Bike Check: Haley Smith’s Commonwealth Games Norco Revolver HT

Norco Factory Racing issue hardtail race bike means business

Terry McKall April 10, 2018

Haley Smith is currently in Australia training for the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games, where she’ll be representing Canada in the XC event for her first major games appearance. Not that the Uxbridge, Ont. athlete doesn’t already have an impressive string of results to her name. Smith finished 16th at last years UCI mountain bike world championships in Cairns, Australia. When she returns to race on the country’s dusty trails this Thursday (Wednesday, in Canada, if you’re looking to tune in to racing) she’ll be racing the Norco Revolver HT that she rode to second place at the opening round of Canada Cup racing at Bear Mountain. CCM caught a closer look at the Norco Factory Team edition race bike after racing concluded in Victoria.

Perks of Factory Team status include your race bike emblazoned with your name in gold. Hardtail race bike generally have a clean, sleek appearance that looks fast, even standing still. Norco’s Revolver has that in spades.

Like all of Norco Factory Racing’s XC team, Smith races on DT Swiss XRC 1200 Spline 25 wheels. The lightweight carbon hoops have a slightly wider 25mm internal width, making them more stable on technical terrain. At Bear Mountain, Smith’s race rig was equipped with Kenda’s agressive Honey Badger XC Pro tires in 29 x 2.20, the lightweight, race-oriented version of their venerable Honey Badger tread.

Norco Factory Racing runs full SRAM XX1 kit, including guide breaks, and the companies flagship Eagle XX1 drivetrain. XX1 now comes in black, too, but what fun is that? Smith runs a big, 34 tooth chainring, while the wide range Eagle cassette gives her gearing for steep World Cup track climbs and flat out sprints. HT Keeps the gold theme going with its M1T pedal. Not just good looking, the M1T turn on a lightweight, CNC’d titanium spindle.

Rockshox SID is a longtime favourite of World Cup athlete’s everywhere. Smith runs her 100mm SID with a remote lockout to get the most out of the fork on climbs, starts and sprints.

WTB fills out the small parts on Smith’s Revolver HT, including grips and a gold/black saddle to match the general aesthetic, while Truvativ supplies a Noir 40 carbon fiber seatpost, Stylo stem and Descendant bars.