TORRENT A1
The Norco Torrent range is part of a wider trend of aggressive hardtails (‘hardcore’ hardtails if you’re from the UK) making a comeback. Bikes like the Canyon Stoic, Specialized Fuse, Trek Roscoe, and Marin El Roy are all new to the market or have received a complete longer, lower, slacker overhaul in the last couple of years. Whilst a hardtail is never going to descend as well as a dual suspension bike with a comparable amount of rear travel, there’s something so exciting about hammering down descents on a capable hardtail.
The Norco Torrent A1 I’m testing here is one of four models in the Torrent range. The A1 is the top alloy model, and it retails for $2799. The A2 model retails for $2399. There are also two steel models, the S1 and S2, which retail for $4399 and $3399 respectively. The S1 model is a very popular bike in my riding circles, so I was excited to hop aboard the latest Torrent to see what all the fuss is about.
The Torrent range isn’t aimed at cruising or racing around cross-country networks like many other hardtails on the market. With a 150mm fork, aggressive geometry, and burly components, Norco claim that the Torrent range will allow you to ‘prove your mettle on the toughest trails.’
I owned the previous generation of Norco Torrent, which had 140mm of travel and more compact geometry, so it was interesting to compare the differences to this new model.
INITIAL IMPRESSIONS
The Norco Torrent A1 has a tidy looking frame, with nice welds and cleanly executed internal cable routing through the down tube. The rear brake and rear derailleur lines are routed externally from the bottom of the down tube, and the dropper cabling is a fully internal affair.
The threaded bottom bracket and chainguide mounts are nice inclusions on the frame, and there’s bottle/tool mounts on both the down tube and underside of the top tube. The frame features a short seat tube to allow for maximum dropper length, so there’s no mounts there. It would be great to see a longer dropper specced on the larger sizes, as there was plenty of post showing on the 150mm dropper on my size large.
There are no real unique features when it comes to the Torrent A1, although the aggressive geometry is only topped in the mainstream market by the Marin El Roy, and the frame looks like it means business with its long reach (480mm in the size large tested), short chain stays (425mm), and low-slung front triangle.
Setting up the Torrent A1 was a simple affair. I’m not a huge fan of the RockShox 35 Gold RL fork, and with its tendency to dive I opted for more pressure and compression than I normally like to run. I’d prefer to sacrifice comfort for a stable ride height on a long travel hardtail. The bike comes with 800mm bars, and I lopped them down to 760mm to squeeze through the tight stuff, but that was the only change I made during testing. The bike comes with tubes, which is a bit of a pain to swap over, but at least you get two spare tubes in the process! The wheels are taped, and they sealed easily with a bit of sealant and a floor pump.
The final confirmation of the Torrent A1’s aggressive intent was its weight, which is a portly 14.17kg in size large with the tyres setup tubeless. The tyres are Schwalbe Hans Dampfs in a 2.35” size from their value for money Performance Line. This is appropriate given the Torrent A2’s pricepoint, although I opted to pop a Rimpact Pro in the rear, as the Performance Line tyres from Schwalbe aren’t the most robust out there.
ON THE TRAIL
I’ve always had a soft spot for trail hardtails. They’re not the best tool for the job most of the time, and that’s half the fun. The Torrent’s geometry highlights this. The reach, 64 degree head angle, and fork travel combine to give you lots of confidence pointing the bike down fast and technical descents, but the short rear end reminds you the Torrent is all about the good times.
As I live at sea level, all my rides begin with some climbing. Whether you’re on the road or the trail earning your turns, the Torrent is more content with seated climbing and grinding to the top than surging out of the saddle. The short chain stays are great for pulling manuals and steering with the rear for laughs on the way down but maintaining traction on technical climbs when standing is trickier than on bikes with more proportional geometry. My approach to technical climbs on the Torrent was to stay seated where possible, getting out of the saddle for crux moments, and throwing the bike forward over obstacles where necessary.