Gracey Hemstreet, Lucas Cruz and Mark Wallace have been testing an all-new prototype aluminum downhill bike from Norco, that includes a 6-bar linkage suspension format. And, Lucas Cruz simply gained the Canadian Downhill Nationwide Champs aboard his. Right here’s what we’ve gleaned to date.
Norco’s Prototype 6-Bar Linkage Downhill Bike
Till now, Gracey Hemstreet, Lucas Cruz and Mark Wallace have been piloting the Norco Vary DH at UCI Downhill World Sequence occasions, which is basically a long-travel model of the Vary Enduro Bike, tailored for the demanding tracks with a 200mm journey dual-crown fork and an extended stroke shock. Now, it appears, the staff is to profit from a devoted downhill bike that runs an all-new suspension design.
Additionally, that 200mm fork is sporting some not-so-sneaky RockShox Blackbox decals, suggesting there’s some prototype stuff occurring inside this Boxxer. Extra on that down under.
Bidding farewell to the linkage-driven single-pivot of the Aurum HSP, and the four-bar linkage of the Norco Vary, the as-of-yet un-named prototype sees a 6-bar linkage design, whereby the primary pivot is positioned excessive on the seat tube. Certainly, Norco is sticking with a high-pivot, seemingly very proud of the bulk rearward axle path it delivers.
It does in fact imply that an loafer pulley is required to route the chain near that predominant pivot, dissociating conflicting forces from the drivetrain and suspension – i.e., decreasing pedal kickback. On the prototype, an loafer pulley positioned concentric to the pivot, is utilized – with 22 enamel, it is rather massive by present business requirements.
Solely the Nicolai Nucleon 16 with the Lal Bikes Supre Drive runs an loafer pulley this massive, in a presumed bid to scale back friction.
On the Norco prototype’s linkage, we depend seven pivots, when you embrace the one on the quick yoke (darkish blue) that’s driving the shock. The shock is positioned very low within the body, pushed by that yoke that’s itself pushed by a hyperlink (orange) that can rotate counter-clockwise about the primary pivot because the bike is pushed by means of its rear wheel journey.
Related to that hyperlink, about two thirds of the way in which up its size, is a bar (pink) that {couples} the motion of the decrease linkage (blue) to the orange hyperlink. It strikes by means of house because the decrease linkage (which importantly is not articulating a couple of BB concentric pivot) extends away from the entrance triangle to increase the bike’s efficient rear-center size as it’s pushed by means of its journey. And, let’s not neglect there’s a pivot on the chainstay, as effectively.
I shan’t be commenting on what sort of kinematic is prone to come up from such a format, however it appears to work properly with each air and coil shocks. Lucas Cruz simply gained the Canadian Nationwide Champs aboard this prototype Norco, sprung by a RockShox air shock operating a really, very massive air can – as in comparison with the modestly-sized air can we see on the Tremendous Deluxe Final Air Shocks, that’s. In the meantime, 2nd place Mark Wallace‘s bike was coil-sprung.
Additionally noteworthy is {that a} Norco Growth Engineer concerned within the creation of this bike, Kirk McDowall, crammed third place on that very same podium. Chapeau.
Sadly, Gracey Hemstreet suffered a suspected head damage, and didn’t full a race run.
The snippets of data we’ve collated from the Norco Manufacturing facility Group’s social media point out that the staff can be switching to this new bike for the remainder of the Downhill World Sequence, kicking off in Pal Arinsal, Andorra, on the twenty fourth August.
Again to that prototype RockShox Boxxer Blackbox DH fork for a fast second… We already spied it at Lenzerheide, however this good set of Norco photographs provides us a extra detailed look. We spy a brand new damper cap that doesn’t say Charger anymore and has each HSC & LSC marks on it. Plus, there’s a newly relieved higher crown, extra decrease crown machining, and each get forward-facing bolts.
Till then!
