Product Test - Norco Team DH

Sep 5, 2002
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Based in BC's lower mainland, it's no surprise Norco bikes are developed and tested on the North Shore. While Norco's VPS line of bikes are certainly no newcomers to the marketplace, that doesn't mean the familiar monocoque frame design is stale. Rather than reinvent the wheel, Norco was wise enough to license and refine the Specialized Horst Link four bar linkage. Over the years, the frame's geometry has been tweaked, pivot bushings have given way to sealed bearings and material has been strategically added and removed to achieve a balance of strength, durability and sensible weight.


The Team DH features a 6061 monocoque frameset, variable travel (6.2"-7.875") controlled by Fox's venerable Vanilla RC 2.5" stroke rear shock and your choice of Marzocchi's Monster T or Shiver DC fork. The bike is also spec'd with an impressive array of top-shelf goodies like 8" Hayes brakes, 150mm spaced Hadley 12mm through axle rear hub and Formula 20mm front laced up to Intense Mag 30 rims, Maxxis Mobster tires, Race Face ISIS BB and cranks, Shimano rapidfire shifter and XTR rear derailleur, SRAM chain and cassette, Easton bar, Blackspire AS1 chainguide deep cup headset, FUNN seat, stem and pedals and Axiom seatpost.





Editors Note: In addition to some of our regular staff, the Team DH was tested by "Krazy J" John Taplin. After a serious crash that left John in hospital for the better part of a week without front teeth and requiring major reconstructive surgery, John was right back at it with a new bike and full face helmet going bigger than ever. We figured there was no rider more deserving of a test bike. Here's what John had to say...!




With the rear suspension set at 7.875", the Team DH test bike was tall, really tall. The BB was well over 15" high. At the suggestion of Krazy K, I set the rear suspension to 6.2" which lowered the BB by nearly an inch. This gave the bike a 65.5 degree head angle and made the bike super comfortable in technical rock sections, and surfing steeps at speed. The 4 bar linkage performed flawlessly, sucking up everything in sight. Like most monocoque designs, the VPS amplifies any sounds emanating from the bike, be the drivetrain or otherwise. While disconcerting at first, I quickly became accustomed to the bike's mechanical orchestra. A dirtjumper, the Team DH is not. The bike's height causes you to launch in a not-so-optimal trajectory off steep lips, but on speed launches, the bike was super stable in the air.




The Shiver fork on our test bike was an awesome DH fork that was responsive, tuneable and definitely race worthy. Unfortunately on steep, slow, technical trails it was quite flexy and the fork guards had a tendency to creak and slap off of drops and big hits. If your riding has you on slow, tight, technical trails with drops, the Monster T would be much better suited. For DH, I'd stick with the Shiver.




Most of the components held up fairly well. I found that the XTR derailleur was amazing right after it was set up, but it didn’t take long for it to get out of whack. This just may be that I'm used to riding a hardtail and I'm not used to the fact long travel bikes need a little more drivetrain TLC. The Hayes brakes worked just how you'd expect, amazing. Although the $12 pin that holds the lever in place fell out it's replacement also quickly disappeared. I switched to a stock Hayes 5mm allen bolt which worked flawlessly. The chainguide had a few major issues. Initially, the rear plate was set up too far away from the ring so the chain fell off easily. I threw some spacers in thinking that would help, but the chain continued to fall off (which didn’t help my DH times). I took the top Teflon guide off and the chain hasn’t fallen off since, as opposed to every run, interesting... Keep in mind mental set my bike up and wasn't too familiar with the Blackspire chainguide setup. Personally, I would swap the noisy Blackspire out for a quieter MRP or Evil guide when purchasing the Norco. After a full summer's worth of sessioning the local goods, the wheelset required no serious attention and the remaining parts held up admirably.




If you're looking for a bike that would be a good “freerider” but more importantly a fast racer, this bike would be an excellent investment. You'd be hard pressed to find any bike that could take as much abuse as the VPS and keep coming back for more. The Team DH is as much at home in the gnarl of the North Shore as it is on A-Line in Whistler. For 2003 the Team DH has been lowered significantly to make it even more stable and DH friendly. With a list price of $5599 Canadian with the Shiver and $150 less with the Monster T, the Team DH could very well be the most complete out-of-the-box DH bike available.

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