FROM THE AURUM HSP TO TEAM DH
The Team DH is not Norco’s first attempt at a high-pivot downhill race bike. The Aurum HSP, released in 2018, was already a 200mm-travel, high-single-pivot bike that used an idler to manage chain growth. It also incorporated size-specific rear centers, through Norco’s Gravity Tune philosophy.
The Team DH takes a considerably different approach and leaned closer to the learnings of the Range DH project. Norco riders and engineers discovered the modified Range “DH” that some of their team riders were on had some shortcomings in certain areas. This led to the team moving towards the Six-Link design, as it gave greater control over each aspect of the rear suspension’s travel.
Norco is using a newly-patented High Virtual Pivot Six-Link, or HVP6, suspension platform. The additional links give Norco more freedom to independently manipulate axle path, leverage curve, and braking characteristics, instead of tying those traits together within a simpler suspension layout.
Norco chose an aluminum front triangle paired with a carbon rear triangle for the Team DH. Norco says that initially, aluminum gave its engineers greater freedom to refine geometry, stiffness and frame features during development. We were told the decision to go with an aluminum front end likely added both cost and time to the project. To meet the stringent tolerances this bike demands, making a carbon mold would have been much easier than a welded, heat-treated alloy front triangle. Nevertheless, Norco persisted because the riders liked the feel the aluminum front-end provided. The carbon rear end then allowed them to target weight, traction and responsiveness.
TEAM DH VS. TORRENT DH
With the Torrent DH having launched only a few months ago, having two 200mm mixed-wheel downhill bikes in Norco’s line up warrants some explanation.
The Torrent DH is the simpler bike by design. It uses a full aluminum frame and a conventional VPS/Horst-link suspension layout with fixed geometry. Norco built it primarily around bike-park laps, freeride and straightforward ownership rather than outright World Cup racing.
The Team DH takes the opposite approach. Its HVP6 suspension, two-position idler and multiple chassis adjustments add complexity, but give racers considerably more control over how the bike behaves.
Both have 200mm front and rear travel, mixed wheels, five sizes, size-specific rear centers, external cable routing and Ride Aligned setup support.
HVP6 SUSPENSION
At the center of the Team DH is the new HVP6 suspension platform.
The six-link layout gives Norco additional control over the relationship between axle path, leverage curve and braking characteristics. Unlike a traditional high-single-pivot design, the Team DH’s rear axle doesn’t simply rotate around one fixed main pivot.
Norco’s intention is to use those additional degrees of freedom to manage the different forces acting on the suspension, independently.
ADJUSTABLE PROGRESSION
One of the interesting features is the ability to change the suspension’s leverage curve without changing the rest of the bike’s setup.
Flippable chips at both shock eyelets move the shock along its axis, providing P- and P+ settings. The bike ships in P-, while P+ increases progression by 2.5%.
Because both shock mounts move together, Norco says initial sensitivity remains effectively unchanged, with the adjustment primarily affecting support and bottom-out resistance deeper in the travel.
That should make this a useful track-tuning tool rather than simply another geometry flip chip.
ADJUSTABLE ANTI-SQUAT
The idler pulley is adjustable as well.
Using technology licensed from i-Track, interchangeable idler mounting plates provide AS+ and AS- positions. The bike ships in AS+, while switching to AS- reduces anti-squat by 20%.
The idea is to let riders alter drivetrain influence independently of the core suspension layout. Higher anti-squat can provide a firmer response under power, while reducing it allows Norco to target greater suspension independence and less drivetrain feedback through rough terrain.
Combined with the adjustment of progression, it gives riders two substantially different ways of tuning the suspension without touching damping or spring rate.
FIT AND GEOMETRY
The Team DH comes in five sizes – S1 through S5 – all running a 29-inch front and 27.5-inch rear wheel.
Reach starts at 418mm in the neutral position on the S1 and increases in 20mm increments to 498mm on the S5. An offset headset adds ±5mm of reach adjustment, effectively giving each frame three reach positions.
Rear-center lengths are size-specific, beginning at 440mm on S1 and S2 and increasing to 447.5mm on S5. Norco says those changes are based not simply on frame size, but rider weight distribution measurements gathered during development.
Head angles sit at 63 degrees on S1 and S2 and 62.5 degrees on S3 through S5.
BUILT TO BE RACED – AND WRENCHED ON
Despite the more complicated suspension system, Norco hasn’t hidden everything inside the frame.
Cables remain external; the pivot bearings are oversized, and Norco uses simplified pivot hardware and top-hat spacers intended to make disassembly and reassembly easier. Norco also says servicing the frame doesn’t require any proprietary tools.
That’s an important detail on a bike developed around racing, where ease of maintenance between runs can matter almost as much as making something look clean in the showroom.
NORCO TEAM DH MODELS AND PRICING
The Norco Team DH is available in two builds, as well as a frameset.
The Team DH 2 Fox retails for $7,999 USD / $10,499 CAD and uses a Fox 40 Performance Elite Grip X2 fork, Factory DHX2 coil shock with a Sprindex spring, SRAM GX DH drivetrain and Maven Base brakes. Claimed S3 weight is 41.9lb / 19.0kg.
The Team DH 2 RockShox costs $7,399 USD / $9,500 CAD, swapping to a BoXXer Select D2 and Vivid Coil Base while retaining the GX DH drivetrain and Maven brakes.
Finally, the Team DH Frame Kit includes a Fox Factory DHX2 and Sprindex spring for $4,599 USD / $6,199 CAD. Norco lists the S3 frame kit at 11.1lb / 5.0kg.
NORCO TEAM DH FIRST RIDE IMPRESSIONS
My time on board the new Norco Team DH was splendid, albeit a bit shorter than I would have liked. In full transparency, this was my first ride in two months, and during my flight over to Europe, I wasn’t even sure if I’d be able to ride at all. We’ll spare the details of the darkness and uncertainty post-injury, but this bike brought me to tears on my first run. While that’s not entirely the bike’s fault, I can say, riding such an awesomely capable, fast and fun DH bike for my first ride back did make the emotions a bit easier to flow. Sadly, as happy as I was to get back on the trails, I was not anywhere near 100%, and after six runs my back nearly seized up again and prevented me from riding on Day 2. So, all that to say, I have a good feel on the bike at a slower, safer speed, but I look forward to getting a long term test bike out on my home trails!
First up, the overall feel on the Team DH was awesome. The bars felt high and up in front of me, while my feet felt low and down below my hips, giving a strong and powerful position. At 5’11 I rode the size 4 in the nominal position, which had a 478mm reach, 636mm stack, 445mm chainstay length (465mm at sag) and a BB height of 352mm. I instantly felt at home and confident in the bike, despite the uncertainty of my lower back’s strength or ability to keep up.
With the injury in mind, I opted to run the bike a bit softer than I normally would, sitting on the low end of the Ride Aligned spectrum for my weight. The cushion was greatly appreciated and at the slower speeds I was riding, it was nice to see the bike still performed well and didn’t abuse me. Some bikes can feel like a thoroughbred and make it tough for us mortals to ride without feeling abused and beaten down. The Norco Team DH helped me dip my toes back into the trail, and by my fourth warm up lap when I had a few short bursts of glory, the bike was absolutely primed and ready to charge. I could tell this thing could get me into trouble if I kept off the brakes long enough. The good kind of trouble.
As a rider who likes a dynamic and lively suspension feel that blends supple off-the-top cushion with a springy and poppy feel for airing out smaller obstacles on the trail, the Norco Team DH quicky erased my fears of awkward sluggishness. Sometimes a lengthening rear end can get a bit weird on slower-speed drops or smaller lips where the front end takes to the air and the rear end just stays put as your body keeps moving forward. At the speeds and types of hits I was finding at Val Di Sole, I never once noticed any negatives. In fact, I was quite surprised at how lofty the bike was and how easily it aired out some minor lips and natural trail gaps I found along the way.
In the AS- position, the rear end proved to be very active and comforting, though I could see competitive riders who were seeking a bit more drive on smoother tracks would enjoy the switch to the AS+ mode. Similarly, I appreciated the suspension adjustability and how it moved both shock mounts to maintain predictability in other areas of the suspension’s performance outside of the progression.
There wasn’t a single instance on my day of riding that I felt the Norco Team DH was doing something I didn’t like. Now, as I said, this was a single day with incredible conditions, and coming from a rider who was addled by cabin fever due to a herniated disc. So, it’s possible that I was just so euphoric that anything would have felt good, but I really did my best to isolate personal excitement from professional experience. What I can say is that I think Norco have delivered a truly capable and exciting downhill mountain bike that will be helping a lot of aspiring downhill racers on their quest for speed. I just hope that my back is healed and the bike park is still open by the time I get my long-term tester!
WHO IS THE NORCO TEAM DH FOR?
If it hasn’t been made abundantly clear yet, the Team DH is the bike Norco has gifted the speed seekers. If you prioritize timed runs, shaving time off your runs, doing just one more lap to nail those corner over party laps on the jump trail, then the Team DH is the rig for you.
If you’re looking for a set and forget park bike that is still a ton of fun to shred DH trails, the Torrent DH makes sense. Its full-aluminum chassis, conventional suspension layout and lack of kinematic adjustments keep the bike simpler and considerably cheaper. The complete Torrent DH A1 currently sells for $4,499 USD.
The Team DH is aimed at the rider who considers setup and track-specific tuning part of the equation. Progression, anti-squat and reach can all be changed independently, and the HVP6 platform itself was developed around the demands of elite downhill racing.
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