Norco’s plus-size hardtail trades labour-intensive laziness on flats and climbs for outrageously uncouth gravity-assisted character that’d shame many full-suspension bikes. Production packages will be even better than the sample we tested too.
Aggro comes as standard
Norco have worked hard to squeeze proper plus-size tyres into the Torrent while keeping it bang on trend for aggro handling. Complicated asymmetric forgings allow a super-short Boost back end without any calf or ankle rub issues.
The heavily sloped top tube and long, buttressed seat tube extension give plenty of sack space even if you stall on a stupidly steep climb. A long conjoined main tube section keeps the head tube securely attached to the rest of the bike. Brake and gear cables run through less-than-subtle brackets but at least the remote-control KS dropper post cable only pops into view in the bottom corner of the frame.
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The Manitou fork will get an upgrade to RockShox' Yari for production models
While the inclusion of a dropper is impressive for the price it’s the tyres that really make a difference to what this bike can do. Rather than trying to massage the ego of struggling muscles with fast-rolling semi-slicks, Norco has opted for chunky Nobby Nic tubeless rubber on super-wide 49mm rims for a full-fat 72mm carcass width. The bar is equally oversize at 35mm in diameter and 780mm wide, and the 28t chainring is a sensible choice on what's a hefty, slow-rolling bike.
Hard work on the ups pays off on the downs
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