Devinci Spartan 2.0

Who else is digging the revised Spartan? Having owned V1, it looks like V2 only improves on what was a competent and very fun bike.

The Spartan ad on the PB homepage header at first glance appeared to say;

Devinci's all-new Carbon Spartan comes bottle equipped.

Which would be a hilarious as a bottle mount on this sort of bike is a highly sought out feature

I know this isnt PB, but Im afraid 'looks like a Trek' applies here. Vertical mounting of the shock and the same split pivot rear end is very similar. Im sure its got a few nice improvements over the V1, but I sure wish they would stop shortening chain stays.  Thats not a Devinci specific thing, just a industry wide gripe.

it's shorter by 2mm, nothing really to write home about

Posted by: rnayel

it's shorter by 2mm, nothing really to write home about

If they hadn't increased the reach by 30mm and the wheelbase by 40mm it might not be anything to write home about.  Increasing reach and WB and shortening rear ends is going in the wrong direction in terms of stability.  They should be looking to match CS length with frame size (like Norco is attempting).  Short rear centres combined with longer reaches and wheelbases make weighting the front wheel harder and harder.  For a bike like the Spartan which is more about pointing downhill at speed, my opinion is that they are going in the wrong direction with CS length .

Posted by: JBV

most new bikes in this category look similar, and probably feel quite similar. good bikes are within 10% of each other these days, as with most vehicles. 
the chainstay length issue never goes away eh? i'm merely a rider of a bikes, not a tester, racer or engineer so i don't really know, but the claim is that with a longer front center you get all the stability you need while the short rear maintains good handling. clearly, not everyone agrees including bike designers and professionals. you would think this could be empirically tested and put to rest.

In my mind one of the better analogies would be with regards to something like skis.  As skis/snowboards get longer, do the bindings stay in the same place or are they moved forward to create more of a balance?  Long front centers on bikes need to be balanced with longer stays, particularly with larger sizes.  When front centers started to get just slightly longer than what we had 'traditionally' it wasnt as big an impact.  Now that they are getting into the 'is this too long?' region the effects are definitely noticeable I think.   I think it would be hard to test given different rider styles and preferences, not to mention bike geometries.

Posted by: shoreboy

Posted by: JBV

most new bikes in this category look similar, and probably feel quite similar. good bikes are within 10% of each other these days, as with most vehicles.
the chainstay length issue never goes away eh? i'm merely a rider of a bikes, not a tester, racer or engineer so i don't really know, but the claim is that with a longer front center you get all the stability you need while the short rear maintains good handling. clearly, not everyone agrees including bike designers and professionals. you would think this could be empirically tested and put to rest.

In my mind one of the better analogies would be with regards to something like skis. As skis/snowboards get longer, do the bindings stay in the same place or are they moved forward to create more of a balance? Long front centers on bikes need to be balanced with longer stays, particularly with larger sizes. When front centers started to get just slightly longer than what we had 'traditionally' it wasnt as big an impact. Now that they are getting into the 'is this too long?' region the effects are definitely noticeable I think. I think it would be hard to test given different rider styles and preferences, not to mention bike geometries.

The previous model (V1 I suppose), was well balanced but felt cramped/short. This one, considering the changes should feel less cramped. I look forward to demoing one to compare and seeing whether the balance has been thrown off.

Take it off any sweet jumps?

I think Wentings does Devinci demos

Posted by: FLATCH

I think Wentings does Devinci demos

Shops sometimes bring demos in. If Lynn Valley or Cove don't have Demos (I believe that they are the only Devinci dealers on the shore ATM), I'm hoping that either Rick or Ken is on the new Spartan for 2018 and willing to lend it out for a quick Fromme lap.

Alternatively, there is always the demo centre in Whistler.  They might get some for 2018.

JBV: I agree, I've never seen a Devinci truck roll out with a Demo fleet such as Pivot had on Seymour yesterday.