Bike Check: Gracey Hemstreet's Prototype Norco - Red Bull Hardline Tasmania
Photos: Cameron Mackenzie
Canadian Gracey Hemstreet appears to be getting to grips with the savage course Red Bull Hardline Tasmania, being one of the first females to tick off all the features. Photographer Cameron Mackenzie caught up with Gracey and her mechanic to chat about her prototype Norco DH bike and talk setup.
For more on the development of Norco's DH race bike, check out Matt's Inside scoop and Dario's article covering the patented suspension design.
The alloy frame features a Coast Gravity Park inspired paint job, external cable routing and bottle cage bosses (most likely for suspension data loggers rather than race day refreshments). The frame size loosely correlates to a small, but it sounds like the sizing is not finalised: "For now it's the Gracey size, custom size."
Like the Norco Range, there's a high virtual pivot suspension arrangement, but with a lower link that connects to the mainframe above (not concentric to) the bottom bracket, and extra links to drive the shock.
According to Gracey's mechanic, Nick, "The rear end is adjustable with various dropouts [presumably for different chainstay lengths or BB height - the bike was originally designed for mixed-wheels only] ... at the shock there is a four position chip system and that just adjusts how progressive the bike is and then in the headset we've also got some different cups as we're going to do plus five, minus five and some lower custom jobs too."
The shock mounts offer four different settings for progressivity.
Gracey is running a 40 mm stem with a 750 mm bar.
"I had one day with all the Fox stuff and I didn't ride the TRP brakes or drivetrain before Hardline," Gracey said.
Based on one test camp specifically for this event, Gracey started with a 425 lb/in spring on the Fox DHX2 but has since gone up to 450 lb/in. In the fork, she started at 74 psi and has been ramping up to 82 psi with zero volume spacers (for now). Here you can see the lower link mounted to the front triangle and the pushrod link that actuates a further upper link that drives the shock. This design allows Norco to tune the leverage rate independently of anti-squat and anti-rise.
According to her mechanic, Nick, "Gracey runs rebound pretty well open, so we've been able to tune for that [with custom tunes] to allow for some options in each direction."
Gracey runs Crankbrothers Synthesis carbon rims with CushCore front and rear. "I landed on a rock and it exploded, but other than that I've never broken a wheel," she says. Up front, she runs a Maxxis Assegai, DH casing, 29x2.5"; on the rear, it's a 2.4" DHR2 in 27.5" diameter. Pressures are set to 23 and 25 psi, the same as for World Cups.
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Time can be spent later on on optimization, but being able to adapt quickly has far reaching benefits.
As we age, we feel the need to hold on to how things are/were, and need to practice with being uncomfortable. Its a skill that can be worked on a improved, but intentional practice is required.
Try doing some of your riding with your lead foot back, practice not dropping your dropper post, rotate your bars and brake levers a bit. These can all help to fire your brain, and train it to better adapt.
Gracey is a friggin weapon, shes going to be an unstoppable force, or more than she already is
I still wonder if that woman knew she was talking to what is possibly the single best female rider on the planet.
When did she make this statement? Anyone see what she did to her rear wheel at Hardline? It was a massive overjump but the wheel did not perform great
I'll be that guy, that stem is 30mm, not 40mm, it's the shortest dm stem you can get currently
Deity Micro DM.