Maybe probably the most aggressive phase of the MTB market is the ‘quiver killer’ path bike. Path bikes are right this moment’s model of what the first-ever mountain bikes got down to be… bikes that may deal with any sort of terrain. Since there’ll by no means be one excellent mixture of journey, wheel dimension, and geometry for everybody, Devinci cut up their up to date Troy path bike into two fashions.
I’ve been driving the 150mm/160mm Troy, which is extra appropriate for my native trails than the shorter journey Troy ST. The Troy impressed me with its preliminary sensitivity and eagerness to soak up greater bumps, whereas not giving up the assist you’d need from a path bike. The Troy’s quick rear finish and MX wheels additionally supply snappy dealing with and fast cornering, making this a succesful and enjoyable bike to experience.
Devinci Troy GX AXS 12S – Primary Specs:
For a full rundown of all of the options, specs, and geometry for the brand new Troys and Troy STs take a look at my launch article. Right here’s a fast rundown of the important thing specs on the Troy GX AXS 12S I examined:
The Troy body is constructed from Optimum G04 6061 T6 aluminum. This 5th era mannequin will get a completely redesigned body with new options like straighter tubing, inside cable routing, in-frame storage, and UDH compatibility. This path bike is on the extra aggressive aspect, providing 150mm of rear journey and a 160mm fork. All sizes of the Troy come on MX wheels however will be transformed to full 29” setups.
The whole dimension medium Troy GX AXS 12S, together with pedals, weighed in at 36.29 lbs.
Journey Impressions – Geometry/Match:
At 5’10”, I rode a dimension medium Troy (and for geo reference, examined it with its inventory MX wheelset). Devinci is updated, however not pushing any boundaries with the Troy’s geometry. The Troy is large enough to really feel like a path bike of right this moment, however Devinci has ensured it rides like a real path bike, not a mini-enduro.
This bike doesn’t supply any geo adjustability when you preserve it on MX wheels, however fortunately Devinci selected very applicable angles and measurements for it. Because the chart above exhibits, you do have two geo choices when you run a 29” rear wheel.
The Troy’s 460mm attain is lengthy sufficient to really feel roomy, however not excessively prolonged. This permits the Troy to keep up a reasonably playful experience really feel and supply a level of stability you’d need from a contemporary path bike. The Troy’s rear finish is kind of quick at 432mm. This mixed with the 27.5” rear wheel makes for impressively agile dealing with and fast cornering. It’s additionally simple to elevate the entrance finish for wheelies and whip the bike round when leaping.
After testing bikes with longer rear ends, I discovered they provide nice traction on actually steep climb sections. Regardless of the Troy’s shorter chainstays, I by no means had any points with rear wheel traction on this bike. Whereas some bikes’ attain and chainstay lengths are nearer by the numbers, the Troy nonetheless feels very well-balanced. I not often felt the necessity to get out of the saddle whereas climbing, however once I did the affordable body proportions made it simple to throw my physique weight ahead or again as wanted.
If I had to decide on a set angle for a present path bike’s head tube, it might be 64°… and that’s what Devinci gave the Troy. This angle is slack sufficient for assured descending on steep, quick, and tough terrain, nevertheless it nonetheless handles tight uphill switchbacks properly. A seat mast angle of 77.8° leaves you in an amazing place for placing energy on the pedals.
Devinci appears to have nailed an excellent BB top for the Troy at 343mm. It actually doesn’t really feel excessive, nevertheless it appears it’s simply excessive sufficient to keep away from most pedal strikes. After many check rides, I hardly bear in mind tagging my pedals on something, and I did discover them simply clearing a number of rocks or roots I often be careful for.
Suspension – Setup:
My suspension setup on the Troy adopted my traditional recipe for compression/rebound settings, and it labored out very well instantly. Devinci’s linkage does require extra air stress than ‘physique weight = psi’, so I ran 152 psi within the RockShox Tremendous Deluxe Final rear shock for my 135 lbs weight. That put me on the 30% sag supposed for the Troy. All through my testing I by no means felt the necessity to alter the settings; I don’t assume I might have improved upon the Troy’s experience qualities with additional fidgeting!
Climbing:
The Troy proved to be a stable climber, and the one factor that stood out to me was its very good traction on bumpy singletrack trails. Like most bikes, I’d use 40-60% of the journey climbing with the shock in agency mode. Nonetheless, the Troy may be very delicate off the highest, and that offered a cushty experience and nice grip even with the shock firmed up.
On clean surfaces, you may see the Troy’s rear finish transferring along with your pedal strokes, however that movement is restricted to the primary little bit of journey. With the shock in agency, the bike solely dips barely earlier than its assist ramps up and retains it rolling together with good momentum. I additionally observed while you’re pushing arduous on the pedals, the Troy’s linkage places that energy to the rear wheel very effectively.
After climbing a very technical, tough path I hit 60% journey in agency mode. Even on this rocky ascent, I used to be completely proud of the traction I bought in agency. The Troy’s preliminary sensitivity retains its rear wheel planted on the path, so personally I’d run the shock in agency for any climb. I appreciated the useful stage of pedaling assist and was by no means left wanting extra traction.
I did attempt bumping up the low-speed compression whereas climbing, however rapidly determined utilizing the shock’s agency mode is less complicated and simpler. Growing the LSC did present extra assist in opposition to pedaling forces and lowered bobbing whereas within the saddle, however not as a lot as merely flipping the shock’s change.
There’s a huge distinction between climbing this bike with the shock in agency versus open mode. With the shock huge open, the Troy willingly dips deeper into its journey with a linear really feel for not less than the primary half of its stroke. Whereas seated, I observed much more bob rolling by way of dips within the path, and the rear finish moved extra throughout standing sprints. In open mode, I hit 75-80% journey whereas climbing the Troy.
On smoother trails, the linkage itself nonetheless pedals pretty nicely, however on bumpy terrain, the open shock provides simply to impacts and doesn’t match the effectivity of climbing in agency mode. Traction is unbelievable with the shock left open, however the Troy feels much more wanting to climb with the shock in agency.
Descending:
When pointed downhill, I nonetheless discovered the Troy’s initial-to-mid vary softness was its most unusual and spectacular experience high quality. It smooths out small bumps within the path in glorious vogue, but in addition handles medium and huge hits very nicely too. As talked about above the open shock affords an initially linear really feel that sucks up bumps willingly, however there’s a level the place mid-stroke assist kicks in.
The Troy’s Cut up Pivot linkage does an amazing job of staying composed on rooty and rocky sections filled with medium-sized bumps. The bike stays firmly planted by way of high-speed chatter and holds a line simply because the linkage absorbs and dulls the impacts of fast, repeated hits with ease. The Troy took the brunt out of just about each sort of impression very capably, making it a simple bike to maintain on-line on rougher trails.
The progressivity of the Troy suited me completely. After many rides, I’d discover the o-ring proper on the backside of the shock, but I hadn’t skilled any harsh bottom-outs or felt any cringe-worthy wheel impacts. I did handle just a few arduous knocks, however solely on massive, sharp-edged rocks and the bike nonetheless took these impacts nicely sufficient to maintain me (and the rear wheel) rolling.
Whereas I’ve emphasised how the Troy is smooth off the highest, it’s nonetheless supportive at mid-stroke… however maybe just a few mm’s deeper into the journey than some path bikes. I like this suspension really feel, because it affords top-notch bump absorption but additionally maintains ample assist for arduous cornering, pumping, and leaping. On flowy trails, the Troy’s rear finish was simply supportive sufficient to offer it the full of life experience qualities you’d need from a path bike. It simply occurs to eat up hits notably nicely too.
Whereas I’m not a really heavy rider, I discovered the Troy’s body fairly stiff. Considered one of my ultimate rides was down a quick, tough run I really like to make use of for suspension testing, and the Troy rallied straight by way of the roughest patches. This isn’t a motorbike that squirms or flexes noticeably, it stays pointed the place you level it!
Shed Body Storage:
The Troy’s Shed body storage compartment isn’t the most important on the market, however it’ll carry the fundamental necessities. The latch mechanism is a bit small, however I had no drawback working it with gloves on and it functioned completely. I’m joyful to report I didn’t hear any rattling from the Shed storage compartment all through all my check rides.
Earlier than one experience, I observed I had the instrument bag stuffed a bit too huge, and it held the underside finish of the storage door barely off the body. I merely rearranged my instruments and bought the door sitting flush, however that’s one thing riders may wish to be careful for. The door is skinny and versatile, so it may be latched however not sitting flush in opposition to the body if one thing inside is pushing upwards on it.
Devinci’s zippered instrument bag match my massive c02 canister, inflater head, valve core instrument, plug instrument, spare plugs, a spare battery for the AXS pods, and a small multi-tool with just a little room to spare. Water apart, that is every little thing I’d usually carry for a typical experience.
Fortunately, the Troy frames depart a variety of room for water bottles. With Devinci’s aspect entry cage, the medium body suits a big bottle! There’s not a lot clearance to spare, however sufficient to simply entry the bottle.
Parts:
The Troy will get a 160mm RockShox Lyrik Final fork, which carried out nice and offered greater than ample stiffness for this bike. Dialing within the fork didn’t require something particular or distinctive, sticking with my typical settings bought it operating nice for me.
The Troy’s SRAM GX AXS derailleur bought barely skippy on me throughout one or two rides however in any other case carried out extraordinarily nicely. I loved exact shifting (even beneath load) and had no mechanical points from the AXS shift pod or derailleur. I additionally assume the bash guard included on the GX crank is a pleasant contact.
The SRAM Code Silver brakes had been nice. They had been grabby by the tip of the primary experience, and with 200mm rotors entrance and rear, they simply supply ample energy and nice modulation. The brakes remained constant and dependable all through my testing, by no means overheating or requiring any upkeep.
I’ve ridden a number of units of Race Face ARC30 rims, and so they have confirmed their sturdiness. I’ve by no means finished any important harm to those wheels, and the Troy’s held up very well. Each wheels are operating spherical and true in spite of everything my check rides.
Devinci caught with ‘tried and true’ Maxxis Minion DHF/DHR II tires. The double-down casings stocked on the Troy are perfect for rougher path networks and stored me rolling with no pinches or punctures.
The SGD Belair 3.0 saddle was comfy sufficient, and in contrast to the identical saddle I rode on the Devinci E-Troy Lite I not too long ago examined, this one didn’t creak in any respect! The 180mm journey SDG Tellis dropper submit offered loads of clearance for a medium body.
As a ultimate contact, Devinci provides the Troy GX AXS a Race Face Period carbon handlebar. I just like the inventory 800mm width, which may at all times be chopped down if most well-liked.
The Devinci Troy GX AXS 12S retails for $5549. Frames can be found in Gloss/Matcha solely.
