Mtn Bike Help - Norco Torrent or Specialized Fuse?

Triathlon Forum
1

I’ve been thinking for a while now about upgrading my old Gary Fisher mtn bike to something a little more current. I live and ride in the northeast with plenty of roots, rocks and climbs. Based on my post a few months ago I think I’ve narrowed it down to a 27.5+ hardtail, and further narrowed that down to either the Norco Torrent 7.2 or Specialized Fuse Comp. Similar geometry and specs on both from what I can tell, although I’m certainly not a mtn expert. Kind of leaning towards the Norco just because it’s something a little differentLooking to drop somewhere between $1500-$2000 max. Anyone have any feedback? I’m open to other suggestions as well but I’m pretty sold on a hardtail given my budget. Thanks.

2

If you want to save some money, you might consider the Access Growler Charlie (Performance house brand).
Components pretty similar (maybe slightly better than?) to the Norco Torrent 7.2, but it only costs $800.
Supposedly the frame is “made by Fuji” (Performance and Fuji are now owned by the same people), and it does look like it might be a dumbed down version of the Fuji Bighorn frame (no internal routing).

I bought one during the Thanksgiving doorbuster and paid $640, and it has turned out to be a great bike.

If you go this route, keep in mind the sizing is off by 1 (AGC Medium = Large on a typical bike).

3

You’ll get much better answers here:
http://forums.mtbr.com/forum.php
.

4

No help on the comparison, but I have ridden 27.5+ a bit (including the Fuse).

Bikes like this are a lot of fun. Their utility depends on your needs.

  1. They do feel slower than your narrower tire alternatives.
  2. You can swap in 29 wheels / tires for speedier journeys, you’ll just have a bit of extra frame and fork clearance.
  3. The bikes are incredibly stable. It will encourage you to do things that you may not on a normal MTB tire
  4. In my opinion, the cornering traction isn’t “better”, it’s “different”. I think you can load and grip a normal MTB just as much, however, the fatter tire drifts more controllable. Therefore, they have similar absolute grip, but the cliff isn’t as precipitous once you push too far on the wider tire
  5. Completely usable on Shallow to moderate depth snow packed trails.