A gravel bikes that is not your normal gravel bike! This bike has me so excited to talk to you about! Evil are coming at this with new eyes and have given us a gravel shredder, the Hagar!
Most gravel bikes start with normal road bike frame specs and adjust geometry to be more comfortable on the rough stuff and for longer adventures. But with this bike they have started with a mountain bike frame spec as you could probably tell from the look and turned it into a gravel grinding machine.
So what exactly have Evil done to this bike to make it suitable for gravel? When it comes to the geometry they have a longer front to center and reach, shorter stem, and 430mm chain stays to supply mountain bike stability and handling to the twitchy gravel category. While also adding more trail and chainstay length for higher speeds both on and off gravel, while allowing for more party on singletrack.
So it is a rather aggressive geometry, but if adventure is your thing. Like it is for use here at Cycle Travel Overload then you will appreciate the clearance for up to 50c tires. This is the perfect width in my own opinion. I have the Kona Sutra LTD with the exact same Venture 50mm WTB tires and it is such a supple tire width. Compared to say 45 mm Riddler tires I had on my Surly. It just didn’t feel wide enough.
They say it is a downhill mountain bikers gravel bike! As the bike has super-low standover heights and dropper posts and 140-160mm Flat mount or MTB discs to help you stop on the steep downhills.
Along with this bike being the ultimate gravel bike for shredding trails and tracks. You also get a great deal of versatility when it comes to carry capabilities. You get up to 7 water bottle mounts, stealth rack and fender mounts. Along with 1x and 2x options, close ratio and wide-range builds, internal routing, Di2 provisions, and 100 x 12/142 x 12 spacing. But wait there is so much more!
You even rubber frame protection along the chainstays for when things get loose and rowdy. This bike has really been taught about thoroughly. And it is at home with a multi-tude of different styles of riding. It has that geometry which is perfect if you want to shred hardcore on mountain bike single track. If you are looking to use it as a roadie it is at home on pavement with 34mm tires. If you are commuting to work it works well with a flat bar and your have room to mount a rack. If rando is more your style and you get caught out in the rain, no need to worry. The bike is designed with weather-sealed frame plugs to keep the Chamois Hagar watertight.
The different build sizes offer a range of dropper post sizes so you still have room for a seatbag for bikepacking trips. While the multi water bottle boss layout allows for full or partial frame bags.
The Details
Okay so where should I start? Well I guess we can talk about the fork. When I so often look at a gravel bike I need something that is going to be adventure ready. And when it comes to forks, ideally 2 or more eyelets are perfect for carting extra gear with a cargo cage, or mounting a front rack. And this bike as just that, 2 mounting eyelets. But not only that, the fork is unique! It’s big, smooth, and predictable with a 57mm offset and a 428mm axle-to-crown.
Comparing the Geometry to a “Normal” Gravel bike
So the bike I know and love is the Kona Sutra LTD which is really considered a gravel/adventure bike. But could also be considered a touring bike for off-road adventures. The point being I have experience riding this bike and I know that it rides amazing off-road when loaded up with gear. And the geometry of this bike is similar to the norm of gravel bike geometries. So we are going to compare these specs to that of the Hagar and see where the main differences are.
As you can see in the image up the Hagar is the darker blue (shadow looking frame shape) when my Sutra is the light blue at the front. Here is a quick list of the specs compared side by side. Then we we talk a little about what it means. The Kona is a 56cm and Hagar is Large sized frames for the example.
| Bike | 2020 Kona Sutra LTD | 2020 Evil Chamois Hagar |
|---|---|---|
| Wheels | 700c | 700c |
| Stack | 618 | 612 |
| Reach | 390 | 440 |
| Stack/Reach Ratio | 1.585 | 1.391 |
| Top Tube Length | 585 | 624 |
| Seat Tube Length | 560 | 490 |
| Seat Tube Angle | 72.5 | 72 |
| Head Tube Length | 168 | 180 |
| Head Tube Angle | 71 | 66.67 |
| BB Drop | 72 | 80 |
| BB Height | 293 | 278 |
| Front Center | 635 | 736 |
| Chainstay Length | 445 | 430 |
| Wheelbase | 1070 | 1154 |
| Rake | 50 | 57 |
| Trail | 63 | 93 |
| Standover Height | 840 | 682 |
That smaller head tube angle results in a large change in the bikes overall geometry. As the head tube angle is 66.67 compared to something like 71. The fork-end sits further away and out from the bike. This is where you can see a much longer length in the wheelbase, around 84 mm and this is considerate as the Sutra is built for touring so it needs a longer wheel base to be able to manage a load of gear for adventures and tours. Another thing that comes from this stretched design is a lower stand over height as mentioned earlier. But 158 mm compared to the Sutra. However the Sutras hight is rather tall for a gravel bike. The 682 mm of the Hagar is still short for a gravel bike. Which is great for getting on and off the bike when it comes to hike a bike sections and all that. The one thing about this geometry of the Hagar is the reach. It is longer by 50 mm which means you will be reaching and stretching more forward and less of a upright riding position. Which is not ideal for long days in the saddle when adventure cycling. Due to the longer wheelbase you get a larger BB Drop, this results in the Hagar sitting 8 mm lower for better centre of gravity. When it is all said and done, the BB Height from the ground to bottom of bottom bracket is 15 mm lower to the ground on the Hagar. Also the Front Centre measurement is longer on the Hagar. So if you have worries about toe striking which I will get into more later. there is no worries with this bike as on the Kona it is 635 while the Hagar is 736 that is 101 mm of extra length. Now the chainstay length is shorter on the Hagar by 15 mm, this raises ideas that it will not be the best for rear racks with the possibility of heel striking.
So on of the last points leads into the next detail I want to talk about and that is no more toe overlap! Turning the front wheel and demolishing your feet will happen no more. As that headtube angle of 66.67 creates that extra distance, it doesn’t happen.
Hagar Bike Options
The bike is available in two complete builds and a frameset. You can either choose from a AXS or GXS component level.
EVIL CHAMOIS HAGAR AXS GRAVEL BIKE 2020
The AXS option is the most expensive choice out of the two. But you get a ultra high-end component level carbon frame gravel bike. Like next level stuff! A 1 × 12 Electronic drivetrain with SRAM Force eTAP, X01 Eagle. This has a 38t crank and SRAM XG-1295 Eagle, 10-50t rear cassette with ring options as follows (10,12,14,16,18,21,24,28,32,36,42,50.) The only real difference between the two is components and a different bottom bracket and dropper post. Priced at $5,899.00
EVIL CHAMOIS HAGAR GRX GRAVEL BIKE 2020
The next bike they offer is cheaper and still has high end components. You get the 1 × 11 drivetrain with GRX 800 groupset. It has a Shimano FC-RX810-1, GRX, 172.5MM, 40T crank and Shimano CS-M8000, DEORE XT, 11-46T cassette with (11-13-15-17-19-21-24-28-32-37-46 ring options). This option is priced at $4,799.00
EVIL CHAMOIS HAGAR FRAMESET 2020
Or you could build your own if you don’t want such flash components. Starting from $2,799.00
I have been trying to put my finger on what exactly this bike is. But it seems to be a monster all of its own. As Evil say “If you’re looking to pigeon hole, the Chamois Hagar defies classification.” Although it has something to do with this wonderful world of gravel grinding. Well it seems it’s application works further then just gravel!
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