For this edition of Ask Us Anything, Norco...Norco's evolution from 'that Canadian company' to becoming a real player in the high-end bike market is a feel-good story that was fuelled not just by dedication and hard work, but also a desire to design some truly impressive bikes. Comparing those early VPS machines to their just debuted Aurum Carbon, a bike that looks as if it could go up against anything on the market, is evidence of that journey, and while having their headquarters located within spitting distance of the fabled North Shore mountains certainly hasn't hurt, it'd be selling Norco very short to think of them as 'shore-specific. In fact, Bryn Atkinson and Jill Kintner have been racing all over the world aboard their Norcos, and the
freshly signed Sam Blenkinsop is looking to use his Aurum Carbon to move up from a ninth overall world ranking in 2014.
Norco has put a lot of effort into the Aurum Carbon's A.R.T. suspension and Gravity Tune geometry, and the story goes much deeper than just a new carbon fiber frame that sheds weight. The bike's rear - center length changes between sizes in an effort to maintain proper weight distribution regardless of how tall you happen to be, and it's also one of the few carbon downhill bikes that sports different length head tubes, a tactic Norco employed after the polling of Aurum owners revealed that many were using headset spacers to fine tune their cockpit.
You can learn all about the new Aurum here, and then ask your questions in the comment section below.
Want to know more about Norco's approach to geometry and 27.5'' wheels on downhill bikes, their A.R.T. suspension, or what the future may hold? Owen Pemberton, Senior Design Engineer; P.J. Hunton, Engineering Manager; Jim Jamieson, Product Manager, are here to answer those questions.
The PanelP.J.Name: P.J. Hunton
Title: Engineering Manager
Years @ Norco: 6.2
Hometown: Bralorne, B.C.
Favourite Norco: Range Carbon
Favourite Terrain: Chilcotins, Pacific Northwest
Riding Style: Fast & Smooth
OWENName: Owen Pemberton
Title: Senior Design Engineer
Years @ Norco: 5
Hometown: Coventry, UK
Favourite Norco: The ones that don’t exist yet
Favourite Terrain: The rootier and rockier the better
Riding Style: Loose… between crashes
JJ Name: Jim “JJ” Jamieson
Title: Senior Product Manager
Years @ Norco: 25
Hometown: White Rock, B.C.
Favourite Norco: Sight
Favourite Terrain: Trails with good flow and jumps
Riding Style: Airtime and style before speed
Until we widely accept that the bikes are mostly going to be awesome and hence why there are very few negative reviews, nothing is going to change price wise. Once more people realise, they'll just buy the cheapest option unless they want to look different (one would think you'd be judged on you riding more than your kit) and the industry might condense and become more like the Moto industry. Sure there is a minor market for those who want to look different but It almost baffles me that there are at least 10 brands making bikes which perform so similarly yet price the bikes like they aren't in competition. You can go on and on about volume, but with a low spec but decent dual suspension bike (reasonable brakes and suspension) costing 3k minimum, good luck growing the sport beyond the fanatical outdoorsy types. The average person scoffs at 500 for an around town commuter because it's a simple machine, let alone 3k to ride decent MTB trails moderately comfortably and safely.
www.norco.com/15aurum?
seems like a very short reach for a like meant for WC speed- but then im sure the geometry was arrived at thru much feedback and testing. i would be very interested to hear about what lead to the current sizing of the frame!
Take a look at this image www.pinkbike.com/photo/12102111 which shows a graphical overlay of the old bike and the new.
Rider feedback has been unanimous that this position is spot on, we are not forcing anyone to run a bar height higher than they want, but also riders are not needing to use an excessive amount of spacers either. Due to some geo tweaks to get the weight balance a little more dialed with the bigger wheels and the move to a larger offset fork, again because of the larger wheels, the new bike has a longer wheelbase, and therefore some increase in stability at speed over the old bike. Yet it still ‘fits’ the rider nearly identically.
when you take a look at the reach numbers you always have to take the stack into your considerations.
My company Bombproof here in the UK bought several "kits" from him (same as used on the Mongoose Amplifier) before we quickly realized the limitations of the Macpherson Strut, and moved to a swinglink design but still using the horst pivot
Kinda just smiles and seemed pretty soft spoken and very pleasant.
And if your rear wheel goes over an obstacle wouldn't a rearward axle path help minimize deceleration?
Ever try getting one off the ground without a jump?
Thanks a bunch for fielding the questions! You guys are making some awesome bikes these days.
Seriously though, no questions really just keep up the good work.
I have been looking at new DH sleds for a little bit, and have taken note that you get A LOT of bike for a great price with the Aurum 6.2. No one else, other than YT really can offer an equivalent build kit for $3,000 but Norco is not factory direct. How is it that Norco can offer that when most others can't even come close? Also thanks for your support of the Bachelor Bike Park!!
Will there ever be a point where those advancements lead to more durability, longevity, and lower maintenance?
As opposed to just making bikes more fragile?
The new breed of trail bikes can be ridden like downhill bikes.
And I haven't seen many bikes survive a season without breaking when ridden like this.
I don't want a 25lb bike if it means I have to replace shit all the time.
What are your thoughts on performance vs durability in the industry and at norco currently?
Thx
Brian
Thanks.
My favorite part of the process is twofold:
Getting to ride a brand new prototype for the first time is immensely satisfying and it's my favorite part of the job. It makes all of the product development and design review meetings and the hundreds of hours of design time all worth it.
Secondly, I get a lot of satisfaction from seeing people I don't know riding Norco bikes. Knowing that folks have gone out and spent their hard earned money on a bike which we have designed and brought to market is a great feeling.
Manuals from fork manufacturers says that we should set up dual crown fork to some exact height (or +/- milimeters). Why many stock setups are far different from recommended and use longer crown to axle length by dropping stanchions little bit? ( aurum 6.1 2014 for example). Can You guys can give me some hint how to find the sweet spot for aurum 6.1 and Fox 40 set up?
Thanks!
When you've been designing that Aurum, with the chainstays size which is different depending on the frame size, how did you manage to keep the same suspension performance ? (I believe that the main pivot momentum is different an so on...) or did you work with this difference to adapt the suspension performance to the different sizes?
Cheers !!
Ben
To achieve the different rear-centre (chainstay) lengths of our Gravity Tune geometry we move the position of the bottom bracket within the front triangle structure. We do this because, if we were to alter the length of the rear triangle members it would have a significant effect on the suspension performance between sizes. By only moving the BB position it allows us to achieve our desired geometry goals while keeping suspension performance consistent across sizes.
I hate I cant ride an aurum
a TR500 has a 122mm headtube but only 591mm stack, carbon glory 595mm stack. and yeah it is possible to use flat bars and negative rise stems, I'm already using them, still not enough, would really hope for a stack around 590 or below, I'm 5'5"
1. What is recommended sag? Seated or standing?
2. Does norco believe boost will help the wear caused by torque while in 42 cog?
3. Has norco come up w/replacements for cable plugs that pop out, crack/split etc
Other than a lot of pedal strikes (175 sixc), lov the bike!
2. If you are talking about the drivetrain wear caused by the chainline in the 42T cog, then no. Both the rear wheel and chainline are moving outboard by 3mm with Boost.
3. These parts should all be in stock. Speak to your local dealer.
But there are other plugs out there...lapieer (spell) for ex.
Just curios on what schooling you did to get the engineering titles you received. What did it take to land your job? I am starting mech engineering degree in the next few months and I find bike mechanics, geometry's and frame layouts very interesting. Thanks.!
The main pivot bearings in the chainstays need to be pressed outwards, using proper bearing press tools.
The bearings are covered under the One Year Limited Warranty www.norco.com/warranty so depending on when you bought the bike from Evans, they may or may not replace the bearings for free. No harm in taking it in for assessment though.
Thx!
Ps thx for the response!
Thanks in advance Joseph.
As far as the B+ wheel size, we have been doing some testing and having fun riding this new rim/tire size. Too soon to comment more on this. What is the feedback from you guys and gals out there on the B + wheel size. Is there interest in a Norco B+ bike.
One thing we do see is that with future designs riders want options so a bike that fits 29” wheels may also fit with 650B + depending on when and where you ride.
/jj
Or planning to stick with conventional suspension design (and leave possible electronic options for suspension companies)..?
Why did you feel the need to go to a coil? Were you not getting full travel? What % sag do you run? We recommend 30-35% for the Range.
If your Range weighs 35lbs now, it probably weighed 34lbs with the O2...
Also have you ever considered developing a gearbox dh bike? Weight is an issue but the possibility for a low weight gearbox is there.
Also, does Norco have some kind of crash replacement policy/ trade-in program for old frames ?
Thanks!
As far as a crash replacement, we do have this and you can contact your local Norco dealer to get the details. /jj.
cheers!
Thanks
Keep up the good work!
Was there an engineering reason for switching to RS Boxxers for the mid level Aurum vs. last year's Dorado? I have tried both and have always been amazed by the performance of the Dorado and was a little disappointed that you dropped them.
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How do you guys feel about the concept of forward geometry?
Kona, Transition, Santa Cruz have adopted variations of this design concept; where do you sit on the idea of massive reaches coupled with sub 40mm stems?
Does the fluid 24 have the ability to put on 26" wheels?
www.norco.com/bikes/youth/24-multi-speed/fluid-24/fluid-24
Thanks
Geez I'm calling 26 inch old.
Are you a full fledged Canadian yet?
There are lots and they are all a pleasure to deal with.
Apparently there are still people out there who like 26er…are these folks crazy?
Two outta three?