Hailing from the land of the Hobbits (that’d be New Zealand mate), Avanti Bikes have been making their way over to the UK for about five years now. But whilst Avanti might not yet be a household name in the UK, some Brits may be surprised to learn that the Australasian brand actually has a 30-year history Down Under.
The company headquarters is based in Auckland, though they draw on engineering and design resources from across New Zealand and Australia. These days Avanti is best known for its high-tech road bikes and pro cycling teams. But it has also produced some brilliant mountain bikes over the past three decades, many of which have established their own cult following.
Mention the Avanti name to an Aussie or Kiwi mountain biker, and they’ll likely respond with fond memories of riding one of their hardtails as a teenager. The Hammer, the Competitor, the Barracuda, the Hotdog – they’re all quintessential models that helped establish Avanti’s reputation amongst the knobbly-tyre crowd. Indeed, many would consider owning an Avanti mountain bike as a rite of passage for mountain bikers down our way. Lord knows I spent an unhealthy amount of time drooling over their lightweight Scandium race hardtails after seeing Sid Taberlay (Australia’s quickest XC racer at the time) on the front cover of nearly every Aussie mountain bike magazine.
While Avanti had attempted various dual suspension designs over the years to varying success, their range was largely void of any full-boingers throughout most of the noughties. Part of the reason for this was that Avanti used to be the distributor for Specialized in Australia and New Zealand, and the big-S already had a solid line-up of duallies to choose from.
In 2010, Specialized threw a spanner in the works by splitting from Avanti and going dealer-direct in Australia. Following the divorce between the two companies, Avanti decided to break out of their hardtail mould by making a successful (and necessary) relaunch into the full suspension market.
It may have come as a surprise at the time, but given the proximity of Avanti HQ to the riding Mecca of Rotorua, it really shouldn’t have. Amongst the Avanti development team, a talented and passionate group of mountain bikers and industrial designers decided that they could offer something different to their American and European competitors.
The 2011 Vapour XC and Torrent were the result of their efforts, arriving at just the right time to fill the void left behind by the Specialized departure. The new bikes centred around confidence-inspiring geometry, while the active TRU-4 Bar suspension design delivered 100mm travel for the Vapour XC, and 135mm for the bigger Torrent. Combined with burly pivot junctions and the one-piece TruLink, the new bikes delivered solid performance that placed an emphasis on reliability and durability. Within a short space of time, Avanti full suspension bikes were becoming a common sight at local trailheads all across Australia and New Zealand.
Torrential Capability
Fast-forward to 2016, and the now-venerable Torrent enters its 4th generation with a number of key updates over the original 26” model. Addressing the needs of the modern All Mountain market, the Torrent CS has been redesigned around 27.5” wheels. With slacker geometry, a bump up to 150mm of rear travel, and the capability of taking a 160mm travel fork, it’s an ideal choice for hard-hitting trail riders and those dabbling in a little bit of the E-word.
Helping to shed a significant amount of weight, the Torrent CS frameset employs a CM6 carbon front triangle that bares technology derived from Avanti’s highly regarded road line. The carbon front-end is paired to a hydroformed alloy sub-frame via the TRU-4 Bar suspension linkage, which employs replaceable sealed cartridge bearings at each junction.
Our Medium test frame weighed in at 2.89kg, which includes the Fox Float rear shock. Despite the impressive weight, Avanti have scrutinised every detail to ensure the Torrent CS frame is equipped to handle the kind of abuse that a heavy-set trail rider can dish week-in, week-out. The one-piece TruLink helps to minimise side loading on the rear shock, while the enormous forged dropouts and DT Swiss thru-axle aim to keep the rear wheel tracking straight. Welded braces and clevis pivots enhance rigidity further, resulting in a twist-free frame that should deliver confidence when you’re sending it off colossal rock drops.
In addition to looking tough as, the Torrent CS frameset is also a thoroughly modern machine front to back. There’s a fully integrated head tube with drop-in bearings, a PF30 bottom bracket, post-mount rear brake tabs, and stealth dropper routing. Gear cables run internally through the main triangle, while the rear brake hose and dropper cable are secured externally by neat T-clamps underneath the downtube. For further gearing options, the Torrent CS frameset will fit a lower direct-mount mech if you so choose, and there are even ISCG05 tabs for riders who feel the need for a chain device. Small, but appreciated details include the alloy pivot bearing caps, which conveniently have recommended torque levels etched into them.
Included with the frame is the Fox Float CTD Factory rear shock, which looks slick with the gold Kashima coating. Avanti have worked alongside Fox to tune the shock’s internal Boost Valve pressure and damping levels for the Torrent CS’s four-bar linkage, with the main goals being small-bump sensitivity and bottom-out resistance. In addition to spring pressure and low-speed rebound adjustment, the blue CTD lever offers the rider 3 levels of on-the-fly compression damping.
The frame’s lower shock mount can also be flipped, which steepens the head angle by half a degree and lifts BB height by 5mm. Along with the ability to run a 150 or 160mm travel fork, there are certainly options for fine-tuning the Torrent CS’s ride quality.
The Outfit
The Avanti Torrent CS is available in several complete bike options, and there’s an all-alloy version too. You can also get the Torrent CS as a standalone frameset, which is how it was originally sent to me. The idea was to use the frame as a test bed for various components, while reviewing the Torrent itself. And so over the past eight months, the Torrent has changed and morphed its shape with numerous wheels, forks, shocks and tyres all being used to test the bike’s overall capabilities.
Up front, the Torrent was originally equipped with a 160mm travel Formula 35 fork, which I reviewed separately not long ago. Since then, a slightly shorter Fox 34 Factory fork has been subbed in to try out the frame with 150mm travel. For the other end of the bike, I’ve spent equal time riding the Torrent with the stock Fox Float CTD rear shock, as well as a newer 2016 Float DPS EVOL rear shock.
In terms of rolling stock, I’ve used a variety of different wheelsets aboard the Torrent, including Reynolds AM Carbons, the Bouwmeester Tammar wheels, and more recently, Deore XT Trail wheels from Shimano. All of those wheels have largely been shod with 2.3-ish tubeless rubber, including Maxxis High Roller II’s and Ikons, as well as the Specialized Butcher and Slaughter combo that were featured in a previous issue of Singletrack Magazine.
Also reviewed in the latest issue is the bomber Turn Girder M30 crankset and Praxis Works M30 bottom bracket, which have been mounted on the Torrent since day one. The 32t narrow-wide chainring has been matched up to a wide-range Praxis Works 11-40t cassette and 10-speed Shimano SLX shifting. Deore XT has been the ever-reliable team player by handling braking duties.
Making for exceptional value, Avanti also include an X-Fusion Hilo dropper post with the Torrent CS frameset. This dropper has 125mm of infinitely adjustable travel, and being the Strate model, it runs the cable internally through the seat tube. Because of the 1×10 setup, the dropper remote can be setup right where the left-hand shifter would normally sit.
In its current guise as you see here, the Torrent CS tips the scales at 12.49kg sans pedals. However, it did reach 12.2kg when I had it setup with the Formula 35 fork and Reynolds carbon wheels. Pretty impressive for a burly 150mm travel bike that features a 160mm fork, a dropper post, and proper tubeless rubber.
Dialling In
In terms of fit, the Torrent CS is available in Small, Medium and Large frame sizes, with the effective top tube lengths being 56.5cm, 59.5cm and 62cm respectively. While I wouldn’t consider those numbers overly short, the Torrent CS does appear to be more compact next to some of the super-long top tubes we’re seeing on modern bikes within the same travel bracket. Of course you can upsize to get a little more reach, but taller riders may be out of luck. At 175cm tall however, I’m riding the Medium, and I’ve found it to offer a comfortable and upright riding position with a 60mm stem and 750mm low-rise handlebars.
Setup at 25% sag, the Torrent CS delivers a very smooth and very plush ride, with a bottomless feel to the rear suspension that certainly lives up to it’s design intentions. For my 70kg riding weight I’ve got 160psi in the rear shock, which comes from the factory with the smallest volume spacer inside the air can. The Fox 34 has 56psi inside the air spring, and through testing, I found that one less spacer than standard offered a similar spring rate to the rear end of the Torrent.
With the 150mm travel fork, the head angle runs at 66.5-degrees in the slack position, while the seat angle sits at 73-degrees. Overall, the geometry and suspension design are definitely in favour of technical trail control rather than uphill sprinting efficiency, but then that’s exactly what a bike of this travel should be focussed on in my opinion.
On The Trail
As you can imagine from eight months of riding, the Avanti Torrent CS has seen a huge variety of trails and riding conditions. It’s joined me almost every week on my local trails, which are regarded as the only place on earth where the rocks actually grow other rocks. I’ve also put the Torrent through its paces on modern smoothed-out flow trails, through lush rainforests with carpet-like singletrack, and up into alpine territory too.
During that time, I’ve roped in the assistance of other testers to offer additional ride feedback, and I even subjected the Torrent to a weekend of racing that included a 50km XC event one day, followed by a lift-assisted Enduro race the next. Despite all the km’s the Torrent has logged however, I am still reminded every time I ride it just how much fun this thing is.
And ‘fun’ is the best way to describe this bike’s character. Despite having 6” of travel, the Torrent is a very playful and flickable bike on the trail. It may not be super long in the front centre like its contemporaries, but that does make it easier to handle on tight trails, and it quite enjoys taking to the air. A lot of the bike’s handling comes down to that impressively stiff frame, which keeps the wheels tracking straight no matter how ugly the trail conditions get.
Out back, the Fox Float CTD shock delivers a beautifully supple feel that works wonders with the active TRU-4 suspension design. Small-bump sensitivity is incredible, and it leads to excellent traction whether you’re going up or down.
Speaking of going up, the Torrent is an absolute rock crawler. With the suspension left wide open and the 40t cog engaged on the Praxis cassette, the Torrent is capable of finding traction on loose surfaces where there is none. The rear wheel gets up and out of the way quickly, helping you to drive forward when ploughing the tyres into sharp ledges. In fact, I’ve been able to clear some seriously chunky sections of trail that I would never attempt on other bikes.
With a 335mm BB height, the Torrent does sit quite low to the ground. While the lower centre of gravity offers masses of stability and cornering grip, smashing pedals into rocks has become a regular occurrence on my local tech climbs. Have a look at the gouges in the Turn crank arms and you’ll see what I mean!
The fix for this was flipping the lower shock geometry chip into the steeper setting, which also lifts the bottom bracket by 5mm. This made a noticeable difference to ground clearance, and it also helps to speed up the front-end response when slicing and dicing twisty singletrack. Unless I was frequenting steep alpine trails regularly, I found the high/steep geometry position to be more suited to all-round trail riding.
Likewise, I preferred the 150mm travel fork up front. Running 160mm travel just pushes the front end up a little too high for my liking, resulting in more wheel flop on the flats and on the climbs. With 150mm travel front and rear, the Torrent feels balanced, flickable and fun.
As it stands, current stock of the Torrent CS frameset will come with the Fox Float CTD rear shock. There will be new production frames coming towards the end of the year, which will likely feature the new Float DPS shock with the EVOL air can. This is a good thing, as I had the chance to swap in a DPS EVOL shock on the Torrent for the latter portion of the test period. With the enlarged negative spring, the DPS EVOL shock offers even smoother performance. This allows you to run a fraction less sag to keep the shock riding higher in its travel, while still maintaining the Torrent’s hoover-like ability to suck up any irregularities on the trail surface. Worth noting is that you could easily upgrade to an EVOL air can with the stock shock. I’d also recommend investing in some shock spacers to play around with the spring rate.
Durability Notes
Overall, there has been a distinct lack of creaks, rattles or groans from the Torrent, with the Praxis M30 bottom bracket keeping the PF30 shell surprisingly creak-free. I can confirm the authenticity of the thread-together design, and would recommend a Praxis BB to anyone out there who may have a noisy press-fit bottom bracket on their hands.
I did need to replace the cable on the stock X-Fusion Hilo Strate dropper post recently, as the inner wire had slipped through the pinch bolt. Replacing cables on internally routed dropper posts is not high on my list of desirable jobs to perform on any bike, but at least the cable only runs internally through the seat tube, and the removable port does make the process easier. I’ll be reviewing the X-Fusion dropper post separately, so keep your eyes peeled for the upcoming review on SingletrackWorld.com
One general annoyance with the Torrent has been the limited rear tyre clearance on the back. With a true 2.3” wide tyre (the Specialized Slaughter is closer to 2.2”), there is barely a bees dick between the cornering tread and the edge of the seat and chain stays. Being in Oz, I haven’t ridden in a whole lot of mud (sorry, not sorry), but I wouldn’t want to with how little clearance there is. After reaching out to Avanti, we can confirm that a revised chainstay is being rolled out with the new production bikes towards the end of this year.
While the bike has been pretty quiet since day one, just recently I’ve noticed some clicking coming from the Torrent’s headtube area, which appears to be movement between the bearing and the carbon bearing seat. I’m always wary of mountain bikes that don’t use a press-in cup for the headset, as I feel there’s more chance for movement, and therefore noise. Given how burly and overbuilt the rest of the bike is, it is somewhat surprising to see an integrated headset.
Overall
I’m not really one to develop relationships with pushbikes, but I must admit that I’ve grown quite fond of the Avanti Torrent since I first built it up. It’s been a reliable steed, with a comfortable riding position, plush suspension, and a burly chassis that doesn’t mind being thrown into gnarly rock gardens.
Next to some of the big Enduro sleds currently dominating the 5-6” travel segment, some folks might suggest the Avanti Torrent isn’t long and slack enough for their tastes. In practice however, only the steepest and brawniest of trails will stir the Torrent’s confidence. As I also found out, fork, shock and geometry setup will influence the overall personality of the Torrent, so take your time in trying out different settings to suit your trails and riding style.
It is true that the Torrent is more aggressive trail bike that slacked-out Enduro sled, but that’s what makes it so much fun to ride. Without a limousine wheelbase, the Torrent CS is easier to manage for the average trail rider, and it delivers versatility and a distinct playfulness that is often missing from today’s long travel bikes.
For further details, head to AvantiBikes.com/gb for more information on the Torrent and the rest of the Avanti mountain bike range, and to find your nearest UK dealer.
- Frame // Avanti Torrent CS
- Shock // Fox FLOAT CTD Factory Series
- Fork // Fox 34 FLOAT FIT 4 Factory Series
- Hubs // Shimano Deore XT Trail M8020
- Rims // Shimano Deore XT Trail M8020
- Tyres // Specialized Butcher Control 2.3” & Specialized Slaughter Control 2.3”
- Chainset // Turn Girder M30
- Front Mech // N/A
- Rear Mech // Shimano SLX Shadow Plus 10-Speed
- Shifters // Shimano SLX 10-Speed
- Brakes // Shimano Deore XT
- Stem // Truvativ AKA 60mm
- Bars // Answer ProTaper SL Low Rise 750mm
- Grips // Ergon GE-1
- Seatpost // X-Fusion Hilo Strate
- Saddle // Bontrager Kovee Elite
- Size Tested // Medium
- Sizes available // Small, Medium, Large
- Weight // 12.49kg
Review Info
| Brand: | Avanti |
| Product: | Torrent |
| From: | Avanti Bikes (www.AvantiBikes.com/gb) |
| Price: | $3199 AUD (frameset) |
| Tested: | by Wil Barrett for eight months |
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Very superficial of me but boy do they look boring.
pic 4 – cracked swing arm?
I’ll have to agree with you Johnnystorm. The paint job on this particular Avanti results in a pretty subtle style. Some like it because it isn’t plastered in logos, but I do find it a bit dull. As for the overall shape of the frame, Avanti have definitely put function over form with this one.
No crack on the swingarm shadowfax – are you referring to the split at the pinch bolt for the main axle?
This review is waaaaaaay too long.