Norco Torrent A2

Wasn't sure whether to post this on here as mountain bikes don't seem to get as much love as road bikes on this sub. I figure at least the photography passes and maybe a small few of you might appreciate the build.

Road bikes have been fun, but I've gone back to my roots and for the past 4 months I've been finding my zen by being out on the trails again.

I've been riding alone on an Amflow e-MTB, but I've managed to convince one of my mates to join me out on the trails once a week. He's on an old Giant Trance 26" dual suspension so I thought I'd buy something that evens things up a little.

I'm a light rider at 60kg's and a weight weenie so I tend to get away with lightweight parts, but I also tend to stack it on MTB's so I wanted to avoid carbon bars. I've only just put the smaller 27.5" rear wheel on there (bike now feels so much more fun!), and in doing so I started to get pedal strikes so I had to remove the weight weenie carbon cranks and replace them with these shorter cranks (problem solved, but more weight and a blue chainring which I'll most likely replace with a black ring ASAP).

Pretty happy with how it's all turned out and even happier with how it rides (for a hardtail). The 11-speed ZTTO cassette shifts great (no issues with setup, noise or clunky shifts like the 12-speed ZTTO cassettes). The Deore groupset works so well I'm hesitant to change it out, the dropper works, but it's heavy so I might look into a lighter unit, the brakes work, but they're weak and lack bite so I might replace them at some point too.

Specs for anyone who's interested:

2023 Norco Torrent A2 HT

Frame: Butted 6061 Alloy size Medium in Green/Copper (2543g)
Frame Protection: Lizard Skins Chainstay Protector small (21g)
Fork: Fox 36 Float SL Factory 29", 140mm Travel, 44mm Offset (1755g)
Rear Shifter: Shimano Deore M5100 (140g)
Rear Derailleur: Shimano Deore M5100 (320g)
BB: Shimano Cartridge, BSA Threaded, 73mm (78g)
Crankset: Race Face AeffectR 165mm (554g)
Chainring: Race Face 30T (63g)
Chain Guide: OneUp ISCG05 V2 (42g)
Cassette: ZTTO 11-Speed 9-50T XD (352g)
Chain: KMC X11 11spd (255g)
Brakes: Tektro Orion HD-M745, 4 Piston, Saint pads (251g/271g)
Brake Adapter: Galfer SB004 PM-PM +23 (33g)
Brake Rotors: Galfer Wave 2mm, 203mm/180mm (186g/138g)
Rotor Adapters: Chaser 6-bolt to centrelock (8g/8g)
Rotor Lockrings: Craft Racing Works (9g/9g)
Handlebar: Renthal Fatbar Lite, 31.8mm, 40mm Rise, 760mm (293g)
Stem: PNW Loam, 40mm Length, 31.8mm Clamp (169g)
Top Cap: God & Famous Ti (15g)
Spacers: God & Famous (15g)
Seatpost: TranzX JD-YSP18 dropper post, 31.6mm, 150mm (600g)
Seatpost Clamp: Norco Alloy Nutted Clamp 34.9mm (25g)
Headset: Sealed Bearing, Tapered (100g)
Saddle: WTB Volt Carbon (161g)
Grips: OneUp Thick Grips (144g)
Pedals: HT Components ME03 Alloy (263g)
Front Wheel: DT Swiss XMC 1200 Spline, DT180 (650g)
Front Tyre: Schwalbe Hans Dampf Super Trail 2.35" (1055g)
Rear Wheel: ZEN Carbon Bike 27.5" + Goldix 60T Ratchet (689g)
Rear Tyre: Schwalbe Hans Dampf Super Trail 27.5" 2.35" (1020g)
Valves: CushCore/Muc-Off 44mm (10g/5g)
Sealant: Silca Ultimate (90g)

Weight: 12.48kg
Original Weight: 15.14kg