I have an Evil at present but fancy something lighter. Soul frame appears to weigh about 2 lb less than an Evil.

Anyone ridden both, how do they compare?

Ta

Not tried a Soul, sorry, but ride a sov and ti van nich zion regularly. I’m assuming that the van nich may be a bit like a soul – don’t know for sure. The lighter bike is really quite versatile. It has coped well with long events on a mixture of bridleways and trail centre runs in places like mid Wales and the borders. Good on very hilly days out as you would imagine due to the reduced weight. Fine on the smoother descents. Rides well on twisty singletrack, so performs well for the majority of riding you are likely to come across.
I have not taken it to the Peaks or Lakes and can’t see that I would enjoy it on the rougher trails. Here the sov feels indestructible and this gives me a lot of confidence.
If I am not doing some marathon then I invariably take the sov as I don’t really care how long it takes me to get up he hills – just want to have some fun going down. For all the lighter bike descends quite well the sov feels way better. One bike has 100mm forks on it, the other 150 so its not a fair comparison but that’s how they stack up for me. It’s probable that the soul could be built up as more of an intermediate bike and it may suit you well depending on how and where you ride.

Not tried a Soul, sorry, but ride a sov and ti van nich zion regularly. I’m assuming that the van nich may be a bit like a soul – don’t know for sure.

I’ve got a Zion and a Soul and they’re quite different. I haven’t ridden a Evil Sovereign so can’t comment on how either bike compares with it though, although I do have a BFe.

I’ve got a Zion and a Soul and they’re quite different.

Looks like he’ll need a three way comparison to get an answer – although I expect the BFe and Sov are not too dissimilar.

i have both,

soul is lovely climbing, very springy but i find it a bit lively going down fast, fantastic welds and quality tubes.

sov is quite hard work uphill, but surprisingly not as bad as you would think being that heavy, very solid, feels like it will smash down walls if they get in the way, fantastic fun going down hill, tempts you to launch off everything in sight, build quality is what you would want to see on a £600 frame, really nice welds, rear stays and well thought out,

as you may have noticed i wrote more about the Sov, that’s because i’m thinking of parting with the soul to help pay for a new santa cruz heckler frame, i will miss it bad after 4 yrs but i don’t want to sell the sov as it really does feel unique .

It’s a bit of a scalpel vs blunt instrument thing IMO. I wasn’t that impressed about the Sov really, but a lot of people love them, to me it just felt like yet another big hardhitting hardtail. Don’t see where the extra money goes.

I loved my Soul but eventually wanted something a wee bit more confidence inspiring for steep stuff, I do miss it though.

Hia
I rode a Soul for a while and didn’t really get on with it although I’d have to say it was a good bike. Felt quite similar to my old SWorks Specialized hardtail – racy XC style.
I wanted a “fun razzing in the woods” bike as I have an FS for long runs and when I got the Sovereign it was so much more FUN on the berms etc. Can’t say why really as I had the same PIKE same length stem and wheels/tyres on both.
Sadly the Sovereign has to go as I decided I’m just too old (back problems) to ride a hardtail. If you’re interested it’s going in the classifieds today.
http://tinyurl.com/64rtjpx

Having read the above I’d better say I think the Sovereign climbs fine. I suppose it’s more of a middle ring standing up and going for it bike than a granny ring spinner, but you can granny it if you’ve got one fitted – I never did but lots do.
It’s a good fun all rounder with a definite advantage over springy hardtails once the going gets tough. Just ace on tight hard singletrack too. I have never found the uphills much fun – but the Sov certainly din’t make them any less fun than my earlier XC type hardtails.

Considered a chameleon? They’re pretty light for what you get.

Just ordered 2011 evil in yellow 😆