Devinci E-Troy Lite
Wheel Size: 29’’ front / 27.5’’ rear
Travel: 150 mm rear / 160 mm front
Geometry Highlights:
- Sizes Offered: S, M, L, XL
- Headtube Angle: 63.6°
- Reach: 481 mm (Size Large)
- Chainstay Length: 438 mm
Frame Material: Aluminum
Price: $5,499 USD / $6,999 CAD to $7,399 USD / $9,699 CAD (see below for details)
Intro
As motor technology has continued to evolve, there’s been a ton of development on the lightweight side of the eMTB spectrum, with bikes hitting some impressively low weight figures. Devinci is a unique brand in that they still do a whole lot of manufacturing in North America, and their new E-Troy Lite is the latest addition to their lineup as a made-in-Canada, aluminum E-Bike weighing in at less than 45 lbs (20.5 kg). With 150 mm of rear travel and 160 mm up front, the Bosch SX-equipped E-Troy Lite is intended to be a fairly versatile all-rounder — but there are some interesting things going on with its design and geometry. So let’s see what they’ve come up with.
The Frame
Coming on the heels of the 2023 release of the full-power E-Troy (full review coming soon), Devinci has kept a very similar aesthetic for the lighter-weight E-Troy Lite. Like the E-Troy, the E-Troy Lite has a dedicated mixed-wheel setup, with an aluminum frame that happens to be made in Canada. Devinci has stuck with their tried-and-true Split Pivot design, with the 150 mm of rear travel delivered via a rather intricate-looking upper rocker link. That 150 mm of rear travel is matched to 160 mm at the front, and Devinci says the suspension has been optimized for eMTB use, though they don’t provide kinematics details.
Cable routing is internal through the front of the head tube, but importantly, not through the headset. The rear wheel gets standard Boost spacing but the E-Troy Lite uses a 55 mm chainline and a UDH to accommodate SRAM’s Transmission. The frame has space for a large water bottle inside the front triangle. Devinci has included the standard modern niceties like rubber frame protection in key areas too, and uses double-lip sealed Enduro bearings at the pivots. Like other Devinci bikes, the E-Troy comes with a lifetime warranty.
Drive System
With their full-power E-Troy relying on a Bosch Performance Line CX motor, it’s no surprise that the E-Troy Lite sticks with a lighter-weight Bosch unit, specifically the new Performance Line SX motor. With a priority on weight savings, the Performance Line SX sacrifices a bit of torque to hit its lower weight target, delivering a maximum 55 Nm of torque but an impressive 600W of peak power.
The battery is a fixed 400Wh Bosch CompactTube 400 battery and is fully integrated into the downtube, which Devinci says shaves 400 grams from the frame weight but means no easy battery swaps. 400Wh with the lower output motor should give some decent range — Devinci claims as much as 3,280 ft / 1000 m of climbing over 25 mi / 40 km on average, with more in Eco and less Turbo modes. Range-anxious folks can also opt for Bosch’s PowerMore 250 range extender, which takes the place of the water bottle mount and brings another 250Wh of juice.
Fit & Geometry
The Devinci E-Troy Lite is available in four sizes, from Small to XL, which Devinci says should accommodate riders from 5’2” to 6’5” (160–196 cm). The headtube angle is a fairly slack 63.6° across the board, though seat tube angles vary slightly based on size, from 77.9° on the Small to 77.5° on the XL. The size Large has a fairly typical 481 mm reach, a slightly low 626 mm stack, and compact 438 mm chainstays afforded by the smaller rear wheel. The top tube length is slightly compact at 618 mm, which could feel a bit short paired with the low-ish stack measurement, but can be somewhat remedied with a higher rise bar depending on rider preference.
The Builds
Devinci offers three different builds for the E-Troy Lite, ranging from a more budget-oriented NX build to a GX Transmission-equipped bike at the top end. It’s somewhat uncommon to see a GX Transmission build as the top-end spec, but there aren’t any super wild full-bling options here, and we applaud Devinci’s prioritization of suspension components at each level as well.
Unlike the E-Troy, the E-Troy Lite comes with slightly lighter-duty 35 and 36 mm stanchion forks (RockShox Lyrik/Yari and Fox 36) across the range, whereas the E-Troy has a Fox 38 on the two higher-spec builds. It’s not an uncommon choice amongst most lightweight eMTB to bring the weight down a bit, but given the aggressive-looking geometry and weight in the mid-40 lb range, I wouldn’t be surprised to see some riders electing to swap for a burlier fork.
Speaking of weight, the top-end E-Troy GX Transmission drops as low as 42.99 lbs / 19.05 kg — not quite as light as some carbon-framed competitors that have managed to creep below 40 lbs, but respectable for an all-aluminum frame. The base model NX build tips the scales at 45.19 lbs / 20.50 kg, which is a solid weight figure for a more budget parts spec.
As a final word, I have to call out the EXO front tire and EXO+ rear tire chosen across the range. While that tire spec certainly helps bring down the weight, EXO+ tires are already a bit light-duty for an eMTB, let alone EXO. A tire swap would be high on my list of recommended upgrades, potentially even before leaving the bike shop.
- Drivetrain: SRAM NX Eagle
- Brakes: SRAM DB8 (220 mm front / 200 mm rear rotors)
- Fork: RockShox Yari RC (160 mm)
- Shock: RockShox Deluxe Select
- Wheels: V2 Comp rims with Formula rear hub, Novatec front
- Dropper Post: TranzX (S: 125 mm; M: 150 mm, L: 170, XL: 200 mm)
- Drivetrain: SRAM GX Eagle
- Brakes: SRAM Code Bronze (220 mm front / 200 mm rear rotors)
- Fork: Fox 36 Performance Elite GRIP2 (160 mm)
- Shock: Fox Float X Performance Elite
- Wheels: RaceFace Aeffect R30
- Dropper Post: SDG Tellis (S: 150 mm; M: 175 mm, L–XL: 200 mm)
- Drivetrain: SRAM GX Transmission
- Brakes: Magura MT5 HCW (203 mm rotors)
- Fork: RockShox Lyrik Ultimate (160 mm)
- Shock: RockShox Super Deluxe Ultimate
- Wheels: RaceFace ARC30 rims with RaceFace Vault hubs
- Dropper Post: SDG Tellis (S: 150 mm; M: 175 mm, L–XL: 200 mm)
Some Questions / Things We’re Curious About
(1) The E-Troy Lite has a similar design and identical travel numbers to the full-power E-Troy (aside from the 170 mm fork on the E-Troy’s LTD build). How different will the E-Troy Lite feel on the trail?
(2) The tradeoff of lightweight eMTBs is power and range, but how quickly does the Bosch Performance Line SX motor burn through the 400Wh battery?
(3) The E-Troy Lite doesn’t have any geometry adjustments, so how will the combination of short chainstays, low-ish stack, and slack head angle feel going both up and down the hill?
Bottom Line (For Now)
With a North American-made aluminum frame at a reasonable price, the E-Troy Lite stands as a unique offering from Devinci. The E-Troy Lite is made more unique by its geometry and suspension figures, which speak to some more aggressive intentions despite falling into the lightweight eMTB category. All in all, it’s an intriguing addition to the growing lightweight eMTB category, and we are eager to get some time on one — stay tuned for more once we do.
This is the first eBike that has ever been a real contender for me. I don’t ride a lot of straight line steep chunk, preferring faster trails, more off the brakes and bike that can pop & turn well, so these lighter options really appeal to me. I’m also not scared to sweat, just want to take the edge off so a bike that is 15lbs heavier feels like a turn off. One thing I’m a bit concerned with is the battery – is it replaceable? Just curious if the whole frame is garbage after 5 years of heavy use.