All Things Bikes and Tacos! (...and every vehicle imaginable)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fmYG26okK_E

also, i found this very interesting footage. lol. love that park tools does some random shit like this.

 

dude wtf! Who would do that!

people suck... hope they find that degen and his buddy. Like someone said in the comments on PB... its a small world.

 

While I don’t disagree with you, sadly educational does not always equal intelligence. You can’t fix stupid.

 

This kind of stuff doesn’t help my faith in the goodness of humanity.

MF’er looked super nonchalant as he was checking over his e-motorcycle while the MTB rider was on the ground with a busted jaw… Also loved how the douchebag almost roosted the poor guy when he went to pick up his bike and he hit the throttle

 

I don't think I've updated here. After a really long time researching and looking for used bikes, I finally pulled the trigger....twice! I was looking for a short-ish travel one-bike-29er to replace my Transition Scout. I have been keen to try an Evil and had a hell of a time deciding between the Following and Offering. Finally decided I thought the Following was the way to go and found a pretty good price on one. Right when I was about to put an offer on it a Norco Optic (another one I had been considering) popped up for sale locally and about $1000 lower than market value. I decided to get both, ride both over the winter, and sell the loser in the spring.

Between the weather and a couple mechanical things I had to sort out, I've only ridden each one time on the same loop. It's a loop I figured the Following would really shine and I wasn't wrong. It definitely edges out the Optic there. It's a pedally loop with some tight twisty tech, short punchy climbs, and some nice bermy flow trails with small jumps. The Following just felt natural. That DELTA rear end is seriously magic...fantastic small bump compliance for a 120 bike, pedals amazingly well both seated and standing, but then is just so damn smooth on bigger hits and lands so well. Kind of doesn't seem possible how well it does all three. It came with a 140 fork and the biggest knock I had was the slack seat angle, so I'll see how it does on steeper climbs later, but anticipate I'll go down to 130 if I keep it.

In comparison, the Optic felt pretty heavy and clunky. It actually rides very very similar to my Scout. I'd say it's basically just a 29er Scout. The geo is almost identical, but adding the 29er to the mix the front end felt a bit floppy in comparison in the slower tech. The bike jumped pretty well but lands more harshly than the Following. Not too surprisingly the rear end feels very similar to the Scout (both 4 bar). Small bump is not as good and it does not land as smoothly as the Following.

Next is to get them both out to some more chunky and steep terrain for comparisons there. If the Following handles that stuff well I think it will be my next ride. I can see eventually adding a -1 degree headset to slacken the front, steepen the STA, and extend the WB a bit.

 

Good evaluation! The DELTA link setup on the Evil really is something special.

 

yeah, especially that area. and his face is on the video....

you're not wrong. but if education can help even a few people stay safer and off trails they shouldn't be on. I'm all for it. But the idiots will be idiots.

Yeah, the guy was so nonchalant and didn't even try to do anything. flabbergasted that humans like that exist!

dude. I love the delta suspension. It's a bit complex and can get a little finnicky/touchy but omfg it's amazing. I have the following v3 as well and everytime I'm on it, I swear that rear end has like 140+ of travel. Not 120. Love that bike a lot. I use it for long days ont he saddle because it's so easy to pedal and can crush anything.

 

So what do you find is more limiting as things get rowdy...the suspension or the geo? I am really hoping the -1 angleset will help give me that bike I really wanted which was something between the Following and Offering.

 

suspension. Geo is damn near perfect for this kind of bike. and I can handle it just fine. especially with the 130mm fork. it's slack enough. I'm not trying to take it downt he steepest shit possible but it'll handle it just fine. the suspension is usually when things get a little rough on your body as it's 120mm and it can only do so much. Is it going to launch off of a jump trail? no. it can do it but wouldn't recommend it. so yeah....

 

I made these racks for my truck

 

Really? HA is 66.9 in the higher BB setting. Lower BB setting is quite low and I'd be concerned with the SA being too slack. I think keeping the higher setting and adding a -1 would be nice. Also remember I'm attempting to have this as my only bike so it will have to get me down anything that comes my way.

 

Nice! I was going to do a KBVoodoo rack for bed covers but at $500 shipped I hesitate and I'm thinking of the DIY route. I just want bars to mount a bike rack or roof box too.

 

that's less than a degree steeper than my old YT capra in high setting. 66 vs 66.9. is it ad ifference? yes. is it noticeable? probably. but it's also a short travel trail bike. it does well for trail/most all mountain riding. it's no enduro rig and I wouldn't think of it as such. It can do enduro but that's not where it shines. If it were my only bike, I wouldn't hesitate to take it on enduro rides but with a bit more caution on steep chunk because of teh suspension travel. 120mm vs 160mm is a big difference. I stand by my statement. the suspension travel on this biek is the only limiting factor but it's stil far superior than you would think. by "limiting" factor, i'm not saying that it absolutely sucks. it just is the thing that holds this bike back a little.

a -1 headset would be a good idea if you wanted to capture that slacker head angle. you coudl also get that with a slightly longer fork. Overforkign these bikes is not unheard of. but -1 would be cheaper. hah!

 

All of this makes me think of some recent banter on Pinkbike. Now that Outside owns Pinkbike and Beta MTB they will get to at least publish reviews on Evil bikes. Evil for some reason refuses to give Pinkbike any bikes to review which I find hilarious and has got to be some form of free marketing for Evil.

 

Yeah I appreciate the input and that's the kind of thing I was looking for. I realize that no 120 bike is going to keep up with a 160 bike on serious terrain. I've just been on a 65 HA bike for 4 seasons, so I do wonder how 67 will feel on the steeper stuff. But much of my riding is so well suited to a bike like the Following that I thought it was worth the risk of being a bit underbiked every now and then to avoid being overbiked on a regular basis. The Offering is a more obvious one bike rig realistically. But if you feel suspension is what holds the bike back before geo, maybe the Optic won't be much more capable at all. 125/140 bike but I bet the Following's 120 is every bit as or more capable than the Optics 125.

 

I'd agree with you. the delta suspension will beat out the optic IMO. BUT I haven't ridden the optic yet. so can't definitively say. I've said it before and I'lls ay it again. Delta suspension is pretty baller. and it definitely FEELS like more than 120mm in the back.

edit: yes...i said whawt i said. hahahah.

 

@mtskibum16 For what it’s worth, I run my V3 Following in the Low setting and can’t say I’ve noticed any shortcoming on climbing compared to the High setting. The vast majority of what I ride is mellow stuff with repeated short punchy climbs, some being techy.

Try not to overanalyze it before you really get some saddle time.

 

I bought the KB Voodoo rack then sold it and made this so I could accommodate the racks. This rack is actually for sale PM me if you want a link to the FB marketplace item. I do not have enough post, yet to post for sale items in TW. Come on 50 posts.

 

Hey @honda50r you don’t have your jersey shirts in XL do you?

 

For anyone curious this is where the best source of real world owners post on the Arrival as they receive them.
Instagram is cool, but it’s mostly people sending road gaps in Canada on these bikes. Makes sense to get the bikes to the dudes ripping first before us commoners.
MTBR - WAO Arrival