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Devinci Hatchet Carbon gravel bike chops up the chatter with new composite frame

Written by Tyler Benedict
34 Comments
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Devinci quietly showed off their Hatchet gravel bike last year as a one spec alloy bike ready for the dirt. Now, they’ve committed to carbon with three builds and one gorgeous new frame. The new Devinci Hatchet Carbon does more than just translate the alloy version into carbon. It builds in dropper seatpost compatibility, 40mm tire clearance, an integrated rear derailleur hanger, flat mount brakes and more…

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It’s got 12mm thru axles front and rear, keeping it stiff down low. Up higher, the dropped seat stays and specific layup are designed to give it some vertical flex and vibration absorption to smooth the ride. A 27.2 seatpost complements the frame’s efforts.

Fender mounts give you the opportunity to stay clean…

…and the hidden thru axle fork and adjustable cable routing keeps the bike looking clean. The cable port uses different plastic caps to suit different drivetrain and dropper routing setups.

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The top model gets Ultegra Di2, Mavic Ksyrium Elite Allroad wheels, FSA cockpit and Fizik saddle for $5,749.

devinci-hatchet-carbon-ultegra-di2-gravel-road-bike

Next down is mechanical Ultegra with the same wheels and bits for $4,689.

devinci-hatchet-carbon-105-gravel-road-bike

The 105 model gets Shimano 105 shifters and derailleurs with FC-RS500 cranks, Mavic Aksium Disc Allroad and FSA/Fizik cockpit for $3,099.

Devinci.com
Tyler Benedict
11,281 articles

Tyler Benedict is the Founder of Bikerumor.com, where he’s been writing about the latest bikes, components, and cycling technology for almost two decades. Prior to that, Tyler launched and built multiple sports nutrition brands and consumer goods companies, mostly as an excuse to travel and ride in new places.

Based in North Carolina, Tyler also loves the Vanlife & family adventure travel and is always on the lookout for the next shiny new part and off-grid adventure.

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34 Comments
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Heffe
Heffe
8 years ago

That’s a nice looking bike. Any word on frame weight?

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Frank
Frank
8 years ago

Is there a technial reason why these bikes are all topping out at 40mm tire clearance? Because 42-45mm + much clearance would be much better.

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Mike
Mike
8 years ago
Reply to  Frank

Second that. At least 45mm please. Ideally give me 50mm so I can run a 1.95 tire.

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Charlie
Charlie
8 years ago
Reply to  Frank

But why do you need such wide tires? A 32mm tire on a rim with at least 25mm inner width will be fine on any gravel road. You can run really low pressure without loosing speed or puncture resistance. And for really rough terrain there are MTBs. Just my 2 cents…

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Mike
Mike
8 years ago
Reply to  Charlie

Being able to mix in some pavement and gravel roads with singletrack (and not hate my life) adds an incredible amount of route variety. Why limit yourself just to gravel? And in deeper, looser gravel, I’ll take a 45mm tire every time over a 32mm. Bigger tires allow me to leave my front door with no plan and ride 40-50 mile loops, and in less time. A 32mm on singletrack feels nowhere near as good as my Rock n’ Roads, nor I suspect ThunderBerts (alas I have not tried them because they cannot fit).

Buff singletrack becomes interesting again on a drop bar bike. Underbiking ftw.

The Soma Wolverine has shorter chainstays than my bike by 15mm and fits a 2.0-2.2 depending on tread height and brand. That bikes doesn’t seem compromised by it’s geo.

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Steve
Steve
8 years ago
Reply to  Mike

then buy a cross bike?

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Dinger
Dinger
8 years ago
Reply to  Steve

Cross bikes generally have even less clearance, as well as sharper handling geometries.

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cracked frame
cracked frame
8 years ago

@Frank and @Mike – My guess it’s due to road cranks and Q-factors. You can only go so wide before you can’t use a road crank in the BB. With all the hyrdo-formed aluminum and amount of carbon layup down there, space gets tight.

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typevertigo
typevertigo
8 years ago
Reply to  cracked frame

^ This. I’ve had a bit of crank arm rub on my TCX’s chainstays when I swapped in a 105 5700 crank in place of the stock FSA unit. Not terminal in my case, but it can certainly become a concern with wide tire fitments and the requisite wider rear hub spacing.

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Heffe
Heffe
8 years ago

I figure it’s because unless you do something drastic such as with the Open UP bike, your chainstays are going to get too long.

As countless gravel riders know all too well, a 32mm tire on a rim with at least 25mm inner width will not be fine on any gravel road.

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Fritz
Fritz
8 years ago

Nice looking frames but there’s already many carbon 40mm offerings out there…

Drop the drive side chainstay so we can see more affordable offerings capable of 27.5×2.1 volume WITH super short chainstays. That extra volume is nice for rougher and/or softer terrain. Modern fast mtb tires (Thunder Burt) roll just as quick as many 700c gravel tires with little weight punishment.

Yes, we’re creeping into MTB realm, but drop bar allows for longer epic outing comfort and some increase in speed.

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isrequired
isrequired
8 years ago

that fork is so pretty

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Allan
Allan
8 years ago

Have the alloy version and think it’s a lot of bike for what I paid. These newer ones seem a lot more pricey, but they sure do look nice!

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Marin
Marin
8 years ago

What’s the point in fat “gravel” bikes? Unless you have perfectly smooth terrain these bikes are very rough to ride and sometimes downright dangerous. On the other hand they’re no substitute for a proper road bike because the tires roll horribly over good pavement in comparison to something like GP4000s in 25mm width.

These seem like bad at everything and good at nothing.

Those small knobby tires are not going to last at all over pavement, so a rider that goes through a set or two of road tires a year will go through 10 sets of these.

If you need to go through a stretch of smooth off road track on your ride any bike will do, even road bike with slightly fatter tire and if you ride a lot off road then a proper MTB is much faster, smoother and adventure worthy because it’s hardly going to get overwhelmed and you’re not going to be much slower on road over these kind of bikes with ~40mm tires…

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Mike
Mike
8 years ago
Reply to  Marin

Why do I feel like you have no real experience on these bikes… these bikes are way way faster than a mtb on the road. They probably 5 lbs lighter on average and way more aero.

Sure don’t go to the North Shore with one, but buff and semi-technical singletrack, yeah with some skills, no prob. See: http://www.ibiscycles.com/info/news/the_proper_way_to_ride_a_hakkalugi_by_jeff_kendall_weed

They are amazing some places, like Marin County. 40mm tires roll pretty damn well. Hell, teams are choosing 30mm tires now for Paris-Roubaix…

You might be giving up 15-20 Watts with wider tires (at least measured in a lab), but unless riding an aero frame, wearing an aero helmet, optimizing the fit of your kit, shaving your legs, wearing shoe covers, not wearing gloves, using deep profile rims, and adopting an aggressive bent torso and arm position, you’re leaving far more watts on the table.

speed… its the motor anyway.

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Marin
Marin
8 years ago
Reply to  Mike

Way faster and more aero? Sure, especially with the low gearing they usually come with.
The gearing is made for flats and what if you encounter steep singletrack or offroad path you need mtb cassette with 28-30T to clear? Walk it off?

It’s also slow on road due to lack of gearing, weight and rider position. Road bike would kill it on the tarmac.

Good light XC hardtail with front suspension weighs about 9kg and these are close to it, while road bikes are about 7kg but with lighter wheels, no discs and much lighter tires.

The difference in average speed on the road is probably the same between road and these type of bikes is biggeer than it is between this and mtb.

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Mike
Mike
8 years ago
Reply to  Marin

I’m running a 46/30 crank with a 10-42. Mph of 46-10 at 100 rpm is 36.9. Mph of 50-11 at 100 rpm is 36.5. Duh.

Position on the bike matters more than any other factor in aero. You can save around 25-30 watts with an aggressive position. And I’d wager you can save another 25-30 watts by other means. So you’ve got at least a 50 watt advantage, free. There is no way someone who puts out 300 FTP will not be way way faster on a gravel bike vs a mountain bike.

Don’t you stop pedaling at 30mph anyway to tuck when descending? You probably should be. I would absolutely destroy a mtb in headwinds, crosswinds, going downhill. I don’t think I’ve ever been above 35mph on my mtb on the road, but I can routinely hit 50 mph on my gravel bike when going down.

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Märtin Hœrnüng
Märtin Hœrnüng
8 years ago
Reply to  Mike

Badahbing! You got it Mike. You can fly with 40mm+ tires…and a mild tread goes far.

What 46/30 you rolling, and how did you get it to work with the 10-42? Road Link?

I’m thinking 48/34 11-40 on my all-road getting built…I’m interested in how others have gotten wide range drivetrains to work considering chain capacity limitations…

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Frank
Frank
8 years ago
Reply to  Mike

Wider tires don’t cost you watts, they save you watts.

My road bike IS a gravel bike, and its definitely faster than the road bike it replaced. It weighs about a pound more than my old one. Still 17.5 pounds ain’t bad. The extra weight is probably on the disc brakes, otherwise I carried over most of the drivetrain and contact points.

So what am I loosing? Nothing.

I run the same 50/34 up front and a 11-28 in back, which is great for the steep climbs we have around here, but with 28c tires. For gravel rides I switch to a wheelset with 40c tires and a 11-36 cassette. And now I can race CX on it this fall. Same bike, broad range of uses.

I actually gain a lot.

I’ll definitely be switching to tubeless 35c slicks on my road wheelset for next season the pavement here can be rough and the frame is stiff. This will add only 10-20 grams over the 25c tires/tubes on my old bike! Plus I’ll be able to get by on any surface I want with tires of that size.

Win. Win. Win.

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Jeb
Jeb
8 years ago

If you need more than a 40c tire you need to learn how to ride a bike or get a MTB. DK is about as rough as it gets and the fast guys were all on 38-40’s. Again, anything rougher and just ride a MTB for crying out loud.

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Large D
Large D
8 years ago
Reply to  Jeb

Amen, like it’s tough to source a carbon mtb frame with a rigid carbon fork if you want 2.1 tires. Duh.

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TheOracle
TheOracle
8 years ago
Reply to  Jeb

It’s humorous how so many of you get your panties all twisted up because another person may want to buy a bike that clears 40’s or larger. Who cares what “the fast guys” use. Clearly you haven’t noticed most participants in gravel races are definitely not the scrawny racer boy types. Many have just started riding and have little to no technical ability, some may even be overweight(gasp) or maybe have some type of medical condition all which makes riding on skinny guy tires tremendously difficult. At least they’re out riding bikes which they may not have been doing before. ….and if you think “DK is about as rough as its gets” then you’re the one who should really try harder and go explore more places.

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Frank
Frank
8 years ago
Reply to  Jeb

Wide tires at lower pressures roll faster than skinny tires at high pressures. This is a measurable fact verified with multiple studies. So wider tires roll faster and allow for lower pressure for a smoother ride, for gravel, this out-weights the weight increase. And if you’re riding wide tubeless tires, even less rolling resistance, and minimal weight increase!

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Curt
Curt
8 years ago

Wow some people get all bent about going fat. Enjoy the ride and the comfort.

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Slacker
Slacker
8 years ago

It’s not about being able to run wider tires than 40 mm. The problem presents when you start to Collect mud on your 36, 38, or 40 mm tires (this happens, it’s a bitch, DK is just one example). And then, if you have more clearance, y0u would be able to keep riding, and fast enough to sling the snowballing mud off your tires. Otherwise, you are left carrying your bike, along with 10 pound shoes.

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Kernel Flickitov
Kernel Flickitov
8 years ago

Your tire preference shouldn’t matter to anyone else but yourselves. In other words, nobody cares about your freaking ideal tire width! STFU and ride!

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Craig
Craig
8 years ago
Reply to  Kernel Flickitov

Best comment right there. Thumbs up Kernel

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john smith
john smith
8 years ago
Reply to  Kernel Flickitov

Thank you ! Seriously people just ridiculous talk.

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Mike
Mike
8 years ago
Reply to  Kernel Flickitov

is 8000km enough? or do I have to ride 15000km? 20000km?

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Markus
Markus
8 years ago

Really nice bikes, I have to remind myself that I do not need another bike.

They don’t show a frameset-only option on their homepage. Does this mean there is none? For other models Devinci shows framesets.

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Wolf
Wolf
8 years ago

Why so expensive? A Norco Search with full Ultegra mechanical and DT Swiss wheels goes for around $3500. It has a little less tire clearance. But why go for the Devinci?

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Volsung
Volsung
8 years ago

Call me old fashioned but I ride single track on my mountain bikes. I ride my gravel bike on gravel. Overlap is a compromise and makes the bike not as good at either.

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karli
karli
7 years ago

Can you use a bike trainer with this bike?

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Rico
Rico
7 years ago

This bike will indeed fit a tire a bit larger than 40c. My recently purchased Hatchet will clear a 42c tire that is just at 44mm wide, knob-to-knob, with a 42mm wide casing. Sufficient room for all but the sloppiest conditions. Note: the WTB 650c x 47c tire fits, as well. Very impressed with this bike, thus far.

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