It was 60 years ago when Norco founder Bert Lewis launched his new company out of a makeshift warehouse in a Burnaby chicken coop.
“He wanted to bring more affordable cycles and better-designed bikes than what was currently available to the Canadian market,” said longtime Norco employee Peter Stace-Smith.
The company grew through the 1970s with some classic styles before a boom as the 1980s approached.
“We started getting into BMX and that was spirited more off a motorcycle where it was kind of like a fake motorbike for kids,” said Norco Product Manager Jim Jamieson.
Norco produced some iconic models during that era and became a household name in Canada.
“I think every kid talks about the 80s, ripping around the neighbourhood on a BMX and building jumps in the empty lot,” said Jamieson.
But it was the mid-80s when things really started to take off with the new sport of mountain biking.
“That changed everything very quickly,” said Stace-Smith.
“Homegrown in B.C. No better place on this planet to have a mountain biking brand,” said Gwen van Lingen with Norco Brand and Product.
The North Shore trails provided a world-class testing ground.
“That was a huge movement because Norco was a big part of that. We were right there and we were building bikes made for that,” said Jamieson. “It moved the company outside of Canada.”
Over the years, they’ve had winning designs and podium finishes with some of the best factory teams on the planet.
“If anything it’s gone better and better and better. Our current World Cup team is probably the best team we’ve ever had,” said Stace-Smith.
The Lewis family still owns Norco six decades later – a long-running success story that started with a big dream in a small chicken coop.
“It takes a village, as you know, so people are extremely proud of the history at Norco,” said van Lingen.
“This is just the beginning. So hang on and buckle up for the next 60 years.”