Evil Launches 2022 Insurgent with More Travel & Mixed Wheel Option

Jun 9, 2021 at 11:31
by Matt Beer  
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Aimed at freeriders and enduro racers alike, Evil's new insurgent gets revised geometry and an updated look, with a straighter top tube to match the rest of the fleet. There's no mistaking this silhouette for anything else.

Evil's brand image heavily focuses on fun more than results, so it's no surprise to see the travel get jacked up from 150mm to 168mm of rear wheel travel. Those keen on racing might opt for the MX build with a 29" front wheel and 170mm fork.

Everything about the new Insurgent is boosted, from the Super Boost rear hub spacing to a wider, stiffer main pivot. The stout head tube can also handle a 180mm+ dual crown fork. You can be sure that team riders like, Kurt Sorge, will be sending it on the Insurgent as their main freeride rig.

Insurgent Details

• Travel: 168mm rear/ 180mm front (170mm MX)
• Wheel size: 27.5" or 29"/ 27.5"
• Carbon frame
• Head angle: Low - 65.3°/ 64.2° (MX)
• Seat tube angle: 78.2°/ 76.9°
• Chainstay length: 430mm
• Sizes: S, M, L, XL
• Frame only: $3,299 USD
• Complete bikes: $5,999-8,299 USD
evil-bikes.com

Not surprisingly, the only colour available is a matte grey, or as Evil labels it, "Clean Slate".

Although a lot has changed from the original version, the Insurgent name lives on. Evil's main product man, Mike Giese weighed in on why,

bigquotesThe Insurgent resonates with our core 27.5 audience, past and present. We feel by carrying forward the name, we are paying homage to the bikes freeride roots, while catering to the new trail/endure customer by offering the MX 29 configuration. The jump in rear wheel travel was a commonly requested item from our team riders, in-house employees, and customers alike. New bones, new face lift, but the same ethos for an all-around shred machine."Mike Giese, Evil Bikes


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Frame kit starts at $3,299 with a Rock Shox Super Deluxe coil with options to tag on extra paint and chain protection.

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Complete bikes have three build kits from SRAM beginning at $5,999 and moving up to $8,299 USD for a full AXS wireless spec.

There are also Fox Float X2 or Push 11.6 rear shock options, but no pricing was available at this time.

Geometry
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Author Info:
mattbeer avatar

Member since Mar 16, 2001
363 articles

66 Comments
  • 50 0
 Wonder why PB had to wait an extra day to post this? Was it Evil causing the delay or PB? The plot thickens.
  • 33 1
 It's Matt's first day on the job, we're going to cut him some slack for being late with this one. Smile
  • 2 1
 maybe its just that there is going to be a crazy amount of new bike releases in June and July and they got they're dates mixed up, the simplest explanation is usually the must logical, but not as exiting
  • 20 2
 There's no plot or conspiracy, we were just a little slow this time. You can hear me talk about what's up with PB / Evil in this podcast (skip to 37:45): www.pinkbike.com/news/the-pinkbike-podcast-episode-62-editor-preferences-and-why-they-matter.html.
  • 3 0
 Maybe one too many beers? @brianpark:
  • 1 15
flag WFoley (Jun 9, 2021 at 13:23) (Below Threshold)
 @brianpark: can you not leave this happen again, I ended up asking the be notified when available on the wrong mw bike.
  • 20 0
 @mikekazimer: That is exactly what somebody would say to cover up an anti-evil bikes conspiracy
  • 4 1
 @mikekazimer: just admit it, they are too fast and fun for you . I'll be too old for mine soon so will be switching to an sworks.
  • 4 4
 Meh, they were just like “evil still has actual seat angles way slacker than head angles, we’ll don’t want to even ‘fist look’ it”
  • 5 4
 They were trying to count the bearings in the rear linkage and lost count a bunch of times.
  • 2 0
 I'm in, “puts on tin foil hat.*
  • 34 1
 Some possible explanations why its here today and not yesterday
1) Pinkbike loves Evil and wanted to get the frames before anyone else did.
2) Evil doesn't like Pinkbike and didn't tell them the news
3) Pinkbike doesn't like Evil because they've got 4 letters in their name
4) The lobby for Good bikes is really strong
  • 18 2
 Oops, looks like someone didn't tell the new guy at pb that they don't post any news about evil bikes. teehe
  • 4 0
 @mikekazimer: Followed the link , found a great blast from the past

m.pinkbike.com/news/steve-smith-evil-bikes-2008.html
  • 6 40
flag parkisatool (Jun 9, 2021 at 12:51) (Below Threshold)
 Good old passive aggresive Kazimer with a tentative to defend PB that leaves to be desired... What an utter fail once again!
  • 10 1
 Now please do this with 145/160 travel!
  • 7 4
 So like, the offering but with the wrong wheel size? Wink
  • 1 1
 @fullendurbro: its a moot point
  • 1 0
 That’s that calling! @likeittacky:
  • 5 0
 Nice 30 more mm of travel we’ll have an Evil Undead.
I say 2025 we’ll get to see a 190mm insurgent.

Knowing Evil, they’ll milk this, and make a park variant.
  • 3 0
 Loved my Gen 1 Insurgent. Liked the idea of a mullet setup and inquired about availability. 2022 folks, don't get too excited just yet. We're sure to be back to 26" wheels before the newly released bikes are available.
  • 3 0
 Agreed- that original was a real shredder
  • 6 0
 Fun but also fast AF… this or the Wreckoning is my next bike…
  • 4 0
 Lucky for you they both use the same front triangle.
  • 2 0
 @slumgullion: I was wondering that - do we know exactly how common these super similar looking bikes are?
  • 2 7
flag parkisatool (Jun 9, 2021 at 18:30) (Below Threshold)
 @Glenngineer: like he said, same front triangle but different back end. I highly doubt you’re an engineer…
  • 1 0
 @parkisatool: but clearly you’re a tool, aren’t you?
  • 2 0
 Wheelbase, reach, stack, standover of a size S are somewhere between L and XL compared to a 2018 Insurgent...
So if i like the size of a medium 2018 Insurgent this is going to feel too big in size small, correct?
I'm so confused.

Also, haters gonna hate, but what is the weight?
  • 3 0
 Waiting for the arrival of all the people from the Bronson comments section complaining about bike companies whose bikes all have the same silhouette as each other...
  • 6 5
 As an Evil Insurgent LB owner, for a while I've been dreading the release of the new insurgent because it makes mine old... and these new ones look better...
But 168 travel? Too much.
170-180 front, with 38 fork? Too much.
63.5 HTA? Too much.
This is supposed to be the mid-long travel 27.5 trail/light enduro bike, all these numbers infringe on the wreckoning. I suppose then I'll just have to wait for the new Calling - if they add 20mm to that it becomes an insurgent.
  • 4 0
 Evil Bikes link is wrong. Their url is www.evil-bikes.com.
  • 7 7
 Having owned the OG following and the OG Offering and demoing the wreckoning and insurgent, I will never consider them again until they start publishing geo tables that tell the truth. Their geo tables are equivalent to Roald Dahl’s description of a peach.
  • 2 1
 In what ways are the geo tables not telling the truth? Do the bikes feel too slack or too steep based on what it says on the geo charts?
  • 1 0
 Agree their geo charts in the past were not so accurate. But I get ~76* effective on the MX side view above. (just a quickie Photoshop angle, so not super accurate) Whatever size it is and at whatever seat height that is. If the bike is in "X-low" then that is pretty close to the 76.2* they are publishing.

BUT... ~67* actual seat tube angle. So tall people are still gonna be at like 75* STA which "can" still be OK. Just depends...
  • 2 0
 @barathpapi: I noticed significant hiccups with their Following V3 Geo table.

For 120mm fork, they quote “521mm” as axle-to-crown. 521mm is the ATC for the 110mm SID, not the 120mm. ATC then jumps 20mm to 541mm for the 130mm fork, which is accurate. Additionally, things like BB drop, reach, and virtual TT do not change based on fork travel or geo setting- these number would most certainly change when you adjust those. For example, if the reach is 460mm with a 120mm fork in Low, the the reach should be more like 445mm with a 130mm fork in X-Low.

Love the bike, but yeah, their geo charts are kind of a hot mess.
  • 3 0
 @barathpapi:
OG following seat tube was way way way slacker than quoted.

OG offerings wheelbase much longer (and not caused by a longer ac fork measurement)

Wreckoning BB much higher

I could carry on.
  • 4 0
 Im waiting for the Evil Pentagram to drop, maybe The Satan.
  • 1 0
 The Fallen?
  • 6 2
 Why has evil gone to bikes in 50 shades of black? Bring back the colors!
  • 3 0
 Right? Love my Evil, but I wish I could have gotten it in some other colour than black (and especially something other than show-every-scuff matte finish) Bring back Smashing Pumpkin Orange in gloss!!
  • 2 0
 Is running dual crown forks designed for? I would be interested in one but would want to run a dorado and still have warranty coverage.
  • 2 0
 seat tube length/insertion is the isue for me with these bikes. wish they'd address that so I can run a 210 dropper
  • 1 0
 I'm able to slam a oneup 210 in a large following v3.
  • 1 0
 Love it... but massive overlap to the Wreck.. honestly. 2mm difference in travel - and you can run the Wreck in MX too.
  • 2 0
 Looks dope! Shredit was on point too.
  • 4 3
 haha.. slack 65.3 deg head angle... super steep 76 deg seat angle... I think they missed the mark
  • 2 0
 THERE WE GO!!!
  • 1 0
 2022? They haven't even delivered 2021s yet.
  • 1 0
 I got my insurgent yesterday, but to your point was still waiting 8 months for a wreckoning that was initially scheduled to arrive before thanksgiving 2020.
  • 1 0
 My April eta Wreckoning order is now saying late oct according to back country.
  • 2 0
 LONG LIVE 27.5
  • 1 0
 Great looking bike. I have a Wreckoning on order. Hmmm
  • 2 1
 Stupid Super Boost. Please no.
  • 1 1
 Someone, please explain to me the rube goldberg linkage? It looks like it's a pivot-heavy cleaning nightmare.
  • 5 7
 Kinematics Engineering Class, excerpt of first day in class: "First, add as many pivot points and links to your design. The appearance of complexity exudes excellence."
  • 11 2
 It's a single pivot that pulls down on a triangle. Whats complex?
  • 7 1
 It´s 4 pivot points plus the shock, same as most designs. If you want less you´d have to go with Orange or some flexing seat stays
  • 2 3
 Sweet bike but $6K, damn!
  • 3 1
 you get better spec than other boutique brands for the same price, it ain't cheap but value is better
  • 1 1
 @NicolaZesty314: Seems on par with Pivot, perhaps that's not the example you were hoping for.
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