Trade Titans: Pete Stace-Smith - Part II Added!

Trade Titans will be our effort to introduce you to some of the masochistic bike zealots who shape the the industry. In our first feature, we chat about the early days with the venerable Pete Stace-Smith.

Part I HERE…

Part II HERE…

I had the pleasure of meeting SS a couple years back and was impressed with his approachability, honesty and openness. Great to see some kudos thrown to those behind the curtain, and Norco producing some interesting bikes of late.

He's great and find the time to organise one of my favourite trail races with the best snacks.

Any my dog loves his Norco Bandana

Ripped up some laps with him at WBP about a decade ago. Watched in awe as this 'old fart' nose-wheelied (while turning on) the rock face that follows the rock drop on Schleyer. Damn. Great stories and I look forward to more posts.

Great article! Nice to see some history.

Having ridden with him a few times I can attest age doesn't matter! at least for him!

Met Pete and some other Norco folks a few years back, randomly, in Moab. Was on a Solo trip, ran into them at the bottom of Amassa Back. Ended up riding it and the until-that-day unknown to me Rockstacker off-shoot. Was a most excellent ride!

I don't think I've met anyone that was as stoked on riding bikes and making sure everyone was having just as much fun as he does.

Part two has been added here…

Pete just works there, he doesn't own the place does he? Who does own Norco?

As a complete newbie I was invited to join Pete and a gang of guys for a trip to Moab in 1990. I was gob-smacked by the country side, slick rock, trails, desert, and the riding ability of Pete and the gang. A real playground that Pete had discovered and wanted to share with anybody who was in for a 23 hour drive and a full week of riding. Pete always had the biggest pack and seemed to have a spare part for anything that broke on the trail. If he didn't have the part he would come up with something that would get you back to town. Pete greets everyone with a genuine smile. His passion is having fun on two wheels and sharing that with as many people as possible. I've now had more than 20 trips with Pete to Moab… and looking forward to more.

"I swear the average person now spends more on communication than what a really good bike upgrade would cost every year. Sadly, flat screen TVss are probably a bigger competitor to Norco than some bike brands are."

Sad for the industry, good for the trails?

A few things that I have adopted from PeteSS. Pack all the parts you need in order to get your self riding. Wear a big pack to clean up the trail garbage that others leave behind - this increases your trail Karma. Smile lots and ride forever:)

Way to go Pete.