First Ride: 2021 Devinci Marshall - Aluminum, Affordable, & Made in Canada
The last couple of years have shown us that an exorbitant price tag isn't a requirement to get a functional and capable machine, as more and more well spec'd aluminum bikes hit the market. Devinci's new 130mm travel Marshall trail bike and their Kobain hardtail both bring a good deal of performance to the table, selling for $2,099 and $1,699 USD, respectively.
We've had the Marshall on hand for a few weeks now and even amidst winter weather have managed to log some miles on it so we'll go into detail on that bike. We'll also touch on the Kobain, further down, as well.
We've had the Marshall on hand for a few weeks now and even amidst winter weather have managed to log some miles on it so we'll go into detail on that bike. We'll also touch on the Kobain, further down, as well.
Marshall Details
• Wheel Size: 29" (M-XL) 27.5" (XS-S)
• Aluminum frame
• 130mm rear travel, 140mm front
• SRAM and Shimano 12s build options
• Sizes XS to XL
• 460mm reach (medium)
• Lifetime frame warranty
• Price $2,099 USD
• devinci.com
• Wheel Size: 29" (M-XL) 27.5" (XS-S)
• Aluminum frame
• 130mm rear travel, 140mm front
• SRAM and Shimano 12s build options
• Sizes XS to XL
• 460mm reach (medium)
• Lifetime frame warranty
• Price $2,099 USD
• devinci.com
Frame Details
The made-in-Canada Marshall has 130mm of travel on a 6061-T6 aluminum frame. The bike uses 12 x 148mm Boost spacing for the rear axle, a departure from some of Devinci's other bikes that use Superboost. There is a threaded BB and Enduro bearings on all pivots. Tire clearance for all frames is 2.4". The XS and S frames have 27.5" wheels and the Medium - XL sizes are 29".
There's room for a water bottle on all sizes. Dropper posts are of course standard, with the XS having room for 100mm of drop and the XL doubling that at 200mm. There's compatibility for chainrings as small as a 28t up to 32t and the frame has a lifetime warranty.
The XS size is made with the intent to get riders as small as 4' 11" on the bike, pushing the envelope towards younger riders as well. The smaller wheel size helps riders more easily maneuver the bike and it aids in tire clearance when riders are getting low over the back end.
The 130mm of travel is delivered via Devinci's Split Pivot suspension design. Devinci settled on 130mm as ideal for a trail bike. The Troy has a little more and the Django has a touch less, and 130mm was ideal for people getting into the sport. It's not limiting for riders looking to push themselves and progress, according to Devinci, and it's also not so much travel that the bike would feel awkward and unwieldy on mellower terrain.
Geometry & Sizing
The Marshall is available in sizes XS to XL. The XS and S sizes are built with 27.5" wheels and the larger frame sizes are 29" wheels - there's no option to interchange wheel sizes. Chainstay lengths vary depending on bike size. Devinci believes this offers riders the best feel per size. XS and S frames are 430mm long while M-XL are 435mm.
XS size frames have a standover of 717mm and a reach of 420mm. A medium has a reach of 460mm and the XL stretches out to 500mm. Seat tube angles vary a very slight bit between sizes with a medium sitting at 77-degrees. Head tube angles on all size frames are 66.5-degrees.
Options & Price
There are two different spec options for the Marshall, Shimano, and SRAM. Both bikes are priced at $2,099 USD. Both builds come out to a touch below 35 lbs complete.
The Deore 12s build uses a 12-speed Shimano Deore drivetrain, Deore brakes, a RockShox 35 Silver 140mm travel fork, RockShox Deluxe DebonAir shock, a TranzX dropper post, and Maxxis Minion DHF/DHR tires. (One note here - due to supply constraints when the test bike was sent to me, my ride had SLX brakes, as pictured. Production bikes will be Deore.)
The SRAM SX 12-speed build carries over the RockShox suspension and pairs it with a full SX drivetrain and SRAM Guide T brakes.
Devinci Kobain
Kobain SLX build
Devinci have also released a new hardtail, the Kobain that starts from $1,299. The bike is built in the same factory and, like the Marshall, it's geared towards more entry-level riders looking for a bike they can trust to get them into riding more aggressive trails without limiting them or causing too big of a hit to their finances.
With a 75-degree seat tube angle, 65.5-degree seat tube angle, and 445mm of reach on a size medium, the bike is made to be versatile and capable. The bike is available in sizes S-XL and all models use 29" tires.
The Kobain is available in two configurations, with Shimano SLX ($1,699) or Deore ($1,299) parts. The SLX build has a Marzocchi Z2 Rail 130mm fork and 2.6" Kenda Regolith tires while the Deore fork has a Rockshox 35 Silver and 2.6" Minions.
Kobain Geometry
Kobain Deore build
Ride Impressions
I've had the Marshall with a Shimano Deore build out on the trails for a few rides at this point. Not long enough to do a full review (stay tuned, this bike will be in our upcoming affordable bikes Field Test), but long enough to develop some initial ride impressions.
The bike is simple to get dialed in and feeling good with minimal effort. The bike's angles aren't too extreme in one direction or the other and it is comfortable climbing everything from long gravel roads to technical singletrack. There's not a ton of control or fine-tuning of the suspension to be done, as it is the base level, but the tune that comes on the shock and fork hasn't left me wanting any massive changes on my first few rides. Some riders may feel the need to add a volume spacer in to change the ramp up a touch, but that's a simple task that can be done at home, or at any bike shop.
The bike feels solid and planted on the descents, with a good amount of traction and control, something riders of all abilities will be able to appreciate.
The spec of the Marshall is quite ideal right out of the box. The Deore drivetrain continues to impress, and the Maxxis Minion DHF / DHR II time combo works well on a wide variety of trail types. The TranzX dropper post is smooth and consistent, and although some riders may be looking for a post with more drop it will fit the majority of riders and the frame can accept a longer post.
As I mentioned above, we'll have a full Field Test review featuring the Marshall along with a number of other bikes coming up in the future.
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Great time to be a mountain biker.
There are plenty of other brands that offer decent bikes at this price level (Canyon, Cube, Giant, Vitus, etc).
IMHO, a 2000 bike now is a LOT better than a 2000 bike of a few years ago, so take inflation completely out of it and you've got it good. Even when you look at how weak the brakes are on a 2k ride vs a 7k ride, they are still stronger than a few years ago. They only feel weak because it's so much easier to go faster.
Price is going up and value is going down.
Companies have been open about price increase recently.
A good comparison is a giant stance from 2017 vs one from this year.
IMO some of these manufactures are reacting to just that - a lot of decent used bikes on this site are gone so so fast because it offers exactly what this manufacture has identified.
I refuse to b some Dbag riding around on a $6k rig while having 5 cent skills - i was on a dam shopping cart combo sewing machine last year and need better.
Ultimately if this new DeVinci model sells then it's worth it, but in your opinion is it resonable
Stance 1: $2100, NX 1x11, fox rhythm fork and float performance shock. This bike: $2100: 1x12 deore, RS 35 fork and deluxe debonair shock. The 35 sectors are a huge improvement over the old 30s and I'd say pretty on par with rhythms. The drivetrain is better. Better geo. 4 pot deores it looks like from the pictures. So what am I missing? This seems equal or better in every single way for the same price?
So for the same price you are getting a more capable bike (better value).
I'm lucky that i have some friends/family in the MTB community for advice on what's a good deal or crap -even though they nearly killed me on Fromme or in Squamish last year
I guess the better/skilled you get performance becomes more important then value - this bike and the used route interest me because i'm focused on the value aspect.
So far it's been worth it...
however, it's great that there are plenty of good options in that price category (Vitus, Marin...)
Can you please elaborate on why SB+ is anti-consumer ? What do you exqctly mean ?
Like most of 29 trailbikes (SC Hightower for instance and others), this bike is limited to 2.4in max tire width.
SB+ allow less frame design compromises around critical bb/suspension pivot/CS yoke area and to use wider tires, which is a good thing unless you haven't tried yet.
And Devinci states below : " Troy and Django using SB+ spacing have ample clearance for tires 29 x 2.6 and our entry level builds are not super far from the Marshall in terms of pricing."
So you can have your cake and eat it.
You are not a smart person and it’s showing.
You are not a smart man and it’s showing.
I wouldn't be mad about a change of a de-facto standard, if the succesor is innovatice and offers discernable benefits. But since that's not the case with SuperBoost Plus, I dislike it. DT Swiss said in an interview with Enduro Magazin a while back that they basically think that it is just a design fad, with benefits so miniscule that they are hard to even accurately reproduce.
For me, it's the coexistence of Boost and SB+ that grinds my gears, not one or the other.
I will also add from a technical perspective that I have concerns on certain hubs about the effect that the wider bracing angles can have on both the J-bend head of traditional spokes and on the thread-nipple junction in the rim. And this is despite any SB marketing claims offered otherwise at the wheel-company level. Some hubs and rims in SB combos will play nicer than others. I have seen at least one situation so far where the stresses at those areas seems to subtly increase. What is needed is a greater focus on making rims strategically drilled and wider enough to accommodate 157 mm soundly and safely (as well as all wheelbuilders being alert to the need to spec appropriate rims for SB builds). Furthermore, many riders probably need a wholesale recommendation in many cases to go straight-pull over J-bend in SB. As a professional builder, J-bend spokes make the most sense to me and for 90% of my everyday riding clients. I prefer J-bend generally, for various reasons. But if given the license to do a top-down custom wheelset spec based around SB hubs, my first preference would be for a straight-pull design, which would seem to address the arguments on wear physics that I have mentioned. With straight-pull, angles are more direct and nothing crosses and touches in the spokes. But, from here, my logic becomes admittedly circular: I still need more quality and affordable straight-pull SB hub products to work with!
Anyway, just an honest perspective from a guy on the frontlines. This is a useful thread and the above comments certainly have some merit to them. Cheers.
Many thanks for your insights. What you said about flanges vs straight pull made a lot of sense, especially for 27.5 wheels and hubs with high flanges.
I had a couple of SB+ wheels hand builts for customers, and I can add to your hub list the new hope SB+ pro4 hubs, with SB flange spacing (wider than 150 DH mm), in both straight pull and flanged shapes.
DT produce a true 350 SB+ too, in both straight pull and flanged shapes.
To this point, wheels were built with hubs cited above laced to 27.5/29" DT XM480 with sapim CX rays and DT SWISS SQUORX Pro Head brass nipples, with a wide, spherical contact area. To this point, except a retruing, wheels were faultless, but I will keep an eye on the nipple heads and flange area.
That said, despite all of that, I've paid a visit to most MBS that were local to the factory and almost none were selling Devinci mountain bikes from the below $2,5k CAD range, so that's something I'm quite disappointed in. They mostly seem to offer bikes from foreign manufacturers instead.
Guerilla Gravity? Turner? its soooo important to keep manufacturing know-how on the continent.
I would love to see a North American Bike challenge, similar to the euro builds you show cased recently.
Good work Devinci!
GG and Devinci are the bigger ones still in NA; Lenz, REEB, and Foes are the smaller ones.
And also, not wanting to be rude, but simply to clarify: The name of the company is Devinci. We certainly see it written in a ton of different ways, Divinci, DeVinci, De Vinci, Davinci, Da Vinci, etc... but let's get this straight once and for all : Devinci, simple as that.
With a 75-degree seat tube angle, 65.5-degree seat tube angle, and 445mm of reach on a size medium, the bike is made to be versatile and capable.
Is it a tandem?
I also bought another "canadian" enduro alloy frame, a Banshee Rune v2, but the "canadian" was only the sticker, below it made a "Made in Taiwan".
I love my Devinci, and we need more cheaper alloy bikes!
Nevermind.
Tell me more
Seems like they're doing the same thing that Rocky Mountain is doing though. Where they make an inexpensive alloy frame model you can buy of both the Altitude, and Growler (FS, and hardtail), but the frame only options are either Carbon only, or simply unavailable :/.
I am a 100 percent east coast fanboy of Devinci. If it was not for border closed I would drive to factory. It's only 5 hrs or so north.
This is a game changer and hopefully will get more frames done locally. Both Devinci and GG driving a wagon I am loving to get in.
Seems the price recently increased to 2799$ ($2,299 USD) as per Devinci website.
Wonder how it will turn out when it's time to pay the balance at the shop...
Ask for an e-mailed receipt from the shop, showing the deposit and balance owing right away. Don't wait to hash this out in a couple of months when you pick up the bike. You can even blame it on your partner if you want to not be the pushy one. Pretend they want to see how much you actually spent on the bike. Hope it works out for you.
Just heard other testimonies where buyers are called by their shop telling them there is an increase and that they should either be ready to pay it or that they'll cancel deposit and pass the bike to the next buyer (and we know the next buyer is more than easy to find). I have not received such call so I'm hoping my shop's politics to be less rude (least to say) than others have experimented.
For our clearance, we always aim on the very conservative side to prevent any issues for our customers. We are looking to have 10mm of clearance laterally (with the CS and SS) and 12mm with the CS/SS bridge. So, for example, the DHF 2.5 you are mentioning here would leave us with 8.5mm lateral clearance and 10mm with the CS/SS bridge. For some, this might be plenty and they would ride it like that. But we have to follow certain standards otherwise it gets messy.
If this is a key issue for you, we advise going to your LBS and checking a few specific options with them. Depending on your tire preference, it might be a non-issue!
My friend has that same bike in carbon (and S1 wheels) and the clearance is really low. But he's running an Aggressor 2.5 without issues.
I will look at his frame next time we ride and double check, but he's a beanpole riding an XL frame so I suspect he's a bit better off for that reason too.
FWIW I ride an Alloy Patrol and probably will replace it with another alloy frame at some point, so it's not like I'm a carbon fanboy.
What length dropper post comes on a L and XL Marshall? Don't the chain stays on the Marshall increase on L and XL also?
- Dropper posts on the L and XL are going to be 130mm. I assume all or most Marshalls (maybe not the XS?) will come stock with the Tranz-X 31.6 x 130mm post. A little disappointing but by no means a deal breaker.
- The chain stays do get a little bigger (5mm) on the L and XL frames to keep a more balanced front to back feel.
I also spoke to SRAM about the new for 2021 Rockshox silver and found a couple of details.
- The fork's progressivity can be adjusted with the use of air tokens.
- The fork's travel can be internally adjusted without the use of separate air springs. I thought this was a nice inclusion.
- Weight for a 29" 140mm travel fork is just under 2400g. A little heavy, but surprisingly not all that much more than a Recon (150 g less) or Judy (only 50g less with spindly 30mm stanchions).
- There is no way to upgrade the air spring to the Debonair and no upgrades available for the damper. That was what I suspected about the damper, but I thought you could put the Debonair from the 35 gold into this silver fork. Apparently not.
FS ready to shred out of the box, with decent tires and geo? yep there a lot of other brands that offer similar opackages, however that only beneficial for MTB;
In terms of 32 versus 35, that's almost certainly the reason for the flex you are experiencing. Going 35 mm is huge, and because stiffness isn't merely just a number and is also other aspects of fork construction, Rockshox 35 mm punches above its weight. The reason the Lyrik and Boxxer historically run 35 mm stanchions as well is because Rockshox manages to make 35 mm very stout. Generally speaking, and even though Rockshox has done this actively on OEM-type forks in the past few years, 32 mm ought properly to be considered as an XC/light trail rider's stanchion size only. Adapting 32 mm tubes to bigger-travel (and bigger user) riding was always bound to come with a flex problem for a brand that does a good job overall keeping flexion at bay. Again, add in Torque Caps to a 35 mm fork if you own hubs/will own hubs that can receive them (two companies making affordable quality hubs with cap compatibility include DT and Hope), and you get that much more out of the big tubes.
In terms of bike weight, you will probably find that it's not such a big deal after all. Remember, you will only feel a hefty bike day in and day out if: a.) you're constantly on climbs; or b.) that weight is "unsprung" weight. So, for example, with my clientele, I'm often tasked with putting effort into getting someone an upgrade new wheelset that is hardly weight-weenie slim but is lighter enough than a present wheelset to reduce this major contributing element in unsprung weight. Could be something for you to factor in - regardless of where you might eventually get your upgraded wheels - in the event that you ever desire more from the new hoops. If the hubs coming with this bike don't offer Torque Cap compatibility and you decide that you will eventually want that from your front wheel, the extra incentive regarding unsprung weight is the reason you would look to an upgrade like the Hope Pro4 or DT hubs with light butted spokes and Torque Caps fitted up front.
I mean both are Trail bikes but have different price tags.
Would like to go for one of them.
Building it locally is ofc a huge thing, BUT, taking pride in what you give to your customers, also is. Have you seen the Alu frames Norco puts out for example, for that price range?
"Oh, duh, its made in Vietnam, dude"
- So what? You want to tell me that people can learn to weld (or sand welds) there but not in Canada or the US?
I personally value craftsmanship and attention to detail, and I wish companies would train their employees to achieve it. I want my bike or car or camera etc to be made "wherever", not to get a sticker and a tax exemption while paying minimum wage to a few people and fudging QC to keep up numbers, but because people believe and support their communities by investing in them.
Sanding welds on a bike frame is a labor intensive process, which in turn adds cost to the frame. Also you have to over build the frame tubes a little bit to account for the loss of material due to sanding, while maintaining the same strength and durability. A lighter, stronger and cheaper frame sounds good to me at the expense of some cosmetics. Find a bike for $2,600 CAD or less, with better parts hung on a better frame. I don't think you can, trust me I've tried.
We all have to prioritize what's important to us. To me I'll take a bike made in my home country (or in North America in general) over one made in Asia with questionable environmental and labor policies. Devinci's factory is located in the same community as the mines that produce the aluminum. So much time and energy saved not shipping raw materials and finished goods across the globe is a huge win for the environment and the domestic economy. This is a BIG selling feature to me, but your priorities could be different.
Which one ya'll taking?
We do have muddy, even very snowy winters (especially up here in Chicoutimi), hence why we provide a lot of actual clearance around the tires.
If this is a show stopper, our Troy and Django using SB+ spacing have ample clearance for tires 29 x 2.6 and our entry level builds are not super far from the Marshall in terms of pricing. Make sure to check them out!
www.devinci.com/en/bikes/mountain
A few thousand dollars for many years good times is soooo worth it.
1) Work More Hours
2) Make More Money
3) Spend Less Money of Other Stuff
Check yourself, dude.
You could be Nacho the polo player introducing the sport of polo to underprivileged children.
Your argument says more about the minimum wage than it does the price of this bike.
-> Canadian bike news website
-> Price listed only in USD???
Why are you booing? I'm right. Update your recommendations to be more precise.
Actually have no idea just a theory.
Is that you..?
Last I checked, Pinkbike is not Congress. And, correct me if I am wrong, but also Canadian. That means your argument is even less effective.
Again, I will reiterate my initial response: go away.
Go complain about socialism while waiting for your stimulus check, enjoying your national and state parks, enjoying the benefits of medicare, medicaid, social security, unemployment, small business loans, clean air and water, workers comp, safety regulations for workers, and artificially low priced fuel. All of which are decidedly socialist in nature.