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REVIEW: 2004 Norco Team DH |
Words by Corey Anderson
Photographs by Stuart Kernaghan
2001 brought Norco Performance Bike's first Team DH downhill bike. It sat at the top of their VPS collection as the biggest, baddest gravity machine they offered and quickly earned a name for itself as both a very capable race and Shore bike.
As each year has passed, in addition to producing some of the best Shore bikes on the market, Norco has kept a keen eye on the development of its DH racing bike. Feedback from team riders and customers has kept the development in this area exciting and has resulted in a fresh new bike each year after the release of the 2001 model.
2003 saw the introduction of a race bike that really stood out from the other top of the line VPS bikes, with tweaked geometry and availability as frame only option, leaving racers to build their weapon of choice to their absolute preference.
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The year 2004 changed everything. The culmination of three years of feedback fueled the development of a radically different bike. The '04 Team DH is more dedicated to racing and downhilling than anything Norco has put out before, and a bike that stands on its own in terms of build and design from the rest of the Norco fleet. I finally got a chance to swing a leg over one of these bikes at the Marzocchi Sessions weekend at Whistler this summer. The folks at Norco had this gem mated up to a |
 Could the view be any better? |
The Build...
The 2004 Team Race uses an all-new frame design. The monocoque frame is gone,
replaced with a beefy 7005 series aluminum tubeset featuring full-on race geometry,
finished with a metallic silver paint and classy moto looking decals under a
layer of clear coat. The new front triangle puts the bottom bracket down low
to improve handling and provides massive standover height.
The rear end features a beefy new one piece yoke welded to new heavier gauge
chain and seat stays supporting a 150mm thru-axle rear hub. The rear suspension
uses the tried, tested and true VPS 4-bar link, which is adjustable between
8 and 9 inches of travel.
 Dialing in the 2005 888rc |
The new frame also features adjustments in addition to rear suspension travel that allow riders to change the bottom bracket height and head angle independently from each other. All of this suspension moves buttery smooth thanks to the massive 9.5" x 3" stroke Progressive 5th Element rear shock, which provides riders with a rock solid pedaling platform and enough adjustments to keep you busy all race season. The build on the bike is exceptional. The bike features dual Hadley hubs, a Chris King steel deep cup headset and a SRAM XO rear derailleur mated to the new SRAM X9 trigger shifter. |
The Ride
The bike comes in two sizes, small/medium and medium/large. The one I got was
the small/medium, which compared to my personal bike (a medium 2003 Norco Team
NS) felt a bit small. In speaking with some of the Norco Factory riders who
were my size (5'11") I found that they too chose the smaller size of the
two. Now that I was convinced I was sized correctly, I hit the lift.
One of the first things I noticed about the new bike is the low stand-over
height, a nice touch especially for shorter riders. I took the bike to one of
my favorite runs at the Whistler Mountain Bike Park, Dirt Merchant, for the
first ride. This gave me a chance to get a feel for the bike at speed, in the
corners and in the air.
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When I got moving, I immediately noticed how the low bottom bracket made for an entirely different ride.It felt as though I was "in" the bike as opposed to riding on it, and each time I hit a corner I came out feeling like I wasn't going fast enough. It allows you to carry speed through corners that I initially wasn't used to, and it took several runs to begin to get a feel for how fast this bike could be cornered. After I began to get comfortable and familiar with the handling of the bike, I took it up into its natural environment off of the Garbanzo chair. The trails up top are a great testing ground, providing a every element of a good trail, and they also make for a great top to bottom through the Nationals DH track down below. The steeper technical trails, drop offs and corners are where this bike really shines. The low center of gravity makes for a stable and predictable ride, and the suspension absorbs all of the rough stuff and helps you out when you make mistakes. |
 Letting it run at the Whistler Bike Park |
On steeper terrain, the slack head angle takes the edge off and inspires confidence with predictable steering. The 8" travel fork complies with everything you point it at making sections that spook you pass by without incident. The bike feels right at home in steep single track and rock faces, and the lighter frame and build help you carry speed without busting a lung.
Suspension
The 5th Element shock works well with the VPS 4-bar, making the bike feel bottomless
on hard compressions and landings, and snappy when sprinting. The bike comes
stock with a 450lb. spring, which I found to be too much for my 175lb. pound
chassis. I ran the air volume adjuster half a turn in at 115 psi. I left the
high and low speed adjustments at one turn in.
This allowed me to still enjoy the benefits of the 5th Element rear shock yet keep the suspension soft enough to work with my weight. If I could have changed the set up any further, I would have gone to a 350 lb spring and used more of the shock's adjustments to tune the ride.
The stock build comes with the 888R. The bike I was on had the 2005 version of that fork, which is the 888RC. This 8lb., 8" travel fork is the perfect complement to the DH's rear suspension. Like the R, the RC features externally adjustable compression and rebound, and moto-style internal spring preload. Further tuning can be conducted through adjusting oil volume. The fork on the test bike was sprung perfectly for me. It would float over the smaller hits and ruts, and ramp up on heavy hits. I had a hard time finding the bottom of it, and was only able to do so by coming in nose heavy on harder landings.
The external compression adjustment was effective in controlling where this would happen and allowed me to get useable travel out of all 8". The harder you push this fork, the better it seems to feel. It is solid in the rough, technical stuff and confidence inspiring at speed and in the air. Racers will appreciate the ease of adjustment, Marzocchi's low maintenance smooth travel, and the light weight.
 Stepping up on Original Sin |
Long Haul
While some of the lift accessed hills in B.C. were the ideal testing ground
for this bike during the time I had it, they don't necessarily constitute the
majority of riding I do. I spend a lot of time riding the Shore in the fall,
winter, and spring and I needed to log some time there on the bike too. Thanks
to the passion of the world-class trail builders working in our backyard, the
North Shore has earned itself a reputation as being one of the most challenging
and rewarding riding environments in the world, and is also one of the best
places to put a bike through its paces.
The Team DH was up to the task. It took me several rides to get used to how a low bottom bracket feels on consistently rough terrain where things get tight. I managed to step off the bike several times as a result of pedals hitting low level obstacles, and you do have to remember that your chainguide is riding low when you are passing over logs and A-frames. Once you get used to that, the bike is up for anything you throw at it. The slack angles shine on steeper trails and the 150x12mm rear end makes for a very solid feeling ride in the tightest, roughest terrain.
Despite the stable platform rear suspension, the bike just isn't a climber. If you are expecting to sit down and pedal uphill for an hour or more, you might want to look at something a little more forgiving in that aspect - like the Norco Shore. You'll have to put in a little more effort on the DH to get there, but it will reward you on the way down.
The SRAM drivetrain, 150mm rear hub, and Blackspire DH chainguide provide a solid, dependable drivetrain. In my time on the bike, the chain never skipped, bounced off or so much as even hiccuped, a good confidence boost when you are hammering on the pedals. The 42-tooth chainring was fine for strictly DH riding, but too much to turn on some Shore rides. I think something like a 38-tooth ring would be a happy medium.
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The only speed bump I experienced was related to the Hayes brakes. The reach adjuster screw would vibrate itself loose so that the levers would be almost touching the bar before the brakes engaged, and would not stay in the position that I set them at. The fix was relatively straightforward - a few dabs of blue Loctite on the threads of the adjuster solved it - but for brand new brakes it was a tad frustrating. Verdict |
 Keeping it low on Lower Joyride |
The bike allowed me to ride faster on my favorite trails than I have before with the same kind of control and confidence. Despite what I was able to throw at it, it still felt as crisp as the first day I rode it when it came time to return it.
For a MSRP of CDN$5750 at your local Norco dealer, this is arguably the most competent race-bike with the best spec for your dollar on the market.
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