Bike Check: Evil Calling

An inside look at Héctor Saura‘s custom built Evil Calling.

When Evil told me that I should be riding a Calling, I was a bit skeptical at first. I wasn’t sure if 131mm of rear travel were going to be enough. But after having had a few rides at my local trails, I am super happy with the decision that I made. I think that it is the perfect bike for my style of riding, just as they said. It is a size Large, but it feels smaller. It just works really well while pedaling uphill, going downhill, cornering, skidding and jumping. It is the best trail bike that I have ever ridden.

The fork that I am using is the new RockShox Pike, with 150mm of travel and 3 tokens installed. The air shock is the Super Deluxe RCT DebonAir. Although I am not very good at suspension settings, depending on the terrain that I am riding, I add more or less air and play with the rebound and compression dials until I think that they feel good. All in all, I can say that I really like how the suspensions work. Plus, I think that the D.E.L.T.A. system is awesome.

The whole Eagle drivetrain is very quiet and smooth, and I rarely need to re-adjust it. It has saved my ass a few times, especially when I started trail riding and I couldn’t keep up with my friends during the long and technical climbs. Now I am in a better shape, or at least that is what I would like to think, and I use less the 50t cog, but it is good to know that it will be there whenever I need it.

The black SRAM 900 hubs laced with silver spokes into a pair of black rims, together with the skinwall tires, makes it a very old-school look which I like a lot. Both hubs make the wheels spin fast, and I like how the rear one sounds. I think that the tires are a bit more heavier than what I would like, but they look and work really well.

My friend Johnny – who is a really good mechanic, unlike me – drilled the top cap and put the front disc brake hose through the steerer tube. He then unified the rear disc brake and derailleur hose using a special cable housing. This way the handlebar can spin all the way around and I am still able to brake or change gears with no issues. I want to see if I am able to do some tricks that I used to do in the past, and that required a minimal cable/housing system. It is the first time that I am using a carbon handlebar, and although at first I was a bit worried for its strength capabilities, I think that it is going to work just fine. The only change that I did was cutting it from 800mm to 770mm. As for grips, I have been riding Sensus since 2009, and for this built, I chose the Swayze lock-ons in gum rubber, Cam Zink’s signature. Simply the best.

I have chosen not to put a dropper post yet, and I don’t think that is a big issue. Unless you are racing or training on a daily basis, riding with a standard seat post with a quick release clamp is fine. 90% of the time, after a climb and before going down the hill, I stop to drink some water and catch my breath. That is when I lower my seat – a Fabric Scoop, which is by far the comfiest and one of the best looking seats that I have ever tried. And then, once the downhill is finished and it is time to pedal up again, I just raise it. It takes less than 15 seconds, it is not that bad.

I would like to thank Evil, SRAM, RockShoxTruvativ, Sensus and Fabric for supporting me with their best products, because otherwise this built would have been impossible, and to Giro and Leatt for providing me quality riding gear.

Learn more about The Calling on evil-bikes.com/calling

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Words + Photos by Héctor Saura

Action photo by Alex Domingo

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Copyright: The images may not be used; distributed; copied; printed; published; or displayed without the prior written permission of the Photographers (Héctor Saura & Alex Domingo). If you are interested in one of these images, please contact us.