New project! Early Devinci MTB "Devinci II"

[Guigui58]

I didn’t need another bike, but the retro bike nerd in me couldn’t resist : I had to have this one!

Some of you may have never heard of Devinci, but for most Canadians (especially here in Quebec), it's a well known brand. They are known for their aluminum bikes made in-house since day 1, a tradition that continues to this day.

Over the years, I’ve seen plenty of Devinci bikes from the mid-’90s and especially more recent ones, but this is the first time I’ve come across such an early model. I could find literally no information online about the “Devinci II,” but according to the seller, it’s one of the first models they ever produced. That wouldn’t surprise me : the components date back to around 1989–1990, and the company was founded in 1987 by just two guys building frames one at a time.

Beyond its mysterious history, what really drew me to this bike was the frame itself and all its quirks. The welds are ground down, à la Cannondale. The rear brake is a seatstay-mounted U-brake. It’s mostly equipped with Deore DX parts, except for the brake calipers and front derailleur, which are Deore XT. And it has internal cable routing for the rear brake!

Overall, it needs a complete teardown, but it seems to have been ridden very little. I found no cracks or dents, and the chain is barely stretched. The rim sidewalls and brake pads show minimal wear.

 

[Proto2000]

MMM, like the BB chainstay union.

 

[Guigui58]

Quick follow-up on this project!

The complete teardown went very well, nothing was seized and no bad surprise. As I suspected when I wrote the first post, the frame is in great shape without any crack or dent. All cleaned up, the frame is beautiful. The paint aged up quite well, with the exception of a few scuffs here and there.

I also had the chance to have a chat with the previous owner since his wife was the one who handed me the bike. Apparently, he was in the same engineering classes as the two Devinci founders and was friends with them. He bought the bikes directly from them after they founded the company!

 

[MattiThundrrr]

That's pretty cool. There's not enough knowledge about the bikes from this side of the country. If the shimano parts are original, you can find a date code on the back, can use it to pin down the exact year

 

[27motorhead]

Got to love a thread when the opening words are...

I didn’t need another bike

Sound familiar anyone???

Love the Shark Tooth being fitted on the U brake despite being on the seat stays and on the non-drive side... Hope you don't have big calves

 

[Guigui58]

I now have everything I need to build this Devinci II.

I was already equipped very nicely with a mix of Deore DX / XT, but I have enough part to make it a complete XT build.

Appart from the tires, cables and other "consumable" parts, the only original component I had to replace was the seatpost. The old one developped a nasty crack for some reason... I replaced it by a NOS Kalloy I bought on eBay.

I love the blue / yellow color combo, so I'll use a nice Yellow Turbo saddle and new mustard DMR grips.

 

[Guigui58]

I’m finally done with this Devinci II build!

As mentioned above, this is a mostly Deore XT build: front and rear derailleurs, crankset, brake lever and shifter combo, front cantilever brakes, rear U-brake, and even a Shark Fin. The wheels, which also have Deore XT hubs, are laced with Wolber AT-18 rims. I’ve installed a new set of Panaracer Smoke and Dart tires.

The pedals are a nice pair of smooth SR Sakae MTP-100s with plenty of grip.

The saddle, a yellow vintage Selle Italia Turbo, matches the new yellow DMR Sect grips.

As for the rest of the bike, it’s mostly stock. The fork and stem are both made of Tange steel, likely manufactured overseas. The headset is the original 1" threaded steel Shimano unit with white protective caps on the cups. The only part I had to replace was the seatpost, which was cracked. It now has a chrome NOS Kalloy seatpost from the same era.

I took it for a quick ride on the street. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but despite the bike being quite large, it felt very nimble! The oversized aluminum tubing is unsurprisingly light and stiff. Luckily, I should be able to go on a couple of proper rides before the snow sets in.

 

[27motorhead]

That looks ace. Perfect amount of patina and originality. Really nice clean elegant lines. Almost steel like appearance from a distance.

And as you mention, it looks like it rides nice too.

 

[Nothin-fancy]

Love this bike. I dig the blue and yellow that's going on and the groupset!

Those pedals are something though. I still have a lumpy scar on my shin just below my knee cap from pedals like that. I got the scar 30 some odd years ago while trying to do a no footer on the first jump I tried after installing them.

 

[PhillB]

What a great build! Nice choice of components and a lovely colour too!