Shots #9 | RockShox Boxxer Ride, Camelbak Havoc, and Race Face Impact carbon gloves |
| Gear Shots #8 | e.thirteen DRS replacement roller and Ridge Sports carbon gloves |
| Gear Shots #7 | Roach's TV Hydration pack and Rally DH arm / leg armour |
| Gear Shots #6 | Light & Motion ARC Li-ion Light, Mace Swat Jacket, Cannondale Nebula shorts |
| Gear Shots #5 | Maxxis Minion DHF / DHR tires, Gravity Racing Components Shorty replacement levers, SixSixOne Racebrace Pro ankle brace |
| Gear Shots #4 | Dangerboy CNC Replacement Brake Levers, e.thirteen DRS Chainguide, Trek Energy Cell EXP 350 Dual |
| Gear Shots #3 | SRAM X-7 Triggers, Chris King SteelSet, Shimano XT discs |
| Gear Shots #2 | Roach Rally Shorts, NYC Freeride Stem, Pryme AL Full-face Helmet |
| Gear Shots #1 | Yakima RimRoc, SixSixOne Wrist Wraps, Evil Bikes SRS Chainguide |
