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Today is the last business day before the 2011 Norco Product Launch. The last bikes are being built, the photos have been taken and the truckloads of gear are ready to be moved from Norco HQ down to the Pinnacle Hotel in North Vancouver. With the top dealers, international distributors, media, and many many more coming out for the launch, it all kicks off Monday. Check back here on early next week night for daily launch updates, then the full line of bikes will start popping up around the internet on Tuesday. Do a quick search for “2011 Norco Bikes” and see what comes up. There is lots to tell and lots to see, let’s just say that some of the bikes are pieces of ART.

Building the last bikes

all the photos have been taken

Show Bikes Ready to go

Demo bikes ready to ride

moving bikes down 3 floors

Come on back Monday for launch site photos and a few peeks at the new bikes.

There are a lot of standards when it comes to bikes and the number seems to get significantly larger every year. Just look at Bottom Brackets over the past decade or so. We have Spanish BB, Euro BB and Mid BB, we have widths of 68mm, 73mm and 83mm. Mounting standards like Square taper, isis, octalink, Hollowtech II, Howitzer, GXP, and now BB30… I probably missed a couple as well.

Each and every one of these standards serves a purpose. They were each developed with the purpose of making the bike, lighter, stronger, faster or smoother. Over time this has meant that some have stuck, others have failed and we will likely see more coming soon.

This is not isolated to Bottom brackets either though. We have numerous standards for hubs, headsets, bars, stems, posts and more. I will do my best in this series of articles to clear up the most confusing of these.

Over the next couple of weeks I will be discussing the most common Mountain Bike Standards:

Hub Standards

• 135 x 10mm rear hubs
• 135 x 12mm rear hubs
• 142 x 12mm Syntace Rear Hubs
• 150 x 12mm rear hubs
• 9mm front hubs
• 15mm front hubs
• 20mm front hubs

Headset Standards

• 1 1/8″ Headsets
• 1 1/2″ Headsets
• 1 1/8-1 1/2 Tapered Headsets
• Integrated Headsets
• Semi-Integrated Headsets
• Standard Headset

Bottom Bracket Standards

• 68mm
• 73mm
• 83mm
• Octalink
• Isis
• GXP
• Hollowtech II
• BB30

WOW, that is a REALLY LONG list…..

Check back soon for the first installment.

Dustan

The 2010 Norco product launch took place this year in our own backyard, Vancouver BC. This stellar location boasted some of the best riding in the world but also showcased Vancouver, the 2010 Olympic City!

The Launch started off at the Sheraton Wall Center where retailers, distributors and media from around the world assembled to see the new lineup for 2010. The evening kicked off with a Ryan Leech Demo. Ryan never dissapoints and with a little bit of improv-trials he even used some of the local art in the show. That was not planned . . . .

Day two of the launch involved bike presentations and a ride on Vancouver’s North Shore. Riding some of the classic trails was a real eye opener as there are not many places around the world where the riding is this good.

The third day of the launch was busy on bikes. Starting off with an Urban ride around Downtown Vancouver lead by Ryan Leech and Dylan Korba kicked it off. The bikes on the ride ranged from hybrid commuters to fixies, electric bikes to trials bikes. There was a taste of everything along the ride. Riding through the false creek area, Ryan and Dylan were on entertainment duty while the rest of us enjoyed the scenery and experienced the Cycling lanes on the Burrard St. Bridge. Way to go Vancouver on opening this up to cyclists!.

After the Urban ride and a quick lunch we headed off to Burnaby Mountain, home of Simon Fraser University for a taste of All Mountain terrain. Burnaby is a great area to ride offering a little bit of everything. It was a beautiful day, great trails, and a BBQ waiting at the end. The perfect end to a great launch.

Check out more photos of the Launch at flickr.com

See coverage of the 2010 launch and the new bikes at:

Make like a bird and head south. . . .

The upcoming Norco road trip through California is building momentum. As the trip comes together the anticipation builds for some great riding and hopefully a little bit of warmth. This is a common hope, Darcy Turenne has decided to hop on board and join Ryan and I for the trip.

On January 25th Ryan, Darcy and I will be climbing into the Team Van and heading across the border. Our first stop will be riding in Santa Cruz with the Crew from mtbr.com. After spending a day in the area, we will move on to the Valencia area, home of Decline, Mountain Bike and Mountain Bike Action. Then finally through LA to Santa Ana where lies Bike Mag and National Geographic Adventure.

It is always exciting to mountain bike in a new area. The exhilaration of an unknown trail, the excitement of a new peak. I hope to share this adventure with you through a daily post. Be sure to check back Jan. 25th – Feb. 1 for a daily post.

Have any questions for the mags? Post a question and I will find you an answer!

Dustan