Evil Insurgent - Review
Rolling up to a busy trailhead aboard the Insurgent, Evil's latest carbon creation, is a surefire way to draw a crowd of inqusitive riders, attracted like moths to a flame by the bike's striking looks, and in this case an extra bright paint job called Slimeball. With 27.5” wheels and 151mm of travel, the bike is intended to be a versatile all-rounder, albeit one whose preferred terrain is on the steeper side of things.
Kevin Walsh, Evil's owner, wanted the Insurgent to fit his definition of a mountain bike, something that could be configured for everything from trail rides to days in the bike park. Two geometry settings allow riders to choose just how low and slack they want the bike to be, and the head angle and bottom bracket height can be tweaked even further depending on whether a 150 or 160mm fork is installed up front.
Insurgent Details
• Intended use: all-mountain / enduro
• Rear wheel travel: 151mm
• Wheel size: 27.5''
• Head angle: 64.8° or 65.6° (160mm fork)
• Frame material: unidirectional carbon fiber
• 73mm threaded bottom bracket
• DELTA link rear suspension
• Weight (as shown, size L w/o pedals): 30 pounds (13.6 kg)
• Sizes: S, M, L, XL
• Colors: Slimeball, Murder Black
• MSRP: $2,799 USD (frame only), complete bikes from $5,299.
• www.evil-bikes.com / @evil-bikes
• Intended use: all-mountain / enduro
• Rear wheel travel: 151mm
• Wheel size: 27.5''
• Head angle: 64.8° or 65.6° (160mm fork)
• Frame material: unidirectional carbon fiber
• 73mm threaded bottom bracket
• DELTA link rear suspension
• Weight (as shown, size L w/o pedals): 30 pounds (13.6 kg)
• Sizes: S, M, L, XL
• Colors: Slimeball, Murder Black
• MSRP: $2,799 USD (frame only), complete bikes from $5,299.
• www.evil-bikes.com / @evil-bikes
The sloping top tube provides a generous amount of standover clearance.
An integrated carbon fiber chain guide helps ensure the chain stays exactly where it should.
Frame Details
The Insurgent's frame shape shares similarities with the Uprising, its 26” wheeled predecessor, but the overall look is a little sleeker, with a subtle curve to the low slung top tube and more shaping around the seat mast. Evil placed a high priority on stifness when they were designing the frame, and the carbon swingarm is sight to behold, one that makes it clear that this isn't a spindly little XC whip. That sturdy construction does come with some constraints though, including the fact that it's not possible to run smaller than a 30 tooth chainring, and that the chain runs very close to the top of the chainstay in the higher gears.
Evil sought to create an extra-stiff swingarm, which reduced the amount of room between the chain and chainstay.
Tire clearance has been greatly improved over the 26" Uprising, and there's now room to fit most 2.5" tires.
Internal housing is in place for a dropper post, and the rear derailleur housing briefly disappears into the swingarm, but otherwise everything is cleanly routed along the underside of the top tube. ISCG 05 tabs are located around the threaded bottom bracket, but there aren't the three mounting holes that many riders are used to seeing. This is because Evil have created an integrated carbon fiber upper chain guide (the frame was designed to be run solely as a single ring set up), and have teamed up with e*thirteen to create a lower guide for riders seeking additional chain retention and chain ring protection.
What about water bottle mounts? Unfortunately, the Insurgent doesn't have any. This could change in the future, but for now thirsty riders will either need to carry a pack or figure out a creative way to mount a bottle onto the frame.
The DELTA suspension design is Dave Weagle's take on a link-driven single pivot.
Suspension Design
At first glance, the Insurgent's DELTA link rear suspension design looks complicated, an intricate array of small links and bearings, but it's actually relatively simple, and only uses a total of eight sealed cartridge bearings. Designed by Dave Weagle (DELTA stands for Dave's Extra Legitimate Travel Apparatus) the intention behind the layout is to provide a supple beginning stroke that ramps up for improved pedalling, with a more linear feel later in the travel before ramping up once again to avoid harsh bottom outs.
Changing the bike's geometry (and its on-trail personality) involves flipping over the aluminum chip joining the swingarm and the short link that pulls down on main link. It's roughly a ten minute procedure, one that changes the bottom bracket height by 12 millimeters and the head angle by .8 degrees. We ran our test bike with a 160mm RockShox Lyrik, which gave it a head angle of 65.6° and a bottom bracket height of 346mm in the higher setting, and a 64.8° head angle and 334mm bottom bracket height in the low setting. One of the benefits of the DELTA link suspension design is that the geometry changes don't dramatically affect the bike's leverage rate, which means the shock's settings don't need to be altered when the chip is flipped.
Geometry
Setup
The first few rides on the Insurgent were spent getting the rear suspension dialed to my liking, and after some experimentation I settled on running four air volume spacers in the Monarch DebonAir, and an air pressure of 40 pounds above my body weight. That put it right at 30% sag, a number that can be confirmed via the handy little indicator located on the main suspension link. The rear suspension has a fairly linear feel as it goes deeper into its travel, and running four volume spacers worked well to prevent the bike from bottoming out too often, although it still seemed easier to use all of the travel compared to a bike like the YT Capra that has a very progressive suspension curve.
Climbing
The Insurgent fits into the 'goes uphill decently, descends like a bat out of hell' trope that's becoming the norm for all-mountain and enduro race rigs, but there's more to it than that. For one thing, its pedalling performance is excellent, even with the Monarch DebonAir in the fully open position. There's minimal undue suspension movement, but when faced with rough ground the suspension stays active and supple, which makes it easier to keep the rear wheel stuck to the trail rather than bouncing and skittering around on tricky climbs.
On long sustained fireroad climbs, the necessary suffering that preceded many of the rowdier descents I took the Insurgent on, I did find that the top tube length and seat angle put my weight more towards the rear of the bike than I would have liked. Positioning the seat all the way forward helped make this more manageable, but I ended up standing and pedalling out of the saddle a little more than usual in order to center my weight and stay balanced between the two wheels.
Not surprisingly, the Insurgent climbs best in the higher geometry setting - the front end feels less likely to wander, and the higher bottom bracket helps reduce the number of pedal strikes. On that note, I'd recommend running 170mm cranks, particularly if you have any plans of running the bike in the lower geometry setting where the bottom bracket sits only 334mm (13.2") above the ground.
The Insurgent's no slouch on the climbs, but it's happiest once gravity takes over.
Descending
Putting the Insurgent into the lower geometry setting (labeled XLow on the flip chip) is like angering the Incredible Hulk – it turns the bike into an absolute hell raiser. Granted, this setting works best on the steepest of trails, the type that a downhill bike wouldn't be out of place on, but if that's your preferred terrain the Insurgent delivers a ripping good time.
The 64.8° head angle, low bottom bracket and generous reach provide loads of stability, and the Insurgent's suspension is supple enough that I'd often find myself plowing straight through root and rocks just for the fun of it. 151mm may be a little less rear travel than some of the other big guns in the all-mountain / enduro category, but that's nothing to worry about - it certainly doesn't limit what this bike is capable of. When it comes to cornering, the Slimeball-colored machine felt best carving wider arcs, and going a little further to the outside of a tight corner helped make sure that there was enough room to get everything lined up and ready to blast out the exit. As an added handling bonus, the Insurgent is extremely easy to manual, and I lost track of the number of times I leaned back, lifted the front wheel, and let the rear end do its thing.
As wildly fun as the Insurgent's super slack and low setting was, I did end up spending more time with the bike in the higher geometry position (labeled Low on the flip chip). This made it feel less singlemindedly focused on rocketing downhill, and added a bit of liveliness to its handling on more moderate terrain, or on trails filled with jumps and berms. In any configuration the bike feels well balanced - the 430mm chainstay length is a good match to the roomy front end, and the rear shock position gives the bike a nice and low center of gravity,
The tight clearance between the chain and the chain stay that was mentioned earlier does mean that the Insurgent isn't the quietest bike out there. Clutch-equipped derailleurs only place the section of chain that's under the chainstay under tension, and in this case it's the part above the chainstay that's creating the noise. The rubber protector helps, but on rougher trails the 'thwap, thwap, thwap' of the chain against the protector is still very audible.
Component Check
• Race Face Atlas Cranks: Race Face's classic Atlas cranks are now direct mount chainring compatible, and are also adaptable to just about any bottom bracket configuration out there thanks to the company's Cinch system that allows for spindles and spiders to be swapped as needed. On the trail there weren't any issues – they're stiff, silent, and the bottom bracket is still spinning smoothly even after a number of wet rides. The sloppy weather is just getting started though, which is why we'll have a longer term review up after riding them through even more nastiness.
• RockShox Lyrik: The Lyrik is noticeably stiffer than the Pike, and has a more supple beginning stroke, which matched well with the Monarch DebonAir rear shock. Unfortunately, this particular fork, one that had been ridden hard for the last three months, developed a noticeable amount of what felt like bushing play. SRAM's response was the good old, “that one is pre-production” line, so the final verdict on durability will have to wait until we get a few months in on a production model.
• Integrated chain guide: The chainguide is a unique touch, but it did take a little bit of fiddling with bottom bracket spacers to keep the chain from rubbing in the easiest gears. Even after that there still wasn't much clearance between the chain and the innermost portion of the guide, which made it more difficult for mud and grit to escape during wet rides.
• XT M8000 brakes: Shimano's XT brakes have a well deserved reputation for being reliable and powerful stoppers, and the latest iteration continues that tradition. They were fade free for the duration of the test, even on long descents that required extended periods of heavy braking. The amount of modulation doesn't quite match that of SRAM's Guide brakes, but otherwise they're still an excellent choice for everything from XC to enduro rigs.
Pinkbike's Take:
 | Evil have created a trail smashing monster with the Insurgent. It'd be easy to call it 'a downhiller's trail bike,' but that's fast becoming a tired cliche, and I'd say that the Insurgent is actually more than that. This is a bike that's capable of making a rider wonder if they even really need a DH bike, especially since it can be pedaled to the top of gnarly trails without too much fuss. There are a few quibbles, including the lack of water bottle mounts and the tight chain clearance, but the Insurgent's brilliant handling on the descents makes them fade into the background. - Mike Kazimer |
Visit the high-res gallery for more images from this review
About the Reviewer
Stats: Age: 33 • Height: 5'11” • Inseam: 33" • Weight: 155lb • Industry affiliations / sponsors: None Twenty years deep into a mountain biking addiction that began as a way to escape the suburban sprawl of Connecticut, Mike Kazimer is most at home deep the woods, carving his way down steep, technical trails. The decade he spent as a bike mechanic helped create a solid technical background to draw from when reviewing products, and his current location in the Pacific Northwest allows for easy access to the wettest, muddiest conditions imaginable.
Stats: Age: 33 • Height: 5'11” • Inseam: 33" • Weight: 155lb • Industry affiliations / sponsors: None Twenty years deep into a mountain biking addiction that began as a way to escape the suburban sprawl of Connecticut, Mike Kazimer is most at home deep the woods, carving his way down steep, technical trails. The decade he spent as a bike mechanic helped create a solid technical background to draw from when reviewing products, and his current location in the Pacific Northwest allows for easy access to the wettest, muddiest conditions imaginable.
Author Info:
Must Read This Week
I'd called it EVIL PIVOT.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=WFjSIRwHkJc here's from the first weekend on it
'twas the Greeks.
There are plenty of other bikes out there, just as good, probably cheaper & definitely more reliable.
Chances are dealing with them probably won't give you an aneurysm too
@henrikulleland
The true test is how they deal with those breakages. I think it's safe to say, they arn't so hot on the customer service aspect.
www.pinkbike.com/photo/12633268
I hear Orange were not too good on the customer service front but are now a lot better. Only replaced it with a Norco sight because I didn't have enough money for another 5.
Time will tell but maybe, just maybe, Evil have turned a corner now. The real question is: will it matter or have too many people written them off forever?
I have also had no issues with my uprising, save for one over torqued T-nut. Glad I had a spare!
P.S. These guys in B-ham stock Evil small parts. fanatikbike.com/product-list/evil-pg1515
For whatever its worth, when I was at Evil's shop Kevin was telling me how he backed over his Insurgent with his truck and still rides it. I saw the pictures, saw the destroyed wheels and then sat on the very bike. The bike had some scratches, but amazing condition considering a truck backed over it and it's still ride-able. I have nothing but love for Evil, they were great and I had a positive experience with them. They always answered my questions (both phone and email) and were really helpful in providing good information about what components they think work best.
Great work Evil, you've made a Killer bike. Those of us lucky enough to own one know it and love you for it.
For the spare parts:
I got my new bearings after 2 weeks and since i got the new bearings i had no problems! Also another small part that broke was shipped via prio in just 3 days - here the costumer service was awesome!
For the frame:
My frame "broke". I know it's only visual but they don't replace it. I want to sell the bike to just ride something new but nobody buys a broken frame...
On the Eurobike I talked to one of the guys of Evil and he just told me that I should not hope for a new rear triangle...
The People want to know
vs. Nomad: The Insurgent feels more low slung, with a carvier feel in the corners. The rear suspension doesn't feel as bottomless as the Nomad does, but it does feel more supple initially.
vs. Capra: The Insurgent's center of gravity and its top tube are lower making it easier to really push into corners. The Capra is poppier, with a more progressive suspension feel, while the Insurgent feels more plush, but also more eager to go through its travel.
vs. Reign: The suspension feel while descending is actually quite similar to the Reign, although the Reign is even more of a plow bike, one that wants to crush everything in its way. The Insurgent is a little more maneuverable, especially at slower speeds.
All of those bikes are excellent in their own rights - there's not one that really stands head and shoulders above the rest.
Flowy trails or chunder: Whatever your heart desires. It's a very well rounded machine, and depending on the built kit and geo position you can make it more of a trail bike or a mini-DH rig.
However on top of all things "informative article" is an utopia. Being in position to buy one of top bikes and remain unsure (as everyone would since differences are so little) is a messed up situation. Paradox of choice leaves you wondering for weeks if not months and once you get caught in that "what's the most sensible choice" nightmare you end up dissatisfied with whatever you picked, because there is no way you will not have second thoughts if you made a right choice. Then you have to understand that reviewers are filters and it is impossible to be objective here: each of of them has their own cognition and preference (they are humans for fks sake) and as objective as they try to remain they will always give you an angle. Just like you look for certain things in a bike, they are when they review shit. If you do feel like you need to do KNOW, then go on several demo day sessions and find out for yourself. That will leave you going around the place for a year or so and once you decide what you think suits you, there is a new bike coming out, leaving you in that stupid misery again.
There are minimal differences between frames and 99% of those bikes run save components on them. Hey you The People - get it for fks sake. It's no glory nor shame to ride a bike of some kind. It's a bike for fks sake.
I'll also agree with DARKSTAR63 that a lot of people seem to want their bikes picked out for them. You always know these guys because they give no real account of what they just bought beyond an echo of what a sales person or reviewer told them.
Once you choose whatever it is you pick, you REALLY MUST be prepared to ride around or try to deal with in some way it's (the bike or frame) shortcomings. All designs are going to have a shortcoming or three and more often then not, what exactly winds up being what you perceive to be a shortcoming may not be what was talked about in a review.
I finally updated my AM rig to a Canfield Balance from an '08 Khyber Elite. I loved that bike, but I can officially say that the Balance is head and shoulders above and beyond the Khyber in terms of geo (and it's effects) alone. The shortcomings I see with the bike? The BB IS LOW!!! And I'm not down with the CCDB. I think the middle position on a Monarch RC3 Plus is superior to the Cane Creek climb switch. The CCDB also feels like it desperately needs some end stroke ramp up.
But I can deal with these issues and will do it happily. They are minor compared to the gains.
too much consumer choice + ADD + time poverty + impatience + wanting a "perfect bike" + unwilling to risk a purchase + sheep/herd consumer mentality = FAIL
Dt X B2 X (Ar / (1/Rh))= pre purchase misery level
Decision taking time
B2-budget squared
Ar - articles read
Rh - riding time
If we change B2 to B3 we get formula for post purchase rationalization.
The goal of a shootout is always to show a clear winner. Hey look! We have a staff pick! This can be useful for things that are less dependent on personal preference.
A comparison can be used to articulate subtleties and differences, without spinning one or the other as being better or worse. Simply different for whatever reason. It is then up to the reader to extrapolate if any of those differences is better or worse for them individually. The way @mikekazimer did this above is excellent!
It is impossible Not to compare things. The whole foundation behind forming an opinion in the first place is through comparison. If a reviewer can articulate the comparisons they are instinctively making and the nuances that set them apart, it helps the readers find a baseline from which they can relate to and begin to form an understanding.
If a reviewer is giving their opinion on something, it is Crucial to know what they are comparing it to and why.
I keep going back to the Khyber example because it was typical (albeit less so) of bikes from the day. Shorter and taller. And we all know that combo doesn't carry speed as well as a low and long one. And that was THE FIRST THING I noticed on the Balance. It felt more stable AND comfortable when leaved over at speed. That was tough to do on the Khyber because of how tall it was. You were always too far from the contact patch and the bike never felt neutral. Even after doing considerable work on fork and shock setup as well as tire pressures. OTOH, I felt comfortable right away on the Balance without doing 5h1t to the suspension.
Long TT with low stand over makes it that much easier to weight the BB/Pedals mid-corner. Long WB means a mid-corner push run's it's course slower. You don't immediately end up on your head. Same goes for the rear.
The newer stuff kicks a$$ because of revised geo more than anything else. Otherwise one could just put DVO bling on a Trek Y-11 and turn into a rock star.
........so he gave it a 72.8 degree seat tube that would make it easy to climb and easy for tall people to wheelie uphill........
That extra degree will add about an inch in wheel base. Everything has pluses and minuses.
Here's an example of another banging bike that gets it wrong..........the Following, a 29er that should be good for big guys....its had positive reviews and looks the muts nuts....but buy a big frame and you find the Stack/reach ratio is different 1.33 for an XL and 1.45 for a Medium. In plain language the stack increases just 9mm between those frames....seriously the medium counts from 5'8 upwards and the XL 6'4 upwards. So you get an extra 0.3 inches higher stack for being 8 inches taller....
I hope you agree this is messed up or maybe you don't care if your average height or less (or have short legs).
Tall riders of the world unite, rise up and fight the tyranny and oppression of the bike designers!!!! ....but seriously can a bike design dude give us a professional view on this stuff?????
@mikekazimer
as a 6'4" guy with really long legs, i'd far rather a steeper seat tube. it actually annoys me that no one publishes their actual seat tube angles anymore - only the effective. I know that by the time I get my dropper fully extended, that true effective angle is going to be more in the low 70s. The Rocky Altitude seems to be one of the better bikes for this - not sure what else...
you don't need to ride a bike to know if a static geometry figure works well for you or not. Seat tube angle doesn't change, and if a certain figure doesn't work well on one bike, its not going to work well for you on any bike.
Whyte T129 1.26 XL
Mega 290 1.31 XL
Following 1.33 XL
Nomad stack/reach 1.34 XL (1.51 small)
Capra 1.35 Large / 1.33 XL
Tall boy 1.39 XXL
Stumpy 29er 1.41 XL
E29 is 1.41 XL
New YT 29er ?
Even the absolute level is only 613mm
www.pinkbike.com/news/guerrilla-gravity-megatrail-review-2015.html
Those are for tall guys...
its "flaws" get me up and down the mountain with a bigger smile on my face than any bike ever has. Sorry the slack seat tube that I manage to climb right on pace with the rest of my riding crew without problem isn't something that has struck me to whine about.
Evil has carbon cracking issues?
Brands like Evil & Yeti - well, don't, in all aspects of the above.
As the reviewer responded to another point & compared it to what are probably the best bikes in this sector - he openly said they are all good, and not one really stands above the others.
So why would you buy the one that's almost guaranteed to give you the most hassle, has the least support, and the worst warranty.
Unless of course, you like to make life hard for yourself.
Mind you, with Evil's legendary customer service. chances are you will be up sh*t creek, regardless of whatever your warranty period is.
Just some food for thought.
1) It is dependent on the company offering the warranty being in business in 5-10 years when you want to warranty something that old. Seems unlikely that a 'big' bike company could fail in that sense but its not impossible either (Schwinn, anyone?).
2) It is dependent that the company will still have that same warranty on offer then - these are 'agreements' that can be changed at any time by the company. (ex; the first year Roval wheels had a lifetime warranty, now they don't...)
3) You know how many things are excluded under 'lifetime warranty'? Nearly everything except the main front triangle. Chainstays, seatstays, rear triangles, bearings, shocks, etc are all 'wear and tear items' and any other component on the bike is under warranty for that specific manufacturer (i.e. Shimano, Fox, Rockshox, SRAM - and they ain't offering lifetime)...
4) to TheRaven's point, it is effectively a 5-year warranty because:
a) the warranty will 'replace, at the manufacturers discretion, of equal value' which means you get the same ol' frame, not a new one, and are going to use your trashed components on said 'new' frame. Most of these large manufacturers stock old frames to use as a warranty at later point. You will still have out-of-date frame/shock/tech though...
b) internally at these companies, anything beyond 5 years is typically viewed as 'normal wear and tear, ridden beyond the engineered material parameters' and not 'manufacturer defect'.
c) if you do get a newer frame, it is likely ONLY the frame being replaced per the warranty - it is typical that in the warranty it is your responsibility for parts, compatibility issues, labor, etc.
So in reality, say you actually have a 10 year-old bike and warranty it at the big red S under 'lifetime warranty', first you are going to jump through the hoops of finding the receipt, if you are lucky your LBS you bought it from will have it on file, but not many people keep records that far back. If you can convince the warranty department you are original owner, there are a few scenarios:
i) they'll actually have your frame in the warehouse and you'll receive a 'new' 10-year-old frame that is worth its weight in aluminum scrap. You are still stuck with outdated and completely worn components, and likely no-one services your fork / shock anymore, and likely there are some outdated seatpost / BB / shock / headtube / wheel sizes on there anyways. If you do think its worth putting 'newer' components on this frame they are more than likely not compatible.
ii) you'll get a 'newer' frame - this means they don't have your frame it is so old, and you're still getting the oldest crap in the warehouse they want to get rid of, maybe a 2010 or 2011 frame. You are most certainly going to have a ton of compatibility issues and do you really want to put an old-ass 32mm stanchion POS fork on a newer frame?
iii) none of this will work and you'll be offered half-off on a new complete bike, so you are basically buying a new bike on wholesale.
Bottom Line - you are NEVER going to receive a new complete bike in 5+ years from now on a 'lifetime warranty' bike. No matter the situation, you are still going to pay a good amount of $ and need a new bike after five years (or sooner, thanks to Boost, new 'standards, etc). I argue that this is actually a disservice to offer lifetime warranties - most consumers are dumb enough to think that 'lifetime' applies to tires, brake pads, etc and are upset that after leaving their bike with no service outside in the rain for 4 years that its the bike companies fault the bike is falling apart. That huge selling point sticker shouting 'LIFETIME WARRANTY!' doesn't let you know the reality I've spelled out before - it helps emotionally market that brand to you.
Regardless, even if it is only 5 years, that's better than the 3 year warranty Evil is offering here.
In my experience, if you have a frame replacement under warranty with Specialized, you will receive a current model-year replacement, and generally one trim level higher. So if you have a 2013 Stumpjumper comp you will receive a 2015 Stumpjumper elite in replacement. Have an Expert? You get an S-works replacement. I don't know if this is official policy, but it's been consistent from my experience.
I just wanted to point out that after 5 years, you are not guaranteed a replacement even though it is a "lifetime" warranty.
Alot of how warranties are handled comes down to the bike shop, the regional rep, then the company. unless it's just a bad company.
These are amazing bikes with probably the best suspension design out there. I don't know about there customer service in the past, but as of today, they have been nothing but great. And about price, these are incredibly well priced for full carbon frame in one the best factories out there! (Yeti SB6C, Intense Tracer frame is 3200 vs 2800 for Insurgent) Of course they won't have the same warranty capabilities as HUGE ass brands like the ones mentioned or Specialized! But this is the choice of customers who want something else, something with character and PROVEN capabilities!
About the seat angle, my old Slash had a way slacker seat tube angle and I could still pedal it over any climb, no Trek athletes seem to be complaining too much either. So in the end it's how you feel on board you bike that matters. And I'M SURE the Insurgent will not disappoint! Haters gonna hate, potatoes will potate, but with a name like Evil, do you think they care?
Before they swapped factories they really could not do anything, and now they have stopped making the undead and uprising. Ah friend of mye still got a new rear triangle for his Undead, and also 20% discount on a new The Following.
Once you ride Evil Bikes, all your bickering becomes irrelevant.
Just try them...
Maybe for riders that don't push the limits of their bikes that's true... But your not buying and Evil Insurgent to take down a stroll on a park with mom's pushing sleeping babies on carriages. At least I hope your don't!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=qTOL6C4-7ZQ
www.youtube.com/watch?v=h1BN4M1hCY4
What could possibly go wrong?
I actually find it very quiet as well.
Mine weighs 12,4 kg.... With Alu bar.
Has Enid Blyton started writing for Pinkbike?
I noticed you aren't running the custom bashguard for this bike, you also mentioned how in the low position short cranks should be used. Did you find yourself hitting stuff with the chainring?
This bike's frame weighs the same as the majority of its competitors, put light parts on it and it's gonna be 28 lbs. Now go back to your usual commenting (cost too high, I've heard these crack, etc)
Great bike, but I think 'The Following" was a tiny bit more revolutionary.
In the past it was effectively the angle between the top of the seat tube and the bottom bracket but on modern bikes, if you follow the seat tube down the line rarely passes through the bottom bracket. It seems that what really matters should be a combination of seat tube angle and bottom bracket 'offset' (i.e. how far back from that line the bottom bracket center actually is). Looking at that Evil it looks like the BB center is several inches behind where the seattube line is.
...OR am I misunderstanding the measurement?
I rode a medium Following at Interbike and it felt pretty good.
Never mind, just saw you had it at 160
This is not the full bike spec as supplied by Evil. For this article they took a bare frame and built it out not using the lightest components.
That said, this CF frame weighs about the same as the new Mega alloy frame. Weight alone can't be a good judgement for structual design, but it may be stoutly built.
(I know that I'll sound like a whining 3 year old, but scram has said that way too many times)
7" rear with 170 - 180 single crown fork would melt this thing and many other latest bikes .
This could be the Evil cause.
Rubbish bearings, a "paint crack" on the swingarm but at least it rides well. If they make a 650b DH frame, will indead owners be offered that as a replacement? I'd hope so.
That said, Orange and Trek are just as bad, and using thinner aluminium tubing to make a bike as light as carbon just seems like a dangerous game to me.
@Verbl-Kint your Santcion doesn't surprise me since latest breed of aluminium bits are only a tad heavier than most carbon parts. Think of frames, rims, handlebars. That is also the reason why carbon folks put their jewelry on the diet, sometimes crossing the threshold of durability. ENVE stuff from around 2010 wasn't cracking as much. THeir AM rim was 400g for 26, now it is the weight for a 29er. ZTR, then DT, WTB, even Superstar started making rims only a tad heavier than carbon and carbon rims had to get lighter to justify their price.
To give it some justice I slammed 2.4kg Blur TRc (incl. shock) into landing of 6m gap - several times. No problems so far. I also hit a rock on uphill with the swingarm and a big bit chipped off...
I had a TRc, and it was strong and light at the cost of stiffness. I'm not the type of rider who likes being stuck to the ground. I like to pop out of corners, not wallow in them. It can take a hard landing, but that's because it rides like a wet noodle.
"The warranty will be in effect for lifetime of the original, registered owner."
So no, they aren't going to replace a 15 year old frame right now...
But I'll tell you what, go buy a new SC, register the warranty, and hold on to that sucker for 15 years. Then go huck it off the top of a huge ladder drop and see if you can crack something. Then go see if they will still take care of you. And if not you can look me up on Pinkbike and tell me that you were right all along!
Last line under bike details.
With that pricetag i expect a bike to weight 26 pounds.