Red Bull Rampage, Utah
Norb's Specialized Demo 8
WORDS Mike Levy
PHOTOS Paris Gore
The Coastal Crew's Kyle Norbraten, affectionately known as "Norbs" by many, threw down a run at last year's Red Bull Rampage that, in most people's minds, should have netted him a higher placing than the tenth spot awarded to him at the end of the day. And while the Canadian would obviously like to improve on that result, he is adamant that for him this unique event is about more than where he sits in the judges' eyes. "I am not that concerned about first place or last place," Norbs told us. "It's just putting down the line and riding that stuff." He'll be looking to do exactly that aboard his Specialized Demo 8 that has been assembled around a stock aluminum frame, although there are certainly a few components on the black and day-glo yellow rig that are about as far from stock as possible. | Norbs' Demo 8 details • Aluminum Specialized Demo 8 frame • Rear wheel travel: 200mm • Wheel size: 26" • RockShox BoXXer w/ Charger damper • RockShox Vivid Air R2C shock • Specialized Roval DH rims |
| I'd like to put the whole run together; make down top to bottom. It's a little nerve racking with the line I've picked out but I feel that it suits my style. It has nice flow, big hits... trying to throw some tricks in there will be the hardest part, but it looks good and it's coming together. My goal is to make it down the mountain and get to that finish line in one piece! - Kyle Norbraten, Coastal Crew |
Suspension: Like a lot of riders at this year's Rampage event, Norbraten is running air suspension on both the front and back of his bike, a decision that would have turned heads just a few short years ago but one that is now considered normal. And while weight might be a good reason for a top racer to make such a choice, there are other reasons for a rider like Norbraten to employ an air sprung setup on his Demo 8, mainly adjustability and how an air spring ramps up inherently as the fork or shock runs deeper into its stroke. This quality can be tuned by way of adding volume spacers as required, thereby reducing the air volume of the chamber and adding even more ramp-up to the travel. Norbaten's BlackBox tuned Vivid Air R2C shock benefits from a stiffer compression tune as well, an upgrade required by the terrain that he is riding, and he also told us that he runs his suspension with a slightly slower rebound stroke for more control when landing large moves. Up front, he is one of the few Rampage competitors who have been given access to RockShox's Charger damper that has been installed in his air
sprung BoXXer. Being part of the BlackBox program also means that his machine is looked after by Shawn Cruikshanks (
shown below bleeding the Charger damper out of Norbraten's fork), a man known as the 'Wizard' for his mechanical know how, and a longtime SRAM mechanic who is often tending to bikes belonging to some of the world's top racers.
Components: We've seen a few Rampage competitors running SRAM's X-Sync chain rings on their bikes without any sort of chain guide, but Norbraten's rig employs a more traditional setup in the shape of an X0 chain guide from Truvativ, complete with a bolt-on guard to protect the 104 BCD X01 chain ring. A set of X0 carbon cranks and some Specialized Bennies pedals (
complete with custom "Coastal Crew" graphics) round out his drivetrain. Four piston X0 Trail brakes from Avid are used to slow the bike down, and his Specialized tires are installed on a set of Roval DH rims.
| I do not feel like anybody has really been as rewarded as much as they should be. - Kyle Norbraten, Coastal Crew |
www.thecoastalcrew.comwww.specialized.com
Good luck tomorrow Kyle! Ride safe!
That is all.
--> Because it's two tired!!!
do all demo 8's have this?
just interested in how altering a bolt (not its position could increase/decrease the speed of a compression/rebound
You deserve 100 likes for that!!
Maybe that's just me tho, good luck to Norbs!