Review: Norco Torrent DH - A Wallet-Friendly Bike Park Blaster

By MTBSA contributor

You could call Norco’s Torrent DH a downhill bike for the people. It’s a straightforward frame with 200mm of front and rear wheel travel, mixed wheels, and no adjustments to fuss over.

Although there’s only one build kit (or a frame-only option), Norco balanced the performance and price out well for $4,499 USD - less than half as much as some carbon spaceships on the market. This sets up the Torrent as a swell park bike for lapping jump trails, hitting big features, and general gravity riding.

Torrent DH Details

• Travel: 200mm / 200mm fork

• Wheel size: Mixed (29" front / 27.5" rear)

• VPS, Horst-link suspension

• 63° head tube angle

• Frame sizes: 1, 2, 3 (tested), 4, 5

• Size-specific chainstays

• Weight: 17.9 kg (39.5 lb (17.9 kg))

• MSRP: $4,499 USD / $5,700 CAD

• Frame w/shock: $2,399 USD / $2,800 CAD

• norco.com

Frame Details

For the Torrent DH’s target rider, I think Norco hit the nail on the head. It’s big, it’s bad, it’s aluminium, and it has zero adjustments. There’s less to worry about with the setup, so adapting to the ride is a smooth process. All of the cable routing is external and well cared for, so replacements or brake swaps are simple as.

On the rear triangle, a large chainstay yoke and seatstay bridge land the rear end flex in the “medium” zone. The frame overall is comfortable, but not as quiet as I had hoped. The chainstay is wrapped in a thick rubber guard, but the chainguide produced a ton of noise, something I could solve with some mastic tape or soft-sided velcro. Minimizing bolt checks, the rear axle is backed up with the security of an extra pinch bolt clamping it down.

Up front, another big bumper guards the head tube zone against dual-crown stanchions. I like the attention to detail, though some riders may find that the narrower crowns of the RockShox Boxxer will lock sooner than wider-stanced forks, like a Fox 40 or Marzocchi 58.

Suspension Design

Norco’s prototype downhill race bike uses a complex six-bar layout, but the Torrent relies on simplicity. The four-bar, Horst Link suspension runs on a burly one-piece rocker link, driving a 225x75 RockShox Vivid trunnion-mount shock.

Norco didn’t share the leverage curve, but I’d describe it as very predictable. It’s plush enough at the start to soak up trail chatter, and the stock volume spacers add enough ramp so that using full travel is never a shock to the system. There are no rate-changing flip-chips, but the air spring allows for infinite tuning options.

The Vivid Base shock tune is on the lighter side and doesn’t include a low-speed compression switch. If I were being super picky, I’d like a touch more support for pumping berms and jumps without having to rely on adding air to the shock - I already set the sag to less than 30% (28% to be exact).

Geometry

My first bounces on the Torrent surprised me: the front end of the bike was much taller and longer than expected. A lot of that comes down to the high-rise bar and spacer stack height. Dropping the crown/stem height reeled in control and precision. At the same time, I’m sure the longer/high front end and shorter chainstays (for a downhill bike) will build confidence for some riders.

Norco created a wide size range for the Torrent that steps up in even 20mm reach jumps with the S1 starting out at 420mm and the S5 hitting 500mm. On the back half of the bike, the chainstay lengths are tailored to each size. The S1 frame with a reach of 420mm is matched to a 430mm chainstay. As the frame sizes increase, the chainstay grows by 5mm each time. That builds the S3 frame into a 460mm reach with a 440mm chainstay.

A 63-degree head tube angle is appropriate for a park-oriented downhill sled, being neither too raked out nor too twitchy. The head tube itself has a 56mm diameter, allowing for aftermarket reach-adjust headsets to bridge those reach gaps in 10mm increments, fore or aft, so you should be able to hit your ideal fit numbers.

Pricing and Specifications

There are only two ways to buy a Torrent DH: as a complete bike or a frame kit. The singular build kit steers away from any luxury items and focuses on a lower entry cost. $4,499 USD earns you comfy Select and Base suspension from RockShox, strong SRAM Maven brakes, trusted Maxxis tyres, and a quality finishing kit brought to you by Race Face and SDG.

If you want to build your own park-smashing Torrent DH, a frame and shock combo will set you back $2,399 USD.

Ride Impressions

I find it somewhat ambiguous when other riders describe a bike as “easy to ride”. Of course it should be easy to ride: it’s a bike with two wheels. However, the Torrent DH does embody that, but for a good reason. There are simply fewer features to set up and fuss over, plus it’s not as glued to the ground as a race-inspired bike. It meets a nice happy-medium blend between a long-travel freeride rig and a race-inspired machine, giving you confidence and comfort without bogging you down on feature-heavy trails.

The main reason I say it’s not geared towards racing as much as other downhill bikes is the chainstay length. 440mm is shorter than a lot of enduro bikes. In other words, it gives up some stability, but loves to manual and isn’t a ground hugger.

Suspension-wise, the VPS rocker link has a soft break-in without totally mushing out. Across braking bumps, which are plentiful this time of year, the rear wheel holds a line without feeling harsh. Hard-charging riders might find that the shock tune is on the lighter side and may have to resort to running less than 30% sag to achieve the support they’re looking for when pushing hard into berms and jumps.

Likewise up front, the Boxxer Select D2 gives you a Charger 3.1 damper with compression and rebound adjustments. The level of support from the damper is less than the Ultimate version of the fork, so riders may end up relying on more air pressure to hold the front end up, which can take away from small bump sensitivity.

Build Quality

As expected with this price point, a few of the components have adjustments, performance, and durability of high-end parts. Broadly speaking, they’ll do the trick for lapping jump trails, but extra attention is needed to prolong their life if you’re routinely rallying rowdier trails.

The wheels were the first to raise concern levels. It’s ordinary for wheels to go through a break-in period where spoke tension should be monitored, but this set in particular needed constant attention, as in every couple of laps, even after that initial outing. A small knock in the hub bearings also persisted, despite checking the rear hub preload and axles.

Maven Base brakes are a solid choice, even with the less powerful Centerline rotors. You will have to deal with a large amount of deadband to pull through to reach that deceleration force, but that comes with the territory when product managers fight to keep the price down.

Final Thoughts

In my mind, the Torrent DH is an ideal gravity bike to complement your existing bike fleet. If you own a well-cared-for enduro or trail bike and would rather not thrash it in a bike park, the Torrent ticks that box perfectly without breaking the bank.

Lapping jump trails and lining up features are where it really comes alive. Could you race downhill on the Torrent DH? For sure. It’s up to the task, but the stock form might need some component hop-ups to squeeze the most juice from the otherwise sound platform.

Pros

+ Great price to performance ratio

+ Easy to work on frame, external cable routing

+ Good blend of freeride vs race bike manners

Cons

- Some riders may want heavier shock compression tune

- Not quite as glued to the ground and stable as a full-on race bike

- Wheels didn't hold up well

Images supplied with this review

Images: MTBSA contributor. Charts retain the currencies and measurements shown in the original.

For South African readers

Overseas prices in this report are not confirmed South African retail prices. Check local availability, warranty support and the complete rand price with your retailer. No MTBSA test score has been assigned.