[Tinshield]

It's just my opinion based on owning the django carbon for two years, and being an extremely strong climber. It's also just my opinion based on anecdotal evidence of friends witnessing me flail about or ride slower in many trail conditions for those two years that I normally cleaned or sped through with less effort. Since parting ways with the split pivot, my Strava times, KOMs, and the aforementioned anecdotal input have returned to "normal."

Descending, the django was very good. Compared to my Ripley V4 with the same parts spec, it's not even in the same league as a climber whether seated or standing.

Climbing in many situations, I'll stick with my opinion that the django was below average especially in the low-chip position. Too much leverage and I don't think it was a true 74.5 STA; the sag had to be decreased to keep it from riding too low and bobbing under power.

To each their own. I'm much happier not spending all day climbing on a Split Pivot especially in steep, loose, rocky conditions.

My Pivot sucks on techy steep climbs. Takes every bit of attention to keep it steering straight. My Django always straight and I’m able to motor up stuff I couldn’t on my Pivot. I’ve never ridden in the low setting. Too rocky around here I set it to high and left it. I’ve set more PR’s on my Django than any other bike I’ve owned. I honestly don’t think it has anything to do with the rear suspension and everything to do with the geo and how I fit on it.

 

[westin]

Related sidenote: tried giving you more rep, but seems I did a while ago for another of your well-written posts, ha. It's nice having a mature opinionated convo on a forum. Rare these days. Enjoy your ride.

 

[Tinshield]

Related sidenote: tried giving you more rep, but seems I did a while ago for another of your well-written posts, ha. It's nice having a mature opinionated convo on a forum. Rare these days. Enjoy your ride.

Thanks, you too man

 

[abacall]

To those who think the '20 Django is like the '19+ Troy at all, it's most certainly not. In my stable right now I have a '18 Marshall, '18 + '19 Troy, '20 Django, and '19 Spartan. They are very different feeling bikes. And they all (except the 2 Troys) have very different ride characteristics.
To be completely honest, the Troys are not getting ridden much at all anymore. I've passed the '18 Marshall to my wife (she LOVES it), and the '18 Troy to a friend. The '19 Troy is getting sold now. I just use the '20 Django and '19 Spartan now.
The Spartan is too close to the Troy for me. They pedal and fit similarly. I figure if I want to ride blues with occasional blacks, the Django is awesome. If I'm on burly rides, the Spartan is the go-to. The Troy never really did either that well.
Troy vs Django: Uphill traction, equal. Uphill grinding, Django. Uphill tech, Django. Flat sprints, Django. Downhill flow, Django. Downhill tech, Troy. Downhill jank, Troy. Maneuverability, Django. Snappiness, Django. Jumping, Troy. Fun, Django.
The only times I wished for the Troy, I would have rather been on the Spartan.
Still think the Troy is a strong bike, and a great do-it-all (especially with a coil), but if you can have two, I love having the Spartan and Django.
**The Django is built on the burly side with 150 Lyrik, Saint brakes, WTB Vigilante light/TrailBoss tough. Weighs in at 31 lbs.

 

[telejefe]

To those who think the '20 Django is like the '19+ Troy at all, it's most certainly not. In my stable right now I have a '18 Marshall, '18 + '19 Troy, '20 Django, and '19 Spartan. They are very different feeling bikes.

When do you ride the Marshall? I am considering a used to compliment my Ripmo AF.

 

[abacall]

No much, my wife loves it and it's her bike now. TBH, the new Django does everything it did, but a little better. The Marshall felt a bit more burly, and it can switch between 27.5+ and 29. She currently running it with 2.8 HR2 and Ikons. She loves the traction and comfort that gives, but still pedals awesome.

Oh, and I took a pic of the new Django fully compressed in Low. Looks like about 10mm more left, so not sure on running longer stroke shock unless it's in the high position. I have a spare 50mm stroke shock I'll swap on at some point this winter to check if it'll work.

 

[Jspagat]

**The Django is built on the burly side with 150 Lyrik, Saint brakes, WTB Vigilante light/TrailBoss tough. Weighs in at 31 lbs.

abacall, I’ve been demo’ing the 2020 Django for a week now and am getting along with it quite well. I had a ‘18 Troy but went back to my ‘17 Switchblade. The Django definitely climbs east coast super tech better than the Pivot, which is kind of a pig and has a slack STA. My only concern with the Django is the increase in pedal strikes I’m getting, which I think might be a result of both a lower BB and more active suspension than I’m currently riding. I put it in “high” setting but that placed me just a tad bit too forward for my liking (made it feel more like the riding position of a Ripley V4, which I’m not a fan of).

I’m thinking that putting a 150 fork on the Django (to slacken a bit) will allow the “high” setting to feel less forward, i.e. maybe doing this will maintain the geometry and riding position of the “low” setting while also gaining a few mm of BB height and add some travel. Question is... have you run in “high” with the 150 fork? How does the bike handle and climb in “low” with the 150? Any significant difference from stock 140 fork...? Thx!

 

[abacall]

abacall, I’ve been demo’ing the 2020 Django for a week now and am getting along with it quite well. I had a ‘18 Troy but went back to my ‘17 Switchblade. The Django definitely climbs east coast super tech better than the Pivot, which is kind of a pig and has a slack STA. My only concern with the Django is the increase in pedal strikes I’m getting, which I think might be a result of both a lower BB and more active suspension than I’m currently riding. I put it in “high” setting but that placed me just a tad bit too forward for my liking (made it feel more like the riding position of a Ripley V4, which I’m not a fan of).

I’m thinking that putting a 150 fork on the Django (to slacken a bit) will allow the “high” setting to feel less forward, i.e. maybe doing this will maintain the geometry and riding position of the “low” setting while also gaining a few mm of BB height and add some travel. Question is... have you run in “high” with the 150 fork? How does the bike handle and climb in “low” with the 150? Any significant difference from stock 140 fork...? Thx!

Never put it in the high position with the 150 fork. Like you said, the fork does ride the BB a bit, and that just seems way too high for me. With the 150 fork the ST is still plenty steep, and the HA gets a bit more slack, which is good for my intentions with this bike.
I've never really had pedal strike issues with the 150 fork, at least not any more than any other modern bike. A fast engaging hub helped that a lot, as you can ratchet your way up and adjust for those pedal smash moments easier.
As far as handling with the 150, it feels pretty damn natural to be honest. I thought the 120/150 combo would be ridiculous, but it's not. Part of the is the RS Lyrik. Like most RS forks, it has a little bit of suck-down, which makes it really close to the 140 anyway.

 

[Jspagat]

Yea, a 150 fork in the low setting works well. Good all around. High works too, but low better if the terrain allows for it.

 

[DizzyPanzer5]

jspagat - Sounds like the 150 fork solves the problems you were having? I'm demo'ing a Django now and having issues with pedal strikes (running standard 140 fork and high geo setting). Would love to see a higher bottom bracket, esp for Mass East Coast riding. Not sure I would want to run a 150 but looking at options as I like all other aspects of the bike.

Also, seems like you've ridden a lot of bikes I've been looking at-demo'ing. How does the Django match up to the Ripley V4, Rocky Instinct regarding climbing, bottom bracket height and overall fit for East Coast riding? I liked the Pivot 429 for most stuff but found it a bit too grounded-planted for my liking around here. Any other bikes you might recommend looking at that match up to the Django?

 

[Tinshield]

339 mm isn’t particularly low for a BB. My 2018 Django is 341 with a 170mm crank. Not sure what size cranks the new models come with. I have mine in high mode and no issues riding MA and NH trails. Definitely one of the better bikes for riding around here. It’s an East Coast bike. Ripley is probably lower than the Django.

 

[DizzyPanzer5]

Thanks for the reply Tinshield. Agreed it's not a terribly low BB and I think some of the suspension activeness is in play with the pedal strikes at times. It's a 170 crank as well and I am riding in the high setting for BB clearance. Certainly not a major problem but something I'm trying to figure out as I do another demo on it. As Jspagat mentioned as well, the high setting puts me fairly forward on the bike which I'm trying to get used to. Backing the seat up on the rails a bit will likely cause a bit more dive in the suspension at times with a little more weight moving back. Likely all minor things I could get used to but tough to figure it all out over a demo period only. Thanks again.

 

[Jspagat]

Also, seems like you've ridden a lot of bikes I've been looking at-demo'ing. How does the Django match up to the Ripley V4, Rocky Instinct regarding climbing, bottom bracket height and overall fit for East Coast riding? I liked the Pivot 429 for most stuff but found it a bit too grounded-planted for my liking around here. Any other bikes you might recommend looking at that match up to the Django?

So, I loved the Django (great fit, cornered really well... in low), but rear sus was a little mushy/linear for me). Unfortunately, like the Trail 429, which also fits me really well, it too is seriously planted on the ground.

I like the Instinct a lot. Fun, fast, capable bike, but the suspension was lacking something on technical stuff compared to DW/Split Pivot bikes.

I ended up getting an Evil Offering (another Dave Weagle design). Really good bike for my riding: 150 fork/140 rear. Suspension just works... grips all the tech up & downs and jumps off things REALLY easily. Climbs well, hovers well, and has way better acceleration than my Switchblade. Generally, I'm less tired during and after rides on it...

Like the Django, the Offering has a high/low setting. And like the Django, I obviously like the low setting more for cornering. However, the high setting on the Evil fits me nicely, while I felt a bit over the bar on the Django's high setting. However, I also feel a bit over the bar on a Ripley V4 and the tallboy & even the hightower... But even when I put a 150 fork on the Django (w/ 170 cranks), I couldn't get things sorted out...

So yea, for me... Evil Offering. Very happy now. And I try hard not to be happy.

 

[DizzyPanzer5]

Thanks Jspagat, appreciate the info. I had similar thoughts-experiences on the bikes you described. Very interesting as I seem to be headed in the Evil direction as well. I'll be demo'ing the Offering this weekend to get a feel for the DELTA suspension. I'd be looking at getting an Offering or a Following. The Following would be an MB, not the latest 2020. Similar geo specs to the Pivot Trail 429 which was a great fit for me. Just a quick parking lot ride around the block on the Following MB made me shake my head at how quick and playfull it was (not able to demo that bike sadly). I tend to like the shorter travel bikes so I'll see if I like the extra travel on the Offering (and the reach) and go from there. Thanks again.