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Panorama Cycles Torngat

This past winter I was sentenced to field test a couple of Chromoly fat bikes and today we’re going to share the experience of field testing the Panorama Cycles, Torngat. Panorama is yet another regional bike brand. Panorama is part of the burgeoning bike culture of Quebec, Canada. Panorama joins other regionally popular brands like 9:Zero:7 (Alaska) and 509 (Green Bay, WI) which were launched by bike shops that were early adopters and have built a following based on their local riders’ love for fat bikes.

Panorama offers the Chic-Chocs carbon and the Torngat steel fat bikes. Both models feature 27.5″ wheels. Both of their fat bike models feature graphics created by Pellvetica, from Kitchener, Canada. The Torngat takes its name from the Torngat Mountains located in the Arctic Cordillera in Northern Quebec. It’s a great-looking fat bike made from Reynolds 725 high-grade steel tubing with a carbon fiber fork.

The Torngat came equipped with Mulefut 27.5″ wheels, which makes it the first steel fat bike that we’ve tested that rocks the B-Fat wheel diameter. Simon from Panorama told us that their medium-size frame fits more like a large and after riding the medium, I would agree. I can usually ride either a medium or a large without any issues. I think that the larger wheel size and the fact that we ran large volumn 27.5 x 4.5 tires contributed to the medium feeling more like a large.

While we’re on the subject of tires, our test bike came with a set of Vee Snow Avalanch 27.5 x 4.5 sneakers and I have to say that Vee Tires suck gnome balls. Tires have a huge influence on how a fat bike feels. The good news is that Panorama, like many small brands, is willing to build its customers’ bikes with other (better) tires. As soon as I could, I ditched the Vee tires and mounted a pair of Cake Eaters that we had lying around the shop. I’m not a fan of Cake Eaters, but they’re WAY better than those Vee tires. The availability of 27.5 fat bike tires remains to be hit or miss so we just ran with what was available in our inventory since Panorama wouldn’t send us any alternatives. The new set of Terrene tires was transformational and brought the Torngat into the realm of acceptability.

Our demo bike came with a Shimano SLX 1 x 12 drive train. The newish Shimano 12 speed continues to impress me in the field. I question how durable SLX will be due to the number of plastic parts, but for the few months that we tested them, they held their adjustments and worked great. The crank is a RaceFace Aeffect. The brakes are from Sram and worked ok during testing. The bar and stem are from Ritchey and the only real clinker is a Kalloy seatpost. I swapped it for an SDG Tellis dropper that we had lying around because I like running dropper posts. YMMV. The complete bike came in at just over thirty-five pounds, which is pretty normal for a steel fat bike with alloy wheels.

The Torngat frame has adjustable sliding dropouts and has an opening built into the rear triangle to allow the use of a Belt Drive. (if you’re into that sort of thing) It has braze-ons for a rear rack and the carbon fork has triple cargo zits. The geometry of the bike on paper would make you think that it would feel pretty progressive, but I never got that feeling during testing. Maybe I’m getting used to slacker front ends or maybe it just rides like a normal fat bike because that’s what it felt like to me. The Torngat is a solid steel fat bike with features that differentiate it from the steel offerings from say Surly. I enjoyed my time with the Torngat. It quietly held its own against a Wisconsin winter and never let out a wimper.

For more information about Panorama Cycles visit – https://www.panoramacycles.com/en/product/torngat-275-en/

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3 Responses to Panorama Cycles Torngat

  1. Dirt McGirt April 23, 2023 at 5:10 pm #

    Wow! A bike review that wasn’t a trek?!

    Did it hurt?!

    • Eliseo April 28, 2023 at 7:04 am #

      This wins the stupidest comment award. There are tons of reviews on this site that cover lots of different brands.

  2. Borealwoods November 6, 2023 at 7:08 pm #

    I have a Chic Choc, amazing bike, great brand, great customer service

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