Trail is arguably the purest form of mountain biking. Freed from the competitive facets of XC, Enduro and DH racing, trail motorcycles are designed to take care of all types of terrain and driving styles. They exchange a safe power uphill and downhill for maximum versatility and a general laugh factor. It’s not about looking for Strava’s fame or tracking in line with applying shapes of any kind. Unless the KPI is the number of smiles consistent with the mile.
Trail motorcycles are also the broadest category of the ATV spectrum. Drawn on a bell curve, this is the ideal spot at the top. The motorcycles feature a front and rear suspension from 120 mm to 150 mm. Nothing else and become Enduro motorcycles; no less and they go to an XC configuration. Trail motorcycles can have almost any wheel length (27.5, 27 plus, 29, 29 plus), as it’s not just about efficiency. Comfort, traction and handling are vital points for choosing the right wheels. In total, a trail motorcycle deserves weighing between 25 and 30 pounds. With those specs in mind, I built the ultimate trail motorcycle… a motorcycle that maximizes laughter on all kinds of terrain in my home state, Utah.
First, I chose the offer of be through Evil Bikes as a platform. I’m already a big fan of The Next, especially for riding in Park City, Utah, where he has a fast and fluid singletrack trend with big climbs and downs. However, driving in Moab, Utah, takes The Suite out of its area of convenience as it is much more rocky, technical and bleak with massive successes and descents. The Offer is the next step with 140 mm of rear travel. Although it only has an additional 20mm of travel, it provides a higher point of suspension functionality that gives the impression of being much more.
Evil does a remarkable task (on his website) in describing how the new offer arrived and how it is between the sequel and the shipwreck. This includes exact configuration commands up to low-speed compression settings and saddle positioning. The key development, which has been moved to other models, is the 77 degree stiffer seat tube angle. This puts you in a more complex position, which focuses your weight on any of the wheels to optimize traction on padded terrain and steep laces. Unlike Enduro configurations, the Offer is more than a way to come to an end. It is an integral and even fun component of the driving experience.
Various adjustments to the geometry also make it a larger frame than previous designs. In other words, the medium was small for me (5’10”), which required a longer stem. The prolonged diversity makes the medium more compatible with the popular 40 mm gallows.
The suspension platform is the most important resolution you will make in the offer. I the Fox DPX2 surprise damper with the 3-position lever and the Fox Factory 36 150 mm 2019 fork.
The Fox Factory 36 was the reference finishuro fork until this year, when the more physically powerful Fox Factory 38 was introduced. This places the Short Travel Fox 36 (150 mm) at the maximum competitive end of the trail line. Fox has also updated the 36 by 2020 with a number of new features that I haven’t had a chance to discover, so we’ll have to wait for an additional review. The DPX2 surprise absorber, however, is located at the sweet spot of the hike. Once you’ve decided the sinking height, which has a diversity discovered in your driving style, the 3 settings (open, medium, company) paint as advertised. Specifically, the company’s configuration provides a forged climbing platform that allows you to exit the saddle without feeling that the suspension absorbs all your watts.
The transmission was the next decision. After switching through Shimano’s new 12-speed XTR, I opted for the original trail organization (at that time it was only called a mountain bike): Shimano Deore XT. It is heavier than the XTR and not as elegant or polished. But there was never more for his money with a mountain motorcycle transmission. The gear shift is the same as the XTR with a 10-51 cassette and the old cause gear lever, which can be located under the brake levers using a dual-axis configuration to make the cab correct. The Shimano telescopic saddle bar is mounted in the same way on the left brake lever.
As a trail bike, I opted for the most physically powerful four-piston XT brakes, and they made all the difference. In fact, those are the maximum productivity disc brakes I’ve driven, and that includes the Shimano Saint DH model. The brake reaction is incredibly fast, modular and predictable. The point of functionality was dazzling maximum when riding other bikes; I had to adapt to the increased traction voltage and balance of front-rear braking. While the xt double pistons the nature of the moment. You don’t think about braking; you think you’re going faster.
Cane Creek eeWings pedals with the Hyperglide direct mount Wolftooth tray complete the transmission. Honestly, I chose them for the aesthetics of coming back. These are seamlessly the coolest cranks you can buy, reminiscent of the explosion of the secondary market of the 90’s. Functionally, however, they are built of natural titanium, an incredibly forged and inflexible recoil but as soft as a feather with 400 grams in total.
The next big selection was the wheels. It’s a theme recently that I’m testing motorcycles with two other axles, because today’s frame designs can deal with a wide variety of wheel and tire sizes that essentially replace the type of bike. The offer is technically a 29er, but it can also accommodate wheels of more than 27 because the circumferences are quite close and therefore do not have (many) geometries. As a trail bike, I chose a pair of 29-inch wheels that lean towards the XC and a pair of wheels over 27 that lean towards the enduro to give it a wide diversity with an undeniable wheel replacement.
Crank Brothers Synthesis XCT 11 carbon wheels have brought a cutting-edge technique to the long-needed wheel design. These are the first to fit the unique needs of the front and rear wheels, just as the tires have always been designed. The rear wheel is narrower (24.5 mm), stiffer and more powerful because it sometimes withstands the highest impacts. He also deserves to hit the corners. The front wheel is wider (26.5 mm) and more tolerant of traction and melting in corners. As such, the front wheel is designed for wider tires with a larger touch surface, and the rear wheel is designed for narrower tires to reduce weight and rolling resistance.
As a result, I chose WTB Ranger tires with a 2.25-inch rear and a 2.4-inch front. These have a fast-rolling XC tread but a more physically powerful housing. There are several rubber compounds and envelopes to choose from in each size. None of them are soft for the XC, but it is not a key detail for this release. They drive like an XC tire but have the durability of an enduro tire.
This wheel/pneumatic combo comes in climbs and apartments. They’re fast. But I discovered that the motorcycle gently exceeded the limit of the Ranger’s tread on descents. If I could do it again, I would specify the 2.4-inch WTB Trail Boss on the back and the 2.6 inches at the front. And make sure the climbs aren’t that fast.
The 27-plus wheel pair is a traditional structure that employs Shimano XT bushings and ENVE M640 carbon rings (made in the United States). Given an internal width of 4 m, the ideal point for tires on those tires is 2.7 to 3.2 inches. I had already decided on the tyres for those wheels, so the choice between the M635 and the M640 was clear. The Schwalbe Magic Mary / Hans Dampf front/rear combo is popular for descent. But when you grow up in the 27.5 x 2.8 inch range, they seem to enter motocross territory. The tread buttons are comically wonderful for a mountain bike. This translates into more traction and grip than I can actually use. In other words, someone with more skill can bring much more speed to corners with those tires. I just don’t have the skill and courage to push them to the limit. That said, Mary and Hans motivate confidence and that translates into fun. They are more padded on padded and rocky terrain than it will be located in Moab and in the desert. The additional volume and decreased tension (15-17 psi) allow them to float over the rock gardens as if it were a suede singlerack. Frankly, I ended up riding more on those wheels, despite a one-pound penalty in the 29 seconds, because they’re so much fun.
In the cab, the Fox Transfer 150 mm telescopic seatpost with RaceFace Next 35 (assorted turquoise) handlebars, Turbine R 35 gallows and Lizard Skins handles.
I added the Wolf Tooth Encase system (above), which is a two-part toolkit that fits the bars in the position of the bar caps. One aspect includes the usual hex wrenches and valve tool; The other aspect includes a chain tool with a tire cap fixer. The Offer Survival Kit is complemented by a hand pump placed under the bottle holder and a spare tube with CO2 cartridges attached to the saddle. It’s all from my body, whether it’s in a jersey pocket or in a banana bag, and makes the riding position more comfortable.
Simply put, like all Evil bike models, The Offer is a trail motorcycle with the DNA of the descent motorcycle. As built, this edition weighs just 30 pounds and begins to cross the territory of the enduro. But I wouldn’t need to do anything less with Moab’s complete enchilada, and that’s my turntable control for a trail motorcycle. Others might place it too competitive for the terrain they find regularly. Clearly, the interpretation of “Ultimate Trail Bike” is very subjective given the scope of this category. Personally, however, this doesn’t happen much more than The Offer through Evil Bikes with those two sets of wheels.
I am an entrepreneur and adventure sports enthusiast. In 2010, I founded a VC-backed software company that marketed hyperlocally on a giant scale. Customers included
I am an entrepreneur and adventure sports enthusiast. In 2010, I founded a VC-backed software company that enables large-scale hyperlocal marketing. Customers included Starbucks, AT-T, 7-Eleven, Applebee’s and many major customer brands. My experience, however, is in the way of life of journalism. I’ve written for National Geographic Adventure, Elite Traveller and The Huffington Post. In 2005, I wrote The Way of the Snowboarder, an e-book on history and other snowboarders. More recently, I introduced a podcast called Clicks 2 Bricks on multi-site marketing and joined the local marketing platform SOCi as a senior advisor.