July 25th, 2008 by 
adam
Just finished the first day of “Norco School”. I’ve got the spec guide for all the bike if anyone has any questions.
Some of the main focuses of Norco for the ‘09 series are
- Lighter build on all bike where possible. Slope style, dh, Fluid, Fluid LT, XC bikes, Shore bikes. Park bikes like A-line are still on the heavier side so they can be abused more.
- Color - Norco has worked with a bunch of manufacturers, Funn, Marzocchi, Truvative to create a full package bike that works great and look good too. Some of the colors are out there though, but that is mainly for the gravity folks. All Mtn riding like the Fluid and Fluid LT has good coloring but much more tame. Speaking of the Fluid LT bikes, that is Leech’s do it all bike while traveling.
- Small tweaks here and there to lighten the bike, make parts stronger. Like the 250 now has an integrated seat post clamp in the toptube. Super clean looking, super bmx influence.
Be back with a ride report on some of the new bikes and pictures later.
Daily questions answered.
The name of the dh bike is Team DH. It is 37.5lbs stock build, but, that is with Saint cranks, 68mm BB. You could for sure switch to something lighter. Though, that wait is with 2.35 Kenda tires.
The Empire 5 is $3650
Hey jordan, who is J.W.?
(To give a quick props to Dustin, this one man has been keeping our bikes, like 40 of them, working for a week, with a smile! This guy is awesome.)
(The ‘09 4hun.)
(the new Shore One, something strange?)
(Shore Two and Three - man these have got some color.)
(’09 250 - man this is one good looking bike!)
(integrated seat post tensioner)
(’09 Rampage - interesting color choice?)
(CCXTwo)
(The 6 series - light freeride - Norco has done a lot of tweaks to lighten up this bike. I hope to ride one tomorrow to get a feel and let you all know.)
(some more of the color from the new hardtail bikes.)
What I road today:
I started off today on a xxxx and what can I say, this bike is sweet. At $3225 it is a pretty good package, but, the Juicy 3’s don’t really cut it, and the Marz 4x is just so so. But I road that this bike all the way down from the top of the mountain. Some Freight Train down do some steep gnarly rollers on so crazy trail and some harsh single track, this bike, though bouncy, rocked it. The Intense Micro Knoby tires are really sick! Ben Boyko and D were stocked to check this bike out when I met up with them at the lift, almost more stocked then on the 5…but not quite.
After the xxxx (I busted the drop-out) I got a hold of the new A-Line for ‘09. Well, it was heavy, not too thrilled to ride this bike for a couple hours, but, I am sure with better suspension tuning it would have been better. Unfortunately, it’s heavy. At $3700 it could use a bit of a diet, but the parts are solid. An A-line park with a 66 up front will be sick.
Tomorrow I should be able to get on a Six, Shore, 5 and a Fluid LT to give a report.
4am - Well it is pitch black outside and cold. Time to get up and get to the airport. For some reason I thought a 7:45am flight was a smart idea. What was I thinking?
Landed - Drove to Whistler - got some pre-press shots of the bikes and of course had some fun! Here are a few shots - more to come later - stats for the new bikes to come as well. One thing that for sure, Norco is definitely stepping up the game as far as color goes! Some of these new bikes just scream “HEY LOOK AT ME!”
(some road construction for the 2010 winter games - slowed the trip from the air port down a bit.)
(Norco is going for the bling this year with the gravity bike colors. the xxxx)
(the Vixa 6″ travel freeride bike for the ladies. basically a Norco 6 with shorter stand over, top tube, and pretty much everything. It has some great geo design and is very light weight)
(new dh bike, 38lbs stock build. unfortunately there is no demo model here to test - very sad - but what a sweet looking bike!)
(Empire 5 - Ben’s new bike. basically a 5″ travel bmx bike. Norco did bring along test demo versions for this so I’ll let you know how it rides tomorrow.)
(bmx bikes are here - but we can’t demo them. Too bad, the skate park here at Whistler is killer.)
Follow MTBR as we cover the Norco ‘09 product launch at Whistler July 16-18th. Daily update, videos, blog post and forum coverage.
We’ll be covering the new “5″ and there is rumor of a ladies specific freeride bike! How cool is that! Something super sick for the ladies for sure!
If you have questions or comment post’em up and I’ll do my best to answer or get an answer for you.
In the mean time - a snap shot of the 5 from MTBR coverage of Sea Otter ‘08 and a video
embedPlayer(1504364525,”single_title_2″,0 ,0 ,1507870762)
July 11th, 2008 at 7:36 am
Norcos are sick! I’m glad to see more shops like Gearhead selling them.
July 12th, 2008 at 10:58 am
how much if 18oo-2000 i’ll bye it
July 17th, 2008 at 9:55 am
hey you should post a pic of the 09 rampage
July 17th, 2008 at 11:26 am
i would like to see the 09 4hun i ride the 08 and if the 09 looks as good as these ones i might buy a new one. i will likely be getting the empire5 as well
July 17th, 2008 at 12:06 pm
What is the name of the new DH bike?
July 17th, 2008 at 3:28 pm
Can I have pictures of Norco’s most expensive road bikes.
Thanks
July 17th, 2008 at 3:30 pm
Can I have pictures of most expensive carbon road bike.
Thanks
July 17th, 2008 at 5:28 pm
Can I have pictures of the Dirt/Street bikes?
Thanks
July 17th, 2008 at 6:09 pm
Is the name of the new dh bike still the norco dh or is it something else and do you know how much the norco 5 will cost
Thanks
July 17th, 2008 at 7:21 pm
hey j.w. you could send me the parts list on the empire 5 thx
July 17th, 2008 at 11:51 pm
Nice, truvativ new gear box thingo on the shore and rampage.
July 18th, 2008 at 1:50 am
что за хрень
July 18th, 2008 at 4:25 am
When are they going to post the new bikes on their website? and what kind of tires are on the 250 (they’re kinda ugly)
July 18th, 2008 at 8:26 am
Mark -
I believe the tires on the 250 are a custom grey color for norco made by kenda. It actually, at least in my book, looks pretty good in real life. I’ve got highres images to upload later so you can take a look.
Not sure when they plan to have the new products on norco.com but I can ask.
-adam
July 18th, 2008 at 8:39 am
sorry about that i was refering to just wondering if i could get the parts list on the empire 5 or what ever it is called sorry
July 18th, 2008 at 9:12 am
jordan,
no worries, I’ll get the part list up tonight or tomorrow morning. I was just wondering, like, who is that?
July 18th, 2008 at 9:45 am
xc bikes????
July 18th, 2008 at 10:43 am
which one is the shore 2 and 3, i cant tell
July 18th, 2008 at 2:02 pm
Shore 2 is green, Shore 3 blue.
July 18th, 2008 at 4:25 pm
hey do you know when the empire five will be available?
thanks
July 18th, 2008 at 6:29 pm
Hey folks, I’ve answered some questions in the notes section on the post. I am going to have to wait for more specifics ono release dates/time frames.
Also I’ve got a request out to the head bike guy about any changes in ramping rates and other tech stuff I’ll post later. I have to say, these bikes all running the four-bar design have very different feels between them, some more livily than others. Most of this of course can be changed with tweaking the shox/fork - but kind of hard to fine tune that stuff when you ride 6 different bikes in 10hrs.
Look forward to a slide show of the highres images from Norco’s ‘09 line up and Mace ‘09 line up. FYI - the new Mace gear seems pretty sweet, they put a lot of thought into it even though their categories names for the clothing is kind of lame. But, I guess it helps though who don’t know know what kind of clothes you need for what type of riding conditions.
July 18th, 2008 at 9:12 pm
do you know the weight of the shores?
July 18th, 2008 at 10:09 pm
Can you post the specs for the regular A-Line? Do you have a prece and weight? Thanks!
July 19th, 2008 at 12:39 am
The bikes should be rolling out in the Fall as they come in and the website should be up Aug 31st.
July 19th, 2008 at 7:38 am
Would like to see what changes where made to the A-lines. Do the shore 2 & 3 have a new fork from Marzocchi? they kind of look Totem-ish.
Great review Mtbr.
July 19th, 2008 at 9:49 am
Hey Neil,
A-Line Park - fork - Marz 888RCV
A-Line - fork - Marz 888RCV
July 19th, 2008 at 1:43 pm
I’m keeping a bit of a blog here about any 09 norco gear I find..
Heaps of pics….
http://rotorbolts.com/clowns/index.php/topic,1164.0.html
Anyone know what the go with the aline dropout is? Will it be on the team dh also?
July 19th, 2008 at 5:25 pm
JB - I am looking at the notebook norco gave us and it looks like the drop out is going to be the way you see it in picture above. Pretty standard dropout.
July 22nd, 2008 at 12:06 am
thanks mate. is it on the team dh also?
July 22nd, 2008 at 10:03 am
whats the price on the rampage really want to no thanks!!!
July 22nd, 2008 at 10:12 am
hey, would like to know the weight and price of the rampage looks awsoooome this year really looking foward to biging one bin riding a norco since i was 3 years old lol theve really got ane awsome bike!!!
July 22nd, 2008 at 11:37 pm
it is not a road bike it’s a cyclocross bike.
July 23rd, 2008 at 9:43 am
hey PS who u repliying to man
July 23rd, 2008 at 9:51 am
and adam nevermind finding the price on the rampage sorry there was a change of plans and desided to get the sasquatch can u get the price on that thanx
July 23rd, 2008 at 10:18 am
I think “PS” is talking to me - He was right - the red “road” bike is actually a x-bike - got the name changed.
I am waiting to hear back from Norco about bike weights - I’ll email again. I am also waiting to hear about ramping rates for the different bikes and differences from last year.
Prices: (Please note - Norco did say prices may change throughout the year due to global supply and economic issues - so dont get all bent if something isn’t dead on.)
DH Team: $7100
Aline Park: $4750
Aline: $3700
Atomik: $3100
Shore 1: $5200
Shore 2: $3600
Shore 3: $2950
Six 1: $4450
Six 2: $3600
Six 3: $2650
Stryk: $2100
Bline: $1850
xxxx: $3225
Empire 5: $3650
Fluid LT 1: $6900
Fluid LT 2: $3600
Fluid LT 3: $2500
Fluid 1: $4150
Fluid 2: $2950
Fluid 3: $2180
Fluid 4: $1799
Faze 1: $5999
Faze 2: $3550
Faze 3: $2375
Ronin 1 (29er): $2125
Ronin 2 (29er): $1399
4Hun: $2200
Two50: $1895
One25: $1509
Ryde: $1200
Havoc: $1025
Rampage: $2599
Manik: $1725
Sasquatch: $1425
Bigfoot: $1075
Kompressor: $950
July 23rd, 2008 at 4:15 pm
thank adam and what about the sponsership thing i’m just wondering if i can even get sponcered at 13 years old and how i get there
July 23rd, 2008 at 4:41 pm
Derrick - your best is to go over sponsorship questions on the forums. You’ll find better answers there.
http://forums.mtbr.com/
July 24th, 2008 at 10:10 am
norco got some sick bikes this year but the price went up abit.
July 24th, 2008 at 5:24 pm
I am looking at purchasing 12-15 bikes for a commerial Op.,I’ve seen the Bigfoot,what other bikes at the bottom end of the range will suit with a view to price,ease to maintain, relability.I’m based in Oz.
Thanks for this great webpage, Graham
July 25th, 2008 at 9:19 am
Graham,
Not sure what to tell you - your best bet would be to contact Norco directly or a regional distributor.
good luck.
July 26th, 2008 at 5:38 pm
Hey Guys,
I was Wondering when the norco bikes were going to be available for purchase by publis… im looking forwards to buying the rampage though i was wondering if there are any other colour than the one here
http://reviews.mtbr.com/blog/norco-09-mtn-bikes-bmx-stock-images/
Thx,
Joey
July 28th, 2008 at 10:30 am
is the norco stryk have 26 inch tires
July 28th, 2008 at 11:24 am
“is the norco stryk have 26 inch tires”
in the norco book it says it comes w/ 26×2.35 kenda nevegals
July 28th, 2008 at 1:49 pm
Joey
The bikes should be releasing near the end of the year, late fall.
July 29th, 2008 at 8:10 am
Model / Weight in lbs
Team DH - 37.5lbs
A-line - 46lbs
A-line Park - 46lbs
Atomik - 42lbs
Shore 1 - 40lbs
Shore 2 - 43lbs
Shore 3 - 41lbs
Six 1 - 34lbs
Six 2 - 35lbs
Empire 5 - 34lbs
XXXX - 32lbs
Fluid LT 1 - 31lbs
Fluid LT 2 - 34.5lbs
Rampage - 33lbs
Manik - 35lbs
Sasquatch - 35lbs
Bigfoot - 34lbs
4_Hun - 30lbs
250 - 30lbs
125 - 32lbs
Vixa - 36.5lbs
Ari - 27lbs
July 30th, 2008 at 9:21 am
norco styk, weight please hope not over 35 cause theyres no resone for it to be that heavy
July 31st, 2008 at 10:04 am
i dont have the weight for the styk - sorry bro.
July 31st, 2008 at 10:39 am
Is the empire 5 going to be sold with any other cheeper componet sets or just the one for $3650. Thanks
July 31st, 2008 at 12:01 pm
I don’t believe that it will come with different/cheaper components.
August 13th, 2008 at 7:23 am
does anyone know whether the havoc will come in all the sizes or is it a one size fits all job? why do th do that with dj bikes, anyway?
August 13th, 2008 at 8:38 am
the havoc will come in S and M
August 13th, 2008 at 9:11 am
same with the 250?
September 5th, 2008 at 10:22 am
The A-Line bikes seem rather heavy. The $3150 Atomik is 42lbs but the $4750 A-Line PE is 46lbs! How can they make the A-Line so much heavier than the Team DH using the same frame? I know the rear triangle is different and the Team is air/air but 8.5lbs? Wow. Something has gone wrong there.
It seems that the Atomik is the bargain bike here.
October 28th, 2008 at 10:29 am
New bikes do not look cool. Norco 05-06 was best.
June 29th, 2009 at 7:48 pm
I’d like to have a Fliud LT… wowW!!