The Troy is Devinci's first foray into the world of 650b wheeled trail bikes. It's already sat on top of the podium at the Air DH at Crankworx, Whistler, at the hands of Stevie Smith, and has managed to conjour up plenty of interest even before officially being released. We took it for a spin in Bootleg Canyon to see if it lived up to the hype.
Frame and equipment: smooth lines and tweak-able geometry
The Troy carbon frame is built using Devinci's DMC-G (Devinci Monocoque Carbon-Gravity) technology – with the exception of the chainstays, which are 6066 T6 aluminium. This not only creates the smooth, swooping lines, but also, according to Devinci, makes it 'flow fast and smooth in rock ravaged environments'. Internal cable routing helps to keep things clutter free, and includes provision for the all important stealth dropper post.
Like the rest of the Devinci full suspension bikes, the Troy uses Dave Weagle's Split Pivot suspension system featuring the concentric rear drop out pivot to balance bump eating capabilities with pedalling efficiency.
The bike's geometry can be tweaked easily, to alter the bottom bracket height by 7mm and the head angle by 0.5 degrees and there's ISCG 05 mounts for those looking to drop some weight and slap on a single ring crankset.
Fox's Kashima-coated 140mm (5.5in) travel 34 CTD fork tackles the bumps up front, while the 140mm of rear wheel travel is controlled by the Kashima-coated Fox CTD shock. Thankfully the guys at Devinci set our test bike up with some more burly Schwalbe Hans Dampf tyres, replacing the Racing Ralphs, which were a little flimsy for desert duty.
Ride and handling: stable and controlled, despite shock tune issues
Unfortunately, our experience with the Troy didn't give us the most accurate impression of the bike due to a shock tune issue. Our bike came equipped with a pre-production shock with the wrong tune, which didn't provide the progression a bike this capable requires, especially when hammering into and through braking bumps. Devinci assure us this will be fixed for production bikes though. Still, this didn't detract from getting a good feel for the fundamentals.
It doesn't take long to see why the Troy is capable of winning raceson high speed, jump-infested tracks. This thing is stable when gravity takes control and the trail gets demanding. Devinci have done a good job with the geometry, giving riders sufficient cockpit room that'll let you happily ditch the standard 70mm stem in favour of a 50mm straight away, bolstering the bike's fun factor.
In the low setting, fast turns are a controlled and planted affair thanks in part to the 337mm bottom bracket height, and the bike certainly gives the impression it can be pushed further than its 140mm travel would suggest.
We did find that the Fox 34 fork required more air pressure than suggested to keep it propped up in its travel, which meant it lacked sensitivity and throws the overall balance of the bike off somewhat.
We'll let you know how it feels as soon as the production bikes arrive with the correct shock tune.
