Incoming: 2015 Avanti Torrents, Competitors, a CX bike and a Fat Bike

Over the last couple of days the folks at Avanti have been showing off their upcoming 2015 range to their Australian dealers, so we thought we’d take advantage of everything being laid bare on the Melbourne Showground exhibition floor and head over as well to find out more about what’s new for Avanti MTB’s this year, but mostly to find out how that prototype Avanti Torrent we showed you a few weeks back finished up.As you can see from the above photo it finished up rather nicely indeed. The last couple of years have seen incremental changes take place with the Torrent, but this 2015 model sees the single biggest year-to-year model changes. Most obvious is the change to carbon for the front triangle; it uses Avanti’s own proprietary ADT CM6 Carbon and features internal cable routing up the wahzoo! Everything but the brakes are routed internally, there are even two internal options to route dropper posts, just in case you don’t have a stealth. There’s also an increase in travel from 140mm to 150mm front and rear. The head angle remains the same though at 67º out of the box, but is adjustable by flipping the Geo Chip to 66.5º (you can even get to 66º by internally adjusting the fork’s travel to 160mm). Oh, and the the most welcome change is a shift to a burlier 34mm  fork on all but one model (and if you were paying attention last year you’d know that it has medium sized wheels). Excited? You should be, this Torrent is dialled.

Now I can already hear you complaining about the fact that it’s rocking a dual-ring set up. The reality is that the majority of customers out there want that gear range, but on the Torrent CS 7.2 (CS = Carbon Suspension, 7.2= 27.5/top model) it comes spec’d with E13’s TRS+ cranks, which feature a removable spider and can then have a single ring added like the TRSr setup that we showed you here. It makes the change pretty damn simple really, although it’s only on that top model. If you didn’t see last year’s Torrent, the lower mount on the shock there is actually the Geo Chip and when flipped lowers the BB from 347mm to 342mm as well as slackening the head angle. Avanti’s MTB product manager Brent Burrows mentioned that ALL Torrent testers ended up running the bike in the slacker setting, with some even opting for 160mm travel up front as well.

Not much has changed out the back; there’s a bit more room for wider tyres and the right hand chainstay has a new design to make room for the increase in travel. Front derailleur mounting is via the diminutive E type, keeping the seat tube nice and clean, and chain retention is via E13’s alloy-backed TRS+ Dual Guide.

Like I said earlier, the carbon Torrent features internal cable routing for Africa.

And some of it heads here, to X Fusion’s HiLo SLS post. We are currently reviewing this very affordable stealth-routed two-bolt system, and so far it’s performing perfectly. ProLogo’s Scratch saddle handles arse-support duties.

Most of those cables go via here.

How rad is that box-section seat tube! Clean and functional lines, medium sized wheels, a Horst Link suspension that has been refined over the past four years. It’s going to be pretty hard for this bike to suck, and we can’t wait to get on one for a ride. We are waiting on New Zealand pricing but in Aussie this bike will retail for AUD$5499.95 and availability will be later this year. There is a lower spec’d Carbon model, the Torrent CS 7.1, with the most notable difference being that it has Fox 32mm forks.

And for the first time it’s available as a separate frameset. What’s extra rad about the frameset is that it comes with Fox’s Kashima coated CTD Float, a shock not found on any other models. It also comes with the X Fusion SLS post and… a custom colourway, just so people know you built your awesome spec yourself. Again New Zealand prices aren’t set yet but AUD$2999.95 will get you this bad boy.

And let’s not forget the two alloy models. This one is the Torrent S 7.2, the higher spec’d of the two bikes, and it checks in at AUD$3699.95. Like the new CS models it features 150mm of travel both front and rear but the internal routing is absent. The very sexy 35mm Marzoccchi 350CR forks handle suspension duties up front, making this fella a fairly burly bike. The 350 uses 35mm stanchions and is for 650b wheels only. It features 150mm travel although it can be changed internally to 160mm. The CR model pictured has compression and a rebound adjustable damper.

The Torrent S 7.2 also misses out on an internally routed dropper post but still gets the new X Fusion two-bolt HiLo 100.

But if you want to upgrade to an internally routed one, well there is a pre-drilled hole just waiting for you.

Unlike its big carbon brother, the S 7.2 doesn’t feature E13’s TRS+ cranks, just the TRS model, which means that there is no removable spider, which doesn’t mean you cant go 1x, it’s just easier with the upgraded cranks found on the carbon version. Rear suspension duties are looked after by a RockShox Monarch RT. It’s not the DebonAir model, but you can upgrade the internals too if you felt it was needed. But with the time we’ve spent on Torrents over the last three years we are pretty sure you’ll be fine.I just realised that we haven’t talked about Avanti’s new head badge yet. This new logo, designed to represent the world’s fastest bird, the falcon, is now in place on EVERY new Avanti model right across road, kids, comfort and obviously MTB. In some cases he’s an actual old school headbadge, and on others it’s like it is here, painted.

The fourth Torrent model is the alloy Torrent S 7.1, at AUD$2799.95 this is a ludicrously good bike for the price. The exact same frame as the 7.2 but with an obviously lower spec, it’s an extremely dialled one. The 34mm X Fusion Sweeps kick things off to a great start and the rear shock is the same as the 7.2s. A Shadow Plus-equipped SLX rear mech is mated up to a three chainring Deore crankset, there’s no dropper and quite a lot of the parts are house-branded Zero components. Considering this burly trail bike comes in at under the carbon Torrent’s frameset price, it’s a more than good entry point into Avanti’s acclaimed line of Torrent bikes.

While the 29″ Coppermines and Ridglines remain in the line-up, the new 100mm Competitor frameset that will available for 2015 signifies that change is in the air when it comes to designation, name and graphics. The Competitor name will replace the Ridgeline in 2016 but next year you will have a chance to get a jump on everyone else and get the new-look frame complete with a Fox Float CTD remote rear shock and all. As far as I know the frame is unchanged from last year’s on a technical level.

Never fear you old school hardtail XC fans out there, Avanti haven’t forgotten you. Well if you want to ride a 29er they have, as the new two new carbon Competitor complete bikes are built solely around the medium wheeled platform. The Competitor C 7.2 pictured is the higher spec’d model of the two featuring Fox Float 32 Evolution CTD forks a 2×10 SLX/XT groupset and the always reliable Deore M615 brakes stopping DT Swiss X1900 wheels.

Although it’s built around 27.5 wheels, the new Competitor frame closely resembles the silhouette of last year’s 29″ wheeled bike, with well thought-out routing and its distinctive rear stays. One of the few differences between the Competitor C 7.2 (pictured) and its lower spec’d C 7.1 brother (and both of last year’s bikes) is that the 7.2 now gets a 12mm rear thru-axle for added stiffness, a very welcome addition. Brent did point out that the dropouts are not going to be an item you’ll just be able to buy to up-spec your 7.1 model, but they will be available as replacements for bent and damaged dropouts.

Oh no, they didn’t! Oh yes they did! This is the very appropriately named Tracker fat bike. I don’t know what to say really as I’m not a fan of the wider wheeled phenomenon. So let’s see if I can just let the photos do the talking. Look, it’s got 4″ wide tyres! Look, it’s got a 9 speed cassette and a Deore rear mech!It does have a very cool Falcon head badge and Avanti have designed its straight steerer to resemble the look of their tapered head tubes. It’s got brakes as well, and a pretty cool rear end and brake mount. If you want to know anything else you’ll just have to wait until it comes out, because as soon as Brent said the words Fat, I just tuned out.But I didn’t tune out when I spied this brand new carbon ‘cross bike! Actually the Giro AR C1 is kind of a cross bike disguised as a gravel bike. A burly Shimano RX31 wheelset means it can handle bunnyhopping CX madness and the hydraulic Shimano disc brakes mean stopping in the mud and sludge will be a little easier. It’s 105 equipped with 22 speeds and…  

…like its MTB siblings is sporting some clean lines thanks to some very cool internal cable routing (I know that’s a cable disc, I can assure you production will be hydraulic). Have rear stays ever looked so damn good? Plenty of clearance for more aggressive ‘cross tyres.So that’s about it…

Well it’s not really, there’s a 162 page workbook sitting on my desk right now and almost every page has a bike on it. These are just the bikes that I thought you’d want to know about. I know I for one am extremely excited about actually getting a chance to ride the new carbon Torrent; everything about that bike just seems spot on. Sure, a carbon rear triangle would be nice but the alloy one has already proven that it’s stiff enough on last year’s bike and at around the 12kg mark as it is, it’s probably not worth it.

Hopefully I can update all these bikes with New Zealand prices in the next few days and as far as availability goes you’re looking at later in the year. No one could say definitively but I’m guessing around the end of September, again as soon as we know, you will…