Reportage

Grinduro 2019: Evil’s New Gravel Bike Embodies the Brand’s Rowdy DNA

When you think of the mountain bike brand Evil, chances are you think of the three pillars of modern mountain bike design, long, slack, and low. So when the brand began developing a gravel bike, they tapped into that design DNA. I got an in-person look at this new bike at Grinduro so read on for the details.

Actually, that’s misleading. You see, there aren’t many details available. When I talked to Jason, who works at Evil and raced the bike, we talked more about programming the AXS group than the geometry or details of the frame itself. Truth be told, he didn’t know the angles or geometry of the frame, but geometrically-minded people can make out some angles just by looking at the drive-side photo.

What I can say is that while a lot of brands are pushing the 27.5″ x 2.2″ wheel size, Evil pushed for a 700c/29er wheel size with a 2.1″ Nano clearance. The bike also has various provisions for cargo options with 6 bottle mounts, stealth dropper routing, and rack mounts.

Currently, the brand doesn’t have a name for this bike, and in its raw carbon form, it looks like Giger designed the frame. What would you name it?

Expect further details as events warrant. Many thanks to Jason from Evil for letting me shoot photos of it. Look for our Grinduro coverage tomorrow!