While a lot of the tech talk at the first World Cup downhill race of 2017 has centered on 29'' wheels, there's also plenty of other new bits and bikes to check out, including the best look yet at Norco's new downhill race rig that Sam Blenkinsop and the rest of the team will be racing aboard this weekend. I spent the day at Norco's HQ back in February to
get the lowdown on the yet to be named bike's development, but the engineers behind the fresh design were reluctant to spill the beans and tell me much in the way of actual details and facts.
Norco is still shy about sharing any particulars like travel, geometry, and availability, but Pinkbike photographer Ross Bell did shoot some pretty photos of the new, 27.5'' wheeled bike for us to look at. The prototype at the Lourdes World Cup appears to be more polished than the all-black versions that we spotted previously, although that might be down to the sharp looking, glossy red paint job of the team bike.
There's no word on suspension travel, but the prototype's single pivot, linkage-activated design features an extremely high main pivot that sits well above the chainring, and an integrated pulley and guide setup routes the chain up and around the main pivot in order to deal with the chain growth, pedal kickback, and anti-squat associated with such a design.
The layout might look similar to Commencal's DH bike, but it only takes a second to see that the linkage on the Norco works in a very different way to what's found on the Supreme DH V4.2. When questioned about the apparent similarities, Norco explained that their design features some unconventional suspension characteristics. ''The kinematics are so different in a way, and the forces that they generate are really high,'' they said of the design.
MENTIONS:
@norcobicycles
I waited 19 years to upgrade my BB7 and it looks like I've found my next bike!
...and that can only be a good thing
This one is a high pivot linkage driven single pivot, which makes it a bit different. Definitely not unique.
What does it much more unique is that the suspension design is such, that there are huge forces in the linkage. Which is, you know, really smart when you have to make things durable, cheap and light. Best thing you can make in fact! (/sarcasm)
(but it really is quite unique in that regard though, no sarcasm there.)
EDIT: at least packaging a 29er swingarm into this design, with it being a high pivot, will be dead simple. Just tuck it in all the way to the BB, it will swing outwards away from the BB, seat tube and the seat. Job done.
FYI: www.balfa.wooyek.pl/balfa-2step-hd-dh.html
Btw, I know that all these designs are different at some levels : shock mounting position, wheel axle path, leverage ratio and curve... Also, on a patent standpoint it's quite easy to differentiate each one, which DW must have done for a few as we see his name everywhere nowadays .
Fox colors would only detract
Brooklyn racelink as well as my darkcycle.
That's supposedly an issue which seems plausible, there is much less variation in the front-rear weight bias as ordinary low pivot bikes move through the travel.
But like i said, it's logical (and confirmed), that high pivot bikes are monsters when going over square edge hits.
I really do want to try a bike like that though.
0:40
Cannondale and KHS.
Ialsosellnorcos#
www.pinkbike.com/photo/8550320
220mm rear travel
Adjustable rear wheel distance
You can lower more the seat
Nice progressivity
---------Norco :
No adjustable rear wheel distance
To much progressivity ( just look at the linkage)
---------Why rear wheel distance is important ?
In high pivots the rear wheel distance increases a lot so you might want to adjust that.