Tag Archives: bicycle

3000 Strong and Fighting for a Cure – The BC Ride

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The second Ride to Conquer Cancer of 2012 was another great success. Traveling from Vancouver BC to Seattle WA over 3000 riders collectively raised more than $11.2 Million. This sum of money is given to the BC Cancer Foundation in the search for a cure for Cancer. Through wind, rain, hills and flat tires these brave riders weathered the storm and fought through to the finish line. Everyone that participated in the ride did an amazing job. The physical, mental and emotional struggle of doing this 200+ km ride can be enough to work anyone to the breaking point. Despite the struggle, the feeling of crossing that finish line for friends, family and loved ones that have been affected by cancer, makes it all worthwhile

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Norco had a team of ten riders participating in the BC ride and together they raised nearly $40,000. The Norco team had a broad range of cyclists riding. From relatively green to veterans of the sport the comradery and support between team members was truly inspirational.

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One of many aspects that are remarkable about this event is the sheer number of bikes. More than 3000 riders means the same number of bikes. Bikes that need to be stored overnight and kept in working order for the entirety of the ride. While 240kms is a long way for one, between all these riders combined they rode nearly 800,000kms; that is literally the distance to the moon and back.

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Keeping a fleet of 3000 bikes running smoothly is no easy task. With Help from Obsession Bikes, Jamis, Van Cycle, Skiis & Bikes and La Bicycletta the bikes were tuned, dialed and ready to keep pedaling towards the finish line.

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Over the two days of fixing bikes the mechanics replaced around 500 tubes, 50 tires, 10 wheels, 20 sets of brake pads, 100 broken spokes and conducted countless other fixes repairs and adjustments. Thank you very much to all of the mechanics that helped the riders roll smoothly across the finish line. The team of wrenches finished up for the night at camp just before 10pm. They was back at it though before the rooster sounded at 6AM Sunday morning.

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The true heroes here are the riders. They each have their own story on why they are riding and why they are pushing onwards. It is the power of one and the sum of the collective that makes a difference in searching for a cure for Cancer. Thank you to the riders, the mechanics, the volunteers and the organizers for making this such a huge success. Together we can fight and find a cure for a disease that has touched nearly everyone in every corner of our world.

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A Brief History Through Time and Development

The 1992 Norco Rampage was the first Mountain bike to be engineered specifically for use with a suspension fork. Before this time, if a bike utilized front suspension there was a geometry tradeoff based on the elevated front end and slacked, tall geometry. This change was a big deal!

Looking at where bikes are today and this small modification some 20 years back seems almost inconsequential; but, looking at the bike as a whole, it is a series of these small changes that have made a world of difference. One change drives another, one advantage spurs more progress. Before you know it, we are looking at a whole different era of bicycles, technology and performance.

The Rampage in it’s original form may not seem relevant today but it now represents the  theory of Norco development. This bike came out of a need and desire for a performance suspension mountain bike. Through the development of one technology, others needed to change in order to get the most benefit out of the whole ensemble.
What started with a frame re-design ballooned into nearly every other aspect of the bike being replaced with something stronger, lighter, faster and in every way better. The Brakes went from Canti to V, then to disk. Shifting went from 7 through the range up to 10 speeds, steel became alloy or carbon. Each aspect of the bike is a symbol of the evolution the bicycle has taken. Each aspect of this bike represents an important step in the creation of your bike today.

Today, we look at a bike like the 2012 Norco Aurum and again we see the same principles driving development. Features such as hydroforming, tapered head-tubes and A.R.T suspension are all the result of a need or desire materialized on a bike. Thinking back to the original geometry change of the Rampage. This subtle yet racical change is again realized with the launch of Gravity Tune. Offering bikes with geometry tuned for the specific size of a rider seems like a no-brainer. Riders of different heights have different needs when it comes to geometry. Designing the Aurum with specific height and weight distribution characteristics for the rider seemed like a natural and necessary step.

Alberta Ride To Conquer Cancer – Thanks Again!

The 2011 Ride To Conquer Cancer Alberta edition is complete and we showed you the fun, weather and determination in an earlier post. One more video is ready from the weekend though. A compilation of Time-Lapse and photos here is a recap of the weekend’s event. Thank you to everyone that participated and to all the volunteers that made the event possible.

Riding to Conquer Cancer Alberta Style

The 2011 Ride To Conquer Cancer out of Calgary Alberta took place this weekend and was a roaring success. More than 2200 riders collectively raised more than $8.6 million towards finding a cure for cancer.

Congratulations to all the riders and thank you for making a difference. Here is a short video that shows the joy, torment and determination that a rider goes through in such an endeavor.

And a few photos to seal the deal.

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BC Ride To Conquer Cancer – Great Work!!!!

The British Columbia Ride To Conquer Cancer is the 2nd of 4 tours across Canada raising money in the search for a cure to cancer. For the BC ride, 2879 riders participated riding approximately 220kms from Vancouver BC to Seattle WA. These riders came together to raise an impressive $11.1 million. That averages out to nearly $4000 per person!

The ride down to Seattle was the wettest of the tours 3 year history. Riders fought through rain, cold and wind for 2 days in order to complete this epic and inspiring ride. Along the way, Norco was on location as the official Bike Tech for the event. Changing flat tires, replacing tires, fixing brakes, adjusting gears, truing wheels and anything else that came up along the way allowed the whole lot of participants to make it through to the finish line.

A big thank you to all the participants, volunteers, supporters and RTCC personnel for making this happen. You are the means to finding a cure! For more photos check out flickr.com/norcobikes

Next week is the Alberta edition of The Ride To Conquer Cancer so stay tuned for coverage of that event as well.

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Learning Sustainability From Those in Nairobi

Sustainability and bikes are two of the most congruent ideas since peanut butter and jam. Zero emissions, health benefits, affordability… The list goes on and on. While us North American-ites are slowly moving in this general direction, it is great to see other area of the world that are further along the embracement path. Check out this video, all the way from Nairobi Kenya.

Mountain Biking Through The Years, How Times Change

In it’s simplest form, a bicycle is nothing more than a couple of wheels and some metal holding them together. Looking closer at a modern bike though, it is a marvel of technology. The technology that goes into gearing, brakes and suspension alone are enough to make your head spin.

Looking back over even the last decades, the times have changed. This time 20 years ago, we were looking at a 18/21 speed drivetrains, cantilever brakes and steel frames. in 1991 The RockShox Mag 20 was one of very few suspension choices, XTR didn’t exist and SRAM was barely a blip on the radar.

Moving ahead to a mere decade years ago, things were picking up. If you were riding the latest and greatest product your bike could have been equipped with Shimano Airlines shifting, or maybe even the all new Sram XO lineup. 2001 was also the unveiling of the Marzocchi Carbon RAC fork.

The past 20 years have been a whirlwind of development. Technology has advanced so fast that looking a bike only a few years old can seem like an antiquity compared to the latest and greatest just coming to market. Front suspension is using aerospace technology and rear-suspension has become essential in many mountain biking situations. A side by side comparison of suspension bikes 5 years apart helps to illustrate this point. Five years ago, bikes were awesome, they were lighter than ever before, smoother and less expensive. A bike from 2006 is by no means a bad bike, things have just gotten that much better with every passing day.

2006 Six 1

2006 Six 1 - $3279 ($3567 2011 Dollars)

Take a look at the 2006 Norco Six 1. This bike was light at 36lbs durable with 6″ of travel and a great all round bike coming with a telescoping seatpost. This was actually the same platform that won Crankworx a year later.

As we move forward though, we look at what this bike’s competition would be today. Head to head with the Six would be the 2011 Norco Range 2. The price and spec of these bikes are actually quite comparable. The Range 2 retails for $3650 and again has 6″ of travel. The differences lie a bit deeper though. First off, the Range is a mere 30lbs and will pedal up like a champ while descending like a star. The Six is a great descender but struggles on the climbs – especially with an interrupted seattube and a less stable pedaling platform. Next we look at suspension. The Six came with a Marzocchi 66 which was a burly, strong and great fork to abuse. The Range though comes with a 2-Step, air adjustable fork. which is lighter, more adjustable and just as strong.

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2011 Range 2 - $3650

So, what do we take out of this. This is not a reason to drop $4000 every year on a new bike, but it is a call to stay aware of what is out there. Bikes are getting lighter, stronger and more efficient every day. Your riding style could greatly benefit from the hard work that has gone into developing bikes into what they are today. If you want to have a look at what is available from Norco or any other brand, check out bicyclebuyersguide.com. It is a great tool to finding your next bike.

Join us for Bike to Work Week

Join Norco and the Vancouver Area Cycling Coalition on November 1 – 7 for the fall edition of Bike to Work Week. Sure, riding during the winter months can be a challenge, but with the right lights, fenders and preparation and a little motivation, anyone can do it!

To help out all of the winter commuters the Norco team will be on hand on the morning of Monday November 1st at the Central Valley Greenway station, near Gilmore, and in the afternoon at Smithe and Expo, with free snacks and lots of great prizes. So stop by.

Keep an eye out all week because other commuter stations will be popping up all over Metro Vancouver: check www.biketoworkmetrovan.ca to find a station in your neighborhood. Register your workplace to compete against businesses across the cities for more prizes and biker bragging rights.

Note: anyone who purchases a membership with the VACC between now and Nov. 5, will be entered to win a new Norco City Glide! Visit www.vacc.bc.ca for details.

Bicycle Suspension – Part 4 – VPP vs DW-Link

The Virtual Pivot Point (VPP) and DW-Link are two relatively new suspension designs on the market. They both offer great benefits in ride quality over other, simpler designs but also have a few downfalls that will be discussed.

The two designs look very similar to one another, but are in fact quite different. Both designs use two links which connect the front and rear triangles of the bike. This allows the rear wheel to move independently of the frame in a close to vertical, sometimes rearward wheel path. The differences come in the way the links are positioned. Looking closely at the linkage, as the bike moves through its travel you will notice that the two links rotate in the same direction on a DW-Link while they are opposing on a VPP design. What this results in is a progressive vs. regressive leverage ratio. In English, a progressive ratio means that the further into the travel you are the harder it will be to further compress the shock (lower leverage ratio). On the contrary, a regressive ratio will get easier to compress as you move through the travel (higher leverage ratio).

Have a look at the two designs, they look similar, but are distinctly different.

Dustan

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VPP - Regressive Ratio

DW-Link - Progressive Ratio

DW-Link - Progressive Ratio

Bicycle Suspension – Part 2 – Single Pivot

The single pivot seems like a logical place to start when it comes to bicycle suspension. It is simple, it is versatile and it has been proven with years of use. As with all types of suspension it has both benefits and detriments. Which outweighs the other is your call.

The Single Pivot is the simplest of the suspension types on the mountain bike market. This fact alone is the first thing to like about the system. It is easy to manufacture, not much can go wrong and they can last nearly forever. On the negative though, they pivot on an arc that directly corresponds to the length of the swing-arm and the main pivot location.

What does this mean while riding? Bikes that use a single pivot are subject to fairly extensive compressive-brake jack. This means that under braking force the shock will compress and limit the functionality of the suspension. The bike may feel rigid and jerky while braking. The second issue is with pedaling. In low gears, the alignment of the pedaling force will pull the cranks and cassette together compressing the shock. This will correspond with significant pedal bob while in low gears. In higher gears, the chain is improved and better aligned with the swingarm minimizing the effect.

As you can see, single pivot has the benifit of being simple and inexpensive but at the cost of pedalability. What do you think?

Dustan

Single Pivot

Single Pivot