Evil Bikes

The Wreckoning X01 Eagle Mountain Bike

Evil’s redesigned Wreckoning takes the long-travel member of the family and makes it even more finely tuned for the downhill adventures you have on the docket. Increased rear travel, a slacker front end, steeper seat tube and revisions to the frame design beg you to take it down the trail that left your last bike quaking at the sight. Evil's gravity pedigree is on full display here, and The Wreckoning is most at home when the going gets rowdy. The Wreckoning is a bike that demands going faster and steeper, but Evil maintains the short chainstays for a platform that can still act nimble in the switchbacks.

The Wreckoning’s geometry gets even slacker and longer this year, for a bike that is most content ripping through technical downhill terrain. Paired with a 170mm travel fork, the Wreckoning’s headtube sits at a riotously slack 64.6 or 63.9 degrees, depending on what setting you have the linkage's flip chip in. The reach extends by about 30mm, compared to the previous Wreckoning, to make handling at speed even more stable on the descents. To compensate for the slack front end, the steeper seat tube angle keeps your pedaling efficient for those uphill sections. Another major update is Evil’s use of SuperBoost rear spacing, take the rear rub to new heights, well, widths, at 157mm. The wider hub spacing not only makes a stiffer back end, but also allows for shorter chainstays and wider tires, with clearance for up to 2.6in.

The Wreckoning now features 166mm of rear travel, governed by Dave's Extra Legitimate Travel Apparatus (DELTA), which Evil designed in collaboration with Dave Weagle. Evil stuck to what it's calling a linkage driven single pivot in order to achieve a level of adjustability not allowed by DW-link's four-bar design. Evil now specs the Wreckoning with Rockshox Super Deluxe Coil Ultimate shock, for a more consistent feel on descents and better ride quality for aggressive riding.

Once the shock tune is set, DELTA strikes an apparently contradictory balance between a supple, light-off-the-top early stroke and a mid-stroke that keeps the tires glued to the trail. As it approaches the deep end of its six-plus inches, the travel arc ramps up to maintain a bottomless feel that belies Evil's gravity roots and informs the bike's fearless approach to trail furniture. It takes a lot to find DELTA's limits, and that's fortunate since The Wreckoning is a 166mm travel bike “that feels like a 200mm.”

Each carbon fiber frame is laid-up with a targeted blend of T700 and T800 carbon, which are both high-modulus, unidirectional fibers from Toray. New this year, the Wreckoning features fully internal cable routing with ports for running brakes either moto or traditional style.