Interview: Craig Evans Signs with Airdrop Bikes

Previous Redbull Hardline winner Craig Evans has signed with UK brand Airdrop bikes after a long stint on Santa Cruz bikes. Craig, who is maybe best known for his technical and creative riding, is Sheffield born and bred, much like Airdrop.

We had a quick catchup with Craig to find out what he wants out of a bike, why he moved away from the Santa Cruz brand, and whether he regrets walking away from World Cup Racing. The announcement also gives us a chance to see the Slacker bike in action, after its journey from concept to production has been well documented by the brand, as they bring a transparent approach to the bike's development.

---

Craig, after so many years on Santa Cruz, I imagine it's somewhat strange to close that chapter. They seemed near synonymous with 50:01, but all things pass. Can you explain a bit about why you decided to move away from the brand?

Yeah, it does feel a bit strange to be moving on. I'm thankful for all the good times and friends I've met along the way during my time with Santa Cruz, I've had opportunities to do things I would've never thought possible and I'll be forever grateful for their support. But for me this felt like the right time to move on.

The main reasons for my move to Airdrop was that I have a huge amount of respect for what they are doing, they have brought me in as a part of the team not just sponsored athlete, their bikes ride sick, are well specced and affordable which makes them more accessible, which is really important to me. It's a Sheffield brand and I'm working with 3 passionate people one of which is my oldest riding mate. It feels like home.

Airdrop, in the UK at least, are well known for offering solid builds for people who really want to enjoy their riding - and maybe not for those that wish to monster truck through things on a full 29er. What do you look for in a trail or enduro bike? Are there any must-haves or things you avoid?

The main thing I avoid is anything too long in the reach or wheelbase department, probably because most of what I ride regularly is pretty tight. I like to have range in my arms and legs to move the bike around, and think that when bikes get too long you lose a lot of your range. I feel like there’s a tendency for people to size up and ride really long bikes at the minute, probably because it feels a lot safer and easier to get down stuff but I think personally by doing this people are missing out on learning about bike handling.

Over the years, you've spent a lot of time on downhill bikes. With the bikes evolving so much in recent times, what setups have you been on? Full 29? Mixed wheeled? Or sticking with 27 front and back?

The last few years I have been on a full 29 DH rig, and they do serve their purpose as a race bike - if you want to go as fast as possible over rough terrain then it makes a lot of sense. But most of my downhill days were spent on 26 and then 27.5, which were also really fun. Bikes are good regardless of wheel size you just need to ride 'em!

How does that setup compare to the Slacker project that's been in the works from Airdrop for some time?

The Slacker is a 27.5 front and rear DH bike designed to be a park bike. If you’re not racing World Cups you probably don't want an XXXL 29er DH bike that corners like a barge; you probably want something that’s going to be fun. I've had the chance to ride one a couple of times now and it’s sick!

When you walked away from World Cups all those years ago it did turn a few heads. How do you feel about that now looking back? If you had your time again would you, do it differently?

Nah, I don't think I'd change anything. It would be nice to think I could've got somewhere with it, but what it actually came down to was that I didn't enjoy racing, probably wasn't fast enough and had no idea what I was doing, haha. I was racking up loads of credit card debt chasing something I didn't actually enjoy. l halfway around the world to get two half days riding: it ain't what it looks like from the outside. I’m still a huge fan of racing but bikes are way more than governing bodies and UCI points.

Your edits are full of some of the gnarliest tech, incorporating committing features and some incredibly technical slow-speed riding - how do you feel about where geometry is going? What do you want from a bike?

I think some people are pushing the performance side of it but are probably losing a lot of what a rider feels in the process. I want a bike for every occasion, haha, trying to air a tree on a long soft bike just feels like hard work in the same way as riding fast rough stuff on a size small 120 travel bike pumped up rock hard is. My point is you've got to tailor your setup for your needs and the feel that you like. One bike does not do all.

And finally, the big question, if you had to "kiss, marry, and kill" jibbing, trail riding, or DH, what would you do?

Tough one, hahaha, reckon I'm going marry trail riding, kiss DH, and kill Jibbing, don't hold me to that it will change in 10 minutes.