I haven’t seen any user reviews posted other than the oft-cited bike publications, and many forum users have been asking about this bike, so I thought I’d share some of my own thoughts on the new Evil Following.
Background
I grabbed one of the few frames that were made available after the initial release and got around to building up my medium in time for the long weekend. I’ve since spent two and a half, very thorough days flogging the thing--enough to glean some good insight. It certainly gathered some crowds and I was surprised how many other riders recognized it and rode over to chat with me about it.
I was looking for an aggressive trail bike; so take note that I am judging the bike from this perspective. I regularly race XC and endurance events and have purpose-built short-travel FS and hardtail bikes already for those. So this bike is for trashing around technical trails, popping off ledges, getting air…you get the idea.
I’m also not one to have new-purchase-justification-syndrome, where those afflicted overly praise a product to make themselves feel better about its purchase ☺ I’ve been testing and trying out multiple mid-travel trail bikes (all wheel sizes) looking for the perfect one. Two favorites remain with me to this day since I haven’t been able to get myself to part with either of them: An Ibis Ripley and a Specialized Camber Expert Carbon Evo. I’ll use these two great bikes for comparison.
The Build
I built up the Following with a Pike, XX1, an Enve AM wheelset with Purgatory and Slaughter tires, Specialized Command Post, XTR Trail brakes and pedals, 780mm carbon bars and a 70mm stem. Weight is 27 pounds even.
Fork Travel
I rode a full day on the Pike at 140mm, rebuilt it later that day with a 130mm airshaft and rode it the next day at 130mm. I’m contemplating a return to 140mm despite the bike’s recommended travel of 120 or 130. At 140, there was noticeably more wheel flop on slow turns and there was more finesse needed while cornering but the bike just ate everything up and the 140 matched that magic, seemingly bottomless rear end well.
Suspension
I’ve read a bit on the technical details of the DELTA linkage and how works in theory, by changing the shock characteristics depending on where in the stroke the swingarm is positioned, but the effect is not at all perceptible. In fact I mentioned to my buddy that it was amazing how I didn’t think about the bike suspension at all. It just worked in all the different scenarios I threw at it. Standing and jamming up a steep climb, braking over stutter bumps, landing a jump to flat. All scenarios had the suspension working so well it never announced itself.
In contrast, the Ripley (paired with a 140mm Pike), an amazing climber and acceleration machine, complains to me often when blasting downhill, like on the awesome, gnarly, steep Santa Cruz trails that have large clusters of successive bumps. The rear end would go from supple to hardtail-like and no amount of tweaking the Fox, XFusion or DBInline rear shocks I had for it would tame that characteristic. The Camber Evo’s rear on the other hand would remain active through the same sections, but I could never get the bike set-up to use most of the rear travel without making it too wallowy. When setup with proper sag, the Camber likes to ride high on top of the stroke. The Following went through the same trails with no issues, using most of its rear travel yet never leaving me with the feeling like it ever bottomed out.
Climbing was equally impressive. When pointed upward, that super active rear end seen on the downhill sections transforms into an efficient pedaling platform. Like the Ripley, I rarely if ever switched out the rear shock from the fully open position, only doing so on long climb-outs on fireroad, and mostly because I was curious and not because it needed it.
I never felt the rear suspension locking out when braking, which I heard was a negative trait of single pivot designs. In fact I can’t find anything at the moment to complain about regarding the rear suspension action. Well except for the placement of the Monarch’s three position switch. While on the move, it’s a tight fit when putting your hand in between the rear shock and the moving linkages to flip it. Luckily flipping the switch is not needed often, if at all.
The Frame
First thing you’ll notice when pulling the frame out of the box is its heft and size. The thing is built like a tank. Large tubes, wide expanses of carbon, massive junctions. The large seatstays bow out quite a bit toward the rear and I got some heel strike on occasion since I ride somewhat duck footed. On my second day I was able to avoid it altogether.
Cable routing is simple and straightforward. Internal for the dropper post. Under the top tube for the rear brake and rear shifter, which drop neatly into the seat stays. Much cleaner and frustration-free compared to the Ripley but not as stealthy as the all-internal routing of the Camber Evo.
Cleaning the Monarch rear shock will be interesting though as its hidden inside a cage of linkages and carbon fiber.
This is no weight weenie frame. 6.2 pounds on my digital scale. More than a pound and a quarter more than the Ripley (Edit: with X-Fusion rear). But as I discovered, this bike is built to demolish trails, not climb like a bat out of hell only to descend gingerly down the other side.
Geometry is what originally sold me. The Ripley has downright miniscule reach numbers. Same with many Santa Cruz and Intense offerings. My size large Ripley has nearly all the same size dimensions as the medium Following and medium Specialized Camber Evo. The Following has a head angle that’s much slacker than all of these. It has a longer reach, but much shorter chainstays. Shorter than a Blur TRc 26er, shorter than an Enduro 29er. Coupled with a 51 offset fork, the effect is great handing. Great stability at speed yet a very playful nature in the twisties.
Conclusion
I think I found what is as close to my perfect trail bike as I’ll ever find from what is available today. I’ve never gone faster downhill, carved tighter on the berms, or flown higher on the jumps than on this bike. And that includes my 650b bikes sporting 160mm front and rear. Time will tell on durability issues. There are quite a few moving parts on the Delta linkage so I’m hoping everything remains quiet after a season of muddy fall riding. For now, consider me amazed at its capabilities. Can’t wait to take it out again!
More details to come...
![Following1.jpg]()
Background
I grabbed one of the few frames that were made available after the initial release and got around to building up my medium in time for the long weekend. I’ve since spent two and a half, very thorough days flogging the thing--enough to glean some good insight. It certainly gathered some crowds and I was surprised how many other riders recognized it and rode over to chat with me about it.
I was looking for an aggressive trail bike; so take note that I am judging the bike from this perspective. I regularly race XC and endurance events and have purpose-built short-travel FS and hardtail bikes already for those. So this bike is for trashing around technical trails, popping off ledges, getting air…you get the idea.
I’m also not one to have new-purchase-justification-syndrome, where those afflicted overly praise a product to make themselves feel better about its purchase ☺ I’ve been testing and trying out multiple mid-travel trail bikes (all wheel sizes) looking for the perfect one. Two favorites remain with me to this day since I haven’t been able to get myself to part with either of them: An Ibis Ripley and a Specialized Camber Expert Carbon Evo. I’ll use these two great bikes for comparison.
The Build
I built up the Following with a Pike, XX1, an Enve AM wheelset with Purgatory and Slaughter tires, Specialized Command Post, XTR Trail brakes and pedals, 780mm carbon bars and a 70mm stem. Weight is 27 pounds even.
Fork Travel
I rode a full day on the Pike at 140mm, rebuilt it later that day with a 130mm airshaft and rode it the next day at 130mm. I’m contemplating a return to 140mm despite the bike’s recommended travel of 120 or 130. At 140, there was noticeably more wheel flop on slow turns and there was more finesse needed while cornering but the bike just ate everything up and the 140 matched that magic, seemingly bottomless rear end well.
Suspension
I’ve read a bit on the technical details of the DELTA linkage and how works in theory, by changing the shock characteristics depending on where in the stroke the swingarm is positioned, but the effect is not at all perceptible. In fact I mentioned to my buddy that it was amazing how I didn’t think about the bike suspension at all. It just worked in all the different scenarios I threw at it. Standing and jamming up a steep climb, braking over stutter bumps, landing a jump to flat. All scenarios had the suspension working so well it never announced itself.
In contrast, the Ripley (paired with a 140mm Pike), an amazing climber and acceleration machine, complains to me often when blasting downhill, like on the awesome, gnarly, steep Santa Cruz trails that have large clusters of successive bumps. The rear end would go from supple to hardtail-like and no amount of tweaking the Fox, XFusion or DBInline rear shocks I had for it would tame that characteristic. The Camber Evo’s rear on the other hand would remain active through the same sections, but I could never get the bike set-up to use most of the rear travel without making it too wallowy. When setup with proper sag, the Camber likes to ride high on top of the stroke. The Following went through the same trails with no issues, using most of its rear travel yet never leaving me with the feeling like it ever bottomed out.
Climbing was equally impressive. When pointed upward, that super active rear end seen on the downhill sections transforms into an efficient pedaling platform. Like the Ripley, I rarely if ever switched out the rear shock from the fully open position, only doing so on long climb-outs on fireroad, and mostly because I was curious and not because it needed it.
I never felt the rear suspension locking out when braking, which I heard was a negative trait of single pivot designs. In fact I can’t find anything at the moment to complain about regarding the rear suspension action. Well except for the placement of the Monarch’s three position switch. While on the move, it’s a tight fit when putting your hand in between the rear shock and the moving linkages to flip it. Luckily flipping the switch is not needed often, if at all.
The Frame
First thing you’ll notice when pulling the frame out of the box is its heft and size. The thing is built like a tank. Large tubes, wide expanses of carbon, massive junctions. The large seatstays bow out quite a bit toward the rear and I got some heel strike on occasion since I ride somewhat duck footed. On my second day I was able to avoid it altogether.
Cable routing is simple and straightforward. Internal for the dropper post. Under the top tube for the rear brake and rear shifter, which drop neatly into the seat stays. Much cleaner and frustration-free compared to the Ripley but not as stealthy as the all-internal routing of the Camber Evo.
Cleaning the Monarch rear shock will be interesting though as its hidden inside a cage of linkages and carbon fiber.
This is no weight weenie frame. 6.2 pounds on my digital scale. More than a pound and a quarter more than the Ripley (Edit: with X-Fusion rear). But as I discovered, this bike is built to demolish trails, not climb like a bat out of hell only to descend gingerly down the other side.
Geometry is what originally sold me. The Ripley has downright miniscule reach numbers. Same with many Santa Cruz and Intense offerings. My size large Ripley has nearly all the same size dimensions as the medium Following and medium Specialized Camber Evo. The Following has a head angle that’s much slacker than all of these. It has a longer reach, but much shorter chainstays. Shorter than a Blur TRc 26er, shorter than an Enduro 29er. Coupled with a 51 offset fork, the effect is great handing. Great stability at speed yet a very playful nature in the twisties.
Conclusion
I think I found what is as close to my perfect trail bike as I’ll ever find from what is available today. I’ve never gone faster downhill, carved tighter on the berms, or flown higher on the jumps than on this bike. And that includes my 650b bikes sporting 160mm front and rear. Time will tell on durability issues. There are quite a few moving parts on the Delta linkage so I’m hoping everything remains quiet after a season of muddy fall riding. For now, consider me amazed at its capabilities. Can’t wait to take it out again!
More details to come...
