2009 Norco Team DH

Jun 22, 2009

In the past if you wanted a top spec’d DH race bike you had to go out of your way to build it up with competitive parts that would help you win races. Quite a few companies were making nice complete bikes, but no one was making a no holds barred, spec’d to the max “stock” bike. This meant that you would have to buy the bike that was closest to what you wanted or go buy the frame of your choice and build it up from there. The process of spec’ing your DH race bike is the most costly thing you can do when getting ready for the season. What if you could buy a whole bike that was fully race ready and no spec had been over looked? Just drop the cash, roll out and pin it!

This is where the new Norco Team DH comes into its own. Learn more about this WC DH Spec’d race machine inside…

The weather in the Valley has been off in a bad way to say the least this winter, with great days in the mountains boarding or skiing, but limited days on the bikes. If you were building up a DH race bike for the season, you had more than enough time to sit inside and dream about riding and put your spec together. Thankfully the snow and most of the rain went away and everyone has been out shralping it up now. We at PB were also waiting on a new race bike, but it was coming complete this time around.


Norco Bike's flagship model, the Team DH rolled into the PB head quarters a little over a month ago now and were we surprised by this "stock" bike. At a glance, nothing about this bike appears to be stock, but that is why it is the flagship in the Norco bikes lineup. At $7250 CDN retail, you know that no spec has been overlooked in assembling this bike and that there better not be any in house components on it.


The rear travel has two options; 199mm and 227mm. While you can also adjust the BB height from 360mm to 372mm, which changes your head angle from 64 degrees to 64.8 degrees. For 2009, you will finally have your choice of 3 different frame sizes to choose from, so that you can find the size that is best for you. We went with a medium sized frame and when it was all assembled, the final product weighed in at 37 pounds, 10 ounces! (With proper DH casing tires) That might just be the lightest production model DH race bike this year!

Low BB

High BB

Making a light bike and spec'ing it so well is one thing, but have a look at the details in the graphics and custom colored parts that are on the Team DH. This bike is polished aluminum with blue, black and subtle red highlights. From the custom anodized blue Alex Supra D rims, the Blue lowers on the RockShox Boxxer WC, the anodized blue rocker link and anodized Wellgo B065 pedals to the matching WTB seat graphics, Top Tube graphics and chain stay graphics. The art department at Norco bikes have been busy!



Matching up graphics:

WTB Seat

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Trying to compare the 2009 Team DH to last year's Team DH is next to impossible as they are so different in most every way. Visually the only similarity is the forged head tube, the Norco emblem and the FSR link. The price is more this year but so are the race worthy traits that come with the new Team DH.

The 2009 Team DH uses all new Hydro-formed top and down tubes that are radically swooped and bring a very unique look to the bike. Out back the rear triangle has been lightened up a ton and the ROCO WC Air shock has found a new mounting place that greatly lowers the center of gravity. Norco uses the FSR patented suspension linkage and platform that is proven and works amazingly well. The forged 1.5" head tube is strong and light. Since the Team DH won't see any climbing, the interrupted seat mast works well as you can cut your post and leave it there. Cable routing is clean and should stay out of the way if you drape your bike over the tailgate while shuttling. Once you spend time with this bike, you see just how much thought went into it. Another notable frame item is the replaceable hanger and the fact that the bike came with a spare. Product managers take note - Always include a spare hanger with all frames and complete bikes. Thanks Norco!

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The suspension duties on the Team DH are being taken care of via a RockShox World Cup Boxxer up front and a Marzocchi ROCO WC Air shock out back. Initially I was surprised to see the mixing of RockShox and Marzocchi suspension on the bike, but when it comes to air sprung options, these two are as good as it gets. The ROCO WC Air shock is obviously the lesser known, but it proved to be easy to set up and on the trail, it ate up all the bumps and hits like its coil sprung counter parts. The rebound and compression adjustments cover a huge spectrum, so you can really dial in your preferences for each course. The low center of gravity shock mounting on the team DH keeps the weight low, while the "open" design of the seat mast really let's the end user get in and adjust the dials on their rear shock. This often feels like an afterthought on various bikes and makes us angry at how tough changes are to make on some bikes, but thankfully someone at Norco thought this through.

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While RockShox and Marzocchi are working together to keep the Team DH tracking through the bumps, it's the rest of the specs that keep it pinned wide open at the races. Race Face Atlas FR cranks drive the KMC chain through the SRAM X.O rear derailleur and cassette. The cassette is mounted to DT Swiss' 440 hub (there is a reason why Sam Hill and Greg Minnaar run these - they are fast hubs) and should you need to brake, the Avid Elixir CR brake will put the power down and slow you up in a hurry. The ease of use featured on the Elixir CR brakes makes them the most user friendly brake that we've ever used to date.

Taco

Avid Elixir CR Brakes and SRAM X.0 Rear Derailleur:

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The contact points (hands, feet, butt as well as tires to terra firma) are well put together too. Kenda's Nevegal tire is well liked by many riders and is one of the few 2.35" tires that is available in a DH casing. Speaking of DH casings, it is a pleasure to see that Norco chose to go this route over what we typically see with companies spec'ing 2.5", single ply casing tires that are as useless on a DH course as single ply toilet paper is when you have an upset stomach. The Kenda Nevegal tires are mounted to custom anodized blue Alex Supra D rims - how cool it that! While one off colors are bad ass looking, it does make it tough to find a replacement should you wreck a rim in a rock garden or a jump gone wrong.


At your hands, you'll find a set of Sunline lock on grips that are affixed to a Sunline V1 bar (29.5 inches wide) and the bar is mounted to a Sunline DM stem. Seeing the direct mount stem and wide bars makes you know that this "stock" bike has it going on and that who ever spec'd it probably races too. The downside to the white grips is that they turn caramel colored once your dirty paws touch them. I would have spec'd a black grip or another color to better match up, but really that's just nit picking.


Your butt should have no complaints about the WTB Silverado saddle either. This has been the saddle of chose for the past few season of the Pinkbike.com DH team. Norco has more pull and got their saddles fully customized to match the top tube graphics - such a sick tie in. I wonder who we can talk to about PB saddles? Ti rails means that this is a light and race ready seat. Just another point where weight was saved on the overall spec.


The Wellgo B065 pedals have also been touched with the ano blue wand to match other key parts on the bike. While the B065 spins freely and is proportionally proper for a nice flat pedal (thin top to bottom and not too wide), the mixture of small and large pins as opposed to set screws is my complaint. We removed a few of the larger pins and felt that the traction improved, but would have been happier with long set screws or long pins that are all the same size at the tip. But damn they look good!

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For the past few seasons I have been watching who is willing to step out there and really put an effort into their bike spec and who was holding back with an alright parts offering on their frame. The Norco Team DH is a factory as they come:

Specifications
Release Date	2009
Price	$7250
Travel	199mm-227mm
Rear Shock	Marzocch i World Cup w/ carbon air can, 9.5" x 3"
Fork	RockShox World Cup
Headset	Sunline 1.5" Reducer integrated
Cassette	Sram DH PG-970, 9 speed, 11-26
Crankarms	RaceFace Atlas FR 170mm
Chainguide	E-Thirteen LG1
Bottom Bracket	Shimano Saint 68 mm
Pedals	CNC alloy, sealed bearing, blue anodized, steel pins
Chain	KMC Super Light CP silver 9 speed
Rear Derailleur	Sram X-0, 9 spd, short cage
Shifter Pods	Sram X-0 trigger, 9 speed rear
Handlebar	Sunline V-1 711 mm sm / 745 mm m/l, 19 mm rise, 31.8mm
Stem	Sunline direct mount for Boxxer, 31.8mm, 50mm extension
Grips	Sunline lock on grip., white / grey
Brakes	Sram Elixer CR, 8” rotor
Hubs	DT 440, 150 x 12mm, 9 spd, sealed bearings
Spokes	DT Swiss Super Comp stainless black 2.0 / 1.7 / 1.8
Rim	Alex Supra D welded, 32 hole anodized blue
Tires	Kenda Nevegal 26 x 2.35, Stick E rubber, CAP casing
Seat	WTB Silverado custom cover, titanium rail, white base
Seatpost	Truvativ Team post double bolt, 27.2 mm, polish silver

Compare to other DH/Freeride Bikes

Enough information already, here is the Team DH in action:

Dexter Robinson on his Norco Team DH (film by Faultline Media):

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Eric Pauwels in action on the 2009 Norco Team DH, photos by Adrian Marcoux:


To learn more about the Norco Team DH and other Norco bikes, please visit their web site at Norco.com or check them out here in the Product section of Pinkbike.

Happy Trails,
Ty