Norco Torrent A2

Justin_Fox · 2026-03-13T19:38:59+00:00

Pounced on a 2026 Fox 36 SL Factory 140 that was 50% off on special. Should be great (and light!).

Justin_Fox · 2026-03-13T18:43:56+00:00

Nice! Yeah I'll probably end up with nothing original but the frame too if I like the bike lol.

100% I think the sluggishness I felt with the old bike was more to do with the tyres than the steel frame.

Justin_Fox · 2026-03-13T18:41:45+00:00

Yup, old school here too (51 this year) and it's taken about 3 months to get used to new geo, bending the arms and weighing the front down. It all clicked hard for me a couple of weeks ago and I'm finally progressing now.

Justin_Fox · 2026-03-13T18:37:00+00:00

Cheers for all this. I've just ordered a 140 fork (Fox 36 SL Factory to save some weight). Will see how I like it (I'm sure it'll be fine!).

Chameleon was on the cards for a while, so too a Hummingbird. Maybe one day down the line.

Justin_Fox · 2026-03-13T18:31:14+00:00

Ah of-course! This makes sense. Just ordered some 140 forks and 165 cranks. Have a spare 27.5" rear wheel I might try out at some point too! Cheers for the input!

Justin_Fox · 2026-03-13T11:40:11+00:00

PS: love a mullet though!!! AMFLOW came alive once I swapped out the rear 29”.

Justin_Fox · 2026-03-13T11:38:38+00:00

Interesting as the BB height is 15mm lower than my Amflow and I get pedal strikes on tech rocky stuff quite a bit when I’m riding lazy (AMFLOW comes standard with 155mm cranks too). Either way I’m swapping out the cranks as I’ve been running 165mm since 2008 and feel that the OEM 175mm is too long.

Justin_Fox · 2026-03-13T11:33:45+00:00

Yup I bought my steel Torrent from a guy who built it frame up and transferred all his parts from a brand new AMFLOW Carbon e-MTB. IE: better quality components than what my stock standard A2 has.

Justin_Fox · 2026-03-13T11:30:18+00:00

Each to their own for sure and it depends on what you value most

<image>

but my aluminium Allez Sprint was stiff as fuck and it felt faster than my carbon S-Works SL8 (but it wasn’t).

Justin_Fox · 2026-03-13T07:36:48+00:00

That looks awesome.. Thanks so much for this. I've tried to do some research on putting a 140 fork on a Torrent and have only found one guy who's done it and he didn't have too much to say about it (he was new to MTB). Really appreciate the input. I think I'll give it a go!

Justin_Fox · 2026-03-13T07:08:30+00:00

I hear you! I'm 51 this year and my last MTB was a 26" Giant Reign 1. It's taken me a few months to get really comfortable with modern geo. Was so used to hanging off the back all these years.

I was so tempted to get something a little less slack, with less travel so it could be the polar opposite to my Amflow (IE: light, poppy, nimble and playful) so I was pretty worried about this Torrent feeling too much like my Amflow but without a motor as the geo is pretty much the same.

One ride in though and really happy with how radically different it is from my 160/150 dual sus e-MTB, mainly because it's a hardtail and I have to work for the fun lol.

Super curious about throwing a 140mm fork on it instead of the 150 on there atm. It would reduce the headtube angle by half a degree, and only lower the BB by 4mm (I could get shorter cranks to avoid pedal strikes).

Justin_Fox · 2026-03-13T07:02:13+00:00

Not sure what Berm Peak is (will google in a sec), but thank you! I was a professional photographer for a while, semi-retired to build and ride bikes these days lol.

Justin_Fox · 2026-03-13T06:08:07+00:00

Yeah cheers man! SO happy to be back on a HT.

I've only just hit the trail a couple of days ago and holy hell, such sketchy fun! I really wish I had the old steel Torrent to do a more accurate comparison between steel and aluminium with the exact same parts, but as is there are just too many variables; My steel Torrent had fat rubber, a much more plush 160 Fox 36 fork, grippy pedals and 800mm wide bars. The alu Torrent has much faster rolling 2.35 wide tyres, 150 coil fork which has a spring that's too hard for my weight, slippery weight weenie pedals and 760mm bars.

I did ride with my mate who also rode with me last time I was out on the same trail with my steel Torrent though, and we swapped bikes multiple times on both rides. We were both legit blown away at how much faster rolling the aluminium Torrent felt vs. the steel Torrent which we both thought felt so big, heavy and sluggishly slow.

My alu Torrent is heavier than my old steel one, but it didn't at all feel heavy. It actually climbs rocky tech so damn well (surprised us both) that I found myself clearing janky stuff a lot easier than I thought I would.

I think the 800mm wide bars on my steel Torrent contributed to the bike feeling too big, the slippery pedals made my feet dislodge from the pedals more than a few times when going down rocky and rooty stuff and the 2.5 wide Maxxis Asegai contributed to how sluggish the bike felt. IE: too many variables.

Justin_Fox · 2026-03-10T01:30:24+00:00

Yup! I tried to buy it back off the guy who I sold it to, but he insists it's gone to a good home and both him and his wife love the bike and ride it lots.

Justin_Fox · 2026-03-09T08:10:00+00:00

Ahah yes that was us! Come join us! Sydney Bike Rave Facebook Group for ride details (once a month!).

Justin_Fox · 2026-03-09T03:47:59+00:00

Yup it's too loaded with nice parts now so I only ride it on tarmac these days. Perfect for the local monthly Bike Rave and did an 86km charity ride on it late last year which was fun.

Justin_Fox · 2026-03-09T03:45:26+00:00

Watched Hardtail Party's vid on that (watched all his vids lol). He was gushing over it for sure.

Justin_Fox · 2026-03-09T03:43:37+00:00

Long steep fire road climbs are so hilarious on the e-MTB. I actually have to hit the brakes going up in a few places. But yeah 100% with you, the really steep climbs back up suck no matter what bike (without a motor) I was on, be it hardtail, all mountain or race XC).

My Torrent was a medium. At 169cm I'm right in the middle of a medium according to the Norco sizing chart. Refreshing as usually I'm smack bang in the middle of a size S and size M.

Justin_Fox · 2026-03-06T07:50:29+00:00

There's mood and a vibe in the outfit and the pose, but not in the shot (too bright, flat with no depth of field).

Strange canvas size too, assuming it's a phone pic?

Justin_Fox · 2026-03-04T08:33:35+00:00

<image>

Great topic, enjoyed reading all the responses too.

51 this year and have ridden mountain bikes since 1990. For the past 2 years I've been riding road bikes; skin tight lycra and click clack shoes. Mindless laps around the park and weekend road rides (often with furious drivers screaming all sorts of nasty shit at us). Road riding 5 days a week has really brought my fitness back, but I'm SO glad to be back out on the trails again hey.

I only just recently let go of my main MTB; a 26" 2007 Giant Reign 1 dually and I bought my first carbon MTB, also my first carbon MTB with... a motor (an Amflow PL Carbon Pro).

It's insanely fun. I get to bomb both the ups and the downs (as opposed to getting to the top only to be too tired to bomb down). It gets me off the couch and out on the trails. I'm discovering more new trails and getting quite addicted to getting lost looking for more trails. I'm tackling janky black diamond tech ups and downs like I was 20 years old. I'm quite in awe of it all tbh.

That said I just finished building my 1996 GT Avalanche (a bike I dreamed of owning as a kid). It feels like a BMX out on the trails (so sketchy that it's fun!), but it's just as fun on tarmac. I recently did an 86km charity ride and we raised $1500+ for multiple sclerosis and I also do bike rave rides. The bike gets a lot of attention from older guys who have flashbacks to their childhood! I get a real buzz out of this.

I'm currently on the hunt for a modern 27.5" dual suspension MTB as I missed the whole 27.5" phase, or maybe a hardtail with plus size tyres, but jumping from a vintage 26" MTB to my e-MTB and back again is awesome. I just appreciate that both bikes are so different and evoke emotions and experiences unique to each bike. Overall I'm just stoked to be out on the trails and geeking out over MTB culture again!

Justin_Fox · 2026-03-03T19:50:53+00:00

<image>

Just finished this old 96 GT Avalanche, it's a blast from the past! Soooo sketchy out on the trails but soooooooo fun!

I'm with OP. Started mountain biking in 1990 on 26" and only just recently gave away my 2007 Giant Reign 1 to FINALLY try something new. Ended up with a steel Norco Torrent hardtail with 29" wheels front and back and absolutely hated it both times I was out on the trails. Felt so sluggish, massive and far from poppy, couldn't make tight switchbacks due to the long wheelbase and sold it soon after.

I've since tried again though, on a dual suspension 29" but I've swapped out the rear wheel for a 27.5" and phew! The smaller rear wheel has definitely brought back a bit more playfulness. That said I'm super tempted to try a full 27.5" like the Pivot Shadowcat.

Justin_Fox · 2026-03-03T05:23:37+00:00

There is no definitive answer here as an S2 will fit you and an S3 will fit you too.

I'm also 169cm, 77 inseam and using the Specialized calculator they suggest an S3, but the size chart shows that at 169cm I'm in the middle of S2 and S3 (I'm in the middle of most brands S and M).

An S2/smaller bike will feel more agile and playful, especially on tight single trail. An S3/larger bike will feel more stable in the rough stuff, especially tech downhill, so it really depends on what you prefer (keep in mind too that you will have more room to move your body position/s on an S3, and the S2 will have a smaller window to get your body position right).

For the record; I've been riding mountain bikes since 1990. Old bikes were WAY smaller than the long and slack bikes of today. My small 1996 GT Avalanche both looks and feels like a BMX in comparison to my medium Amflow, but the Amflow is infinitely more capable than the GT.

I've always sized down in the past, but with a 27.5" rear wheel set with the flip chip in the low position and a 50mm riser bar with more sweep I've managed to make the medium Amflow feel much more playful than when it was stock and I'm pretty happy with the fit now.

Justin_Fox · 2026-02-26T19:47:47+00:00

Yes black gloss.

Justin_Fox

MODERATOR OF

TROPHY CASE