Video: Norco Bicycles Announces New Torrent Steel Hardtail
PRESS RELEASE: Norco Bicycles
We are excited to introduce the 2020 Torrent Steel – a burly, progressive steel hardtail built to handle the toughest trails and test a rider’s mettle.
Modern mountain bike trails have evolved, and bikes have adapted with them. Lines are getting scarier, gaps bigger, and technical sections are being built to push both rider and equipment to the edge.
Most riders have embraced the advantages of modern full suspension and today’s progressive geometry, which make riding these fast, scary trails seem downright reasonable.
We created the 2020 Torrent to rage on modern trails without the need for rear suspension or advanced carbon layups – it’s just the rider, some hand-welded Chromoly, and whatever skills they’ve picked up along the way – so every bit of mud-splattered sense of satisfaction felt at the end of a tough trail comes from the rider’s skills – not just technology and suspension design.
The Torrent’s modern features and new progressive All-Mountain geometry provide stable, agile descending, paired with climbing capability that would elicit envy from a mountain goat – perfect for any rider looking to bring their trail riding to the next level without the extra expense and complexity of rear suspension, and a new challenge for advanced riders trying to keep themselves honest.
With massive standover clearance, long reach combined with a short stem, and decidedly slack head angle, every Torrent also features our latest version of Gravity Tune which provides the same ride experience to every rider, no matter their stature.
The Torrent has been an integral part of our lineup since 1995 when it was first introduced as a steel XC Race hardtail – because that’s how we rolled in ’95. Everybody else was going full-on aluminum, but we still loved steel, so we went with what we loved.
Find out more about the 2020 Norco Torrent Steel at: www.norco.com/torrent-steel
GEOMETRY & MODELS
Torrent HT S1, $3,999 CAD
Torrent HT S2, $2,799 CAD
Torrent HT S Frame, $899 CAD
Find out more about the 2020 Norco Torrent Steel at: www.norco.com/torrent-steel
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Does that exist?
Aside, this bike looks sick.
RSD Middlechild
I hope they can get back to form, great bike and (in my experience, I know others have had some frustrating times) solid folks.
Meanwhile, the new Banshee bikes look like they might be my chosen alternative if they don't make a come back. The new Titan and Rune look sweet!
Was also looking at the NS Eccentric Evo, Specialized Fuse. Santa Cruz Chameleon.
But the SC seems a bit too upright for what I want. Fuse seems like it might work.
Essentially... I'll build the bike as a 27.5 bike and then next summer swap the front end over to a 29er. I want the ability to go back and forth easily and still have a rideable bike in both set ups.
Pipedream Moxie looks interesting but I don't know how I'd get one in the states.
I’ve got a 29” specialized fuse frame running my old 650b wheels and 2.6 tyres, because I blew my money on a sexy fork during the build.
It sits low at 310 off the deck but the little wheels are fine until I’ve got some more cash to get something nice. Really fun in fact!
It's got a high enough bb @ 333, you lose 8-10ish mm off that
Sometimes I consider getting a non-Canfield full-squish to complement my Nimble 9, but then I remember these:
www.instagram.com/p/BgHlTU6jd--/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
www.instagram.com/p/BeLTcZvhIHl/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
I'm waiting on the new Krampus announcement(s) this month before breaking out my own wallet... fingers crossed.
i´ve seen the same marino bike rolling 160mm 36 fork with 27.5 wheels, or with a rear 27.5x2.8" and front 29x2.5" and 140mm 34 fork, or full 29er with the same 140mm 34 fork, anyway you want it it will go! and with any combination it will go between 64 and 65 degree HA, there´s just no going wrong.
he´s got a few pics of the bikes in his facebook page from the bike store, or instagram too. You can find him as UniqueVeloMX or unique velo méxico.
Got him!
Chromag have more than just the Doctahawk (if that was too aggressive for your style of riding). They have an Acturian, Primer, and Surface.
Am I missing something?
Nice frame Norco but a miss on the spec and price, IMHO
At the same price, I don't think the S1 build is a terrible deal as it's mostly GX, but it isn't really a good one either. I'm not a huge fan of the lower spec bikes comparative price to spec, but I do love purple...
Guy I was chatting with on the trails said he had around half a dozen warranty replacements before they stopped responding (so better customer support than most experiences I've heard about novatec). He fully broke the axle one time (not just the usual freehub issues). He used it as an excuse to buy better wheels with real hubs.
I don't understand why anyone specs them on bikes that are intended for serious riding. Yes, you want to hit a price point, but surely there are similarly priced hubs that could be substituted. Do they need to put trail ratings on hubs? These are rated up to blue trails, assuming you roll all features. Warranty doesn't cover black or above trails and does not cover both wheels leaving the ground on any trail.
Chromag branded hubs are probably formula hubs anyway.. not really any better.
That's my initial assumption of any self branded hub. It's formula with a different logo. But the pawls are different as are the bearings. I mean, could be made by formula, but it's not the usual formula hub rebranded.
Even if it were the normal formula hub, I'd take one from Chromag over Formula in a heartbeat. I've heard nothing but horror stories of Formula customer support. My experience with Chromag is, they respond quick and will do the right thing. (Of course responde quick means in their normal working hours, they ride on Fridays and take Sat/Sun off). I also don't think Chromag would put their name on something likely to blow up. They know how their bikes get ridden and they are a small team and don't want to be spending all their time supporting crap hubs.
I think you misunderstand. The C1 is $5600 total including frame and build. While the frame-only price is $3600. It's not a $5600 parts build on top of the $3600 frame price. For reference: www.norco.com/bikes/2020/mountain/enduro/range-carbon/range-c1
Chromag doesn't say which Lyrik, just Lyric which isn't very meaningful (by the top cap it looks like an RC2). A quick email would tell you what exactly is in their current GX build. If the ultimate is a must have I'm sure they could make that happen (for a fee ). Would I notice the difference in a charger 2 vs 2.1 damper? Dunno, my pike rc2 seems fine. I'm also sure for a small fee Chromag would swap stems and bars so you can have a 35mm clamp and 800mm bars. Which brings up the fact you'll have your choice of colour for the stem, bars, grips, seat etc. So choose your frame colour AND accessory colors. Norco isn't going to customize anything for you. Buy a straight frame and build it custom or buy a kit as is.
I think the no dropper thing is because people are pretty opinionated on droppers and it's best to get the right size. Look at the number of take-off droppers listed in the buysell. That being said I'm fine with the x-Fusion on the Norco (assuming it fits me). Heck I'd be fine with a transX.
So $3,999CAD for the Torrent (and deal with the NX cranks later)
or $3,590 CAD plus dropper (I can deal with a $150-200 dropper, others can't so that brings it up to a very comparable price)
Also that's assuming paying retail on either. Anyhow, neither is a clear winner for me. I own a Norco but I'm not married to them as a brand. The LBS has great support for Norco, but I'm quite convinced Chromag would take care of me as well. I do like the look of the Norco frame better, but if I bought a prebuilt Torrent I'd probably be putting Chromag stuff on it (minimally grips and seat). Definitely worth cross shopping.
I've seen some guys that are bigger that just mash the pedals on climbs putting their whole weight into it. The torque from a 50T granny and 200+lbs of angry gorrilla is unsurprisingly enough to destroy cheap freehubs.
Both made over seas and both use 4130 but one is offering a few things many riders are looking for for a grand total of 30 dollars more.
Just because one company only makes Steel bikes doesn't mean anything. Ask anyone who's owned a Steel Kona bike of any kind if they feel Kona just doesn't know Steel as well as Chromag.
So, if you buy Cromag in EU, you get the same warranty as Starling, who essentially offer what they would be legally required to, even if they did not mention it anyway. (all very nice bikes btw, steel hardtails are da bomb)
cool bike though I guess
I mean it looks awesome, but that seems really quite over the top.
The BB ht works. Dunno why but it does. I was concerned after reading stuff online about BB being too high and wished I bought another bike. But it's good.
The 76deg seat angle works so well. My reservation when buying it was it would be a "one trick pony" as a bike review said. They are so wrong. It's great uphill and not just on smooth tracks.
Going down its superb even on quite tight tracks. I also have an older NS Eccentric (steel) 27.5 and I notice that I have to use my body more on the S2.
The Novatec hubs. Not sure they are an issue. I've had Hope and DT and Specialised hubs fail and I look after my stuff. Novatec make for other companies so I don't worry re the hubs.
64 deg head angle. I thought it would be too slack and long - wondering on the uphill, untidy on corners. Nope the 64 angle is awesome, rides so well. Makes me wonder why I took so long to go long and slack.
The downside the S2 is a bit heavy, (1.5 kg more than my Eccentric) well I only ffing got worried about that when I weighed it!.I never noticed when out riding. The weight comes from the big wheels and tyres, to me that's a 29er problem. And the fork, it's a 35 RL Gold. Rockshox don't post the weight but I reckon it's at least 2500gm. So I plan to upgrade.
So which is best my Eccentric 27.5 or this 29er.
The truth is I'm not sure yet. The S2 certainly has the edge going up and monsters downs, but it's harder to ride. I don't mean it shakes your body more, I mean more input is required. The S2 is an AM bike. the Eccentic more of a fun bike. So yes I like the Norco but still not sure on 29er wheels. I also have an NS Snabb 27.5 FS which is am exceptional bike.
Sorry to write such a long post, but there's alot of comment about faults that aren't there. As somebody posted - Geometry charts are great, but you have to ride the bike.
.
Yeah I know... blah blah Brexit... boring.
When I lived in Bellingham WA circa 2006-2013 I was the guy out at Galbraith on a Bianchi GUSS 26” rigid single speed, no dropper, and at least a 140mm stem. Full Lycra. I didn’t understand why all these people were pushing their big bikes uphill. Different strokes for different folks, I guessed.
Two or three years ago now, I was riding with two buddies in WA. One had a Banshee 150mm trail bike, the other a Chromag 29” hardtail. I was on my trusty old 1998 Specialized Stumpjumper with a Zion CroMo fork. I started sensing that maybe I was at risk of becoming that old guy in Lycra who hasn’t kept up with the times.
In 2017 I worked at Stevens Pass as a bike park patroller. I realized that things had come a long way in the 15 years or so that I hadn’t been paying attention.
So I decided to embrace modern mountain biking. I bought lots of armor, new baggy kit, and a Trek DH rental. I used my job as a patroller to learn a new style of riding.
The next spring I bought a Kona Process 153 and took it to Moab. The last time I had ridden there was in maybe 1998, during the 24-hour XC race. I’ve ridden all the classics there and was impressed with the new trails as well as the new bike.
It blows my mind every time I get on that Kona and pedal. I had no idea that a 150mm Enduro bike could actually be fun to pedal uphill, on the flat, downhill, in smooth or harsh terrain, pretty much everywhere except pavement. Honestly the only time I want a hard tail now is for XC racing.
Maybe I’d still ride a rigid bike if I still lived in muddy WV, but so far the Kona hasn’t needed one bit of suspension maintenance beside an easy-to-do seal service on the Pike. I did replace the air shock with a CCDB coil, and the rear hub with a DT 350.
I’ve always maintained that I prefer either full suspension or none. Back then it made sense to me to avoid suspension entirely. Now, with improved design and manufacturing, and perhaps a different location, it seems to make sense to me to embrace it fully. I can’t say that one is better than the other. All I know is that the bike is doing its job if I get on it and end up feeling like a little kid again. Today’s bikes, all of them, seem to do that very, very well.
Go out and ride your bike.
Norco finally caught the tendency by proposing something simple, radical and real as steel... not to mention Chromag who already had some good yet expensive bikes like that. The Brits already proposed several excellent aggressive HT for quite a long time and they are often sexier/cheaper. Brexit or not, I`ll stick to the british approach. God save the steel hardtail!!!
I had a 2018 torrent that was well loved, though it could have faired from a steepened seat tube angle. Ultimately sold it as the plus tires are just to burly in my opinion.
My 50 year old knees are fully aware that the Norco Torrent is, and always has been without "boingo boingo". Even more so since the Torrent used to be aluminium back in the day.
www.mtbr.com/product/bikes/freeride-hardtail/norco/torrent.html
geometrygeeks.bike/bike/norco-torrent-ht-2020
Hard tails are something different. Hard tails are about re introducing the rider to the terrain. It's about using body English . More about your skill than the bikes abuility to tame the trail.
I would expect in the least 27.5 wheels.
Want a playful flickable ultra responsive hard tail ? Then you can't beat 26 inch wheels.
rsdbikes.com/portfolio/middlechild-titanium
I quite like this frame for what it is intended at.