The Norco Torrent Hardtail now Comes in Steel

Call it a party hardtail, hardcore hardtail, or just a fun bike if you like, the new 150mm steel Torrent hardtail from Norco will fit any of those names well. The Canadian company’s new 29er is clearly designed for a celebration in the woods, with a robust build and modern geometry throughout.

Norco says, “The Torrent’s modern features and new progressive All-Mountain design provide stable, agile descending, paired with climbing capability that would make a mountain goat jealous – 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.”

The size large Torrent’s tubes open up to a limousine length 480mm reach, hand-welded to create its reasonable 76° seat tube angle and slacky-wacky 64° head tube angle. As the fork compresses through its travel that angle will get steeper, so it’s good to see the bike start with a proper lean. The seat says are a brief 420mm in sizes small and medium, and 425mm on the large and XL frames. Each of the frame sizes has the shortest seat tube possible, allowing for a 150mm dropper on size small whips, and 170mm on all the rest.

Price: Frame only $699, SRAM SX Eagle build $2,199, SRAM NX Eagle build $2,999 (shop online at Norco.com)
Optimized for a 150mm fork with a 44mm offset
Rear travel: Your legs
29 X 2.6″ max tire width
Sizes: Small – XL
4130 double-butted Chromoly steel
Colorways: black/chrome or purple/black

The Torrent frame is available à la carte, or in two robust build options. The HT1 build includes a RockShox Lyric Ultimate RC2 fork, SRAM Code R brakes, and a SRAM NX drivetrain. The HT2 build squishes a RockShox 35G fork, TRP G-Spec trail brakes, and a SRAM SX Eagle drivetrain. Both builds include a pair of Stan’s Flow rims, Novatec boost hubs, and Maxxis Assegai 29×2.5” 3C/EXO tires.

Aluminum Torrent frames and builds are also available online.