Bike Check: Andrew L’Esperance’s Norco Revolver FS
Full suspension cross country race bike keeps Canadian racer at the front of the pack
When Andrew L’Esperance and his Forward Racing-Norco teammate Sean Fincham arrive at a race venue, the pair have their choice between two Norco cross country race bikes.
The hardtail Norco Revolver HT remains the go-to choice for pure fitness courses, but the trend towards increasingly technically demanding World Cup courses often sees the two teammates reaching for the race-bred full suspension Revolver FS.
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The 100mm travel suspension has just enough squish to keep momentum through rough sections while a remote lock-out for the shock means all of L’Esperance’s energy turns into forward speed when climbing or sprinting.
With a host of high end parts from the Forward Racing-Norco team’s sponsors, the full suspension Revolver FS is a World Cup worthy race machine. SRAM supplies the eye catching gold parts of its light weight XX1 drivetrain, along with the race focused suspension from Rockshox. L’Esperance rolls on carbon hoops from DT Swiss, with his choice of Kenda rubber for each course. A host of small parts from WTB and HT fill out L’Espy’s Revolver FS race build.
Rock Shox SID World Cup provides just enough suspension at 100mm, or it can be fully locked out via remote
Rock Shox suspension, silver Norco lettering and a Forward Racing water bottle
DT SWiss XRC 1200 Spline 25
SRAM Eagle XX1 is bling, and fast
SRAM Eagle XX1 is gold all the way down
Quarq power meter
HT M1 titanium spindle pedals
SRAM Level brakes
SRAM Eagle and WTB PadLoc grips
Modern XC cockpits have quite a bit going on. L'Esperance can drop his seat or lock out his suspension.
Norco's dropped drive side chainstay gives clearance for tires and bigger chainrings. L'Esperance is more likely to take advantage of the latter.
Kenda Kozmik Lite II tires are definitely XC race oriented
Koxmik's are designed for speed, but still with enough side grip to get around a corner quick
Norco is proudly Canadian
Black and Gold WTB saddle
