Norco's New DH Bike: What World Cup Racers Didn't Tell You

Jennifer Miller · 2026-09-25

### From World Cup Podiums to Your Local Trails Norco's new downhill bike, the Team DH, has finally made it to production after nearly five years of secret testing on the World Cup circuit. With 200mm of travel front and rear, five frame sizes, and the refined HVP6 suspension, this bike is built to bring race-winning performance to everyday riders. We got to test it in Val di Sole, Italy, and here's what we found. ### Built on Race Experience The Team DH isn't just another bike; it's the culmination of countless prototypes and hundreds of days of testing. Norco engineers worked closely with top athletes like Greg Minnaar and Gracey Hemstreet, who provided real-time feedback under race conditions. Kirk McDowall, who races World Cups and works as an engineer at Norco, even raced the final prototype at the World Cup in YongPyong, South Korea, in May 2026. That's about as real as testing gets. ### The Brains Behind the Bike What's really cool is how Norco integrated their development with their Ride Aligned setup guide. The same engineers who designed the bike also helped create this system, which gives you a personalized setup based on your height, weight, riding style, and terrain. It's like having a pro mechanic in your pocket. They even developed custom telemetry and kinematics software to fine-tune the suspension. Those little mounts on the frame? They're not just for water bottles; they're for attaching data loggers to measure suspension performance on the trail. ### Why Mullet Only? You might wonder why Norco only offers the Team DH with a mixed-wheel setup (29" front, 27.5" rear). They actually tested a full 29" version, and even Greg Minnaar initially thought it was faster. But after countless back-to-back runs, the stopwatch showed no advantage. The mullet setup, however, gives you more agility and freedom to move around on the bike. So they went with that for production. - **Price:** $7,999 - **Weight:** 41.9 lbs (claimed, size S3) - **Travel:** 200mm front and rear - **Wheel Size:** Mullet (29" front, 27.5" rear) ### What This Means for You You don't need to be a World Cup racer to benefit from all this tech. The Team DH is designed to give you a solid starting point, whether you're hitting bike parks or local downhill tracks. And with Ride Aligned, you can dial in your setup without endless guesswork. It's a bike that's ready to race straight out of the box, but also forgiving enough for weekend warriors. > "The Team DH is the most refined downhill bike we've ever produced. It's not just for pros; it's for anyone who wants to push their limits." – Kirk McDowall, Norco Engineer and World Cup Racer We'll have a full review coming soon, but from our first ride, it's clear that Norco has created something special. Stay tuned for more details on how it performs on different terrains and how it compares to other downhill bikes on the market.