Avanti Hammer S (2024)

The 2024 Hammer S is Avanti's entry point into the down-country platform, and it is a more interesting bike than its position in the range suggests. It shares its frame, suspension layout, brakes and geometry with the Avanti Hammer S1.

What separates them is the drivetrain and the tyres. Everything that decides how the bike handles and how it stops is the same.

That matters if this is your first full-suspension bike, because handling and braking are the parts you cannot upgrade cheaply later. Drivetrains and tyres you can.

The 130mm front, 120mm rear layout

Avanti build the Hammer S around a butted AL-6061 ultralight alloy frame with 120mm of rear travel, then run a 130mm fork up front.

The longer fork is deliberate:

It slackens the head angle and pushes the front wheel further ahead of you, which is what keeps a short-travel bike calm when the trail steepens.

Paired with a longer reach, you get a bike that climbs efficiently but does not feel like it is trying to tip you over the bars on the way down.

For most Victorian trail riding, including Lysterfield, You Yangs, Forrest and Buxton, 120mm is enough travel.

What it costs you is composure through repeated big hits at speed. What it gives back is a bike that accelerates when you stand on the pedals instead of sinking into its own suspension. If you want a broader view of how travel maps to riding style, our dual suspension mountain bikes page sorts the range that way.

Where the money went, and where it did not

Being straight about this is more useful than marketing jargon. Here's where the money went:

SRAM DB8 four-piston hydraulics on 180mm rotors. Four-piston callipers at this price are genuinely unusual. Most full-suspension bikes in this bracket run two-piston brakes.

The difference shows up exactly when it matters: on a long descent, holding speed with one finger instead of hauling on the lever. The DB8 also uses mineral oil rather than DOT fluid, which makes bleeds cheaper and less messy.

The Marzocchi Z2 Bomber Air with the RAIL damper is Fox's value-brand fork and it uses a simplified version of a Fox damper. It is heavier than the forks on bikes twice the price and it has fewer dials. It also keeps working when it gets hot on a long descent, which a coil-sprung budget fork does not.

Syncros Duncan is internally routed and, more to the point, it is fitted as standard. Plenty of bikes at this price still ship with a rigid post and expect you to spend another few hundred dollars. Being able to drop the saddle out of the way is the single biggest confidence change a new trail rider feels.

Where there was a small sacrifice in the build:

microSHIFT XCD 11-speed with a ProWheel crank. microSHIFT is a Taiwanese manufacturer that has been making drivetrains for decades, and the XCD group shifts cleanly and holds up.

The range is 11-46T rather than the 10-51T you get on 12-speed groups, so the easiest climbing gear is not quite as easy. And while parts are readily available, they are not on every shelf in every shop the way Shimano is. We stock and service it, which is the practical answer to that.

Kenda Regolith 60 TPI folding. The rims are tubeless ready, but these are not the tubeless-ready Pro casing the S1 gets. If you want to run tubeless, and you should eventually, budget for a tyre change as well as sealant and valves. We can quote that at the same time as the bike.

Hammer S 2024 or Hammer S1

The frame, fork, shock, brakes, wheels, dropper and cockpit are the same across both. The S1 adds a Shimano Deore 12-speed drivetrain, with the wider 10-51T range and the easier climbing gear that comes with it, and tubeless-ready Kenda Regolith Pro 120 TPI tyres.

If your riding involves long or steep climbs, the extra gear range on the S1 is worth the step up and you save the tyre swap. If you are getting into full suspension and want the most bike for the least money, the Hammer S has the same chassis and the same brakes under you.

Questions we get asked about this bike

Is microSHIFT any good?

Yes, with a condition.

The XCD 11-speed group shifts precisely and is durable, and microSHIFT has been making drivetrains for decades.

The real trade-off is gear range: 11-46T against the 10-51T of a 12-speed group means a slightly harder easiest gear on steep climbs. Availability of spares is fine through us, less certain if you are far from a shop that stocks it.

Are four-piston brakes overkill on a 120mm bike?

No. Braking power is about controlling speed, not just stopping, and more power means less lever effort and less hand fatigue on a long descent. Four-piston brakes at this price are the standout feature of the build, not a mismatch.

Can I run it tubeless?

The rims are tubeless ready, but the standard Kenda Regolith tyres fitted are not the tubeless-ready casing. You would need tubeless-ready tyres as well as sealant, valves and tape. Worth doing, and worth pricing in.

How is this different from the other Avanti Hammer S on your site?

They are different generations of the bike. The other listing is the earlier platform: 130mm rear travel, a RockShox Recon Silver fork, SRAM SX Eagle and two-piston Shimano MT200 brakes. This 2024 model is the current down-country platform with the Marzocchi fork and four-piston brakes.

Is this enough bike to learn on?

Yes, and more relevantly, it is enough bike to keep once you have learned. The frame, geometry and brakes are the same as the model above it, so you will outgrow the drivetrain long before you outgrow the bike.