![\"_DSC0031\"](\"http:\/\/www.mtb-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/DSC0031.jpg\")
<\/a>The Insurgent is Evil’s first 27.5″ wheeled bike; it offers 150mm of Dave Weagle designed,D.E.L.T.A. Link travel and has a host of cool features packed into an extremely stiff, snappy chassis. \u00a0Over the past 10 months we’ve packed in countless rides aboard this frame set up a variety of ways. \u00a0We’ve ridden it with\u00a0150mm, 160mm, and 170mm forks with both 42mm and 44mm offsets. \u00a0It’s seen 4 different rear shocks: two coil sprung and two air sprung. \u00a0Although we obviously spent the most time with a neutral headset, we also rode\u00a0it with plus\/minus one degree headset cups in both the “Low” and “Extra Low” positions. \u00a0We dug deep for this test. \u00a0After all, a bike this versatile needs to be ridden in every possible geo\/travel\/head angle combinations to really\u00a0do it justice.\u00a0 Let’s dive in…<\/p>\nDetails<\/h3>\n
\u2022 $2,799.00 As mentioned prior, the geometry on the Insurgent is aimed at a more aggressive crowd.\u00a0 <\/span>Evil makes that abundantly clear in the way that they market the bike.\u00a0 <\/span>With that said, the right build and setup can give the bike a more toned down\u00a0attitude.\u00a0 <\/span>With a 170mm fork and a coil spring in the low position, the bike enters a level of capability that is close to a\u00a0proper DH bike.\u00a0 <\/span>With a 150mm fork and an air shock in the high position, it\u2019s a confidence inspiring but sprightly trail weapon.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n When we first pulled the Insurgent\u00a0out to build it up, it felt incredibly stout.\u00a0 <\/span>The tubing is thick, the head tube is massive and its shapes are beautiful.\u00a0 <\/span>The hardware is all logical and sturdy; gone are the days of Evil\u2019s hardware issues.\u00a0 <\/span>The frame protection is brilliantly placed and it features some nice touches like a built in upper chain guide block and sag indicator.\u00a0 <\/span>Evil have added rubber grommets to help seal off the internal cable routing ports, quieting them a bit in the process.\u00a0 <\/span>Speaking of routing, everything is tidy and tucked out of harms way; running on the underside of the top tube.\u00a0 <\/span>The seat post routing has a sleeve that guides\u00a0it from the down tube, above the BB shell and into the seat tube, making installation a breeze.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>Lastly, the minimum rear rotor size is 180mm and\u00a0the caliper mounts directly.\u00a0 <\/span>Although that leaves you without an option to run a 160mm rotor, we appreciate\u00a0less hardware and fuss and realize that most riders on this bike won’t want 160mm anyway.<\/span><\/p>\n Our big gripe in terms of features was the lack of water bottle cage mounts.\u00a0 <\/span>We honestly have no idea what the hell Evil were thinking.\u00a0 <\/span>By purchasing this product<\/a>\u00a0we were able to mount one and it cleared a large bottle just fine, so there\u2019s really no excuse that it didn\u2019t fit. \u00a0All in all, while that may be a deal breaker for some, it’s pretty easy to get past when you consider the Insurgent’s other merits. \u00a0Oh, we almost forgot to mention – hats off to Evil…this bike has a threaded bottom bracket. \u00a0Nice to see them taking a step We started out with a middle of the road setup running a 160mm fork up front in the neutral headset position and the \u201clow\u201d position.\u00a0 Evil Bikes owner Kevin Walsh has a salty sense of humor so after seeing how consumers reacted to the 29″ wheeled Following’s “high and low” positions, the Insurgent’s D.E.L.T.A.\u00a0links have been aptly labelled “Low and Ex-Low”. \u00a0Right away our 6 foot tall rider felt very comfortable on the bike; admittedly he prefers bikes of the long, low and slack nature which characterizes\u00a0the Insurgent through and through. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Our bike arrived without any volume reducers in the RockShox Monarch Plus Debonair, and we would eventually work our way up to 3 reducers which struck a perfect balance between sensitivity, support and bottoming resistance. \u00a0We must say that both Evil and RockShox have done their homework developing the tune for this bike. \u00a0Out of the box, it is the frame : shock\u00a0relationship that we’ve ridden, but right away the bike’s capabilities had us yearning for more. \u00a0It begs to be pushed harder and harder as you become more comfortable on it. \u00a0Because its 150 millimeters of travel are driven\u00a0by a standard shock size, you have the option to put really just about any shock on it. \u00a0We eventually reached out to PUSH to test their ElevenSix<\/a> rear shock. \u00a0We’ll be testing that\u00a0separately\u00a0in the near future, but for now the takeaway point is that the Insurgent\u00a0becomes complete monster with a coil shock bolted to it, approaching full DH bike capability.<\/span><\/p>\n Back to the frame itself, after all that’s what we’re reviewing here…the kinematics on this bike are absolutely top notch, perhaps the best we’ve come across. \u00a0The pedaling efficiency is freakishly neutral for a bike with this much travel, but bear in mind that the overall climbing<\/strong>\u00a0performance can be affected by how you build the bike. \u00a0If you put a Vivid air out back with a 170mm fork up front, then slap the bike in the “Ex-Low” position it will be a bit of a pig on the climbs as the front end gets tall and the seat tube angle gets a bit slack. \u00a0For all around riding, we had the best luck with the a 150mm fork\/ex-low combo, and the 160mm fork\/low combo. \u00a0Both of those setups struck a nice balance for those who have to earn their turns. \u00a0If you’re just<\/span> riding in the park, shuttling, or maybe taking long slow fire road climbs up to very rugged terrain, then go all out and put it in the most aggressive position with a longer travel fork and\u00a0a coil shock. \u00a0The beauty of this bike is that it can easily be tailored to meet the demands of most\u00a0modern riders for the majority of their saddle time.<\/p>\n In summary, we loved this bike. \u00a0Our tester felt\u00a0that it’s the best bike that he’s ridden in this category. \u00a0That’s a strong claim but it’s easy to back up. \u00a0Over the course of the last 10 months of hammering we’ve done everything from 30 mile rides to DH shuttles on this bike. \u00a0We’ve done our due diligence with routine hardware checks and it’s been 100% trouble free, not indicating any shortcomings. \u00a0The Insurgent is super\u00a0nimble and rewards aggressive riding while getting you uphill easily enough but ensuring a hell of a time on the way back down. \u00a0One of its strongest points is versatility and a highly customizable design. \u00a0The Insurgent will inspire\u00a0confidence like nothing else, but it’s still fun and light on its feet. \u00a0Our only complaint is the lack of the water bottle cage, but that quickly becomes an afterthought out shined by the\u00a010\/10 ride quality. \u00a0If you’re considering a custom build, it would be foolish not to consider this frame. \u00a0If you’re looking for a fully spec’d\u00a0bike, Evil offer completes with a highly competitive value even compared to much larger companies. \u00a0Hats off to Evil on a job incredibly well done. \u00a0We can’t speak highly enough about this bike.<\/p>\n www.evil-bikes.com<\/a><\/p>\n Some videos of us testing the Insurgent can be found\u00a0here<\/a> and here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" [ad3] Evil Bikes have been making waves in the boutique frame market lately. \u00a0They’re done so by building bikes that not only feature highly aggressive geometry sets, but also offer a great deal of adjustability within that geometry, thus affecting its attitude on the trail. \u00a0The Following made waves last year as one of\u00a0the first\u00a0highly capable short travel\u00a029″ bikes on the market. \u00a0It was basically the first wagon wheeler to truly resonate with the gravity crowd. The Insurgent is Evil’s first 27.5″ wheeled bike; it offers 150mm of Dave Weagle designed,D.E.L.T.A. Link travel and has a host of cool features<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":170425,"featured_media":132989,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[3683,3677],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n
\n\u2022 Bolt on axle
\n\u2022 Internal cable routing
\n\u2022 3 year warranty
\n\u2022 DW\/FSA headset allows 0\u00ba, +\/- 1\u00ba, and +\/- 2\u00ba head angles
\n\u2022 Rubber frame protection with downtube guard
\n\u2022 One piece molded unidirectional carbon ciber construction
\n\u2022D.E.L.T.A. system allows geometry adjustments\u00a0independant from the suspension kinematics<\/p>\nGeometry<\/h3>\n
In terms of numbers alone, our size large’s 451mm reach is quite long, thus providing loads of stability, begging\u00a0to be paired with a short stem to give it quick, snappy steering.\u00a0 <\/span>A 64.8 \u00ba head tube angle is the slackest on the market in the “enduro” category, but can keep in mind it can be tamed down or slackened further<\/em> with different headset cups.\u00a0 <\/span>Towards the middle of the bike, the bottom bracket sits at 334mm helping it really dig into turns.\u00a0 <\/span>Out back, it features super short 430mm chain stays, making it incredibly snappy, and easy to slap around in the switchbacks and tighter sections of trail.<\/span><\/p>\nFirst Impressions<\/h3>\n
<\/a><\/p>\nbackward<\/del> forward.<\/span><\/p>\nOn the Trail<\/h3>\n
<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\nMoving away from climbing and on to the downhills…Most consumers considering this bike are likely drawn to it\u00a0because of its descending<\/strong> prowess anyway. \u00a0Right away we were floored by every aspect of the Insurgent’s handling when we pointed it downhill. \u00a0The frame itself is incredibly rigid, but still manages to take the edge off. \u00a0You can absolutely bury it in a corner\u00a0and it doesn’t flinch. \u00a0Its brilliant suspension rate curve keeps it tracking nicely in the rough turns, and the firm mid stroke support doesn’t let it dive or wallow in the tight, squared off turns. \u00a0The low center of mass helps to keep the Insurgent comfortable in the air while the aggressive bottom bracket height really helps it dig in. \u00a0Speaking of the BB height, we spent\u00a0most of our time in the \u201cextra low\u201d position, but to do so comfortably we switched to 170mm cranks to provide a bit more clearance, particularly in rocky terrain. \u00a0Successive mid size chatter and rough bits were handled in a super composed fashion, but as the chain lays just above the chainstay, it suffered from some noisy chainslap in the rough bits. \u00a0We stuck some velcro on top of the frame guard and that silenced it substantially. \u00a0Riders with a 30 tooth ring with notice the most, while riders using a 34T won’t notice it much at all. \u00a0We mainly used a 32T and it was a minor, infrequent distraction.<\/p>\nOverall<\/h3>\n