When The Evil Following 29” was first announced, there was a lot of hype surrounding it. The fact that it was a 29er coming out at a time when 27.5 bikes were dominating, people were very interested in how this bike would compete against new 27.5’s. Before its release, we had a ton of customers asking about this bike. There was something about the Evil that had sparked their interest and all of us here at Worldwide Cyclery wanted to try this bike out and see what all the hype was about. I was excited to see how this bike handled and reacted out on the trail in comparison to its biggest competitor with 27.5" wheels and slightly longer travel. The enduro industry is huge now for bikes with 140mm - 160mm travel and 27.5" wheels, so the fact that the Evil Following is a 120mm travel 29er, it was hard to tell how this bike was going to compete out on the trail and in the showroom.
Once we got our custom demo bike spec’d and pieced together, all of us were blown away with the looks of the bike; it just has a unique way of catching your eye! The sleek design of the frame and the Delta System suspension design gives the Evil Follwing a very unique look that is hard not to like. I am 6’0” and 160 lbs and was riding a size medium so for being pretty tall this bike didn’t feel terribly small but a large is greatly recommended for anyone 6’0” or taller. Getting the suspension dialed in was a walk in the park! The sag meter is a huge help when it comes to manipulating your suspension to perfection. Just pedaling around the parking lot I was ready to take this bike on a ride and put it to the test. The first thing I noticed was that the bike pedals incredibly well! It felt very comfortable on the uphill climbs and it hooked up amazing in and out of the saddle. As for sprinting on the flats, this bike doesn’t take much away from your pedal momentum and you are using much less energy that you would think. As for the tight corners and the switchbacks, I had a huge smile on my face as I was able to flip the bike around and lay it over with ease. Typically with the larger 29er wheels you lose a decent amount of turning radius, but The Following had an awesome turning radius due to it having a shorter wheel base than most 29ers. As for the suspension on this bike, it was incredibly progressive! We threw on a RockShox Pike (one of our favorite forks) and this bike absolutely killed it on the downhills. It felt super stable, yet very controllable and comfortable at higher speeds. It handled the small chattery sections exceptionally well and as for the big hits, it felt very bottomless - like you had more stroke in the shock left. It has a very playful yet aggressive feel and charged all the local trails!
All in all I was super stoked with the Evil Following! It definitely lived up to its expectation, if not surpassed it. I would highly recommend this bike to anyone looking to go out and have a great time on the trail or even to someone who wants to go charge it at a race. This bike fits all different riding types and styles. I am totally sold on the quality of contruction from Evil and can’t wait to get my hands on the Insurgent when it comes out. I’m a true Evil fan after getting out on this bike and would recommend the Evil Following to anyone!
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