Devinci’s first foray into the goldilocks wheelsize was recently unveiled at CrankWorx Whistler, one of mountain biking’s biggest stages. The highly anticipated bike instantly captured the hearts of Split Pivot devotees and took the CrankWorx Air-DH crown on it’s maiden voyage out the racing gate under 2013 World Cup Champion Steve Smith.
So it’s no surprise the lines were long at the Devinci tent all weekend. It took several return trips to snap up a Troy in the appropriate size, but the wait was worth it. Huck past the break to see if this bike will help you grab the rainbow strips…
The Troy will be available in both carbon and aluminum iterations, but I was happy to take whatever was on the rack. Our aluminum demo bike weighed in at just a touch over 30 lbs (slightly more than the claimed 29.7 lbs), but the top of the line carbon build is a sprightly 27 lbs. Weights here.
The product spec is pretty remarkable for a bike which retails for $2,999. The Devinci product managers squeezed the incredible new Rockshox Pike into the price point by picking a good selection of budget bomber items elsewhere. For example, drivetrain duties are performed by SRAM’s solid X7 2×10 , which features all the same impressive tech as its more expensive counterparts – including a clutch equipped rear derailleur. The only place the company really took a shortcut was in the brake department. The bike is equipped with Elixir 3s, which also feature a ton of great trickle down tech, but can be tricky to set up perfectly. Luckily, Devinci did a great job of setting up their demo fleet and the set I rode performed well.
The 607mm (23.8“) top tube on our medium bike was paired with a nice Easton 70mm stem, which might seem a little long on paper for my 5’8 frame, but felt right in practice. The roomy cockpit also leaves plenty of space for those riders who prefer to run shorter stems.
A recent change in Devinci’s spec that I’d like to applaud is the inclusion of healthy 780mm wide bars, a welcome change from the narrower bars that were stock just a few years ago.
On the Trail
The Devinci Troy rolls on tweener wheels and forgoes 5mm of travel compared to their popular 145mm travel Dixon trail bike. Compared to that ride, the new Troy has a steeper headtube angle, significantly lower BB (17mm), and marginally longer chainstays. As a result, this bike – formerly known as the chainsaw massacre – corners really well.
At Outdoor demo, I did not get the chance to dig in and hammer XC style because it was unbearably hot in the unforgiving Vegas desert, but Tyler has raved about the climbing prowess of Devinci’s Split Pivot suspension platform in the past. Over the course of my short loop, I was unimpressed with the bikes pedaling performance during a few short out of the saddle climbs, but that might have been ameliorated with a little more air in the rear shock. Unfortunately, time constraints really limited my ability to twiddle with the suspension.
Were the Troy shines is in the descents, which shouldn’t be a surprise considering it’s track record under Canadian Golden Boy Steve Smith (you can view our coverage of his winning Crankworx Air DH bike here). The bike feels lighter than it’s 30 lbs would suggest and easily soaked up rocks like a bike with 10mm more travel. Perhaps the highest accolade I could give the Troy is that I actually thought it had 150mm travel until I checked the spec sheet.
Want more? Check out our full coverage of the Devinci Troy launch here.
