PINKBIKE
Review: E-Troy Lite
The new Devinci E-Troy Lite is a bike to convert the eMTB skeptics. It delivers power so seamlessly and naturally that it really just feels like you're a fitter version of yourself on the climbs.
Words: Sarah More
Photo: Tom Richards
The E-Troy Lite is Devinci's first lightweight eMTB and it comes with a Bosch Performance Line SX motor with 55Nm of torque compared to the 85Nm of torque provided by the Performance CX Line motor on the full powered bike. It also comes with a smaller 400Wh battery compared to the full powered bike's 625Wh battery.
The E-Troy Lite has the same amount of travel at 150mm of rear travel paired with a 160mm fork with a slightly steeper (but still plenty slack) head tube angle at 63.6º, but the main difference is that the bike weighs over 10 lbs (4.5 kg) less than the full powered bike, coming in at 43lb (19.5 kg) for the size medium.
Three models exist in the E-Troy Lite lineup built on Canadian-made, alloy frames starting at $5 499 USD/ $6 999 CAD The GX AXS 12S model on test retails for $7 399 USD/$9 699 CAD and has a 160mm RockShox Lyrik Ultimate fork, a RockShox Super Deluxe Ultimate rear shock, Magura MT5 brakes, and mixed wheels.
The new Devinci E-Troy Lite is a bike to convert the eMTB skeptics. It delivers power so seamlessly and naturally that it really just feels like you're a fitter version of yourself on the climbs. I've always disliked the feeling of being pulled up the hills by eMTBs, but with the Bosch Performance Line SX 55Nm motor, it feels like the motor is rewarding you for pedalling hard. Not only is the climbing smooth and enjoyable, but the E-Troy Lite is a supremely confident descender with well-balanced suspension.
Frame & Motor Details
The frame on the E-Troy Lite is welded in Devinci's factory in Chicoutimi, Quebec, out of 6061-T6 aluminum tubes and features a lifetime warranty. All sizes of the E-Troy have mixed wheels with clearance for up to 2.6" tires. Cable routing is internal on the E-Troy Lite and runs through ports on each side of the head tube, not through the headset. Devinci has kept things simple with no geometry adjustments on the bike.
Like the full-powered E-Troy, the E-Troy Lite uses 148mm Boost hub spacing, versus the 157mm Super Boost on their unassisted trail and enduro bikes. The E-Troy is built around a 55mm chain line and includes a chain guide. There's a UDH derailleur hanger to make it easy to source a replacement.
The chainstay has a chunky rubber protector on it and and the lower part of the downtube has a plastic protector. The motor also has an integrated nylon shield to protect it from impacts and debris. The shield also has vents to help dissipate heat and let water drain out.
You can run anything from a 32T chainring to a 38T chainring on the E-Troy Lite, it uses a 31.6 dropper seat post, and has Enduro double-lip sealed bearings. There's ample clearance for long droppers across the board, with insertion for a 240 mm dropper on the size small. The small comes with a 150mm dropper, however, the medium gets a 175mm dropper, the large a 200mm dropper, and the XL a 200mm dropper.
All frame sizes have clearance for at least a 500 ml bottle, and that's with a rear shock with a reservoir installed.
The Performance Line SX motor is Bosch's newest and lightest drive unit yet, weighing 4.4 lbs (2.0 kg), thanks in part to the use of a magnesium housing. It provides up to 55Nm of torque and has a maximum power output of 600 watts.
There are four assist modes that are easy to toggle through using the small wireless shifter on the thumb-actuated mini remote. The Performance Line SX utilizes Bosch’s smart system, making it compatible with the E-bike Flow app that allows you to tune each power assist level, by torque, pedal sensitivity, max speed, and the assistance level.
The battery hiding in the E-Troy Lite's down tube is Bosch's CompactTube 400 battery. It weighs approximately 1995 grams and delivers 400Wh. It's currently the Bosch eBike battery with the highest energy density. The bike is also compatible with the PowerMore 250 range extender which will give the bike an additional 250Wh. The range extender about the same size as a water bottle and comes at a weight penalty of 1.6kg (3.5lbs).
To show you how much juice your battery has left, there are five bars on the display on the top tube. When your bike is fully charged, it will show five blue bars. The first bar will first change colour from blue to white to show that you've drained 10% of the battery, before disappearing entirely when you've drained 20% of the battery. When you're less than 30%, the colour will change from blue to orange to warn you to get home quickly or stop relying quite so heavily on Turbo mode. If you want more precision, you can check the battery life in the app, but the bars give you a good idea of how much battery life you have left without getting into the minutiae.
The frame-mounted charging port is located below the water bottle holder. That makes it easy to plug in the charger and it also makes it easy to plug the range extender into that port and bolt it to the water bottle bosses. The battery is charged using Bosch's 4A charger, their fastest charger. It provides a 50% charge in 1.5 hour and a full charge in 3.5 hours.
Suspension Design
Devinci uses a split pivot suspension design for the E-Troy Lite. The layout is claimed to allow for more active suspension under braking due to the co-rotating pivot around the rear axle. Devinci says they have optimized the suspension layout and kinematics for eMTBs.
A 185x55mm shock provides 150mm of rear wheel travel, utilizing a trunnion mount.
Climbing
With the eMTB mode on the Bosch Performance SX motor, it really feels like you're being rewarded for putting down watts since the motor reacts to rider input and dynamically moves the support factor up and down between 140% and 340%. Basically, you can get the same assistance as you would in Turbo mode in eMTB mode, but you need to input over 190 watts to get there and the Bosch SX asks you to spin at 100 rpm before it will provide the big watts. Learning how the motor works is intuitive for those coming from a non-eMTB since you increase your cadence to get the power you need to go up and over features on climbs.
You can tune the four different assistance levels of the motor in the app, but overall I got along well with the stock settings. There's a noticeable difference between each mode and it's easy to toggle between each with the thumb-actuated mini remote. The motor is also so quiet and stealthy that I sometimes felt like I was pulling the wool over people's eyes when I passed them.
I spent the majority of the time in the Tour+ (second) and eMTB (third) modes on singletrack climbs since they provided the perfect amount of assistance without burning through the battery or feeling like they were overpowering me. I never felt like I needed to jam on the brakes on a climb, which is certainly a feeling I've had with some full powered eMTBs. Overall, in the middle modes, the power is delivered so seamlessly and naturally that it really just feels like you're a fitter version of yourself on the climbs. It is worth mentioning that I do ride with a naturally high cadence and so I think that's definitely a factor in getting along with the Bosch Performance SX motor so well. If you get lazy with your gear shifts and wind up with a lower cadence it can feel like the motor isn't providing as much power.
I took the bike up some steep, loose gravel climbs that are unrideable on a regular bike, and was able to power up them in Turbo mode without spinning out. Despite there not being the same torque as a full powered eMTB, the E-Troy Lite is plenty capable of making it up of gross marbly sections of trail. It just won't make it up as many, due to both power and battery life. Without a range extender, I found that the E-Troy Lite could do about a 2-hour ride with close to 1000m / 3200 ft of climbing and 30km / 18.6 miles. However, that number will change based on how much effort you put in, what mode you use most frequently, how much you weigh, and what trails you ride.
Descending
From my very first ride on the E-Troy Lite, I felt like I could push it on the descents. There are some bikes that you just feel comfortable on out of the box and the E-Troy Lite is absolutely one of them. The geometry is dialled for descending, putting you in a confident and strong position when things get steep and rough with its 63.6º head tube angle.
The suspension also works really well, and the E-Troy Lite has plenty of traction to go around. While it's able to track well and absorb trail chatter, it also feels lively and like you can still jump the bike and move it around. The active suspension really makes it feel as though the bike is lighter than it actually is. I also found that the mixed wheel set up worked well, making it easier to move the bike around on the trail as needed.
My current daily rider weighs in around 34 lbs (15.4 kg) and so the extra weight of the E-Troy Lite doesn't feel as unwieldy as a full-powered eMTB does. Most importantly, I found the E-Troy Lite perfectly manageable to slow down and control on descents, which isn't something that I take for granted on a full-powered eMTB. There's still more fatigue in my hands at the end of a long descents than on a lighter bike, but decidedly less so than on a full-powered eMTB.
How Does It Compare?
I've spent a fair bit of time on the Specialized Levo SL, which was one of the nominees for our first-ever eMTB of the Year in 2023 and has the same 150mm of rear travel paired with a 160mm fork. While it set the benchmark a year ago, I prefer climbing and descending on the E-Troy Lite.
The Levo SL beats the E-Troy Lite handily on weight with its 39.3 lb (17.8 kg) weight, but that's when you're comparing the $14,000 carbon S-Works model to the $7,399 aluminum Troy, so it's not exactly an even comparison. Plus, the Devinci has a 400Wh battery compared to the 320Wh battery on the Levo SL. The Levo SL Comp starts at $8,000 USD and comes in at a weight more comparable to the E-Troy Lite GX AXS 12S (the Specialized website claims 42.7 lbs / 19.4 kg for a size Large).
Most interestingly, although the motors are similarly powered at 55Nm of torque for the E-Troy Lite and 50Nm of torque on the Levo SL, I found that the Bosch SX Performance motor delivered the power in a much more natural way on the climbs than the Specialized SL 1.2 motor does. The SL 1.2 motor feels like it cuts out as soon as you stop pedalling, while the E-Troy Lite has a sustained response which gives you a second to readjust your pedal stroke and negotiate bigger roots and small steps without pedalling. I felt like I could negotiate much trickier climbs with the Bosch SX Performance motor than with the Specialized SL 1.2 motor. The seat tube angle is also steeper on the E-Troy Lite, which made it easier to keep my weight forward on climbs.
Pinkbike's Take
The E-Troy Lite really allows you to make the most of short ride windows. Climbing with the Bosch Performance SX motor feels natural and smooth and I really enjoyed how the motor rewards you for pushing on the pedals and not simply sitting back and letting it do all of the work. On the descents, the slack head tube angle, small rear wheel and active suspension make for a confident descender that feels playful and easy to control and move around. While you might have range anxiety at times, you'll soon figure out exactly how much battery it takes to make it to the top of all your favourite trails.
While it's a touch noisy, it makes up for it by being a joy to both climb and descend. In addition, the aluminum frame is made in Canada and the parts spec is well selected for the bike's intended use for a reasonable price.
