Devinci Atlas XP Review
MSRP: $2999.99 Weight: 30.07 lbs Pros: Handmade Cons: Wheels
Summary
This bike had a less than stellar performance.
The frame is basically a work of art. It’s truly stunning in the looks department. Beautiful welds, and that extra flair that you would expect from a hands-on manufacturer. It had large pivot bearings that were really smooth and stiff. Absolutely great frame. However, the spilt pivot suspension geometry that they design these bikes with was a little strange. It’s a very active suspension and really does a good job at soaking up the trail. The problem that I had was when it came to pedaling. Try to imagine 2 imaginary lines, 1 that goes from the center of the main pivot to the center of the rear axle (secondary pivot), and another line that is an extension of the chain line, from the top of a cog in the rear to the top of a chain ring in the front. Got it? Those lines, on this bike, intersect. All of that to say, when the suspension is engaged, and the pedals are engaged, they fight each other. In my experience, the pedaling lost. I was still transferring power to the wheel, but it felt like my cadence paused for a split second. Mostly just annoying.
On a different note, the wheels they spec-ed out on this bike were awful. They were so flexy, it actually made me nervous. I sort-of got used to them about half way through the ride, but they would always surprise me. My best advice if you’re buying this bike is to throw the wheels in the garbage and buy something decent. I really like my Stan’s Arch EX wheels.
The X7 shifters and derailleurs performed at a level that you would expect from the low-end of 10 speed mountain bike components. I personally would have liked to see SRAM leave the X7 group as a 9 speed and put some of the older X9 and X0 technology in it, but that’s for a different post.
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