Avanti Torrent 3 – First ride review

Avanti are slowly gaining momentum on our shores thanks to UK distributors Paligap. We couldn’t wait to get the Torrent 3 out on the trail to see how it behaved.

Ride and handling: Will match your trail aggression pace for pace

Throw a leg over the Avanti and the 590mm top tube (medium) instantly seems slightly short due to the steep 73-degree seat angle. Once we had it on the trail, though, the Torrent was surprisingly comfortable. The only change to the cockpit that we would be keen to make would be to fit a wider handlebar – the 710mm wide Easton Haven bar it came with felt as though it held the Avanti back from being ridden as aggressively as was intended for this particular beast.

The 2×10 gearing was just the ticket on the climbs, with no funny suspension action or quirks resulting from pedalling in either chainring. The Kenda Nevegal tyres felt as though they had a surprising amount of drag when compared to the amount of grip they offered, and didn’t do the lightweight Easton wheels justice.

Don’t let that bit of drag put you off, though. The Avanti shines on the downs, where a little aggression goes a long way. The Torrent doesn’t like to be pottered about on, it likes a bit of tough love with the throttle held wide open.

We did find that the 15mm axled Fox 32 fork suffered from some forward and backward flex when it came to stutter bumps. And the Fox RP23 rear shock, although soaking up the larger compressions without a problem, wasn’t as sensitive as we’d have liked on the smaller bumps in each setting. It sent quite a lot of vibration up through the frame, yet didn’t have any serious detrimental effect on grip.

The 68.5-degree head angle is, we think, a little on the steep side, considering how the Torrent begs to be ridden, with the head angle also contributing to the short wheelbase at just under 44.5in. This meant things didn’t feel quite so stable on fast sections. On the plus side, though, corners were lightning fast and nimble, which certainly helped boost confidence.

Frame and equipment: Stiff and powerful enough to tackle technical routes

The smooth curves of the Torrent are thanks to the ADT hydroformed Ultralite tubing, which helps keep weight low and strength high. The 135mm (5.3in) of rear wheel travel comes from the Avanti Tru-4 suspension system, with a quick-release 135mm rear axle.

The front end of the frame has been well thought-out, with a tapered head tube keeping the front end stiff, and a high direct mount front mech too.

The Torrent 3 is the top build on this frame, with Easton’s Haven wheelset, bar, stem and post. An X0 rear mech and X9 front mech are controlled by a pair of X9 shifters, with power coming through SRAM X9 2×10 cranks.

Suspension is handled by a Fox RP23 Adaptive Logic shock and 32 Float RLC FIT fork.