Have More Fun on the Genre-Twisting Evil Following More Better'er
Price: $7,399
Weight: 28.3
Style: Trail?
Drivetrain: SRAM XO1 Eagle 1x12
Material: carbon fiber composite
Wheel size: 29, 27.5+
Travel: 120mm rear; 130mm front
Frame Sizes: Small, medium (tested), large, extra large
The right bike for: gravity oriented riders who want the speed, traction, and roll over of 29-inch wheels, but don't want to sacrifice playfulness
Evil’s The Following was a confusing bike when it launched in 2015. A weird mashup of big wheels, short travel (120mm rear), and low and slack geometry that seemed copy/pasted off an enduro bike, it turned out to be slightly forward looking, and ultimately successful and universally praised.
The slightly weird thing is three years later, there’s still not much quite like the Following, despite the accolades it has garnered – including one of our Editors’ Choice awards.
There are long/slack/low 29ers with more travel. There are other 120mm 29ers but they have more traditional trail geometry. Few bikes have the particular blend of enduro-like geometry and heavy duty build of the Following, so it remains a somewhat unique beast.
Still, Evil took the opportunity to refresh the Following recently, updating it without changing its character. This new generation is called the Following MB, which stands for More Better’er.
Frame Details
The MB update brought with it a number of updates that brought the Following in line with current trends.
The rear end now has Boost rear spacing, which improved stiffness, and helped provide clearance to run 27.5+ tires up to 2.8” wide (2.4” wide in 29”).
Front-derailleur compatibility was launched into the round file, making this another in a long line of 1x-only bikes (36-tooth ring maximum).
The rear suspension was updated to accept trunnion-mount metric-sized shocks, and the rate was tuned to provide make the end of the travel a bit more progressive. Evil’s product information states that the Following MB is compatible with both air and coil over shocks, as well as both inline and piggyback shocks.
Other details carry over from the original Following. Dropper routing is internal, but the rear brake hose runs externally. The full length rear derailleur housing is externally routed at the front triangle, but dives into the swingarm.
An integrated upper guide is included with the bike, and modified ISCG05 tabs accommodate an optional custom e*thirteen lower guide with bash guard.
Two halleluiah details: a standard threaded bottom bracket, and room in the front triangle for a water bottle.
DELTA Suspension
Like Evil’s other full-suspension frames, the Following MB uses a single pivot system with linkage actuated shock. Designed by Dave Weagle–of DW-Link and Split Pivot fame–DELTA, “was conceived to, among other things, achieve very complex leverage rate curves,” which is provided by, “compact links that can achieve a lot of angle and velocity change through the travel,” according to Evil’s website. The design is also claimed to allow riders to tune geometry without affecting suspension performance.
You can go down the rabbit hole at Evil’s website if you want to hear more of the DELTA spiel, but the basics are: sensitivity early in the travel, supportive mid stroke, controlled ramp at the end.
Geometry
With the MB version, Evil’s designers largely carried over the geometry from the original Following, save for a 20mm increase in reach. That pushes reach out to 435mm (size medium) which is the same as a new Specialized Stumpjumper ST 29 (120mm rear travel), four millimeters shorter than Pivot’s new Trail 429 (120mm rear travel), but six millimeters longer than Spot’s Mayhem (130mm rear travel). Even though it’s now 20mm longer, this isn’t an exceptionally long bike: some riders may wish Evil had stretched the MB further.
432mm chainstays are on the shorter side for a 29er, and the wheelbase is a relatively tidy 1160 (size medium), which isn’t too shocking as this is a 120mm travel.
Flip chips allow the rider to select low, or extra-low geometry. The difference in head and seat angles is 0.6o (67.4o or 66.8o HTA, 74.3o or 73.7o STA, with 130mm fork), and the BB adjustment is 8mm (338 or 330mm). Though it’s not seen as extreme as it was when the Following first launched in 2015, the Following MB’s geometry is still atypically slack and low for a 120mm travel frame. Stock fork travel is 130mm, but–like any bike–geometry, as well as the bike’s overall character, can be further altered by increasing or decreasing the fork’s travel.
Build Kit Options
The Following MB is offered as a frameset for $3,099, or in two complete options.
Both complete options are built with 35mm-interface bar and stem, lock on grips, WTB Volt saddle, FSA headset, dual 180mm rotors, Rockshox Super Deluxe RCT piggy-back shock, Pike RCT3 fork, and Reverb dropper post with under-bar remote (125mm drop on size small, 150mm drop on size medium, 170mm drop on size large and extra large).
The $5,699 GX Eagle bike is the lower cost option. It’s built with SRAM GX Eagle drivetrain, SRAM Guide R brakes, 40mm Race Face Affect stem, 780mm Race Face Chester riser bar, Race Face Aeffect wheelset (30mm internal width), and Maxxis Minion DHF/DHR tires.
The $7,399 X01 Eagle build I tested features SRAM XO1 Eagle drivetrain, SRAM Guide RSC brakes, Race Face Turbine stem, 820mm Race Face SIXC riser bar and e*thirteen TRS Race Carbon wheelset (31mm internal width). The spec sheet states this bike is built with e*thirteen TRS tires, but my review sample came with Maxxis Minon DHF/DHR tires.
Ride Impressions
I’m known as the “no-fun guy” around Bicycling because I tell the other bike testers to stop using the word “fun” so much in their bike reviews. Of course the bike was fun: riding a bike is fun: that’s why we do it. A bike that isn’t fun is exponentially more unique and noteworthy than a bike that is fun.
But I haven’t banned the use of the word fun in Bicycling’s bike reviews because I know there is a small fraction of bikes that somehow feel uniquely and exceptionally fun. The Evil Following MB is one of them. I’m going to say it loud and proud: this bike is fun. Riding it is like being on the dance floor with exactly the right amount of buzz.
Its unique combination of suspension tune, travel, geometry, and build are the keys to this party on wheels.
Shorter travel keeps the bike snappy and lively: less sag and less squish give the Following pop. The short chainstays and tighter wheelbase play well with the bikes pop, and keep it from feeling unwieldy in tighter, and slower speed terrain.
And while it doesn’t have a ton of suspension travel, it’s still plenty capable in rough and rowdy terrain. The frame is stiff enough–there’s no unnerving flex from the head tube or rear end when pinning the bike down a challenging descent–and has enough give to allow it fluidly track through rougher corners: the RockShox Pike matches the frame’s stiffness and feel well.
The frame’s low bottom bracket–and overall low center of gravity–link up well with the centered riding position and downhill like steering manners and offer a bike the tracks predictably and carves corners more than it steers. The robust build–shout out to the excellent Maxxis Minon tires–also help offset the lack of millimeters.
Then there’s that rear suspension: the feel i something close to magical. It starts off extremely supple, soaking up every little bit of trail, and gluing the tire down for exceptional traction. It’s so sensitive, it feels like the suspension is set up too soft. But then it transitions seamlessly to a generously supportive mid stroke that provides a platform to push off of–part of what give the Following its pop–and keeps the bike stable and buttoned down when cornering and skipping over rough terrain. Another seamless transition–so seamless it hardly seems like a transition–and the suspension is into its smooth progression to the end of its stroke: friends, this suspension does not feel of behave like a 120mm bike. “It feels like it has more travel,” is a massively overused phrase, but if any bike deserves the mantle, it’s this one.
If there’s a downside to these good times, it’s that the Following MB is a little sluggish. It’s not the most spirited climber, it doesn’t snap out of corners, and it doesn’t accelerate with urgency. This doesn’t seem to be due to the suspension, which is very quiet, and doesn’t bob noticeably. The bike climbs efficiently, just not quickly. The sluggish sensations seem to come from the robust build and heavier, slower rolling, tires more than anything.
The shock has a climbing switch to firm up the rear suspension, which helps, but this isn’t the bike to choose if you’re concerned about getting to the top first, or fifth. The low BB and slack head angle also work against the MB when climbing, but in the plus column is its excellent rear wheel traction, sensitive suspension, and that supportive mid stroke that prevents dramatic squatting and rearward weight transfer.
Still, it goes uphill better than a longer travel bike, and is more playful and nimble overall as well, with little noticeable penalty on most descents. If you routinely seek out the biggest lines and rowdiest descents, though, you’ll be better served with a bigger bike like Evil’s Wreckoning.
The Following MB doesn’t fit neatly into any established category. And three years after its debut, there’s still nothing quite like it. The updates only make the Following a better, more capable bike while retaining it’s original blend of playfulness and genre-twisting performance.
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