​A few months ago Devinci brought us out to the Arizona desert to sample their latest offering, the Django. Featuring 27.5 wheels, 120mm of rear travel, ultra-short chainstays and some aggressive geometry, Devinci set out to create a bike that's as playful on the descents as it is capable while earning them. Offered in three different 1x11 builds in both carbon and aluminum, as well as a 2x11 build available in aluminum only, the Django's price starts at a very reasonable $2,589 and goes up to $5,689 for the carbon XT build. Having dubbed their new trail bike "the perfect all-arounder," we rode the bike on the rolling trails of Sedona, the rough, exposed and dry conditions offered by Phoenix's South Mountain and more recently on the trails in our own backyard here in SoCal.

You might be asking yourself why Devinci came out with a bike so close to the Troy? Devinci was quick to point out a few key differences. The Django's leverage was optimized around its 120mm travel chassis, specifically for pedaling performance. By staying higher up in the travel coupled with the shorter-travel package, Devinci has built the Django to be a better climber than the Troy. While the different leverage tune does make for a bike that doesn't quite absorb bumps as well as the Troy, the climbing trade-off was worth it in their opinion. Devinci designed the Django for trails that feature shorter ups and downs while the Troy is better suited for long ascents and long descents. With a half-degree-steeper head angle than the Troy, at 67.5-degrees, Devinci built this bike for the aggressive trail rider who just doesn't have the terrain a 140-160mm bike demands.​

Initial Impressions

Devinci set us up on the carbon SX 1x11 build, which features SRAM's X1 group, Guide R brakes, DT Swiss X1900 Spline wheels, RockShox suspension and a Race Face Turbine 725mm wide handlebar. Knowing right away that a 725mm wide bar just doesn't work for our 6ft-tall tester, if we were to purchase this bike that would be the first part we swap out, and that's exactly what we will do for our long-term test of the Django. It should be noted that if you choose to purchase a carbon Django you'll be limited to a 1x setup. While this is something we personally don't mind, if you're a 2x fan you're better off purchasing the alloy version which will accept a front derailleur.

Bar-width issues aside, the choice of components on the SX kit are all pretty solid parts. Bold, but not obnoxious, matte black and white graphics and the internal cable routing makes for a stout and sharp-looking ride. Our size large Django, sans pedals, weighed 29.25-pounds (13.27-kg). Devinci let us know they didn't aim to produce the lightest 120mm bike, they set out to make the most aggressive.

On The Trail // First Ride Impressions

While 29.25-pounds isn't exactly a feather-weight when compared to other 120mm bikes, the bike definitely climbs like a lighter bike. Starting off on the trails in Sedona, which feature punchy climbs followed by relatively short downhills, we were impressed with the pedaling efficiency of the Django. We felt minimal pedal bob in the open compression setting of the Monarch rear shock, never feeling the need to flip it into the firm setting. This was a bit surprising as Devinci recommends running the rear sag at a full 33%, which is how we set the bike up. The forward bias and 67.5-degree head angle kept the bike's front end down, even when things got steep. All this made for a great climbing bike that shined on quick, punchy climbs.

When things pointed down, the Django feels more capable than we'd expect from a 120mm bike. While it's obviously not going to descend as well as a 140-160mm bike, we found ourselves wanting to test this bike out in rowdier terrain to see how much we could throw at it. For the pretty mellow trails in Sedona and South Mountain we were riding, the bike was a perfect balance of climbing prowess and descending fun. With its pretty progressive leverage, we were particularly impressed by how responsive the Django was to rider input when it came to pumping corners and backsides. The bike rewarded us with additional speed, upping the fun-factor of an otherwise fairly mellow trail. Which is exactly what it sounds like Devinci was intending to do when it came to designing the Django.

Once we got the bike home it was time to see just how much we could push the Django's limits. We took the bike to our local trails that we typically ride on our 160mm trail bike. While the narrow 725mm bars surely had an impact on the bike's descending capabilities, we were actually pretty surprised at what the bike can do. We did notice the bike tended to kick us a bit forward on bigger, square-edged hits a few times. That said, while we couldn't open it up as much as we could on a bigger bike, the Django was still a pleasure to ride in the more downhill-oriented conditions.

We're only scratching the surface with our ride impressions, so stay tuned for our full, in-depth review of the Django SX Carbon, dropping soon.

For more info, visit devinci.com

Words // photos by Fred Robinson