Avanti Torrent and Coppermine/Vapour thread

[floody]

Poofteenth more travel out to 140mm, choice of dropper routing, BB30 and ISCG, decent pricepoint for what should be a very capable bike. The Torrent 26 was a weapon and the 29er Coppermine is a brawler so the 650B Torrent should be a banger.

http://enduromag.com.au/site/bike-news/2014-avanti-dealer-show-part-3-the-27-5-torrent/

X7/X9 Type 2, Mavic wheelset, E13 crankset and dual ring guide, CTD fox dampers, $3,349 suggested retail. Fingers crossed they've slackened the angles a wee bit more again.

 

[XYGTHO]

Very nice, I like.

 

[mr636]

Very interesting.... I think the next few months will see a plethora of interesting bikes.
Im waiting to see the new Giant Reign 650b

 

[rone]

Ooh Kendas. Meh.

Will be bought by 8 people who will rave about it, the rest will stay away in droves as usual. A Specialized by any other name is still a Specialized...

 

[Bermshot]

Ooh Kendas. Meh.

Will be bought by 8 people who will rave about it, the rest will stay away in droves as usual. A Specialized by any other name is still a Specialized...

And then ^ thousand will buy it in another color

 

[Ivan]

Ooh Kendas. Meh.

Will be bought by 8 people who will rave about it, the rest will stay away in droves as usual. A Specialized by any other name is still a Specialized...

Hardly.

The Avanti's are much cheaper and have significant differences in geometry.

Also, it doesn't take much to change the behaviour of the Horst link.

Why the hate?

 

[floody]

Ooh Kendas. Meh.

Will be bought by 8 people who will rave about it, the rest will stay away in droves as usual. A Specialized by any other name is still a Specialized...

Sadly I think this is an accurate perception of the view most people will have. You can see this in the fact that after nearly a year my own bike is still the only non-stock image of a Coppermine on google images (and rates higher than manufacturer's own promo!) All of the AM Avantis have been let down by oddball catalogue specs on a highly competent chassis and confused marketing in the past.

As one of the eight or less people who have bought and raved about both a Torrent and Coppermine (and had the opportunity to ride them back to back with a lot of other stuff) I think its a bit of a shame there is such a chip on everyone's shoulder about them.
They're not a by-the-numbers/Taiwan catalogue bike, they are in-house designed with the best R&D you could imagine for an outfit the size of Avanti and really do work well. They have done a great job with the rear suspension specs, they punch well above their weight in travel and are efficient and forgiving. I have to say I wanted slacker angles, dropper and ISCG on my '11 torrent (and they complied for 2013), the coppermine was pretty well spot on for an aggressive 29er (maybe a bit steep, on paper only) having picked up all the torrent's upgrades and then some.

For me both bikes have been a great fit for my gravity oriented trailriding style of things, super reliable and easy to get on with.

I haven't ridden one of the 650B ones but I'm keen to because both the 29er coppermine and 26" torrent had some strong points shared, and some exclusive; a 650B bike might lose all the exclusive ones or mix a bit of both, will be interesting to see.

I've evangelised them as wide as I can but realistically unless more people get on them, they won't develop further which is a shame because the bones of what they have are brilliant. A carbon 650B Torrent with 150mm travel...IMO would be a world class bike.


I'm not sure what makes it a 'specialized by any other name'? They're built by the same people who build Santa Cruz, yes they're FSR but so are plenty of others e.g. Norco, Lapierre...

 

[Maltese Falcon]

I love my 2011 Torrent, main reason is, is that I've never bumped into anyone else with one LOL!, feels like I have have some exotic brand !

 

[goatman]

Avanti Vapour 29er

Sadly I think this is an accurate perception of the view most people will have. You can see this in the fact that after nearly a year my own bike is still the only non-stock image of a Coppermine on google images (and rates higher than manufacturer's own promo!) All of the AM Avantis have been let down by oddball catalogue specs on a highly competent chassis and confused marketing in the past.

Hey Floody here's a shot of my Avanti Vapour 29er (the 2012 version of the renamed Coppermine). Got her for a song ex demo off Avanti Plus Narrabeen and have changed many of the parts including the wheelset. Absolutely smoking bike, best all mountain bike I have ever had (coming off a Specialized SX Trail and also own a Reign).

I have had the fork extended to 140mm and added a Works angleset to slacken another degree - should be around 68 now!

Since the pic was taken I've added a Reverb Dropper, the Angleset and upgraded rear brake (XX1), stem and bars (to Carbon Havens).

Also converted it to a 1 x 10 with a Widgit - best thing I ever did. Weighs 13.6kg with pedals.

 

[eastie]

Exotic? perhaps rare. New Zealand aint that exotic.

I've never actually given them any thought when buying as I (mistakenly) thought they were a spesh knock down out of Europe - to be exact it sounded like a roadie brand out of italy - prob due to the rag of the same name, not a local build coming out of our other state. You learn something new each day!

Nice bike!

 

[F-Bomb]

There are some pictures of my Avanti Torrent 3 here: www.rotorburn.com/forums/showthread.php?264809-Avanti-Torrent-3-Trail-AM-machine-now-2-200

It is a terrific bike, but I am selling it because I bought a bigger, heavier bike. It weighs 12.6 kg, including the KS Lev dropper post and heavier duty tyres.

 

[floody]

Hey Floody here's a shot of my Avanti Vapour 29er (the 2012 version of the renamed Coppermine). Got her for a song ex demo off Avanti Plus Narrabeen and have changed many of the parts including the wheelset. Absolutely smoking bike, best all mountain bike I have ever had (coming off a Specialized SX Trail and also own a Reign).

I have had the fork extended to 140mm and added a Works angleset to slacken another degree - should be around 68 now!

Since the pic was taken I've added a Reverb Dropper, the Angleset and upgraded rear brake (XX1), stem and bars (to Carbon Havens).

Also converted it to a 1 x 10 with a Widgit - best thing I ever did. Weighs 13.6kg with pedals.

Thats really nice goatman! I want to do the same with mine, e.g. extend the fork to 140 and use an angleset or offset bushes to slacken it out a bit further as I really only climb as a means to descend. I'm just waiting on some Stans Flow EXs being built onto my OE hubs at the moment, its 1x10 with a chainguide and renthal ring, Zee derailleur and 36t cassette, renthal cockpit, zee brakes. I love it, it really is a great bike. I need a dropper ASAP.

This is mine soon after I bought it, obviously had some mods since then and there is a nobby nic on the back now.

Before that I had this

I honestly feel they are very underrated.

 

[Llama Shmeagle Spleen]

My 2012 torrent 1, bought it complete for the frame and threw a few nice bits on it. Came from an 09 Foes FXR and the torrent slays the foes, way more composed chassis and much better angles, 160mm fork gives 68deg headangle. 1x10 xtr shifting with xt everything else, stans flow on hope hubs.... she's no lightweight but neither am I.

 

[The Dude]

Good by association?

They're built by the same people who build Santa Cruz, yes they're FSR but so are plenty of others e.g. Norco, Lapierre...

Didn't Giant also used to crow about this..............until they didn't build Santa Cruz anymore?

 

[higgin_d]

Love mine... I've actually thought that I'd love to see a DH equivalent, anyway.... They will be very high on my list for the next rig.

 

[thepotatokid]

Really like those Coppermines - they look like a great bike for a good price too. Pity they have a bit of an odd spec, but I guess it's pretty easy to replace bits over time. Certainly on my list to consider for the next bike...

 

[Maltese Falcon]

Love mine... I've actually thought that I'd love to see a DH equivalent, anyway....QUOTE]

I said the exact same thing to an Avanti rep who was checking out my bike recently, I also requested the that the Torrent be left alone, just add 160mm travel front & rear for the AM/Enduro crowd as he was hinting at 650B for 2014.

Here's my Torrent, 150mm fork & offset rear shock bushings give me a 67d head angle which makes a difference, but I can't really modify it any more than this , so eventually I think I will get a Liteville 301.

 

[higgin_d]

View attachment 269094

she's a nice looking rig man... I like it

 

[floody]

Great to see a few others out there! Falcon, that looks fantastic, I think I would have done the same had I hung onto mine longer. Llama, thats awesome, what do you think of the coil shock?

Didn't Giant also used to crow about this..............until they didn't build Santa Cruz anymore?

'Avanti' have never mentioned it, but the similarities in hardware and general build features speak for themselves.

 

[Phalophalot]

I Bought my wife a Torrent 3(2011) for her to learn to ride on.
I'm slowly morphing it into something she won't recognise as her own as I now love smashing it about myself.

I put a 150mm Rock Shox Revelation on it which slackened out the head angle and raise the BB.
It is now so much more stable when in downhill bomb mode and I'm no longer constantly clipping the padals on rocks.

Any of you Avanti owners done anything about the QR rear wheel like slap in a bolt through to make it any stiffer.
What is your experience with this. I reckon it needs something to stiffen it up? (not that its a floppy jalopy)
What other upgrades do you recommend. Anyone running a chain guide?
What guide do you run?