Check out Mr Vincent’s more-playing less-monstertrucking Deviate Highlander II.
Who are you?
I’m a freelance photographer and creative director. Mostly shooting things with wheels, but I’ve been known to do other commercial design and photography work as well. Oh, and I also design this here magazine (there’s a magazine etc etc).
What’s your favourite component?
Am I allowed to say the frame itself? I just think that it’s a brilliant piece of design. Chris (Deviate’s designer) has done a great job packaging it all together with plenty of clever little touches that make it really well suited to riding year round in the UK (under top tube cable channel and grease ports on all the bearings for starters). Plus it just looks right, nice and purposeful. If I can’t choose the frame, I’ll go for the drivetrain. A battered SLX rear mech paired with an XT shifter works perfectly well and doesn’t need charging. Yes, I’ve tried electronic shifting, and no, it wasn’t any better.
Where does this bike excel?
On chunky, awkward, rocky trails here in the Lake District.
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What’s the next tweak for the bike?
I’ve only just finished building it up, so the next tweak is going to be getting used to it. As well as being a test bed for various bits of kit (brakes, forks, pedals, tyres currently), this bike is the result of downsizing from a Claymore (180mm/165mm) so I’m interested to see how that plays out. Not that the Claymore was sluggish, but I’m hoping this will be a little more playful and less monster truck-esque on a wider variety of trails.
Fork settings?
I’ve only had two rides on the Selva V since fitting it, so I’m still very much getting to grips with it. I’ve initially set it up with enough air for about 30% sag and a few clicks of compression. It’s got a gold CTS cartridge fitted at the moment – I’ve got the full set to play with and I’m looking forward to swapping these out and seeing which works best for me.
Shock settings?
This is my first time on the new Fox X2 and I’m only a few rides in with this bike, so I’m starting off fairly close to the recommended settings.
How is the set-up generally?
I like my suspension fairly open with minimal compression damping for comfort on the chunkier descents here in the Lakes, whilst avoiding the front end diving too much on the steeps. I’m not doing huge drops, jumps or gaps, so I can get away with having the rebound set on the slightly faster side too.
What do you think it weighs?
About 15kg. I’ve moved a lot of parts over from my Claymore so I’m expecting the weight to be similar, if not slightly less as it’s got a lighter fork (Formula Selva vs Zeb).
Spec & geo stuff:
- Frame // Deviate Highlander II, size Large
- Shock // Fox X2 Factory
- Fork // Formula Selva V (170mm)
- Wheels // Roval Traverse SL II on DT Swiss 240 hubs. Rear wheel has had the ultralight bladed spokes replaced with marginally heavier (but significantly stronger) double butted spokes and brass nipples.
- Front Tyre // Continental Kryptotal Front, Super soft compound, Enduro casing
- Rear Tyre // Continental Kryptotal Rear, Soft compound, DH casing
- Chainset // Hope EVO, 165mm crank, 28t oval chainring
- Brakes // Hope EVO GR4, 203mm rotors
- Drivetrain // Shimano SLX rear mech, XT shifter
- Stem // OneUp 35mm
- Handlebar // OneUp V2 carbon bar, 50mm rise, 800mm width
- Grips // Peatys Monarch Knurl Thin
- Seat Post // OneUp V2 210mm
- Saddle // SDG Bel Air 3
- Head angle // 64.5° (ish*)
- Effective seat angle // 76.5° (ish)
- Seat tube length // 430mm
- Head tube length // 110mm
- Chainstay // 441mm
- Wheelbase // 1265mm
- Effective top tube // 625mm (ish)
- BB height // 335mm (ish)
- Reach // 485mm (ish)
*All these are rough estimates based on the Formula Selva V at 170mm with an axle to crown of 583mm, vs the published geo charts based on a Fox 36 with an axle to crown of 471mm.
Bikes that just look right ??
Way more bike than I’d ever need, but I’m curious as to how it rides, looks fantastic
Can build it up quite differently P20 – 160mm front and 145 rear should be firmly in the trail category for most, so not overbiked.
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My Highlander I is 150/140 and I ride that everywhere, from my door etc.Love the build and colour on this one
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Very nice.
I like how they have implemented the external cable routing.
I know, it’s unbelievable how light modern bikes are given how capable they are.
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I weighed it after sending these words to Benji, and it tips the scales at 15.9kg so my guess wasn’t too far off. Front end definitely feels lighter without the zebsÂ
lovely thing that. tasteful with the black/silver ano on the bike too
Had a great weekend demoing the highlander 2 round dunked and Comrie and seriously tempted now to add one to the garage. A very capable bike that climbed a lot better than I expected.Â
I lol’d at the 15kg estimate because it just didn’t seem possible with a still fairly chunky fork, DH casing rear tyre, X2 shock etc.  At a genuine 15.9kg I am impressed by the weight. I’m in the weight isn’t everything but less is nicer if possible camp
Sadly they haven’t. They catfish you with the front triangle gutter, which is a great idea, then it’s internal on the rear.
Bike industry, never ceasing to make moronic decisions 🤦♂️
That’s a chonky beast at 16kg with that much travel, weighs more than my RAAW! Is there any truth to the rumours that the triangles are the same with the Claymore?Â
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@rubber_buccaneer – the weight is probably down to a silly light pair of wheels. I think the spec sheet has them at about 1600g for the pair, and even replacing all the rear spokes with regular double butted and brass nipples added 50g max. I keep on expecting them to die a horrible and frustrating death when I’m stuck in the arse end of nowhere, but for now they just keep on trucking
Oh dear.
Sadly, having half internal routing is still almost the same amount of hassle as full internal, for me.
@HobNob – the rear triangle cable routing is a minor inconvenience, but at least it doesn’t go through the headset!
And yes, the rear triangle is the same as the Claymore. Front triangle and linkages are all different though. Pretty sure the Forbidden Druid and Dreadnought share some parts as well – it’s not an uncommon practice