Devinci or Brodie bikes any good ?
 

Hi,

I need to buy a new bike. I am mostly interested in getting a decent bike for some MTB riding on the North shore (North Van) but also need it for road cycling.

I have been test riding tons of bikes and have narrowed it down to the Devinci Cameleon and the Brodie Fury or Bruzza bikes.
Are any of these bikes any good ?

Out of all the ones I tried, these three seemed to fit me the best, were light and good to ride on the road and were within my price range.
I am leaning towards the Devinci but am not sure about the disk brakes that it comes with(Shimano M475) vs the Hayes disk brakes that are on the Brodie Bruzza. Also, the disk brakes on the Devinci are only 6" while the Bruzza's are 8". Does this make a big difference?
I am also not sure if the size that they have is right for me. I am 5'6" and the LBS is suggesting a 17" frame.

Anyway, this is the first time that I have had enough money to buy a halfway decent bike.
I have $1200.00 Cdn to spend.

Sorry for all the questions. I am hoping some of the more experienced people here could answer these questions. Any suggestions or whatever would be very much appreciated.

Thanks !
Justen (female)

Devinci is OK, but I haven't heard much about them, Brodies are good.

When I am in the market for something new I found that the MTB Review website is a good point of reference.
For the Brodie Fury look here: http://www.mtbreview.com/reviews/Bik...ct_66761.shtml

And for the Devinci look here:
http://www.mtbreview.com/reviews/manufacturers/2625/

Hope this helps and good luck.
:beer:

Justen (female)

Both companies make strong bikes and I think both are east coast companies. The disc brakes on the devinci are xc while the hayes are generally better. In reality brakes are not as important as frame strenght and comfort. The difference between the 8 and 6 inch is really 2 fold. 8 inches offer more power and on long downhills don't heat up as fast as the 6 inches.

As for the bikes specifically I would go with brodie as I don't think devinci is a proven 'shore' quality bike. Recently out local Canondale dealer dumped Canondale due to the number of breakages and is now carrying Devinci full time but this is a recent change so they still haven't been proven. Now each bike is built differently and I would recommend the bruzza. It is more versatile in its riding and has higher quality parts all the way around. Both the fury and the Chameleon are more set up for xc and it shows with them selecting the lowest end fork Marzocchi makes. The geometry of the Bruzza is better for the shore as well as it is a little more slack.

Cheers and good luck.

Hi, Thanks for your reply ! The majority of my riding will be on the road but I still wanted to have the option of trying it out on the north shore. I am glad to hear that the Bruzza has better quality parts !! Since you live in Whistler, you probably know what North Van and Vancouver weather is like - we get very heavy rainfalls. Since I plan to cycle alot on the road as well, am I going to notice a significant difference in braking with the disk brakes vs the rim brakes ?

Justen

To be honest Justen it mists a lot here :D....I lived in Ontario for 25 years, Vancouver for 1 year and whistler for 2 years. I haven't actually seen a good SOLID rainfall since moving here. :)...yes it mists a lot and it is always wet...but it doesn't rain (man do I miss MASSIVE thunder storms they are sweet to watch)...

The braking difference between rim and disk when the rim brakes are setup right are almost insignifigant when the conditions are fine. Obviously if it is really wet and the rim gets wet your braking is comprimised. With discs the braking won't be comprimised at all and all you will need to worry about is the slick road.

Either company makes good bikes. I prefer Brodi over Devinci. Just my personal preferance.

Oh and Mael, FYI.

Brodie Bicycles
280 SW Marine Drive
Vancouver
British Columbia
Canada
V5X 2R5

I believe that is on the West side or have you Canadians moved things around:p

:beer:

Dang...I did know that too...haha... I was just thinking of devinci and how they are very east...oops Canada shrunk a bunch :)..

I can't wait to test the devinci's their bikes look great. :)...

Vancouver has had some pretty good downpours over the last 2-3 weeks. It is WET WET WET !!
It is much easier to stop when it is just drizzling than during a full out downpour when your rims are wet and there is almost no grip. The pads just seem slide on them. Given that I do ride in traffic alot, I also have to be able to stop on a dime when idiot drivers cut you off, open their door in front of you or whatever. This is not too tough to do in dry conditions but when it is wet...well, it's not so easy.

I guess basically - as I said in another post - I just want to get a really decent bike for my $1200.00 dollars (CDN). I don't want to end up with another really low end bike with crap components. I will still continue to be cycling alot on the road but just want the option of doing some rougher stuff with it down the road should I choose to.

I really like both the Brodie and the Devinci but to be honest, the Bruzza does feel and look better to me.
You also mentioned previously that the components on the Brodie were higher quality all around which is a big plus.

Justen

I have spoken with the guys at Brodie and they are very easy to deal with. When I was looking for a new rig they were more then happy to deal directly with me and were going to give me a better deal then what I could have gotten from any shop. I however got a better deal with Kona.

Go with the Brodie:beer:

Hey,
Thanks. I will try the Brodie store and see if I can get a deal. I think the reason that the Bruzza was cheaper is because it is last years model. Not that I care about that too much.

I guess the bottom line is that I just don't want to end up over spending. I do the majority of my cycling on the road or the seawall and cycle a minimum of 20-30 kms a day. It would not be seeing much real mountain biking type stuff but it would be nice to have some good quality components for my long daily rides (i.e. gears/brakes) with the ability to deal with rough stuff here and there.

I liked the Brodie Fury too and it would probably suit my needs but from what one of the other members said, it has pretty low end forks and not as good quality components elsewhere either.

I am definetely set on the Brodie now...just have to decide which one ! :-)

Thanks for being so patient with all my questions !

Justen

I love Brodie. Im looking at the Holeshot or the Brute for my next ride. :D

Justen if you are definately sticking to mostly street the Fury will be better suited for you. But if you plan to get rough at all the Bruzza is WELL worth the extra 200$ (thats what you said right).

Hi,

Yes, I might decide to get rough with it :-)....although, so far, the roughest I've been with my other bike is clunking down off big curbs and riding over big tree roots and small logs. Actually, riding over stuff is the most fun...I guess that is where I started to think that a good mountain bike would be more fun. I can see how it might get addictive as you get better at it. I don't plan to do 5 to 6 foot drops off anything but would love to go down trails where I can go over stuff. So I figure the extra $200.00 or so might be worth it ?

Justen

100% sure it is. :)

Hey..thanks so much for helping me make my decision !! BTW..what kind of bike do you have ?

Justen

Kona Roast. A lot of mods. Last year was the worst year for value bikes. Mine was 1700$. This year the same bike with the exact same parts are around 1000$. No big deal, like I said my bike has many modifications to it. :)

Enjoy the bike it kicks ass.

Justen, just for a gauge of how much better disc's are compared to rim brakes. Last Thanksgiving weekend it was wet, I went through a set of brake pads on the front in less than 50 Km of riding on the road. (I'm not impressed with Avid's rim wrangler pads, after that!)
Disks are worth it if you get em with the bike!!

Tell us what you decide to buy and send us sexy pictures of it when you do!!

I've not tried disc brakes so I can't speak for them (I am temped) but I do know that with rim brakes -, especially in North Van on the mountain sides you will be doing a lot of braking (I used to live at King and St. Georges and work down on 1st St. ) and I had to replace two sets of good rims in a four year period. I think disc brakes a definately worth a try.

EdW

Wohoo another BC boy. Justen long ago bought her bike. Ended up with a sweet Brodie with Disc's. :)

And crashed it up pretty good!

Haven't heard about how she's doing though.

L8R

No, there hasn't been an update. Hope she is going ok :)

justen,

I just picked up the '04 Fury from John Henry's this week and I love it. If you are doing the majority of your riding on the road go with the Fyry as the Bruzza is set up more for harder riding. The components on the fury drivetrain are better than those on the Bruzza Deore/XT

justen,

I just picked up the '04 Fury from John Henry's this week and I love it. If you are doing the majority of your riding on the road, go with the Fyry as the Bruzza is set up more for harder riding. The components on the fury drivetrain are better than those on the Bruzza: Deore/XT compared o Alvio/Deore. So far I've put on about 100Km's and the bike feels great. Hope this helps.

jeff

She bought the bike months ago. It has been decided...