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10/06/2008
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2006 Norco Team DH
Another overhaul makes for a new ride
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Words and photographs by Corey Anderson
Mountain bikes are driven by change. Manufacturers have to constantly be changing and improving their product in order to remain at the front of the pack.
Norco Performance Bikes has embraced this concept and it drives the development of their
bikes. Every year their line of bikes evolves to meet the changing demands of riders,
trails and riding styles. The 2006 Norco Team
DH is an example of a bike that has evolved since it first hit the trails in 2001.
I've had the opportunity to swing a leg over almost every generation of this
model, which has given me an appreciation of the changes and progress made
with the bike. Several months ago, I unpacked
one of the first 2006 models to hit the dirt and once again it was apparent that the guys at Norco have been listening to rider input.
On the stand
The first thing about the bike that jumps out is the new colours and graphics.
Some of the complaints about the 2005 bike were the loud graphics and the single
colour choice. Norco tweaked in both areas by offering a new
anodized flat black finish and a harder to find, limited production white (paint)
frame. The graphics now have a more subdued look to them, losing some of the
decaling to slim stripes that flow across the frame and seat mast.
It's a cleaner finish that still has enough flair to look fast.
Just add water and give it plenty of sunlight. |
The seat mast has followed the front triangle and now uses hydra-formed tubing.
This allows the use of lighter, even-wall thickness material to save weight
without sacrificing strength, and it gives the frame a more flowing profile.
The rear end has retained the 150 x 12mm hub and replaceable rear mech hanger. The non-drive side dropout is now threaded, providing both a more simple
and solid interface. The frame has shed some extra material where it was not
required in the dropouts and yoke area to make the bike just over
one pound lighter than the '05 version.
Rider feedback has dictated some changes to the frames geometry. The head tube
has been shortened by 5mm to drop the front-end height and increase stand-over
height. The head angle has been slackened to allow adjustment down to 64.5°.
One of the more significant changes, however, is the bottom bracket height, which was raised by just over half an inch to 14.5".
The bike still comes in two sizes, a small/medium and a medium/large. The stock set-up now assumes the larger frame will be under a heavier rider,
and it's sprung accordingly; the opposite is done with the smaller offering.
This is a nice level of attention to detail that is often overlooked.
The Build
In terms of quality, you would be hard-pressed to top the component spec on the
'06 Team DH. Everyone has their favourites for certain parts, but when you look
at the quality level of this build, you're going to have a very hard time beating
it.
Suspension is handled by Marzocchi's
top-of-the-line 8" travel 888 RC2X, which features external high and low
speed compression, preload and rebound, and new flat low-ride crowns. The
rear end retains the proven VPS four-bar Horst Link, featuring an adjustable
8" or 9" of smooth, solid travel, controlled by a Fox DHX 5.0
rear shock.
Truvativ Holzfeller cranks and a Howitzer external bearing
bottom bracket help put the power down. An e.13 SRS guide keeps you gliding
over the rough stuff and your chain where it's supposed to be. |
Threaded drop out and reduced weight |
The rock-solid
performance and power of the Shimano Saint disc brakes let you concentrate on your line and not worry
about the next corner. The drivetrain on the DH is as close to Formula One as
mountain bikes can get at this point. A SRAM Black Box carbon fibre X.O shortcage
rear mech handles the shifting, and a SRAM carbon fibre X.O trigger shifter will
makes you feel as though you are shifting an F-1 car as you bang through the
gears. Truvativ Holzfeller bars keep you pointed in the right direction, and
steering is solid and smooth with a Marzocchi integrated stem and a Chris King
Steelset headset.
Shifting doesn't get any better |
Attention to detail is key, and
Norco didn't overlook any of the little details when spec'ing this bike, with
ODI lock-on grips, a titanium-railed SDG Bel-Air saddle, and Crank Brothers
50/50 pedals giving you confidence in all of your contact points.
Alex Supra
D rims roll on dual Hadley Racing sealed bearing hubs, which have earned
a well respected name for themselves as being some of the most reliable
hubs on the market, and very easy to service when it's time for a tune up.
Traction is handled by dual 26"x2.5" Kenda Nevegal tires. |
Oh, you are dirty…
I'm 5'11 and 175 pounds. Our test bike is a small/medium, and fits me comfortably.
Sizing is the same as the 2005 bike that we tested last year, so I was instantly
at home in the cockpit. The stock rear spring on the small/medium is a 450lb.
and the 888 RC2X was set up with stock springs and oil heights.
I set the volume
adjustment on the rear shock to one full turn in from the maximum, and set the
air pressure to 150psi. I set the fork at four turns of preload per side, and five turns of low speed compression and five turns of high speed compression to start.
I set the rebound about 10 turns in to get the fork rebounding at a controlled
rate. The rear end features both a travel adjustment and a bottom bracket /
head angle adjustment, which I ran in 9" and as low / slack as possible.
This was a good starting point for me.
Dropping in. || Photo: Keith White |
Coming off the 2005 bike, the first thing I noticed was the rider positioning
was different. The lower front end puts your weight forward and into a more
aggressive riding position. On the trail, this translates into a significantly
different feel in corners. With more weight naturally over
the front tire, the bike really digs in and you feel more centred over the bike. As a result, you can push it harder into corners, with a more predictable feel. It no longer felt like I was hanging off the back
of the bike when I was coming out of hard, fast corners.
The slightly higher bottom bracket is something that I began to appreciate
after several rides. Although the change is minor, it seems to be just enough
to get your pedals over most of the rough stuff when you're on the gas. This
is a nice improvement, as you don't have to focus as much on timing your pedal
strokes in the gnarl, and can decicate your attention to getting back up to speed. There doesn't feel
like there is a significant difference in cornering or high-speed stability
due to the higher BB, but that added height is likely compensated for by the lower front end.
The 888 RC2X is a significantly
different fork than last year's. The two biggest gripes with the
previous fork were the overly tall axle-to-crown height, and the fork's tendency to dive in heavy braking and cornering.
Both of those characteristics have been improved with the RC2X. The flat
crowns drop the front end significantly, which racers will appreciate. The
low-speed compression lets you tune out fork dive, and combined with the
high-speed compression, the fork feels more damped than it has in the past. That gives the front end of the DH a more controlled feel, with better traction and positioning.
Externally adjustable preload is a nice feature, and is something that
can now be done on the trail without tools, a feature that the previous
888s lacked. This fork feels well balanced with the Fox DHX 5.0 rear shock,
which is as supple as they get. The DHX 5.0 offers all the pedalling efficiency
of the
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Stealth low key finish. || Photo:
Scott Velez |
competition, and is arguably an easier shock to set up right. It's also the lightest coil shock on
the market.
The 45.2" wheelbase on the Team DH is right at home in tight, technical
trails. It's a DH bike but it doesn't feel like a Winnebago when the trail gets
slow and tight, which is ideal for a lot of the terrain in B.C. The 17.5"
chainstays let you pick the front end of the bike up easily for drops or manualing
through uneven trail. The large suspension pivots, combined with a solid frame
and a 150mm x 12mm rear hub, make for a rock-solid ride in difficult
terrain and stability in the wide-open fast sections. The bike
is able to silently suck up hard landings and compressions comfortably, leaving you feeling that the bike took everything you threw at it with a smile.
Has it been that long?
Buying a top-of-the-line mountain bike will often cost you more than what you
might spend on a dirtbike, or the car you carry it around on. When you dig that
deep for your ride, how it will treat you later in life is one of the most important
things to consider. Durability, low maintenance and reliability are just as
important as ride quality, and are key factors in overall performance. There
isn't much good in riding a bike for several weeks and then reporting back on
it, because the bike is still going to be in close to new shape. So we here at nsmb.com log serious time on a bike to get an idea of how it's going to measure up in
the long run.
Roger that, you are clear to land.
|| Photo: Stuart Kernaghan
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Norco bikes have earned a reputation for standing the test of time. I've
been running the DH since December of 2005, riding several times a week
in some of the harshest weather conditions that B.C. has to offer. Conditions that many other places never even see.
I've crashed and burned, pushed, pedalled, jumped and
ripped down some of my favourite trails on this bike. Despite
the water, mud and high mileage, the Team DH remains in excellent condition.
It still shifts like new, the rear end still glides through its travel
and all of the pivots remain tight and silent.
After only cleaning this bike and doing a once-over on the bolts every
several rides (as you always should), the bike has laughed off everything
I've thrown at it.
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With the exception of the odd scar from crashing and loading it onto the shuttle wagon, the
anodized finish and printed graphics remain unscathed and looking like new.
This is what's expected of a high-end bike, and the Team DH does not disappoint.
Thinking forward
Overall, the bike has left me very little to criticize. At 45lbs. the DH
is not a featherweight, but it is equal to or lighter than some of the other
top performers such as the Intense M3, Giant Glory and the Specialized Demo
9, to name a few. Weight weenies can switch to tubeless tires and lighter pedals
for a cost efficient means to drop a few pounds.
The Team DH is a purebred race bike. Riders who expect this bike to excel while
grinding uphill alongside their buddies on the fire-road will be disappointed.
It was built to go fast, but in the other direction. The 40T chain ring will
be fast for some of the wide-open trails at a lift-accessed park, but I would prefer to see a 38T ring on the bike for
better acceleration in technical terrain.
Some of major manufacturers have explored different means of rear suspension
travel via different linkage systems - such as floating pivot point from Giant, Intense and Santa Cruz, or Iron Horse's DW Link - but Norco has decided to stick with what has
worked best for them: the VPS four-bar rear end. If it isn't broken, you don't have to fix it.
The MSRP of the Team DH has gone up by $76 CDN, but when you look at the
changes made to the components, you are getting considerably more component
quality for the extra cash.
Looking good after a rough winter. |
The verdict is in
When you stack the Team DH beside the competition in this category, you are going to be pressed
to beat the ride, components and overall quality for the price. Not a single
part has been overlooked, and it's the kind of bike that you can wheel out of
the bike shop and onto the trails without having to upgrade a single thing.
Racers will appreciate the bikes fast geometry and balanced suspension,
and running the same level of components as the guys winning World Cup races.
Every aspect of this bike is the product of real-world rider experience and
feedback, and is designed to be at home to some of the most demanding terrain on the planet.
The 2006 Norco Team DH can be found at your local Norco dealer for an MSRP
of CDN$5975.
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