Prior to Sunday’s announcement here on the Radavist about Crust Bikes taking a breather to reorganize, I set up a date to shoot Kris’ Evasion Lite. Kris had just picked his build up from Sincere Cycles where Bailey spent time selecting the right components for his budget, while not skimping on functionality…

The original Evasion is a quite capable tourer, designed to fit a number of wheel platforms. When I met Matt for the first time in 2015, I shot his own personal Evasion, built on the outlier 26+ platform.

For slow and steady touring, the Evasion is still a top contender but for those looking for a spry bike for gravel or light touring, Matt designed and developed the Evasion Lite. These frames are void of things like steel yokes, extra braze-ons, gussets, and such, all of which might not weigh much on their own but certainly add up to at least a pound on a frame. Not to mention the Evasion Lite drops the weight of the steel fork for a carbon fork with cargo cage bosses and internal routing for a dynamo light. Neat.

Where Bailey’s expertise came into this build has a lot to do with the drivetrain and wheel selection. Why go higher-end than Rival? Why splurge on a carbon crank? With a 73mm bottom bracket shell, the non-boost NX cranks allow for a smaller, more compact front chainring and the 10-42t cluster on the rear allows for plenty of gearing. It’s not quite the range Eagle offers but is still pretty good for a gravel bike or light tourer.

For brakes, the TRP Spyre cable-actuated brakes offer plenty of stopping power with easy, on-the-trail adjustment.

The cockpit is a Dimension stem with Salsa Cowchipper bars, giving Kris the appropriate width and reach for his riding preference at a more affordable package. A Swift Industries Sidekick bag and a Farewell saddle bag are on-the-bike staples. For a seatpost, he went Velo Orange Grand Cru. Whisky carbon rims with a DT Swiss rear hub/Shutter Precision front hub allow for a nice, wide inner width, perfect for mounting those Teravail Rutland 2.2″ 29er tires. Which, as you can see, they squeeze in juuuuuuust right.

Whereas the Evasion has a lot more frame details, the Evasion Lite is lighter, both visually and physically. Without lugging a scale with me on shoots like this, I can usually tell by the lift test if a bike feels too stout or incredibly light. Kris’ bike feels perfect for riding around Santa Fe. Not too heavy and not dainty light.

If you’d like a custom build like this and live in the Santa Fe region, holler at Sincere Cycles. Thanks for the afternoon bike shoot date, Kris! Hope to ride with you soon…