I have been running a hardtail as my only mountain bike for a while. I am getting a little beaten up and as I approach 50 my body is starting to complain.

Like the look of Evil, but would be interested to hear any owner opinions. Good and bad. How’s the support? Build quality? Ride quality?

I am considering The Wreckoning. Is it too much bike as a trail bike? The Following has a press for bb that puts me off plus 120mm seems low. I have my hardtail for those smoother trail days, so am after something bigger as a contrast.

You might want to have a read of this

What can an Evil Following handle?

Support & build quality now seems good, but they had a very shaky start with poor QC and poor warranty support so you’ll still get some hangover ‘bad reputation’ stuff from that. Ride quality? I tested a load of shortish travel trail bikes when I was looking to change and the Following was the one that made me smile the most.

with the number of warranty issues i’ve seen and read, there are not many bikes lower than Evil on my list of potential purchases.

I like the look of evil bikes.

One mate had a 160mm one. He loves it. The main bearing came unbonded from the frame. Sorted under warranty Slowly and painfully.

Another mate has a 120mm one. He loves it. Had a failure on the frame. Can’t remember what. Sorted under warranty very quickly. This was a year or so later.

2 out of 2 people I know-having failures has put evil on the not with someone else’s list : )

My view might be different to yours as I would be buying second hand and assuming I would have no warranty.

2/2 owners love the bikes.

The owner of the 160mm said it was too much for the peaks, or most places in the uk. He has replaced it with a whyte of some description with less travel as it didn’t need a super steep alpine decent to come alive.

The Following has a press for bb that puts me off

It doesn’t*. Its been bsa since the MB which is a couple of years old, the new version is also bsa. Either way pf in carbon is fine done right, it’s down to the bb and putting it in right just like some bsa brackets are crap so are some pf, just like you can be a wally and fit a bsa badly you can with pf.

The Wreckoning. Is it too much bike as a trail bike?

plus 120mm seems low

Hold on to your hat – there’s a 140mm option too.

Job jobbed.

For what it’s worth I really like my (v1, complete with pf bracket) following, it’ll handle anything I can throw at it in the UK, sure on some big lumpy stuff it’s apparent it’s short travel but it never feels like not enough. For the rest of the time it gobbles things up, pedals well, climbs well and doesn’t stuck the fun out of the 99% the riding I do. (Let’s face it, even big days only have a comparatively small amount of big and a lot of other stuff)

One of my riding buddies rides a Wreckoning, really likes it, says it pedals brilliantly and he enjoys riding it but he’s more a “messing around in the woods” than a big sky big hill rider so when he’s not throwing it down things it’s a winch up a fire road, and let’s face it, you can’t suck the fun out of that…

Neither of us has had any trouble with them, the few emails I’ve sent “[before I knock them out] are the headset cups bonded?” sort of thing have been quickly and efficiently answered by Dylan at evil. On my experience I’d have no worries recommending the bikes. (oh but do invisiframe or what ever, the paint is crap)

*unless you’re looking at 2nd hand, in which case it’s a 3 year old carbon trail bike. Build quality, support etc are almost irrelevant since you’ve no idea if it’s been physically thrown down hills by some angry IT manager who couldn’t clear that gap and stoved the front into the edge again, or if its been pootled along the side of a reservoir by some over biked dentist for 3 years.

I love mine. I’m on the Offering and it’s more than capable around Peak District trails. Climbs well, lots of support mid travel but still supple enough to soak up big and small hits. Great fun to ride

No problems so far and they are quick to answer questions. I needed a bearing kit (there are a LOT of bearings and you do need to stay on top of them wearing) contacted them on Friday, emails have had a swift response. Bearings ordered and being delivered by DHL today (Monday). Dylan at Evil is also pretty active on the FB owners group which is a great resource for any questions.

Thoroughly reccomended.

I’ve had 2 Evil’s – previously an Insurgent and now an Offering. One of my friends is now on my Insurgent.

Neither of them have ever missed a beat despite Alps trips etc. In fact during our last Alps trip my mate cracked a carbon rim, an alloy DT Swiss rim and twisted 2 tyre carcasses (to be fair he was trying to rip a tyre from the rim in a berm for shits and giggles on the ally rim..)

The frame didn’t make even the slightest complaint.

I’ve contacted Evil support for numerous questions and always get a prompt response – even at 7pm on a Sunday night before!

I’ve just ordered a Following for my wife. I have that much confidence in them.

I love Evils, currently on an Offering. They’re like a magic carpet with a coil shock. What I particularly like about the Offering is the steep seat angle which makes climbing so much more comfortable (this was the only gripe I had with the insurgent, the slack SA). I’ve always had nothing but good support from Evil in Spain. You wont be disappointed if you buy one!

I have a Calling which is amazing and now 2+ years old and looks and is as good as new. I have had quick and helpful responses from evil when contacted them. When I cracked the swing arm on my uprising it was replaced in 2 weeks so happy with that ( black runs on DH days). Great bike to ride and I think and hope their bad customer service days are behind them.

with the number of warranty issues i’ve seen and read, there are not many bikes lower than Evil on my list of potential purchases.

This always makes me laugh… There’s still a load of people out there that wouldn’t buy a Cannondale mind, despite it being over 25 years since the “Crackenfail” jokes being relevant, but there we go… Let’s not let the truth get in the way of our inbuilt prejudices eh! 🤷🏻‍♂️

I am considering The Wreckoning. Is it too much bike as a trail bike? The Following has a press for bb that puts me off plus 120mm seems low. I have my hardtail for those smoother trail days, so am after something bigger as a contrast.

I assume, given what you’ve written, you’re buying 2nd hand…? If not, the V1 Following was Pressfit, and was actually the preferable PF41 system and was done very well. People moaned, and every Evil bike since has had a threaded BB instead, despite it being a backwards step as it’s more complex and heavier! But then people love to be able to fix their own bikes with a rock and some gaffer tape, so…

I’ve had a V1 Following, a Wreckoning, now on an Offering. All of them been absolutely brilliant, and I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend them (well, I have put my money where my mouth is many times, as I sold probably 25-30 Evil frames all told over a 4 year period before I closed my shop). The original Following was a arguably the first 29er trail bike that put fun first. It was a riot! It changed the shape of what was to come. It’s short and steep by todays standards, but probably the most fun bike I’ve ever owned. The Wreckoning was a weapon, military grade trail slayer! Too much bike for most UK trails? Maybe, but it was certainly fun finding out. Also, whilst it was heavier and had more squish than the Following, it still climbed acceptably well for what is a big travel bike.

The Offering is the Goldilocks bike as far as I’m concerned. The Following was the right bike for me 90% of the time, 10% of the time I was underbiked. The Wreckoning was the other way round, 90% of the time it was too much bike and 10% of the time it was bang on. The Offering really is the sweetspot, aided slightly by the steeper seat angle and more contemporary reach numbers, but it has still retained the fun factor for which Evil Bikes have become known for.

Mine…

I keep a couple of wheelsets for mine, the set on it in the pic for if I’m off playing on the bigger trails, and also got some lighter wheels and faster tyres for if I’m doing more of an XC/Trail ride on it.

I demo’d the Offering in a couple of places and a couple of sizes. I was really impressed. Plenty of travel, really quiet (always a good sign if a demo bike isn’t rattling). Decent kit levels. Almost bought one.

V happy with my mk1 Following , I should have gone for the xl frame though. It is a capable and fun bike that suits most of what I need.

I have nothing to say about Evil bikes, other than that I think they all look minging.

Just wanted to ask, will you be riding the same trails as on your HT? And how gnarly are those trails?

I swapped my HT for a 110mm rear / 130mm front full-sus this year and it was a great move for me, still find the local trails fun but I can actually handle pretty rugged terrain comfortably if I need to.