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I feel like I can hear the derailleur just by looking at it 🙊

Torrent is clean. Bottle rocket is adjustable freeride. Quake is a capable race geo. (Iirc) Different bikes for different folks . I freeride and park my race bikes - and xc ride my enduro bike. But the world does seem to want FUN 27.5 park bikes and the racers do seem to want FAST DH WEAPONS. Why can’t we have both? The marketing isn’t even for us. There are literally armies of 15 year old boys AND GIRLS! Getting really into modern freeride, just riding down shit and off shit and being park rats in jnco jeans where I live...

If you don’t like the torrent DH, the bottle rocket and the Marin quake you might not have kids who are regularly sending their carcasses— emulating Everything they see on YouTube— I do have kids. They don’t quite send yet…. but my fellow parents that have high school aged kids that send ( like what the fuck!! These “kids” are sending seriously raw lines, maybe not heavy af but the youth are currently charging hard everywhere and always ) are always pleased to see much cheaper, and aluminum frames that aren’t going to break the demographic for these “ not...

Most geometry adjustments are flaw not a feature to some people. I have ridden enough bikes over the years that I can adjust to a few mm or a degree here or there quickly. What I want is the simplest, easiest, most reliable frame. Adding in flip chips and adjustable headset cups just adds more places for tolerance stack-up to fail and creaks (or worse) to show up. Based on the shear volume of warranty experiences I’ve had to deal with, no thanks. I’d probably pay the extra ~$400 for the Norco over a Transition to NOT have flip chips.

The Torrent isn't for bike nerds. It's for people that set it and forget it and spend their day lapping A-Line and Dirt Merchant. And for that purpose, the Torrent sounds like a perfect bike. Simple, reliable (hopefully) and affordable.

I will probably get flamed for this, and will offer the caveat that I have only been skimming this page, but I feel like these bikes are great propositions and are in my eyes cool bikes because they’re made to be cheap and practical workhorses for younger demographics that don’t have as much disposable income and want a playful park bike that they can maintain themselves. Maybe I’m just haven’t been following the thread well enough, but I don’t see why the ebike bit is necessary to explain the appeal. Not everyone can afford bougie boutique racing machines, or ebikes...

No kidding! I sold my Izzo and I’m not really sure why. I still haven’t found anything I want to replace it with.

I have a '23 Smuggler and every time I get that "new bike" itch I end up asking myself why? The Smuggler isn't perfect but it's so damn good I can't convince myself a new bike is worth it (and I'm pretty darn good at finding reasons to justify a new bike). I suspect a lot of folks are in a similar situation...

I'm curious to see the details on the new Revel, it's most likely the new Ranger. I wish it weren't flex stay, but I understand that most of the bikes it will be comparable to also have flex stays. I'll hold off on asking if it's coil compatible, I don't wanna start that again.

That would be interesting and cool. I’m assuming if that’s true, they think they can gain some sort of benefit/feel required by having a high kickback design, and mitigate the kickback with the ochain. I really want to live in a world where I have a hard time deciding between a sight and a process. Currently neither of them float my boat.

Heard a while ago that the Optic is going to go back to a more traditional non-idler design. I also heard they were coming with O-chains… 🤔

Do we see Norco re-vamping the sight/optic in the next year? I just walked through the local shop. Lots of them there. Really common to see norcos around the area, and I have not seen a single current (high pivot) one being ridden in the wild. I want to see them go back to the normal pivot and just kind of refine what they already had.

Just get us a photo of the newest yeti 5 bar analog bike at the taco stand and it’s not a derailment I think I’d settle for a Horst Kona at a burrito bar Or a carbon evil revolt 29 at a cake shop

Taco enjoyers visiting Bham have to check out Mi Rancho, tacos are a dollar for some flavors and very cheap otherwise. Netos across the street if you like burritos. (please don't ban me for a taco based derailment)

Here's something neat, came on a DH Rallon. UDH direct mount Shimano saint derailleur. Not sure if orbea is the one making this or Shimano but interesting to see.

Sounds like it came into play for Loïc today.

I think the tacos explain everything.. Also, isn't there a bike reviewer who wheelies everything also up that way? Was the bike in the parking lot a medium or an XL?