When you win the Crankworx Slopestyle your stock rockets through the roof. There's probably no better way to make your sponsor smile these days - so Norco has rewarded Ben with a Slopestyle bike designed exactly to his specifications; the Norco Five. At Crankworx Ben was on a Norco Six and because of the way the genre of slopestyle is developing he felt that a few changes could make the bike even better for most courses. The Five is the culmination of that effort. I had a chance to talk to Ben about the bike and how it came to be.
NSMB - Can you tell me what you were shooting for with the design?
Ben Boyko - The point was to design a bike that would match today's slopestyle bike courses. Seeing as slopestyle courses these days seem to be getting more technical and moving more towards dirt jump courses, I needed a bike that would be better for dirt jumping but still be able to absorb a 25 ft drop. I figured a five inch travel bike with a steeper head tube, lower bb, shorter back end with a five inch fork would be an perfect for newer style courses. My six is perfect for big step downs but a little to plush and slack for dirt jumping and technical tricks. Seeing as the 4X is too small for big drops, I designed a bike that was between the 4X and the Six, I think there is an entire world of mountain biking to be done with the bike that is in between two old school purposes.
NSMB - What is important in a bike for Slopestyle?
Ben Boyko - What is important in a bike for slopestyle changes every course. Back in the day, who ever had the biggest bike could make it to the bottom in one piece. The times have changed to more technical stunts and alot of dirt jumps. Courses are all different and the required bikes range anywhere from a hard tail to a 7" freeride bike. I think you can have an average slopestyle bike as long as the course has a good average of mountain bike style jumps mixed with mountain bike style stunts and step downs. Seeing that there has been an increased rate of riders wanting to have input into the courses, I think the course builders will be doing a better job of making a happy average course. I do think things will be getting a little smaller, more technical jumps, steeper landings and tighter which is why me and Charles designed the Five.
NSMB - What other riding situations will the five be suited to?
Ben Boyko - Dirt jumping, fourcross racing, Slopestyle, A line, jumps, trails and basically everything a 4" bike would be used for.
Right now there are 10 of these frames in the world and they will only be available for Norco Factory Team riders and selected test pilots. In 2009 you can expect to see the Five in the Norco line as a frame only and as a complete bike - possibly in two trim levels. Because of the low shock placement the bike will not be front derailleur compatible.
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