Review: Evil Wreckoning LS GX

The Wreckoning LS is the biggest big-wheel bike Evil makes. Coming from the Pacific Northwest-based brand (more specifically, Bellingham, Wash.) that means something. But it might not mean exactly what you think.

Yes, the Wreckoning LS can plow through rough West Coast singletrack. But, after testing this 29″ magic carpet through a long, B.C. summer, there’s much more to this bike than a simple bruiser. Perhaps because Evil doesn’t aim for an enduro race bike, just a really fast bike, the Wreckoning encourages style on the bike as much as it does raw speed.

Evil Wreckoning LS: D.E.L.T.A.-driven fun

Evil designs the Wreckoning as a mini-DH rig, adding 166mm of coil-driven rear wheel travel to its 29″ wheels. With a 170mm RockShox Zeb Ultimate up front, that makes this carbon fibre frame a whole lot of bike. That travel is controlled by Evil’s Dave Weagle-designed, linkage-driven single pivot D.E.L.T.A. suspension platform. That system, the reason there’s an array of linkages hiding around the bottom bracket, is designed to sit higher in its travel, stay in the middle of the travel longer and then be very progressive to avoid harsh bottom-outs at the end of the shock stroke. The feeling on trail is of excellent initial traction, especially with a coil shock, and bottomless feeling suspension.

Evil finishes off the Wreckoning LS frame with a mix of style and functional details. There’s fully guided internal cable routing, starting at the beefy headtube and running all the way through the burly rear triangle. Despite the tough looks, the Wreckoning is actually reasonably light, and feels light on trail, for such a long-travel machine. There’s also a flip-chip to adjust the geometry. The options are, tellingly, “Low” or “X-Low.” That’s kind of like making speakers that go to 11, but it does fit the Wreckoning’s twin purpose of trail riding and bike park shredding. The LS tacked onto the name, for “Lightly Salted,” indicates updates to the original 2016 design to include, among other small details, UDH compatibility. An integrated sag-meter is cleverly integrated into the frame to help dial in, or adjust the suspension. Final details include an integrated OneUp chainguide, threaded bottom bracket and SuperBoost 157mm rear axle spacing.

Evil Wreckoning LS GX

The Wreckoning tested her arrived outfitted with an interesting mix of parts. RockShox Super Deluxe Coil Ultimate shocks and Zeb Ultimate 170mm forks are premium material, as are the high-zoot alloy Industry Nine Enduro S Hydra wheelset and Bike Yoke Revive 185mm dropper post and Code RSC brakes. Evil keeps shifting mechanical with SRAM’s workhorse GX Eagle 12-speed groupset. Maxxis venerable DHF/DHR tire combo, Evil’s own Boomstick 810mm alloy bar, Palmela Handerson grips, a 40mm Race Face Aeffect stem and WTB Volt Pro saddle round out the build.

It’s a build that prioritizes suspension performance over the shelf appeal of shifting, for sure, and not a decision I disagree with. GX worked as well as it always has throughout the test period, with the occasional quarter turn of a barrel adjuster to keep things in line. A great trade-off for the quick acceleration of the Industry Nine wheels and RockShox’s proven Ultimate-level suspension. That all comes with a price tag of $9,629 (though the bike is currently on sale for closer to $7,780 right now).

Evil offers the Wreckoning LS in two colours: Baja Fog and the Clay Porter tested here. There are four sizes from small to XL.

Trail Tested: the two sides of the Evil Wreckoning LS

While its name implies a bruiser, and the Wreckoning will absolutely eat trail if you let go of the brakes and hold on, it is surprisingly agile on the trail. This is likely due to a combination of light frame and the industry Nine wheels, with their quick acceleration (and engagement). Whatever the cause, it makes the Wreckoning a riot on cruiser flow trails and jump lines as well as rowdy, near-DH terrain.

The Wreckoning followed me across B.C. this summer, hitting bike park laps in Sun Peaks, trails all over Vancouver Island and even a big alpine push in Whistler. Impressively, it felt at home on all of that.

D.E.L.T.A. advantage

The D.E.L.T.A. suspension adds to this flexibility. At under 30 per cent sag (Evil recommends as little as 25 per cent, depending how you’re riding it), the Wreckoning feels nimble and responsive. Leaping forward any time you push into the trail or pump through the landing of a jump and is easy to whip around in the air. Fast flow trails and jump lines came to life, aided by short 430mm chainstays, with the heft travel minimizing the potential consequences of not quite making a landing.

Switch to 30 per cent sag (or a hair over) and the Wreckoning starts to suit its name. It takes on more of a mini-DH magic carpet ride personality, smoothing out the chunkiest trail. As one friend following me put it, “You just floated away while I bounced along.” As promised, and with the help of that superlative Super Deluxe Coil Ultimate, the Wreckoning is incredibly smooth over small bumps without getting dragged down into its travel or bottoming out harshly. Again, all of this is easy to dial in – and change- even with coil thanks to the sag guide on the frame.

Climbing: Wreckoning or just wrecked?

While Evil’s mini-DH sled has lots of high points, there are, of course, some areas where it does not excel. The big wheels and long travel make the Wreckoning stretch out on trail. While it’s a riot at speed, it can feel a bit long on tighter, more technical corners, both climbing and descending. A mullet set-up might address this, if that is a real sticking point for you, and Evil does offer the Insurgent LS in a mixed-wheel configuration for that reason.

For a big, coil shock bike, the Wreckoning actually climbs quite nicely, especially while seated. Again, Industry Nine’s light Enduro S wheels help out here. But, if the trail gets really steep, or the corners really tight, it can be hard to keep weight on the front wheel.

Since the Wreckoning is already quite low-slung, and because it’s not a quick switch between geo settings, I spent most of the trail in the “Low” setting. Unless you’re only pounding out bike park laps, that seems like the most reasonable position. But it’s nice to have options, right?

Conclusions:

Despite Evil’s marketing hyperbole, the Wreckoning is one of the more reasonable big bikes out there. Changing the suspension set up makes a big difference in how the bike rides, switching it from a flow trail and jump line whip to mini-DH bike that absolutely eats up chunky trails. Either way, the Wreckoning loves to go fast and stays nimble at speed. It can be a little cumbersome on tighter, slower terrain but, if you can keep the speed up and keep plowing, it is happy to oblige.

The Wreckoning feels very well balanced, whether on two wheels or one, adding to confidence at speed. It’s also very quiet on the trail (other than the high-pitched whine of Industry Nine’s Hydra hub), adding to the feeling of speed and letting you focus on what’s coming up next.

Overall, the Wreckoning LS is great for any rider who wants a big bike that loves to go fast hit rough stuff at full tilt. It also climbs reasonably well and can thrive and find fun on smoother trails in a way that many big bikes don’t.