Hi everyone, welcome to my channel!
Quite a few of you ask me for a bike check for the race bikes we've been using in 2019,
so here's a quick check of the 2015 27.5,
and 2017 29er, Norco revolver hardtails we've been using.
These models were introduced in 2015,
they are still not changed even though they just launched the new version
of their full suspension, but these are fully custom bikes,
I built them from scratch.
You guys, subscribers, know that I built this one one by one, in a whole series.
You guys don't know a whole lot about this 29er, but this one actually uses the fork
that came with it, that's a SID, not the fancy one,
but the one with the Charger damper.
On the 27.5 I have a FOX 32 Step Cast, the first model that came out.
It is really light and I actually covered it in a short video not too long ago.
On both of these bikes I am using Raceface NEXT bars that have a 5 mm rise.
That is because I can keep them upright, or I can turn them around and you will see on
this one, it's upside down, so I can lower the contact points here a little bit.
Talking about that, these are ESI Race grips,
they get ripped off if you fall, that's what happens.
And the stems, these are the cheap BX, you'll recognize the brand probably,
That is a 50 mm, same is here.
I like them because they are light, about 130g, and you can get them for almost nothing.
If you look at the caps here,
you're gonna see that I'm using Cane Creek headsets,
Cane Creek 40 I think is the best bang for your buck.
This SDG seat, plus the seatpost,
I know this is more of a downhill configuration,
but you'll be surprised: saddle and seatpost under 300g.
Moving on to the 29er, this one uses a WTB SL8 seat, which is 195g,
and I have the Fall Line R that I've reviewed not too long ago.
Very very happy with this super light dropper post.
Dropper remote is the 9point8 Digit, which is pretty much the Woolf Tooth ReMote
that everybody loves.
If you're wondering about the width of the handlebars,
the 29er uses the full 720 mm they come with.
This 27.5 has the bars cut to 700 mm.
Stopping power is provided by Shimano brakes.
You can see the old XTR Race, that doesn't have Servo Wave, on the 29er.
I like them for better modulation.
On the 27.5, this is an XT M8000.
If you guys have ever had issues with these
I would suggest to warranty them or service them,
they should work perfectly fine.
And I do have a video talking about the differences between these.
I have those brakes mated with 160 mm rotors from Shimano,
Ice Technologies, this is an XT RT86 if I remember correctly.
On the 27.5, since the hubs are CenterLock, I can install the Freeza.
I absolutely love these rotors, probably the best you can get.
Also, 160 mm front and rear.
None of the frames in this generation of Norco Revolvers,
hardtails or full suspension, use Boost spacing,
and that's the reason why it was fairly easy for me
to find a set of used wheels.
These are Syncross wheels that are built with DT Swiss hubs.
That's why I could have and XD Driver for this to install that e*thirteen cassette.
These are 22.5 mm internal dimension,
and I've been very very happy with them.
So I have 100 mm front spacing.
That only becomes a problem when you're having 29er wheels,
because they are not that stiff side-to-side.
And that's one of the reasons why I decided to use asymmetrical rims
when I built this wheelset.
This is a carbon wheelset built around the DT Swiss 350 hubs,
front and rear, and these are 25 mm ID rims.
Cheap carbon I guess you can call them, but I've been pretty happy with them.
They get scratched up and beat up anyway,
so why spend all that money if you don't have to?
And that takes me to the tires.
You can see the 27.5 using Thunder Burt in the rear,
the 29er has Racing Ralph, the redesigned one in the back.
As for front tires, Rocket Ron on the 27.5,
and over here is the matching Racing Ray.
I have looked at these early in the year, and so far so good.
We've been very happy with this Racing Ralph / Racing Ray combination,
I will probably go for this going forward
if am to choose between the Schwalbe sets.
I left the shifting bits for the end cause I know you guys are very interested
in that kind of stuff usually.
You can see the routing here for the hoses and cables, it is internal,
can be a bit of a pain.
I have a video on how to do that for these frames effectively.
27.5 uses an 11 speed drivetrain.
XT pretty much everything, so shifter and derailleur.
Mated with an e*thirteen, this is the 9-46t cassette.
I like the 11 speed with the GS cage here,
because the derailleur is shorter,
you get less slapping around because of it's weight,
and it gives me half decent clearance to the ground.
This is 511% range,
reallity is that you're not going to use that 9t cog too too much,
I don't think so.
That is mated with, you see an absoluteBlack oval, this is a 30t up front.
I have X01 cranks with the BB30 bottom bracket.
And I've talked about alternatives to the SRAM BB at the time,
which I think they are much much better.
Overall I'm very happy with this,
but after 2 years of use there's at least one gear over here
that doesn't really shift that well anymore.
Otherwise the cassette doesn't skip or anything, but it's about time to change it.
Talking about cranks, we're using the XT SPD pedals on both bikes,
and this 27.5, with the bottle cage and everything else that you see installed on it right now
comes up to 20.5 lbs.
On the 29er, I have the XTR 12 speed shifter and derailleur,
and that is mated with the GX Eagle cassette, so 10-50t.
By the way guys, I have a lot of videos covering this stuff,
take a look at my channel, or even subscribe if you haven't done so.
GX chain is what I've been using but I would recommend an X01 these days most probably.
And you can see the oval from Woolf Tooth installed up front.
This is an XX1 crank.
Cranks are 170 mm on both bikes by the way,
and the bottom bracket, that's a Wheels Manufacturing
replacement bottom bracket that I highly recommend for this kind of Press Fit installation.
XT M8000 pedals used again on this bike, and in this configuration,
with everything installed on it, including dropper post,
this bike comes up to 21.5 lbs.
And trying to answer a few more of your questions:
I am using mud guards on pretty much all my bikes because
they protect the stanchions a little bit from dirt, debris, and all that kind of jazz.
By the way, the products that I'm using for the stanchions is either Finish Line,
this is a spray, or the One Ball oily stuff that I started using this year.
I apply that every couple of weeks or so, when I remember doing it.
The chain lube that I use the most is probably this one, the Muc-Off, the Ceramic.
You can use the Finish Line dry, this is very light though.
And for wet lube, I am using the Muc-Off version fo this C3.
These frames are actually very very capable.
They are probably going to introduce their 2020 models fairly soon I assume.
So you can probably find them for a big discount.
If you don't mind the steep-ish head angle, this is 70.5 degrees, that's 69.75,
and if you don't mind the non-Boost spacing, so 142 mm spacing in the rear,
these are very very capable hardtails
that you won't be disappointing with.
And that's pretty much all I have for you guys today.
If you have any questions
let me know in the section below.
Don't forget to like, subscribe,
keep an eye on social media.
And until next time,
I hope to see you guys on the trails,
hopefully riding a Norco Revolver hardtail.
Cheers guys, cheers!