- Do you say Devinci or Devinci?
- Devinci.
- That's not how you say it.
(mumbles)
- Devinci.
(speaks in foreign language)
(both laughs)
(speak in foreign language)
- Maple syrup.
(rock music)
(nature sound)
- Hey everyone, my name is Sarah Moore
and we're here on the sunshine coast
for the Value Bikes' field trip.
And if we're talking Value Bikes,
we have to talk about Devinci's recently updated Marshall
which at $2,299 is the least expensive
of all of our full suspension bikes here.
The Devinci Marshall has 130 millimeters of rear travel
paired with 140 millimeter fork.
It comes in five sizes, extra small through extra large.
The smaller sizes get 27 and a half wheels.
While the medium, large, and extra large get 29er wheels.
The aluminum frame is made in the Canadian brand's
manufacturing facility, North of Quebec city.
And it comes with a lifetime warranty,
which is almost as good as
a lifetime supply of poutine and maple syrup.
The Marshall has a thread and bottom bracket
and then there's protection on both
the downtube as well as the chainstay.
With a 66 and a half degree headtube angle,
the Devinci Marshall is actually
the steepest full suspension mountain bike
that we have on test.
Is paired with a 77 degrees seattube angle
which is also one of the steepest that we have here.
On our size medium test bike,
there's a 460 millimeter reach
and a 1,203 millimeter wheelbase.
On the size extra small and small bikes
with the 27 and a half wheels,
there's 430 millimeter chainstays.
While on the medium large and extra large
there's 435 millimeter chainstays.
The frame fits a 31.6 dropper post,
with drops ranging from 100 millimeters on the smaller size,
all the way up to 200 millimeters on the largest size.
The Devinci's...
A 130 millimeters of rear travel are controlled
by a split pivot suspension design.
All that means is that the rear pivot rotates
concentrically around the axle.
Our test bike is the Devinci Marshall 29 Deore 12s
and it retails for $2,299.
It comes with a 140 millimeter RockShox 35 silver fork
and it deluxe R DebonAir rear shock.
The Marshall Deore 12s, as you might expect,
uses Shimano's 12 speed Deore drive train,
Deore brakes, Max's minion DHF and DHR tires.
And it transacts dropper posts.
One thing to know here due to supply chain constraints,
our bike has SLX brakes, but it'll come with Deore brakes.
There aren't any fancy carbon versions of the Marshall
or even any aluminum versions that are more expensive,
but there is a Sram SX version,
the retails for the same price as the Deore version.
Well, there you have it for the details.
Let's get into what you really want to know,
how it rides out on the trail.
(soft rock music)
- So tell me what you needed to do.
- Yeah, so we set up the suspension
according to the manufacturer's suggested settings.
And then for the fork,
RockShox has a handy Trailhead app,
so we use those recommendations.
and then we don't have control tires for these bikes.
So we set up the tires same air pressure
for all of the bikes, 21-23.
(chill music)
- So Sarah, none of our value bikes are light.
That's not the goal here with these bikes
but the Marshall, didn't it weigh like 49 pounds?
- Something like that.
- No I'm just joking everybody.
(laughs)
But it's pretty chucky, I think it was 34 pounds.
So a couple pounds heavier than the Ibis.
Which is, to be fair, a bunch more money.
But how did that weight feel on the trail?
- It does feel like it's very efficient,
but at the same time if you've got a heavy bike, you know,
it's funny because you're paying less for a bike
and you're getting more, right?
- How you getting more?
- You're getting more weight.
- Oh its heavier.
(laughs)
- That's like the cheese thing,
like the mozzarella cheese with all the holes.
- Oh yeah, You're paying more for the Swiss cheese
and then you get holes in it.
So there's no holes.
- Helmets, bike helmets are the same.
- The lighter the bike...
- You pay more for the lighter helmet.
- Yeah.
So it sounds like what you're saying though
is that the Marshall does a reasonable job
of hiding that weight on the trail.
So I think the question I have for you is
should a $2,300 a trail bike be lighter
or are you okay with how much it weigh? Does it matter?
- You know, it's not all about weight,
and in this category of bike, it doesn't matter as much
as if we're looking at like cross-country bikes.
So I think it is, I think it's still reasonable
that this bike is, you know, 34 pounds.
And you're going to feel it a little bit on the climbs,
but you know, that's just something
you're gonna live with.
- It's a good thing that it has efficient suspension
that's for sure.
- Exactly. Yeah.
And that suspension it's efficient without feeling like,
you're not able to make it up through routes and stuff.
You know, it's not like you're spinning
out on every single route
because it's like just too efficient, you know?
- So let's get into that tech stuff Sarah.
You're in the thick of it.
You're in those slippery roots
it's been raining, it's been muddy.
What is the Marshall like
compared to some of the other bikes?
- [Sarah] So if we're looking at the Ivis Ripley
that bike just like accelerates up the climbs.
You know, it really has a lot of like pep in his step.
And the Marshall to some degree feels more like
that bike than it does that to the Giant Trance
or the Polygon Siskiu, those bikes are super active.
Whereas the DW link and the Marshall's the split pivot link
they're just a little bit more kind of precise
and feel like you can kind of climb more efficiently.
(chill music)
- All right Sarah, you know what comes next?
Let's talk about descending.
You made it to the top without that lockout lever.
what happens on the way back down?
- You know what, this is a really fun bike to descend.
I would say it feels really planted,
it feels stable, position is comfortable,
not the longest travel bike on test here,
but it really feels like
one of the more confident on the downhills.
- Right. So we're going to get into the comparisons here
because we can't get any farther
without talking about that Giant Trance X.
So that's a 135 150, so a little bit more travel.
Those two bikes on the trail is the Giant more forgiving?
Is the Devinci more forgiving?
What's the story?
- [Sarah] You know, I would say
the Giant Trance is more forgiving
but the Devinci you feel a bit more comfortable
just like pushing into it.
You know, like it's more predictable.
It's a little bit more stable.
It's not kind of like...
The active suspension almost kind of not box you,
but kind of like you're just kind of moving
a little bit all the time.
So you kind of front end, back end,
and the Devinci just feels very stable.
It feels like it can just like
you want to go there and it's going to take you there.
- Right.
That's the impression that I got
with those two bikes as well.
The Devinci seems to stay level and planted.
Its angles feel it more consistent,
where the Giant definitely feels like
a way more active bike.
And I mean, maybe not in a good way to be honest.
The fork definitely has more dive.
Whereas the Marshall seemed just more composed
than the Giant, didn't it?
- Yeah. So it really feels like in
smoother sections of trail you can really just
push into it and it accelerates and it feels
just more confident.
- So it sounds like a good middle ground,
maybe a bike for someone who has all sorts
of terrain or doesn't know where
they're going to ride the next day.
- Yeah. Definitely.
If you're, you know you kind of like
a wide variety of trails.
I would say that the Devinci Marshall is a bike
that you're gonna be comfortable going out
when you don't know exactly
where your friends are gonna lead.
You know, whether you're doing a little bit more...
- These are the best kinds of friends Sarah.
(laughs)
- Don't know where you're going.
Don't know what bike you need.
The Devinci Marshall would be a good choice.
- All right.
(chill music)
- let's talk about the good stuff.
It has that Shimano Deore 12 speed drive train.
- [Mike] How did that shift?
- [Sarah] It works great.
- [Mike] Right?
- [Sarah] You know, even under power.
Yeah. So the Deore 12 speed is awesome.
And then it has really great tires.
It's got Max's minion DHF and DHR
perfectly suited to this bike.
- Yeah. That's worth mentioning too,
given this is the least expensive full suspension bike
we have on test and you don't have to upgrade
the tires on it.
Right out the door, they work great.
So those are the good things.
Let's talk about the bad, Sarah.
Let's start with the brakes.
- [Sarah] Yeah. Those breaks, you know,
worth mentioning here that our test bike
came with SLX brakes.
The bike actually is going to come with Deore brakes.
But they're both Shimano brakes,
So we may as well talk about that migrating baseline again.
Yeah. By the end of the test period, you know,
the bite point is just,
you never know where it's gonna be.
Sometimes you can pull the brake lever to the handlebars.
Sometimes it's a lot further out.
It feels squishy and then too hard.
So it's just a little hard to deal with.
- It's inconsistent.
Again, we have another test bike
with Shimano brakes that are inconsistent.
Plenty of power.
No issues there.
- [Sarah] Yup, No.
- [Mike] That's for sure.
- [Sarah] Yup
- [Mike] But yeah, just that inconsistent bite point,
you don't know where it's gonna be
when you come flying down the trail.
And I don't think that's acceptable, but...
- But I'll take the power of those breaks.
- Yes, definitely.
- Yeah.
- Definitely.
The other thing we need to talk about is this fork.
It has a RockShox 35 fork on the front.
What's the deal?
- Yeah. So this is the RockShox 35 silver fork.
Not that gold fork that comes on the Giant Trance.
- Right. So that means turnkey damper
instead of motion controlled damper, correct?
- Yeah. Exactly. Yeah.
And The fork it just is a little bit unpredictable.
Sometimes it feels like it's over sprung.
Sometimes it feels like it's under sprung.
It's just not the...
- [Mike] Right.
- [Sarah] It doesn't feel like it...
you expect it to at all the time.
- [Mike] Yeah.
(chill music)
- All right Sarah, So we're nearing
the end of this review
and that means that we need to boil down
the Devinci Marshall to its pros and cons.
Let's make this real simple.
What did you like about it first?
- You know, I really liked that it was a good all-rounder
and it's gonna be a good bike for a lot of people
and a lot of different places.
And the other thing is that it might be
the least expensive bike on test,
but it's not the least capable.
So it's definitely a pro.
- [Mike] That's a huge pro, right?
(chill music)
- So that's the good news, what's the bad news?
- You know, one of the things about the Devinci Marshall is
that it's not, you know, that trail bike
that you're gonna want to take on really long days.
That would be, you know, the Ivis Ripley.
And it's also not the bike that you're gonna want
to take in the roughest terrain, you know.
And that's something like the Polygon or the Trans.
So it's kind of a Jack of all trades master of none.
And that's, you know...
- Sounds like me
- Yeah
(laughs)
- It's definitely a con.
(laughs)
And then, that other thing is that RockShox 35 fork.
- [Mike] Right. Yeah.
That fork just felt a little inconsistent
especially compared to the rhythm forks
that definitely have a better damper
and offer more performance.
- Exactly.
- Yeah.
(chill music)
- All right, Sarah, let's wrap up this review.
Sum up the Devinci in a few sentences for me.
What did you think of this thing?
- I think this is a great bike
for somebody who's getting into mountain biking.
It's gonna help you get to the top of the climb.
It's gonna get you into
some rough road stuff on the downhills.
It's gonna be a fun all-rounder and it has great geometry.
So it'll kind of grow with you.
If you want to upgrade some of those components,
it's a great frame to hang them off of.
- All right.
That's it for the Devinci Marshall.
Make sure to subscribe,
so you don't miss any of our field trip
review videos and our round table discussions.
Where Sarah and I are going to argue about
which bikes we like more.
We'll see you in the next review.
(chill music)