Love my Following! I'm running the Monarch with 2 bands. I swap a MRP Stage 140 and RS-1 120, wheels and tires on the bike. It's a very versatile bike for me. I may do a MG100 race late in the season on it.
Compared to my VPP bikes I've been able to climb at the same level of difficulty on the Following but the VPP might be a little better seated climbing over real chunky rock stretches. The DELTA is definitely more efficient when climbing out of the saddle and actually encourages that type of climbing in certain terrain, like on steeper slabs and hardback. I like the feeling of getting up and moving around on the bike to goose it up and over stuff. I feel it's a great pedaling bike overall. I recently installed an RWC needle bearing top shock bearing...
Lars is having to work to keep Luke in sight on this run. He even mentions that the 29's are rolling fast and you can hear it in his breathing and see he's pedaling more than Luke. Man, just shows that Luke is damn fast and man that looks like a damn fun and long trail!!