New Norcos, two chains and all the rotor guards: Whistler World Cup tech gallery

The World Cup downhill is one of cycling’s remaining wild west’s of technology. With few equipment regulations, especially compared to the stringent regulations covering road and track, and less of a focus on minimizing weight, race weekend’s always bring something new and interesting out in the pits.

This weekend, that includes the final form of Norco’s years-long Team DH bike, Finn Iles’s wireless and two-chained Specialized and, perhaps, something new from Shimano. Plus a whole bunch of ways riders are using to try deal with Friday’s mud.

Norco Team DH was developed out in the open. It even has its own YouTube series. Now it is available to the public, too.

Hemstreet rolls into Whistler with the 17 plate and a brand new frame for the occasion.

More new rubber from Maxxis? Or a cut down Shorty in Maxxis’s new DH casing?

One stand over, Bodhi Kuhn’s Norco was still gathering data from practice runs

Fork and shock sensors help Norco mechanics gather data to tune not just the shock, but the frame

While most new tech is, usually, settled by the end of the season, a longer World Cup season this year seems to mean that brands are rolling out new tech after a mid-season break in the race calendar. Several new bits and bikes were hiding in plain sight in the pits. Or, at least, hiding under a coating of mud. Richie Rude and the Yeti Fox racing team are running some shiny unmarked Shimano brakes.

While Norco adidas Race Division’s Gracey Hemstreet had a similarly unlabelled new-looking derailleur alongside the new XTR brakes.

The lever side borrows heavily from the look of Shimano’s new XTR, but this looks a little burlier. Especially at the calliper end.

Rude’s Yeti had a powerful-looking calliper on hiding under some mud.

An unmarked Shimano derailleur on the back of Hemstreet’s Team DH.

Both were, of course, mounted on the newly released, long-prototyped Norco Team DH rig. NaRD is kitted out with brand new bikes, which look truly incredible in person, jerseys and, ahem, adidas Five Ten shoes to mark their home course’s World Cup debut.

Numerous other riders, including Ronan Dunne, were hiding their rotors entirely. Dunne opted for rear-cover only

A more temporarily, likely, sight on Friday was an array of different rotor covers. While the goal is clear, to keep mud and grit out of the braking system, racers seemed divided on whether front, rear or both rotors should be covered.

Reece Wilson opted for just a front cover on his wild Gamux Seggo frame

Most riders running a guard, though, went for the front-only option. In addition to keeping mud out, that might be in part to keep the heat in. It wasn’t just wet Friday, it downright chilly in Whistler. Especially at the top of the mountain. While racers are usually trying to keep heat at bay during the summer, the system does need to stay warm enough to feel consistent. Especially on a track like 1199, where predicable braking is key.

Other riders were going for the front-only. This Commencal rider added a hefty fender for practice but it was not, evidently, enough to keep the mud at bay.

If the weather does improve, expect to see most of these disappear by race day.

Martin Maes didn’t have a rotor guard. But his Orbea Rallon DH did have an extra, and massive, floating brake arm. He’s also one of vanishingly few riders in the pits running flats for this week.

Jordan Williams rolls into Whistle with the men’s #1 plate.

Back in the relative warmth of the Specialized pits, Jordan William’s new Specialized Demo 11 was getting a once-over. While conditions were brutal Friday, the internals on the Demo 11 were still pristine when the cover came off.