George Gannicott By Ian Linton

Dan Stanbridge (Dirt Norco Race Team):

We are all very excited to announce this news.

The team will be racing in full O’Neal race kit, casual wear, protective clothing and shoes. Personally I have looked up to O’Neal as a company for many years, impressed by their support of athletes and their wide range of products from some of my favourite sports (Cycling and Motocross) so to get the chance for the team to work with O’Neal this year is very exciting.

On the bikes, the team will be running Manitou Suspension front and rear from Hayes Components. The team has been working with the Hayes Components group for the past 3years, racing on SunRingle wheels (one of Hayes Components other brands) and so is very pleased to expand the partnership to include Manitou as well as SunRingle.

Greg Callaghan By Dermott Sweeney

Personally I ride and race mountain bikes because, quite simply, I really enjoy it! But at races in particular, an important part of that enjoyment comes form knowing you have a competitive bike that is fun to ride. For this reason as a team I think we are very picky about product to use and changing suspension was not a decision taken lightly. We have been testing the forks and rear shocks sent from Manitou in recent weeks (in fact Ben is in the South of Spain continuing this at the moment), after the results we have seen so far, we are very excited for the year ahead.

The team has already announced expansion plans to include 3 new racers this year (Casey Brown and George Gannicott joining myself and Ben at DH events plus Greg Callaghan flying the flag at the Enduro races this year). The support form O’Neal and Manitou play a big part in making this possible, so on behalf of myself, Ben and the Dirt Norco Race team we would like to extend out thanks to these companies for their valued support. We are looking forward to a great years racing and 2013 is defiantly set to be the most exciting year yet for the team.

Ben Reid

 Ben Reid (Dirt Norco Race):

“It has always been mine and Dan’s plan to expand the team so we could offer support to other riders. We had some big plans to put in place for this year and we talked with a few companies in the off season who were keen to get on board. After much discussion and testing we felt that both O’Neal and Manitou were the best fit for our team and had the same passion for racing as we do. I am very choosy when it comes to suspension and after my first ride on the newly designed Manitou Dorado fork I was pleasantly surprised and knew this was a ‘goer’ for our team.

I grew up watching my dad race motocross back in the early 90s in his O’Neal MX kit and it was refreshing to see O’Neal make a big push into the Mountain bike world when they signed Greg Minnaar last year. O’Neal along with Greg’s input have done a great job developing this years range of mountain bike gear and I think its fair to say our whole team is delighted to be racing in O’Neal kit for 2013″

Ben Reid

Iris Kuckelberg (ONeal Europe):

“We are excited to develop a successful partnership with the Dirt Norco Team. Partnering up as official global clothing and protection sponsor of the DIRT NORCO World Cup Team underlines our deliberate step in strengthening our position in becoming one of the most recognised and respected brands for MTB clothing and protection.

For over 40 years O’Neal has been providing innovation and technology with our non-stop product development. Serving our athletes and building products with passion is more than our company profile, to us it’s a life mission statement. We feel the partnership between the Dirt Norco Team and O’Neal is more than just a business deal, it’s one more step in fullfilling our athlete’s expectations and the increasing demand for the best apparel and protection in the industry.”

Greg Callaghan By Dermott Sweeney

Scott Struve, Global Director of Marketing for Hayes

“We’re truly excited to have Manitou added to the Dirt Norco quiver for  2013. While we’re confident that the team will realize improved performance, we have also enjoyed their product feedback. As with all of our top level riders they will play a key role in our development cycle. Additionally, the Dirt Norco team does an amazing job of telling the story of our sport to our audience. We look forward to working with them as the 2013 season unfolds.”

Dirt Norco Race Team 2013 Riders:

Ben Reid

Dan Stanbridge

Dan Stanbridge: Dirt Norco Race Team DH Racer and Manager.

Casey Brown

Casey Brown: Dirt Norco Race Team DH Racer.

George Gannicott By Ian Linton

George Gannicott – Dirt Norco Race Team Junior DH Racer

Greg Callaghan By Ramsey Cardy

 Greg Callaghan – Dirt Norco Enduro Racer.

Duncan Riffle’s Team Dirt / Norco Aurum — More Mountain Bike Photos

More Mountain Biking Videos

A big thanks to Dirt, Norco, Sram, Thomson, Schwalbe, Gamut, Kore handlebars and SunRingle for an awesome bike which we are really looking forward to racing this year. Here are some first shots as Ben’s bike gets built up.

One of the big features which we have not been able to talk about until now is the ‘Gravity Tune’ system on the Aurum which we have been itching to talk about it because I think it is a pretty big deal for a production downhill bike. On other currently available production DH bikes, the bike is often designed around one size (say a medium or often whatever other size bike the main team test rider races on), then to get the other sizes in the range the front end is scaled up or down to give more reach. Uniquely on the Aurum however every size in the range has an individually sized rear-to-centre and front-to-centre balance as well as slightly tailored suspension kinematics to match. This means each size (small medium and Large) have exactly the same performance characteristics so the ride is not compromised to scale the design up or down. This is a really big deal for us as a team for example because myself and Ben are both very different sizes and have very different riding styles, however actually the testing we have been doing over the past year has shown that what we are after from a bike’s handling is the same. So for the first time now we are both able to get this as standard on the same production frame in different sizes without custom alterations necessary to correct either the small or the large accordingly.

This concept sounds common sense really, if years of testing and development have been put into getting the best geometry, weight balance and proportions for a downhill bike then this should be scaled up and down for every size in the range, not just optimised for one size and then the front end stretched, however I guess tooling costs and time as well as production factors all play a part. Anyway as a rider I am just pleased to see the ride quality getting top priority on this bike and with some clever engineering apparently this has been done without crazy prices too which is cool. (News recently has been released that Fisher will no longer be distributing Norco in the UK however I am told 2012 bikes will be available in the UK including the Aurum so I believe there will be a press release on this shortly.)

The gravity tune system is really the standout feature that has been kept secret until now however all the best features from the prototype bikes we have posted in the past have made it to production as well including the integrated bump stops, captive shock mounting hardware, ART suspension system and Syntace axle and hanger combo.

As well as the Aurum there was also a full line up of new bikes launched across the board but one other that stood out to me was the Sight. This is a 140mm travel bike designed to be light weight and pedal well but also to be good fun on the downhills. I can see this being a great trail centre and do-it-all bike for the UK and after having a lot of fun on this bike recently I think this one will be a big hit.

Stanny

Ben Reid talked us through some of the details a few weeks back, did some riding, and narrowly avoided a pigeon related injury. Here it is for those who missed it.

MPORA Action Sports >>

You can see the progress and development of the bike in previous videos here,

More Mountain Biking Videos >>

Bike Check – Norco Prototype >>

Keep and eye out for more photos to come soon, plus a full bike check and hopefully a look around the teams new pits which will be unveiled in the next week or so.

More Videos >>