By Laura Carrabine, Senior Editor

Mountain bike race courses can be quite challenging with changing terrain at every turn. For this reason, racers need lightweight and highly responsive equipment to ensure maximum control and speed.

The Phaser’s lightweight, responsive components ensure cyclists feel control of the bicycle even over the most uneven terrain. These properties make the Phaser the bike of choice for many top athletes. Cycling champion Andrew Watson chose the newer Phaser model for training in 2011. Vipond is the current winner of the Women’s Canada Cup cycling championship, while Watson has won the national Men’s Canada Cup series Under-23 competition three times.

World-renowned mountain bike athlete Catherine Vipond rides the Phaser model bicycle from Norco Bicycles. It was designed and engineered with Saint-Gobain’s lightweight NORGLIDE composite bearings for use in the 2011 cycling championship season.

The Phaser is characterized by its extremely lightweight, high-performance design, making it ideal for racing at professional levels and for recreational activities. The composite bearings that are used in the Phaser’s rear suspension are a crucial factor in this performance. Weighing 1.2g, the bearings are one-tenth the weight of traditional rolling element bearings. These lighter components reduce the overall weight of the bicycle and help cyclists reach higher speeds than with heavier models.

The composite bearings work as a high-performance corrosion resistant option for brake pivots because they are immune to outside forces such as rust or temperature. For pedal assemblies, the bearings can be used in place of axle-shaft rolling element bearings and plastic bushings to provide a smoother pedaling experience.

NORGLIDE composite bearings are manufactured with a thick coating of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), a high-performance lubricating material which has the lowest coefficient of friction of most known solid materials. This PTFE coating offers reduced stick-slip effect, optimizing the performance of the Phaser’s rear suspension by ensuring that the rear wheel is almost always in contact with even the roughest track surface. This increases cyclists’ control over the bike and enables them to experience a smoother, more comfortable ride. With its excellent wear resistance, the composite bearings do not require maintenance, guaranteeing constantly low friction values and smooth suspension throughout the lifetime of the component.

Saint-Gobain
www.saint-gobain.com