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Evil? Check. 29er? Check. Long Travel Full sus? Check… H8rs gonna hate fo sho!
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Posted 8 years agoRidden it twice now, and… Well it’s epic! I was worried I’f prefer the Following, but this thing really has no downsides! With that in mind, I’ve now nicked a few of the bits off my Following…
Changed the bars and stem out for my preferred Burgtec items, Minion DHR2/DHF combo on for the Mini Enduro at the FoD tomorrow, and swapped the saddle out for my super comfy (yet crazy design) Fizik.
Got a few PR’s on the bike on its 2nd run out, and the Following isn’t an easy act to follow by any means!
Posted 8 years agoSpent about half an hour late last night, writing an in depth and considered response, then fell asleep on the sofa! Laptop died and everything lost… Haha. Anyway…
So, I’ve been getting the miles in on the bike… 170 miles on it, mostly off road so far. Everything from local XC miles to the FoD Mini Enduro, Dyfi Enduro and some bonkers steep natural stuff at Afan. It’s had a good mix thrown at it already.
So the Elephant in the room… Is the Wreckoning as good as the Following?
Well no… And yes… Basically, it’s complicated.
How so? Well Joe Public thought Evil was a bit bonkers making the Following, a super slack 120mm 29er trail bike with an obvious bias on descending, at the time the most extreme bike in its already niche class. Since then, many people have realised the merits of the formula and bought a Following. Almost universally, those that have ridden them, love them. So where does the Wreckoning come in…?
Well could you imagine 3 years ago, a company saying they were going to make a 160mm travel 29er and expecting to get taken seriously? Evil have acknowledged that they conceived the Wreckoning before the Following even, but realised that it was too extreme to release onto the world, and had to bring another bike out first (the Following) that would ease the path of acceptance towards a 160mm travel 29er. The Following is so good at descending (not just good for a 29er, or good for a 120mm bike, just good full stop) that it has had many people, myself included, asking “what if it had just that bit more travel, how much better would it be then?”
The answer is a resounding “wow”… Any shortcomings (largely dictated by the amount of travel on burlier terrain) the Following had on the descents are gone, whilst all the good bits remain. My standard one line answer when people ask me what’s the Wreckoning like compared to the Following is a very Spinal Tap-esque “it’s just like the Following, but with the volume turned up to 11”. It’s been a while since I’ve ridden a cutting edge DH bike, but I can see how the likes of Luke Strobel & Toni Ferreiro are so damned fast on this bike. I’m a pretty average rider at best, the Following made me look good on descents, the Wreckoning steps that up a notch further!
Downsides?
Well, predictably, with all that travel and 1lb extra frame weight, it doesn’t climb quite as well. The fact that it climbs incredibly well for a 160mm travel bike (it really does!) is irrelevant when comparing it with the Following. Both are very good climbers, but the Following is lighter and the shorter travel rewards your efforts on the pedals slightly more. So what you’ve gained in one hand (total confidence in the bike on the descents) you’ve lost in the other.
Then there’s the fact the slack actual seat angle (the effective isn’t too slack for most) decreases the effective seat angle the higher the saddle. So if you’ve got relatively long legs for your height, you’ll struggle to get a good seated pedalling position sadly. At 5ft10 with a 33″ inside leg on a medium, I’ve got my saddle shunted forward on the seatpost rails a bit, but I’m more than happy with the saddle position for seated pedalling. It’s worth trying to get a demo on one (happy to help in this respect for any medium sized riders) if at all possible to check it will fit.
And then there’s the cost. The Following isn’t cheap at £2499 frame only, the Wreckoning is £400 more. You’ve got to know it’s the bike for you, put it that way!
If you’ve got this far, kudos to you. For those that have shouted I struggle with long sentences and want a brief summary, here goes…
The Wreckoning isn’t quite as good an all round trail bike as the Following, but what it loses in climbing prowess it more than makes up for in its ability going down. 160mm of travel has never pedalled so well before, and rarely has it been as playful or as fun to ride. All this, and you’ve got the extra speed and grip of 29er wheels to boot! If you’re the kind of rider that wants a bike to desroy all his mates/Strava PB’s uphill and down, then the Following will blow your mind. If you don’t look at your Strava times for the climbs, or you’re not bothered who’s first to the top of the trail out of you and your mates, but you absolutely most definitely want the biggest, sharpest tool in the box to go as fast as you possibly can on the descents, then the Wreckoning is what you need.
Either will put a massive grin on your face though, I’d just say that if pushed, the Following is a 5% better climber than the Wreckoning, but the Wreckoning is 10% better on the descents.
Posted 8 years agoI think it massively depends on your skill level and the terrain. My friend (yeah I know my mate said blah blah) hasn’t (yet) found a UK Enduro course where the Wreckoning is faster (for him). He does race on the continent as well so will have to ask him what he plans to take out there.
I’d agree entirely. And I suspect your mate is a hell of a lot better rider than I am too. Most of the U.K. Enduro stuff that I’ve ridden or seen, tends to be smoother than some of the bigger terrain continental courses are producing. I’m going on what I’ve heard from riders I know that have raced abroad too, but seems the UK stuff on the whole can be smoother and more pedally by contrast. I’m an average rider that likes to push my boundaries, but I’m no Enduro expert so happy to be told otherwise! That said, there’s probably been some stuff I’ve ridden where the Following would have been at least as fast if not faster due to the very pedally nature of the course.
The skill level and confidence thing is also totally appropriate. I’ve hit some bigger terrain faster on the Wreckoning already as I know the 160mm of travel is going to deal with it a lot better than the 120mm on the Following would. A better rider probably wouldn’t see an issue with the shorter travel and would use their skill to ride round it. One place I found the Following started to show its limitations due to its travel was on 50 Shades at BPW. Haven’t yet taken the Wreckoning there (hope to soon) but it’s this kind of terrain where simply having more travel makes a difference. In the hands of an expert rider, I don’t doubt that the Following is as quick downhill, for us mere mortals sometimes that extra bit of skill compensation makes a difference! Don’t get me wrong, as an all round trail bike, and probably the bike better suited to most of my riding, the Following is incredible. I’m just having so much fun on the Wreckoning right now, and not really noticing any drawbacks, that it makes me grin from ear to ear every time I ride it!
Tho I think Specialized may have something to say about this bit…
The pedant in me wants to point out that the Spesh is only 155mm of travel, but who’s counting eh? 😉
Seriously though, has it been 3 years? Thought it was less than that! Time flies eh…
Be k retesting to see how it compares to a Canfield riot which is in between the two evil bikes.
Not ridden the riot myself, but know a man who has (as well as having owned a Following, but not ridden a Wreckoning yet). His take on it was that the Canfield was more forgiving owing to its travel, but the higher BB and super short back end made it feel less confidence inspiring on the descents than the Following and on the climbs, the hefty weight and the plush back end made it harder work than the Following. That’s 2nd hand information from a guy I know, so don’t take it as gospel, but he’s a pretty good rider to be fair. Everything is subjective though, just because one person thinks one bike is the best thing since sliced bread, doesn’t mean to say that the next person will like it at all…
What is the nearest RAL colour to Megalodon Blue?
I don’t know sadly, but if anybody finds it, I’d love to know too. Sadly, my ex BG VW Caddy is a very slightly darker shade of blue (but only by a fraction, in some lights it looks the same)…
Posted 8 years agoA little mid term refresh…
Have had the EThirteen TRSr wheels on for a couple of months now, and am very impressed indeed. Not as overtly stiff as my the ENVE’s I had on my Following, but they were too stiff IMO. Just the right balance, and nice 28mm internal rim width.
And then there’s the Elephant in the room… The Eagle 12spd! Well that’s literally just been fitted, so not got any feedback on that yet other than it was just as easy to fit and setup as an 11spd system. Happy Days!
What else to report? Well I’m still as enamoured with the bike as the day I got it! It’s an incredible machine. It’s probably still too much bike for 90% of my riding, for which a Following is/was the better bike, but on the 10% this just has that extra 40mm of travel in reserve and the slightly slacker HA and longer wheelbase that give even more confidence when the going gets rough.
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