For the longest time I thought that this bike was way too much machine for an every day bike and the type of riding that I do so I stuck with the Devinci Troy for two years and never even rode the Spartan. My fear was that it was too slack and more of a park bike than a trail bike. After 20 minutes into my first ride on the Spartan I was angry with myself for not trying this bike sooner! This bike has what you need when you need it and there is NO sacrifice to be made for choosing what many think is too big a bike for this area.
The Troy is an extremely capable bike with its 67° head angle, 426mm chain stays and 150mm of travel performed flawlessly pedaling up or bombing down, so when I got my Spartan with 65.8° head angle, 432mm chain stays and 160mm travel I assumed there would be a price to pay in the pedaling up hill department. What I found was it did as well as the Troy going up and the extra length and head angle made me way more in control and confident when descending.
The Spartan is now my everything bike: DH, park, enduro, and XC. It is fast, plush and able to deal with whatever you throw at it. The bike is well worth a test ride and will not disappoint. Although this is not a bike you would do a 30 mile XC race with, a 40 mile enduro with pedally transfers and knarly choppy decents is right in this bike’s wheel house. It is also a great choice for the avid cyclist looking to step out of the box and try new trails and adventures that they never thought possible due to bike limitations or skill levels.
The 2016 Devinci Spartan made me love riding bikes again.
Make every ride a great ride.
Tony “The Wrench” Uriguen
