Chromag Darco G2 Build
- 30-Day return period
- Shipping to Canada and USA
- Support a family owned business
- Recycled packaging
This is a special order product, unless noted that it is in-stock please allow additional 2-3 weeks for fulfillment time.
Contact info@smithcreekcycle.ca for confirmation on availability and colours.
Chromag has been making bikes for almost 20 years, and all of this knowledge and expertise has trickled down into creating The Darco. As you might have expected, this bike draws strongly on their steel hardtail roots.
The Darco rolls on 29” wheels and has 150mm of travel up front paired with a stout 120mm in the rear, a hardtailers full-suser if you will. Chromag's geometry philosophy has carried right over onto this bike, pairing slack head tube angles (64°) and steep seat tube angles (78°), with ample room up front (490mm reach on M/L). Perfect for the type of terrain in the Sea to Sky, steep climbs and steeper descents.
Given what they know is achievable on a hardtail, it seemed appropriate to spec this bike with a reservoir shock. A shock intended for more aggressive riding and much less likely to be overwhelmed when in the thick of it.
This bike has been a labour of love for them, and a project with such scope deserves a name near and dear to our hearts. Their dear friend and Chromag mechanic D’Arcy Burke passed away after a courageous battle with cancer in 2020. They affectionately referred to him as “The Dark One”. The Darco is a tip of the hat to their friend.
Materials
As you might expect from any Chromag, The Darco relies firmly on a 4130 chromoly steel foundation. We believe that the ride characteristics and aesthetics for which our hardtails are known, absolutely translates to a full suspension platform.However, a dual suspension rig provides different challenges, which is why we opted for 6066 aluminum chainstays. Primarily for weight saving and stiffness, but the chainstay also houses bearings which is more difficult to do in steel. Building the chainstay out of aluminum helps strike the right balance of compliance and rigidity.The rocker is made from forged aluminum due to its strength/weight ratio and ability to be machined.
At the same time, it keeps things simple and intuitive. With no hidden hardware, sliders, or concentric multi-link pivots, every pivot can be accessed, bolt-checked, and worked on without taking the whole bike apart.
Suspension Philosophy
We chose to use a 4-bar suspension layout for the Darco, with a main pivot located just above the bottom bracket, a seattube-mounted rocker link, and a vertically oriented, trunnion-mounted shock. We found this layout to strike a good balance of tuneability, ride quality, and elegant simplicity. A 4-bar layout offered enough tuning parameters for us to design the suspension characteristics the way we wanted them, simultaneously achieving our targets for leverage ratio, progression, anti-squat, and anti-rise.
At the same time, it keeps things simple and intuitive. With no hidden hardware, sliders, or concentric multi-link pivots, every pivot can be accessed, bolt-checked, and worked on without taking the whole bike apart.
Anti-Squat
Anti-squat is approximately 110% at sag height. This will give a supportive platform but still allow some suspension activity aiding traction.
The amount of anti-squat is fairly consistent over the full travel, as such it will pedal in a similar way throughout the stroke.
LEVERAGE RATIO
We designed the leverage curve to be both consistent, and progressive which equates to a predictable ride both in terms of travel used and suspension damping.
There is 29% progression over the full travel of the Darco which strikes a great balance of usable suspension travel, small bump compliance, mid support and bottom out resistance.
ANTI-RISE
Specs
FORK // Rockshox Lyrik Select+ 150mm
SHOCK // Rockshox Super Deluxe Air Ultimate
STEM // Chromag HiFi BSX 40mm
HANDLEBAR // Chromag OSX 25mm Rise, 800mm
HEADSET // Cane Creek Forty ZS
CRANK // SRAM GX 170mm
BRAKES // SRAM Code RSC
ROTORS // SRAM 180mm
SHIFTER // SRAM GX Eagle
CASSETTE // SRAM GX Eagle 10-52t
DERAILLEUR // SRAM GX Eagle
RIMS // Chromag 29" Phase30
HUBS // Chromag R4
TIRES // Maxxis Minion DHF/DHR
SEATPOST // RockShox Reverb (125mm - S)
(150mm - M) (175mm - M/L) (200mm - L, XL)
SADDLE // Chromag Trailmaster DT
GRIPS // Chromag Format
CHAIN // SRAM GX Eagle
Geometry
| Frame Size | S | M | M/L | L | XL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 617 | 617 | 622 | 631 | 640 | |
| 450 | 472 | 490 | 514 | 530 | |
| 581 | 603 | 622 | 648 | 666 | |
| 100 | 100 | 105 | 115 | 125 | |
| 1214 | 1236 | 1256 | 1284 | 1305 | |
| 39 | 39 | 39 | 39 | 39 | |
| 335 | 335 | 335 | 335 | 335 | |
| 677 | 707 | 736 | 765 | 795 | |
| 435 | 435 | 435 | 435 | 435 | |
| 350 | 380 | 410 | 440 | 470 | |
| 193 | 224 | 254 | 284 | 315 | |
| 64° | |||||
| 78° | |||||
| 29.0'' | |||||
