What the Pros Ride: Steve Smith Evil Revolt

Steve Smith's Evil Revolt

For 2009 Steve Smith has joined the Evil MS Racing team with fellow teamates Filip Polc and Matti Lehikoinen. There hasn’t been a ton of info put out on the Evil Revolt but we got to take an up close look at Steve’s Evil Revolt at the U.S. Open. Check inside for more details.

Evil Revolt 2009 frame details

Seat post = 30.9mm
Seat clamp = 34.9mm
Headtube = 1.5″
BB width = 83mm
Rear hub = 150mm x 12mm
Chain guide = ISCG05

2009 production geometry

Steve’s bike sports a more intricate decal job than the public production bikes.

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The MS-Racing Evil team partners include

• FOX Racing Shox
• Evil Bikes
• Formula
• Gravity
• Intense Tire Systems
• e.thirteen components
• Mavic
• Crank Brothers
• Superbig

Steve’s is using some new Formula One prototypes.  Is this the future of The One brake..?  The lever looks similar to the R1 so expect The One brake to drop even more weight for 2010 while improving in other areas.

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Steve’s Evil Revolt is fitted with FOX’s RC4 rear shock.  The heart of the Evil Revolt is Dave Weagle’s Delta suspension design.  The Delta linkage system is designed around a single pivot system but uses a linkage system to embellish the ride characteristics to Dave’s specifications.

Additionally the Evil Revolt allows the user to tweak the geometry with two flip chips (one located at the lower eyelet and one on the main swingarm) to yield various geometry changes without affecting the way the suspension works.

Combined with the adjustable head tube sleeve to alter the head angle (slack or steeper) these adjustments gives the rider the options to tweak their setup to fit the course, their skill level, and preferences.

During the U.S. Open I got a chance to steal Todd Seplavy’s personal Revolt for a few runs.  While not perfectly setup to my tastes, it didn’t take long to get the feel of the bike and ascertain some of the benefits the Revolt has to offer.  Todd’s bike was setup with the flip chips in the slack position (just shy of 14″ bb) and had a ~64degree head angle.  The suspension felt compliant when the bumps came and tracked pretty nicely.  The stock DHX-5 on the Revolt felt decent but lacking slighly to my taste.  Some tweaking could’ve helped but I suspect the RC4 that they’re specing now would be a nice improvement in aiding to setup the Revolt even better.  I’m pretty happy with a low bottom bracket and the Revolt never felt too low or scraped any obstacles during my duration with the bike.  The Revolt set up well for corners and excelled nicely at maintaining a nice suspension ride height that didn’t blow through the travel too quickly in any situation, even g-outs and big hits.  The size large felt a bit small underneath me in the cockpit (front - center) compared to other large frames that I’ve ridden (M6, V10, etc) so riders above say 6′1″ - 6′2″ might consider the XL size option.  Overall though I felt at home quickly with the feel of the bike and having the options to tweak the geometry without affecting the suspension will win over many riders.  The bike can be adapted to various terrains and rider preferences quickly and easily.  The Delta system could be suited well on other bike genre’s as well I feel.  Mini-dh bikes and trail bikes could benefit from the adjustable geometry without affecting the suspension characteristics and ride characteristics that the Revolt exhibits.

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Below you can check out the Evil Revolt in action.

If you’d like to pick up an Evil Revolt of your own we suggest visiting a local dealer, such as Fanatik Bikes, to check one out in person. Currently Fanatik has most sizes in stock. Evil bikes are going fast so be sure to get one soon if you’re looking to get one anytime soon!

You can check out more Pro Bikes from the U.S. Open in the gallery

[Pro Bikes Gallery] [Evil Bikes]