2012 Devinci Dixon RC - Previewed

 Thanks for the info! Sorry this got missed. We'll see how the Dixon fairs in it's stock form and if a chain guide would add some flavor.

 Good deals on the 2011's right now but I was waiting for those tabs. Can't stand my chain flying around everywhere. 2012 may be the year to pick one up.

 That's awesome to hear about the CG tabs... I litteraly never ride anything BUT a single front ring so it's nice to see frame makers making this little consession so we can all set-up our bikes thae way WE want, not the way they say we should ride them.

My feeling was that this would make a GREAT FR bike for my fiance who just needs something to get her going faster but not for hucking. The frame certainly felt up to the task of rough descents. Maybe a small will find it's way under the tree this year for her (it's pretty amazing to have a fiance who's really INTO riding and getting better... )

I rode one of these a buddy has (last years model Dixon) and I gotta say, the rear end was REALLY sensetive to braking forces... it's no Horst link is all I can say, just someything to consider, the rear end extends under braking forces and IMO ruins a perfectly GREAT bike that is SUPER fun when you stay off the brakes. DW and his ABP aren't all they're cut out to be... I think Trek's "floating shock" makes the bikes ride FAR better then the Devinci's but that's just me coming from riding FSR/Norco's for years and loving the braking charectaristics. I will say that the Devinci is NO WORSE then the Kona Stinky I inherited from my buddy, somewhat better, but the Dev. still stink-bugs a great deal. just my observation, I didn't have a chance to set up the suspension the way I'd like and it WAS pretty stiff but I'm about the same weight as the friend who's bike it is so the spring-rate was right....

 buddy this bike does NOT have brake problems. anyone who complains about crap like this is trying to find a way to make up for their shortcomings as a rider. maybe if you weren't going so slow you'd realize this. obviously i'm not going to stand up for swingarm bikes in regards to brake jack because they really do perform a bit shitty under braking. but even this can be overcome by adapting your riding. as has obviously done by those who kill it on swingarm style bikes. this bike shreds.

 ...No, it doesn't brake as well as other bikes by the "seat-o-my butt meter"... It's a super fun and when you're OFF the brakes it's really supple and responsive. on the brakes it stiffens in the rear imo. Just means you now have MORE incentive to stay off those brakes. As a package it's a great bike (and this new one looks even better with the changes like the ISCG bits etc.) it's a really well made and very stiff feeling frame, plus it's really flickable and it makes you want to loop off of every little root.. I liked it, just didn't like the braking feel as much as other bikes. I've found that Trek's floating shock makes this ABP/Split-Pivot work amazingly. I'm 5'11 209lbs and there's more then enough of me to "force" the suspension to do it's job. As to my "shortcomings" I'm the same age as you and I've been on a bike since I was 4. I'm not calling you a crappy rider for having a differing opinion so let's stay away from that E-pissing contest aye

 the brake is still mounted to the same points on a swingarm that acts in an identical way on each of the bikes. i guarantee you the floating shock ends have nothing to do with the physics of the braking forces. maybe on my first note i skipped my reasons for calling your opinion bullshit. but there they are. and you're right, we certainly don't know how each other ride. but all the mountain bike action magazine editors who keep coming up with bullshit about how bikes ride probably spent their whole life riding too. but for some reason they focus on non issues for bike reviews instead of having fun riding.

 BigTard... Call it placebo effect, but yeah, I notice a difference in the two systems and as you said before, they're all Faux-Bars so NONE of the bikes I'm talking about brake anywhere near as well as a horst linked bike.When I say it didn't brake well I'm more refering to those times when, to me, it was really noticable. Mostly those turns that come after a really fast section and have alot of chattery roots in them and my FSR bikes have always railed the same turns with more aplomb. I really liked the Dixon overall, but the braking was sub-par IMO. how that's "bullshit"... well I don't know. I'm not calling your rig crap, I just noticed that trait (braking0 to be not so good considering all the hype over this "new" solution to an old problem. I've been riding at a high level since the Mt. bike was first mass produced and compared to old bikes the Dixon is a dream. however compared to alot of more modern systems I think the braking is it's biggest weak point. It did everythign else just the way I'd want ti to, but we here in the NW have a very special type of terrain that tends to hilight those problems.

 ...I inhereted a Stinky as I had to sell my last DH bike due to a major spinal surgery 2 years back and I gotta tell ya, the Stinky is BAD BAD BAD in the braking department. my old 4x4 that I still have that only has 4.3" in the rear feels more planted and less nervous in the above mentioned situations so. Would I buy a Dixon? hard to say cause there are SO many good bikes out there now, but I wouldn't NOT buy one because of the braking so...Little background on MY riding resume: I was racing BMX at 5, and I may well have had the first "freeride" bike in oregon or at leeast ONE of the first. I'm no Aaron Gwin, but I've yet to find onyone who can run away from me on the trail yet. maybe you know what I mean when I say I ride at the level of those I ride with. meanin if I'm riding with someoen who's just plain sick, I rise to the occasion. I think alot of us could say the same. but anyway, I've been on a bike for the better part of 25 years and riding a bike, any bike, is just something that I was born to do.

 I'm glad you like your rig, I really am, but I can still say it's a great bike and say it has some faults. It's not a Devinci problem, it's ANY single pivot/faux bar bike and I'm just used to a different set-up. Maybe with more time on bikes with a single pivot I'd notice it less, but when you've been riding a bike that doesn't do this and you jump on a single pivot (esentialy) it tends to stand out more, but then the first time I rode a Full-sus bike I was kinda wierded out by THAT too aye So anyway, I don't want to get into a fight man, I'd still be glad as to ride with you anyday mate, opinions are just opinions and this is mine, I don't think you're "bullshit" for not agreeing with me so please don't go down that road. For some people, their riding style suits a single pivot more in some ways and like I said, I'm gonna be riding one for the next year or so, so I think I'll make some adjustments and just get used to it cause I'm sure as hell ot gonna stop riding aye Different strokes an all aye. Basicly I think the Dixon is a really REALLY well made bike from a kinda under-rated company and I'd be happy to have one in my stable so...

 Actually the thing that kinda bums me out about Devinci is that they really only have A DH bike and NO Fr bikes. The Dixon just sin't a bike that's meant to be hucked day in and out, it could DO it, but i think you'd be running the risk of damaging the bike if ridden to hard in that way. I really wish Dev. made both a true FR bike AND a shortertravel, burlier rig. AS it is the Dixon is a GREAT AM and Enduro bike (which seem to be all the rage like "slopstyle" bikes were the last few years) but seeing as how Devinci used to have a line that REALLY catered to the gravity rider, it's kinda a bummer to see them go away from that, BUT if from a business standpoint that's what they had to do to stay in business and turn a proffit then in that respect I'm all for it. I'd just like to see a more "NW/Shore" oriented bike is all. Another thig I'll say in praise of the Dixon is it LOOKS absolutely TITS... in this age of ever crazier frame shapes, there's something really refreshing and great looking about a bike with a classic-ish "double diamond" frame set up. I REALLY like the look of it and I think with a Tele-seatpost, a shorter stem and a taller fork to get the HA slacker it'd be even MORE up my alley. I'd love to see one built up or even better a factory built bike more like the Commencal Meta SX (love that bike too, I mean I REALLY love that bike) as I think it gives the best of all worlds. I'm not trying to win WC-XC events, but I'd like to be able to pedal up and still hit the big stuff on the way down (come down and ride Blackrock if you haven't and you'll see what I mean). Unless I've missed something currently Dev. doesn't have a bike like that, but I have a feeling that the Dixon might just get a version like that here in the future. Let's hope aye.

 it was a tricky one for Devinci to establish the profitable product range, after the old FSR style frames

in the UK the freeride side of things is really dead, and 7" travel FR frames / bikes do not sell in enough quantity for good repeat business

for every 5 Hectiks (160mm All-Mountain) or 5 Wilsons we sold at Freeborn, we would rarely sell 1 Ollie or Frantik (7" FR)

obviously Canada is a different market, but the market even in BC is moving to all-mountain bikes with slack geometry that can be pedalled up and then rip down the trails, the Dixon suits this perfectly

there was some talk of Devinci introducing a 7" FR design with the Split-Pivot for 2012, but its not appeared, maybe they feel the demand is just not there?

 That makes sence aye...

 @georgy291

I worked for the UK distributor (Freeborn) for a number of years

we saw very few warranty claims on Devinci because they are very well built, and the few claims we made for customers were all dealt with very quickly

one specific example I can think of was a Canadian guy with a devinci touring bike, bought 5 years before in Canada. he had moved to the UK after touring all the World with heavily loaded paniers, and his frame had cracked in the seat cluster

within 10 days he had a brand new frame/fork free of charge from Devinci, and I personally rebuilt his bike in my workshop, the only charge he faced was for new gear / brake cabling (as his was corroded) and a new bottom bracket (as his was rough)

Devinci are like Hope (here in the UK) in that they manufacure their own kit, in their own factory, and have full confidence in their manufacturing, and stand behind their kit if it goes wrong (like Hope)

 i've owned devinci's for 7 years and had only one problem with a seat-stay one one of their previous Hardtail models. it took all of 2 weeks and my bike was up and running again.

 "unheard of lifetime warranty" did i just wake up back in 1986......

 It's true, we have all heard of lifetime warranties, but name a company that currently makes a 6" bike that includes a lifetime warranty on the entire frame.

 pretty sure konas t&c's are identical to devincis

 Kona don't even have a UK distributor - all warranty claims are dealt with by Kona in Monaco, France

 My 04 Devinci 8-Flat-8 is still going strong, despite 7 years of being battered constantly. Only ever had one pivot bolt snap in that entire time, which they replaced immediately, and also sent a nice Devinci T shirt for the trouble. Excellent quality workmanship, and much underrated in my opinion. Will most definitely be looking at getting a Wilson when I have enough money to buy a new bike.

 @bradwalton. Giant offers lifetime warranty on all their frames. 8" Glory included.

 Awesome! I stand corrected! Kona and Giant are backing up their bikes proudly as well. Who else?

 hampsteadbandit - We (Kona) have had a UK office since July this year, so you're right we don't have a UK distributor, but all warranties and servicing are dealt with directly now. Our office in Monaco is our central warranty hub so we now have a much more streamlined process for any claims made in the UK.

 hey KrazyJey! glad you are still enjoying your Hectik Ltd. Edition - I loved mine too! drop me a PM through Pinkbike! cheers Rob C !

 I can agree with you on the iscg tabs, it's a great option. But I've been very impressed that it doesn't throw chains as opposed to norco's and giants that toss it off by the bottom of every downhill. But if the bb got lowered the bike would become quite a pain in the ass with the fork lowered for technical climbing. It could probably be lowered a cunt hair and still be good though.

 That sounds like my kinda build... I was thinking that a RS Monarch PLus would be a great shock for that bike with the added oil/heat capacity over the RP23 (still a GREAT shock, I just like that RS put a piggy back on their "AM" air-can so you don't have to run the Vivid (which is not intended for this type of bike and therefore not valved for it) but you can still have the added capacity that a PB gives you. Again, I'd LOVE to throw a leg over that type of build you've got there cause that sounds like heaven to me. I'm old school so climbing on a slack bike doens't bother me (not to mention when alot of young guys talk about "slack" and "climbing" I just have to chuckle and think how they'd react to what us older guys used to ride/climb on Ah the perspective of time aye.

 mines got the monarch plus on it. i never rode it with the fox. but knowing how the propedal works on all the other bikes i've had with it. i guarantee the monarch is a better option. the compression adjustments are super useful. as in click up the compression lower the seat and hit whatever kind of dirt jumps you want. drop the fork run mid compression and it slaughters the tech uphill. open everything up and go hit the bike park. this is the bike that more companies have needed to make for a while. but it wasn't just the frame makers fault it didn't happen as theres been a few suitable frames out there. its more about the seatpost, fork, and rear shock, and to an equally important degree, good burly tubeless tires. the talus always worked for travel adjust but never felt as good as rock shox suspension. and the drop posts offered before the reverb were always shitty in some way. the monarchs adjustments are in a league of their own. and till lust tires came out and other similar mid thick casing tires, i'd just get flats like crazy riding my other custom builds as hard as i wanted to. its too bad they haven't spec'ed the bike just like mine cuz it's the bike it was meant to be. as sold it just misses the mark

 That sounds like a SICK build... I'm really liking the new Air-forks. Like you, I've grown up with all the degree's and advancements over the years and I always thought they just couldn't match coil forks for what I do/ride, but the new batch is really changing that opinion of mine. Glad to hear a great review of the RS Monarch Plus cause since I saw one I've been absolutely DREAMING of using one cause to me it combines the best of both worlds. The DHX Air I've ridden was just... well I'll call it poop, but I really liked the standard Monarch that my friend has on his '11 Dixon so the + just looks to be that much better aye. I'm not running tubeless yet (I know... I feel like a dinosaur) but I really have ZERO flatting problems with my Nevegals, I'd just like to get the rotational mass/weight of my wheels down. hell, I need to re-build this frame I inhereted untill I can get myself a truly GREAT rig here after I'm done paying off my student loans and finnish Nursing school. Thanks ofr the info mate, that's the kind of "I've actually used it" review I really wanted to hear. I hear you about the "frame people should make" aye, it reminds me of when I built my first "freeride" HT out of an old Spec. Rockhopper Cromo frame and made it into esentialy a BIG BMX bike. I thought "Man I wish someone would MAKE a 26" bike like this with more standover...well, 2 years later we had them. now days everyone is catching on that a good "jack-of-all trades" bike is really something we could all use and would love. I'm glad they're here. I've got my eye on a Comencal Meta SX as I think it looks like a GREAT bike for me. I'm also happy to report that the new Tele-posts are SO much better then in years past as you said aye. Great concept when it works.

 I'd recommend the 36 Float lowered to 150mm

the 36 Talas 180mm would do screwy things to the geometry (HA, BBH and front-centre) and I've not liked the previous two 36 Talas forks I've owned

the Float is a much better performer in my opinion, and the ability to internally lower the travel is a winner for a 145mm bike like the Dixon, which can benefit from a burlier front fork

here's mine www.pinkbike.com/photo/7282164

 I've been told a bunch of guys at devinci ride it with a fox 36 so I wouldn't worry, 180mm might be a bit big though.

 this bike kills it especially well with a 170mm fork. but it needs to be lowerable for climbing. such as the the 36 talus. or the new dpa lyric straight blows fox out of the water for actual suspension feel.

 i'm riding a 36 160 on it ... loving it

 when I first built my Dixon my Float was 160mm, but I found the 65 degree HA just too darn slack for trail (XC / All-Mtn) riding

 That's certainly a personal preference thing. And I suppose it depends upon the types of trail you ride, and how fast you like to go. I think the bike rules with 170-140 up front, climbs awesome, downhills awesome.

 That looks sweet... How'd you do in the Mega???

 not good but it wasn't dixon's fault...

 Ah well, at least you rode in it man... that's a hell of a race from what I've seen. Good on ya.

 Hey another question if you see this mate: How did you think the Dixon did in the rocky chunder stuff??? Like the stuff that really shows off rear-end flex??? I didn't get to ride it on anything like the alpine stuff you've ridden and I find that with the NW's type of trails, we don't see as much of that deflection type rock that you'd see in that race/alpine trails. I find when I go up to the mountains, a bike that I thought was super stiff can show signs of weakness when the rear-end is getting hammered in all different dirrections (something that those loose rock gardens are GERAT at doing aye.) I'm just wondering how stiff the rear end is in the worst of conditions case I thought it felt really stiff but I don't know for sure ay.

 Where did you get your engineering degree from? You have some frame designing/building experience I take it?

 Of course I don´t have an engineering degree. But after 12 years riding on different Bikes I can say: I personally know what I want/prefer when it comes to suspension-design or geometry-numbers. Just quoted my personal liking ;-)
I am a big fan of Split-Pivot/ABP-Designs because of the more shortish and stiff rear-ends one could archive. And as a current Wildcard-Rider I am definitely in the boat of "low &slack", even for AM-Bikes like that.

 I run my Dixon with a Fox 36 Float RC2 lowered interally to 150mm

this gives my Dixon a head angle of 66.4 degrees, I would not want to go any slacker on an all-mountain bike....the head tube is 130mm long but with taper Zero-Stack headtube meaning the headset bearings / cups are inside the frame, it gives a low front end for sure!

the BBH is a little taller than other contemporary frames like the Specialized Enduro, but on a recent trip riding goat-tracks on a steep hill-side, my buddy on his 2011 Enduro was constantly clipping his pedals on the ground, on my Dixon I had no problems scooting along under power and cleaning the trail.

a lower BBH is not always an ideal solution for a bike ridden on more technical, rough terrain, and the Dixon gets a good balance in the geometry between BBH and pedal / ground clearance - with the RS Reverb seatpost I run on my Dixon, I can effectively lower the COG by dropping the post which makes the bike feel much lower in steeper and more technical terrain.

one thing I really like about my Dixon is the short chainstay and super stiff rear axle with the simple Split-Pivot design, big stays and 142mm x 12mm axle dropouts - its very easy to "flick" the back wheel around using body english when riding technical terrain

 Hi hampsteadbandit, yes, I am definitely in the same boat like you when it comes to BB-Height or stiff and shortish Chainstays, as my Wildcard has a straight 13,8 BBH with 1,5 deg Works-Cups and 65,5 deg HA (5"). I really like Split-Pivot-Designs in general because of more neutral Breaking over the Faux-Bar. My only "complain" may have been misunderstood: low to me means actually Frame-Height, not BB-Height. For my personal liking the Dixon could have a shorter Seattube and therefor a more lowered Toptube for more clearance. Let´s say a size S Seat/Headtube on a medium Frame - that´s it ;-)

 the only negatives about my Wildcard were the weight (it was heavy) and the excessive brake squatting under rear braking

otherwise it was a fantastic frame, probably the best frame Banshee have made (the Scythe and Rampant are also great frames)

my buddy John and I tested my Rampant and his Wildcard back-to-back on different trails in Winterberg Bike Park and were really surprised at the difference the braking neutrality made to the riding experience when on the Rampant, compared to the Wildcard where the back wheel started skipping across the bumps once the brake was applied

once we got back to the UK, my buddy sold his WC and bought an Ellsworth Moment which shares the active braking common to the four-bar / horst pivot designs and Split-Pivots / ABP designs

 Ah well, coming from Horst-Links I found the Wildcard amazingly non-excessive when breaking, compared to other Faux-Bars I could ride in the past. But anyway, my recent overall-geo on the WC is tuned spot on, but would like to have that in a more lightweight package in the future. This with a Split-Pivot-Design would be the ultimate for me. Would be interesting to know if Devinci could do customisation ...

 buy this. no brake jack

 Yeah, I've read a bunch of reviews about this bike and none of them were informative really, I'm hoping this one will be different.

 It doesn't stand out because it isn't $7000.00 plus. If it was people would complain about the price and ask for reviews of bikes thay can actually afford.

 sooo what your saying is that if a bike stands out, its automaticly gotta be $7000+ ?

bike looks solid, looks like it can handle alot and still pedal great. definitly something id like to try out.

 No, it has good components, and a well thought out hydroformed aluminum frame. This is why it doesn't stand out. This doesn't mean there is anything wrong with it. It doesn't have XO or XTR, but most people don't need it. It is spot on in terms of spec for the money.

 I read that too...they said they wouldn't recommend buying it until the problem was fixed...

 ..aka Mountain Bike Fiction magazine. Whatever they write, take it with a grain of salt.

 I do take that mag with a grain of salt, but when they said like flat out we don't recommend it at all you have to really think about that.

 What issue of MBA is that was that review in?

 Probably why they have done this for 2012 models as stated in the first post. - they have moved from I.S. brake mounts to 'post mount' brake mounts on the seatstays

 I don't see how that would change anything....

 the MBA review was B.S.

I have ridden my Dixon down some very rough technical terrain with the back brake locked up, and the suspension is as active as the previous 6 different Specialized and Devinci FSR/4-bar bikes I have owned...

 There you go, thats the difference, your dixon is not FSR or 4 bar, and now you are going to tell all of us that you are smarter than the testers from the magazine. Maybe is the other way arround, and the only person that does not feel anything is only you.

 Not smarter...but mba mag does not carry serious credibility in the mtb community .

I've sold dozens of Dixon to serious riders here in the UK, guys previously riding sbc enduro, intense ss, orange alpine, etc. None of these riders ever mentioned brake squat or brake jack on the Dixon, neither did UK magazines like mbuk, mbr or dirt..of course one usa magazine like mba must know more??

 I'd recommend not buying MBA until the magazine is fixed.

 I have found significant discrepancies between MBA reviews, and what I feel in real world conditions. MBA supports all of the California based companies, and there is a definite bias in the reviews. The rest of the world knew about the Fox rear shock wallow in mid stroke, but MBA never experienced it. I have found their advice for large riders misleading and opposite of what I have found working along with my clydesdale buddies. The terrain that MBA tests on is not in any way similar to riding in the rockies or in Europe. I find the UK magazines have reviews much more on par with my riding experiences.

 Never heard of MBA but they didn't get that right, utter rubbish. Sounds like typical MTB magazine nonsense where they slate clearly superb bikes and give great reviews to the big companies who pay for advertising. There are absolutely no issues with the rear end of the Dixon.

 Far be it from me to naysay a professional review, I'm not going to. Everyone is entitled to their opinion.

I will say this about kinematics though: It is a physical impossibility to design a linkage layout on a Split Pivot bike that would do what the article said. Someone passed me a quote at one point, I laughed heartily at the suggestion, and moved on immediately. Suffice to say that if it were possible to do this, and I had built it, I would have inadvertently discovered a whole new realm of physics, and I would by now be retired on a yacht somewhere because the applications in science would be limitless.

So, yeah. Whatever. I love that Dixon, I don't care what anyone says, that bike rips and I smile every time I ride it. Sounds like some other people are in the same boat with me.

 dave you ruled it with this bike. rides amazing. no braking problems whatsoever as usual mountain bike action is bullshit lack of iscg tabs on the first version was slightly unfortunate, for those who like running single ring. but i live in big mountains so i run 2by and it never throws the chain anyway. bike needs to be ridden with a 170 up front though. when i lower my fork to 140 i don't really enjoy it except for steep climbing. i suppose in a lot of areas a 150 ish fork is ok but not around here.

 Hahahaha, damn right those guys don't know their ass from a hole in the ground. Mountain bike action I mean.

 agree, for $4k from other companies you can get the same spec on a carbon bike. Or a really well speced alu bike. Plus the bike looks like a specialized pitch with a few small mods.

 durrr..... thats US pricing too!

 I've been shopping for an AM bike for a while considering every options out there and I've seen so many 4K$-5k$ setups with x7 shifters and all around crappy parts you have no idea. When I looked at the dixon I found it actually refreshing to see a 4k$ bike with at least all x9 stuff for the price (except for the front der. but who cares really). For my tastes/budget, RC version is one of the best packaged bike in it's category if not the best. I liked that the frame is supposed to be very stiff for a bike in that category so you can bring it a little closer to the FR side of things if you want it... so it looks even more burly than a lot of options out there. And then you add in the fact that it's made in canada and has a lifetime warranty...

Sounds like a respectable price to me.

 I wonder what Canadian pricing will be.... I know devinci is Canadian, but still I've git a feeling price will be higher than the us....

 The shops I've been to that were selling 2012 dixons, it was 2999,99$ for a XP, 3999,99$ for a RC and 5699,99$ for a SL.

That is for montreal, not sure about elsewhere in canada but I guess it should be the same since its canadian pricings?

 nice... I just know you can do better than it.

 you can build up any bike to be SS. just get the proper tensioner you need and slap a conversion kit on the wheel and youre all set to go

 Sorry, I meant a slopestyle bike.

 probably. the only way to know is to do it. theyre good frames so i think you could if you are a light rider

 Not a light rider... but lifetime warranty...

 but who knows if slopestyle is included in that warranty..

 Mine handles the dirt jumps sick, not little trail dirt jumps but big proper ones. Sometimes even with the clip pedals on. But you gotta slow the rear shock down mega, like full wound shut depending upon how much psi you put in it. Nearly killed me on a-line as i'd only trail ridden it up to that point and didn't realize how it would handle the big hits. Tuned er slower and now she handles big jumps bad ass. It'll break if it gets cased and ditched mid air too much though.

 mtbrider106 if Dave weagel can copy a patent from a bilion selling brand like Trek, and not be sued for million's of dolares, he isn't a suspention genius but he is a genius, a law genius!

 Until Dave Weagle invented the Iron Horse Sunday. The best bike ever created at that point, and the first bike to EVER use a pivot that wasn't just a stand alone pivot, it was also the shock mount pivot. Nobody had thought of advancing it beyond that.
that was the impetus for the rear axle/pivot combo.
unfortunately trek jumped on this amazing idea at the same time. thats why they're both allowed to use it.
As for the floating shock mounts. This is hardly a deal breaker, it just happens that it differentiates the two designs with very little actual benefit if any at all, i'm not an engineer i don't know for sure.
But it would seem to make it harder for an engineer to plan out leverage rates to get what they want out of the shock because they have to account for both ends of the shock moving.
This is why the new Evil won't have a full floating shock, and likely why the Treks are a bit famous for being tricky to tune what you want out of the shock. Obviously also not too big a deal for Aaron Gwin.
But he could win races on anything

 No, you can't have a QR with Split Pivot (or ABP). It's a thru-axle.

 An 8mm allen is the only tool required for rear wheel removal. This allen head is also slotted on the outside, so a wrench could be used. I don't know the size of the wrench used though. There is a photo above that shows it, but this got missed in the preview. Sorry about that! Good question.

 Smike, sort of but not really true. With ABP you can use a standard qr skewer (albeit a little longer), you just have take the skewer all the way out to take the wheel out.

 True, the Trek bikes with 12x142 come with an adapter set for 135mm q/r.

 And I can adapt my 135mm qr for 142.

 I run a Hope Pro II rear hub on my Dixon, and converted my previous 135mm x 10mm "screw-in bolt" setup using a 142mm x 12mm £20 Hope conversion kit (new 12mm axle and end caps)

to remove the wheel its a hex wrench, and an easy operation to get the wheel in and out of the frame, as I run tubeless I rarely have to remove the wheels