Matt McCorkell's Devinci Wilson 27.5

Matt McCorkell may be relatively unknown but with a years World Cup experience now under his belt, he is an emerging force on the Australian Downhill scene. We caught up with him to find out about his fresh steed and a few secrets.

Name: Matt McCorkell

Age: 18

Hometown: Canberra

Favourite Track: Schladming

Is this bike completely custom?

Yes it is. I started with the frameset and then built it up with all my own components.

What do you like most about your Devinci Wilson 27.5?

I think the thing I like most is how active and compliant the linkage is. Because of this the bike is super stable whilst still having a wheelbase and chainstay that is on the shorter side, which really helps with cornering.

Do you find there is a big difference between the 26” Wilson you owned previous and this one here?

Yeh it did take me a little while to adjust to the new bike. The bike is slightly longer in wheelbase and the BB is slightly higher due to the bigger wheels but the seat tube is also closer to the top tube making the cockpit feel smaller even though it isn’t. It also feels like you are going a lot slower on this bike compared to the 26inch even though you aren’t which took me a little while to wrap my head around.

How would you describe your riding style?

Haha I’d like to think it’s pretty controlled and smooth most of the time but it certainly has its moments where I’m in full passenger mode for sure.

You’re probably one of very few riders running Marzocchi on the Australian downhill circuit. How do you find modern Triple 8’s.

The CR380’s are a really good fork. They are so compliant in the beginning stroke and whilst this is a really good thing it meant it took me a while to get them set up how I like. NS Dynamics and Pedro the Marzocchi technician helped me dial in the ramp up so that it could cope better with the bigger hits. The only downside with them is getting spares and support, but if you keep everything maintained and serviced on schedule they have no issues.

I see you’re running one of the new Fox DH X2’s. How have you found it so far?

The Fox X2 is hands down the best shock I have ever ridden. It has the smoothness and ride characteristics of a cane creek double barrel but with the build quality and reliability of the fox products. I previously used the Rockshox vivid that came in the frame but swapped it out for the Fox as I found it more suitable for my needs due to its reliability.

With different suspension at each end, do you do anything creative with your setup?

No not really. I do see the benefits to running the same brands at each end like the technical support and easier maintenance but at the end of the day all the brands top shelf products works so well that it doesn’t really matter. I have both ends feeling exactly how I want them and therefore they work nicely together.

You seem to be running many spacers under your stem, why’s that?

Being taller I want my bar height up so the bike doesn’t want to throw me over the bars on the steeps. It also helps with getting the weight off your arms and onto your legs making it easier to hold on.

Is this basically the same setup you would have for World Cups? Any special changes you have made for the Cannonball Festival?

Yep exactly the same apart from making my suspension a little softer for the Australian tracks. Overseas the tracks are so fast and rough you need it harder to try and stay out of the holes.

Tubeless or tubes?

Always tubeless.

Anything you still would like to change in the build?

For next years world cup season I will definitely be still riding a devinci but I may change a few things, as I need components that are above all else, really reliable and that have support available when something does go wrong. You only have a really short period to practice and you can’t be stuffing around fixing broken parts.

Where will we see you next?

National Round 2 held at Mt Stromlo!

SPEC:

Frame – 2015 27.5 Devinci Wilson Large

Fork – 2015 Marzocchi CR380 Titanium

Shock – Fox DHX2 with FOX SLS Spring 375

Headset – Cane Creek 110 series

Shifter – SRAM XO DH 10spd

Rear Derailleur – SRAM XO DH 10spd Mid Cage

Cranks – SRAM XO DH 165mm

Chainring – Gamut Narrow Wide

Cassette – SRAM PG1070 11 – 23t

Wheels – Stans Flow Ex laced up to Chris King hubs

Tyres – Schwalbe Magic Mary 2.35 (sometimes 2.5)

Pedals – Crank brothers Mallet DH

Brakes – Avid CODE

Stem – Travativ Direct Mount 60mm

Handlebars – Truvativ Boobar 780mm wide 30mm rise

Grips – ODI ruffian MX

Seatpost – Thomson Elite

Seat – Sdg Ti-fly