Crankworx: Full colour gear from Whistler Village

Crankworx moved to a new mid-July date this year and, to match the mid-summer heat, many brands brough very brightly coloured wares to show off in Whistler Village. Some were custom but many were new limited-edition options that you can bring home to brighten every ride. Here are a few of the more eye-catching bits from 2023 Crankworx.

Norco’s multi-coloured Fluid FS Carbon

Sure to turn heads at the trailhead

All the colours you could want

Not just a show bike, this Fluid FS Carbon will be for sale, soon

Just like a normal Fluid FS C, but brighter

To mark the recent release of the carbon fibre version of its popular Fluid FS trail bike, Norco has a very bright multi-coloured frameset and bike in its booth. Unlike most show bikes, this one isn’t an athlete special or a project bike. Norco will release 50 of these fancy framesets. The best part, other than the colour? They’re the same price as a standard colour frameset.

Racer

French protective wear brand Racer had a few interesting things in its booth. A women’s version of its motion top body armour is one of the very, very few sets women’s specific body protection out there. Two new products coming to North America soon are the modular chest/back protector and a more breathable version its Motion Knee pad.

Knolly: New Endorphin Gen.6 and a flashy Fugitive

Last year at Crankworx Knolly was showing off the prototype of a new Endorphin. After a long absence from the Knolly line, many riders were happy to see the Endorphin name making a comeback. The new version is built around a 27.5″ rear wheel with 135mm or 150mm travel and either a 27.7 or mulleted 29″ front wheel. Knolly went out of its way to make a proper XS verion of the Endorphin. It works for riders 4’10” and up, whether that’s a younger shredder or shorter adult. The XS frame fits a full 200mm dropper post and can run a reservoir rear shock easily with a water bottle. There are a ton of other details, like Knolly’s own machined UDH hangar, a new straight top tube, a top tube tool mount and updated, Gen.6 Fourby4 kinematics. All of which will be available when the new Endorphin is released on September 1.

NOBL Oval

One product from Crankworx you can’t buy – and probably don’t want to anyway – is Vancouver Island wheel brand NOBL’s Oval wheel. The very custom wheel was built for NOBL’s annual April Fools video, and the brand is not planning on making any more. Not just because it’s a joke, but the wheel…