BCBR Bike Check: Haley Smith and Andrew L’Esperance’s Norco Revolvers

Andrew L’Esperance and Haley Smith closed out their 2021 season with podium finishes at the BC Bike Race. Both rode their Norco Factory Team edition Revolver FS race bikes, but with some slight modifications for the six-day stage race.

Keeping their set up mostly consistent seemed to work. L’Esperance won the overall and five of six stages in the Penticton area. Smith finished second overall and on every stage. There were some differences from how the pair would run their bikes at a World Cup, and between their bikes. Dive into the details on these two fast Revolvers below.

Andrew L’Esperance’s BCBR-winning Norco Revolver FS

Andrew L'Esperance's BCBR winning Norco Revolver

A more media-friendly set-up for the six-day stage race, plus bacon strips for quick flat repairs

No elevation profile, but a little reminder where the race is

All the fancy SRAM AXS Eagle wireless bits

A very race-focused RockShox SID SL Ultimate

Andrew L’Esperance is running the glittery green of the NFT-edition Revolver FS 100, with a team-issue build of RockShox SID Lux Ultimate shock and SID SL Ultimate fork, SRAM AXS Eagle wireless shifting (and dropper post) and Quark power meter. L’Esperance runs DT Swiss XRC 1200 rims in the 30mm width, with some still-secret Kenda prototype tires.

For BCBR, L’Esperance is running dual Cushcore tire inserts, instead of just one for more protection against Penticton’s sharp rocks. There’s a pre-loaded bacon strip taped to the bars for quick flat-repairs and a tube strapped to the frame for more serious mechanical issues. To show everyone what this week’s courses were like, there’s also a GoPro bar mount that would never see use at a World Cup. You can see some onboard video from the week on his Instagram.

REVIEW: CushCore XC tire inserts add speed and not much weight

Haley Smith’s podium-winning Norco Revolver

Haley Smith's Norco Revolver FS 100

SRAM XX1 with powermeter and rainbow oilslick cassette

RockShox SID SL Ultimate

BCBR numberplate (and top secret tires)

BCBR's daily elevation profile sticker, plus bacon strip taped to the bar for quick access

SID Lux Ultimate shock plus a spare tube taped up high in the smaller frame.

Haley Smith also kept her Revolver set similarly to how she’s raced it at World Cups – and the Olympics – all year. For added protection, she’s running Kenda’s tougher SCT casing instead of the thinner TR casing she’d usually run, and at slightly higher pressures. There’s also Cushcore insert added, but only in the back wheel. Smith runs DT Swiss’ narrower XRC 25-mm rims vs. the 30-mm internal width XRC’s on L’Esperance’s bike.

For the longer days and sometimes punishingly-steep BCBR climbs, Smith also switched to SRAM’s 10-52-tooth cassette instead of the tighter gearing of the 10-50 cassette she’d usually race with.