Darco Ti

$5,700 CAD

Only 3 left in stock!

We’ve 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 our 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. Our 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 we have in the Sea to Sky, steep climbs and steeper descents.

Given what we 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 us, and a project with such scope deserves a name near and dear to our hearts. Our dear friend and Chromag mechanic D’Arcy Burke passed away after a courageous battle with cancer in 2020. We affectionately referred to him as “The Dark One”. The Darco is a tip of the hat to our friend.

 

Customer Reviews

Based on 4 reviews
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G
Geoff
Size down

I should have said something about sizing. I'm dead on 6ft and the M/L fits perfectly.

G
Geoff
Firecracker

Coming off a 170mm bike (Transition Spire) I was a little skeptical if I'm honest, but I really wanted to see what all the fuss was about. After a few setup tweaks (to be expected) this bike is running MINT.

Here's my thoughts so far:
• It's definitely not limited by the rear amount of travel, if anything you could get away with a 160mm fork, but to be honest that new Lyrik is so buttery I think I'm going to stick with the 150mm.
• It's deathly quiet which is so rad. Gives me those giddy vibes you get when riding pow.
• It's not super light, mine's about 34lbs which isn't heavy either, but don't expect a featherweight bike.
• I wasn't expecting a whippet on the climbs, but it's a whippet on the descents. Agile/nimble whatever you want to call it, it responds quickly to your input!
• The front end is pretty low (at least from what I'm used to). Threw a FU40 on it and the bike came alive.

Overall, the bike is sick and I'm getting used to it quicker than I'd expect coming off 170mm. Only reason it's 4/5 (would be 4.5 if that was an option) is that Ti is quite expensive and to be honest not as light as a carbon bike at similar cost...but it's about a thousand times cooler.

C
Charles K.
AWESOME

In a word AWESOME.!

I purchased a medium sized frame and proceeded to build. Collected together a bunch of top shelf parts .

The quality of the frame construction is top shelf, those welders know what's going on. I had zero issues with installing HOPE headset and bottom bracket. Hung an AXS derailleur alignment was perfect with derailleur setup. The external housing routing for the rear brake is appreciated .!

It's interesting how CHROMAG has brought together 3 metals titanium, steel and aluminum. It all comes together flawlessly.

I chose a Rockshox Pike Ultimate 150mm to match up to the 120mm rear travel, gives the bike a balanced feel, with enough squish to get ya out of trouble. The rear shock might seem like overkill at first look , not at all. It gives you all the adjustment you might want or need..

In conclusion the ride goes well beyond any hardtail CHROMAG has built, I also have a Surface ti.

Thnx CHROMAG for building such a FUN bike.

M
Melanie M.
Beautiful!

Easiest bike to bunny hop from slow roll or track stand I've ever been on! I'm little and I've struggled with a good hop without a kicker. I think your Darco is going to teach me to ride! And it felt nothing like a hardtail as one reviewer, maybe pink bike? Said. Love it! And it's pretty!

Melanie

Darco Ti Geometry

Show: |
Frame Size STypical Rider Height: 155cm - 165cm MTypical Rider Height: 163cm - 174cm M/LTypical Rider Height: 172cm - 183cm LTypical Rider Height: 181cm - 192cm XLTypical Rider Height: 190cm - 200cm
Stack617617622631640
Reach450472490514530
Effective Top Tube581603622648666
Head Tube100100105115125
Wheel base12141236125612841305
BB Drop3939393939
BB Height335335335335335
Stand Over677707736765795
chain stay435435435435435
Seat Tube350380410440470
Max Post Insertion*193224254284315
Head Angle64°
Seat Angle78°
Wheel Size29.0''

* Max. post insertion based on Rockshox Reverb

SPECS

WHEEL SIZE // 29"
REAR TRAVEL // 120mm
RECOMMENDED FORK TRAVEL // 150mm (±10mm)
MATERIAL // 3AL 2.5V Titanium / 4130 Chromoly Steel / 6066 Aluminum
WEIGHT (M/L) // Frame: 9.34lbs // Complete: 33.3lbs
HUB SPACING // Boost 148mm
HEADSET // 44-56 Semi Integrated
SEAT CLAMP SIZE // 35mm
SEAT POST SIZE // 31.6mm
BB // 73mm Threaded
HANGER// SRAM UDH
SHOCK SIZE // 165 X 45mm Trunnion
LOWER SHOCK SIZE // 20 x 8mm
BRAKE MOUNT // 180mm Post
FRAME ORIGIN // Taiwan

Click here to download the Darco tech pack

Darco Ti Sizing

Note: This is an approximate guide, some people have longer legs than others! Feel free to contact us to discuss.
If you're between sizes, it's a good idea to try to ride them both, either by hopping on a demo or stealing from a close friend.
If that isn't an option, examine reach, stack and ETT numbers on your current bike and compare.

Darco ti G1 Build

FORK // Rockshox Lyrik Ultimate 150mm
SHOCK // Rockshox Super Deluxe Ultimate Air
STEM // Chromag RIZA 38mm
HANDLEBAR // Chromag Cutlass 25mm Rise, 800mm
HEADSET // Cane Creek Forty ZS
CRANK // SRAM X0 170mm
BRAKES // SRAM Code Ultimate Stealth
ROTORS // SRAM HS2 200mm
SHIFTER // SRAM AXS Pod Controller
CASSETTE // SRAM X0 Eagle Transmission
DERAILLEUR // SRAM X0 Eagle Transmission
RIMS // Chromag 29" Phase30
HUBS // Chromag R4
TIRES // Maxxis Minion DHF/DHR
SEATPOST // RockShox Reverb AXS
(150mm - S, M) (175mm - M/L, L, XL)
SADDLE // Chromag Trailmaster LTD
GRIPS // Chromag Format
CHAIN // SRAM X01 Eagle

Devil's in the details

We left no stone unturned when designing our new suspension fleet.

Whether its our injection-moulded chain stay protector to help keep the paint fresh and the noise low, or the accessory mount and ample room for a water bottle even on the size small.

We've thought about the small details, because every single person who works at Chromag, is a rider too.

Materials

The Darco Ti takes all the lessons learned in creating the Darco and adds the boutique and class of titanium. The mechanical properties of titanium allow us to reduce the weight of the frame whilst maintaining the fantastic ride quality and compliance. Titanium is a beautiful material that is incredibly tactile and the raw finish highlights its natural beauty.

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 largest weight gains/unit cost are made in the front triangle tubing, which is why we opted for steel and aluminum rear end.

The rocker is made from forged aluminum due to its strength/weight ratio and ability to be machined.

Craftsmanship

Like all our products, the Darco was designed with durability and serviceability in mind. The main pivot uses an expanding collet axle system, designed to avoid over-preload and over-constraint of bearings. This results in a main pivot that spins smoother, for longer.

All pivots spin on Enduro MAX bearings that are well-sealed, long-lasting, and commonly available through most local bike shops or as kits on our website. The pivot hardware is machined from high-strength 7075 aluminum, and the custom-drawn tubing is made from the same 4130 chromoly steel you’ve come to know on our hardtails.

Frames are assembled with plenty of grease, and each one is checked over by one of our mechanics before leaving Chromag HQ. The Darco is a no-nonsense frame that is built to last.

Head Tube Badge

Your bike is special. The head tube badge is the finishing touch so we’ve always made a point of taking the time to do something interesting with it. Our head tube badges have changed over the years and are an indication of the time each bike was made. Whether it’s a cast bronze, or polished stainless steel, water cut aluminum or a 3D CNC carving, each one represents our commitment to detail.

UDH

The UDH is designed to optimize shift performance across all bikes as well as create a sensible solution for replacing damaged hangers. The UDH has been widely adopted throughout the cycling industry with hundreds of models already featuring it.

Available here!

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.

suspension design

kinematics

We’ve pored over the kinematics of this bike, balancing the trade-offs into what we believe is a truly great mountain bike.

Our overall design principles were to create a very consistent kinematic (no notable or fast changes in the leverage ratio that would make the bike unpredictable), have reasonable progression (the bike ramps up due to consistent change in leverage ratio), and have a supportive pedaling platform (an antisquat
of approximately 110% at expected sag height).

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

The anti-rise is consistent throughout the travel, with only a 6% variation across the travel range. This means that the bike will behave as consistently as possible on the brakes regardless of the size and speed of the impact.

The percentage value will mean the bike is on the more active side of supported.