Norco's Secret World Cup Weapon Is Finally Available to You

Robert Wilson · 2026-09-25

After years of development on the brutal World Cup circuit, the Norco Team DH is finally here. It's not just another downhill bike—it's a direct translation of the race team's hard-won lessons, ready to hit your local trails. We put this machine through its paces to see if the hype is real. With 8 inches of travel front and rear, five frame sizes, and the much-refined HVP6 suspension, Norco's goal is simple: bring World Cup performance to the public. This platform was forged in competition, and it shows in every detail. We tested the bike on demanding terrain to see if it lives up to its pedigree. ### Forged in the Heat of Competition This bike had already piled up race miles long before it reached production. It's the result of nearly five years of development, countless prototypes, and hundreds of testing days. The process was relentless—constantly moving between the workshop, the test track, and actual World Cup races. Each round of feedback fed the next, refining geometry, stiffness, and suspension kinematics on the ultimate proving ground. What's really cool is who was involved. Greg Minnaar and Gracey Hemstreet provided continuous race-condition feedback. Then there's Kirk McDowall, who's both a World Cup racer and a Norco engineer. He gave the Team DH its final sign-off after racing it himself in South Korea. These aren't engineers watching from the sidelines; they're in the trenches. ### The Science Behind the Setup The link between development and your personal bike setup is fascinating. The same engineers who built the bike—Colin Ryan and Kirk McDowall—also created Norco's Ride Aligned setup guide. At Norco, developing a great bike and helping you set it up perfectly go hand in hand. For development, Norco created their own telemetry system and kinematics software. With a complex six-bar suspension design, this software was crucial. It helped engineers reconcile the ideal suspension feel with the physical space inside the frame. They could set target parameters and let optimization tools explore the best configurations. The telemetry system revealed what the suspension was actually doing on track. Those mounts that look like bottle cage holders? They're for attaching data acquisition systems. Combining this hard data with dyno testing and rider feedback created a complete picture. As one engineer put it: > "We're not just building bikes; we're building confidence. The data tells us what's happening, but the rider tells us what it *feels* like." You benefit from all this without needing a personal race mechanic. Ride Aligned gives you a solid starting point based on: - Your height and weight - Your preferred riding position - The terrain you ride most - Your personal style preferences It doesn't replace those final few clicks of fine-tuning, but it takes most of the guesswork out of finding your perfect setup. ### Why Only a Mullet Setup? The Team DH uses a mullet configuration: a 29-inch wheel up front and a 27.5-inch wheel in the rear. Norco tested a full 29-inch version during development, and here's where it gets interesting. Greg Minnaar originally preferred the full 29-inch setup and was convinced it was faster. But after numerous back-to-back tests, the stopwatch showed no advantage. The mullet setup, however, offered greater agility and more freedom of movement over the rear wheel. That's why Norco decided to offer the production bike exclusively in this configuration. It's a decision born from data, not dogma. The mullet setup simply proved better for how most riders actually use their bikes—not just for pure speed, but for control, agility, and confidence through technical sections. ### What This Means for Your Riding At 41.9 pounds for the S3 size (manufacturer's claimed weight) and priced at $7,999, this isn't an entry-level bike. But what you're getting is essentially World Cup technology without the race team price tag. The development process alone—five years of refinement, telemetry data, and pro rider feedback—represents an investment most brands can't match. The real value isn't just in the components or the travel numbers. It's in that seamless transfer from race development to your personal setup. When you ride the Team DH, you're not just riding a great downhill bike. You're riding five years of World Cup evolution, distilled into a machine that's ready for whatever your home trails throw at it. It makes you wonder: if this is what happens when race technology trickles down to consumer bikes, what's next? The line between professional and recreational equipment keeps getting thinner, and riders at every level are the ones who win.