BIKE OF THE YEAR - 2015 Vital MTB Shreddy Awards 13

Our testers ride a lot of different bikes here at Vital MTB and Evil Bikes' The Following 29er stood out as the most fun, relevant and capable MTB of 2015.

Evil The Following highlights

• The relatively new short-travel, aggressive 29er concept is a special blend of XC/trail/all-mountain/enduro magic. Bikes of this style bring together the precision and responsiveness of a short travel ride, the capability of a slack geometry, and the snappy feel of short chainstays. Add in some well-chosen components and big wheels and you can get away with murder.
• The Following is the first 29er from Evil Bikes, pairing 120mm rear wheel travel with a no questions asked, "I can do that" attitude.
• With a 130mm travel fork and a relatively slack head angle, the bike is far more capable than the numbers might have you believe.
• While several other brands have similar designs, Evil's take stands out for its ability to make easy work of the roughest bits of trail thanks to a surprisingly bottomless suspension feel. As one of our test riders put it, "It's not a 29er for efficiency, it's a 29er for mowing over shit," which makes this bike one we love even more.
• Impeccable attention to detail throughout the frame seals the deal, especially when you consider the kick-ass selection of components in Evil's complete build kit that comes at a great price.
• Highlights include sleek molded rubber protectors in all the right places, a large main pivot thru axle, integrated sag meter, clean internal routing, adjustable geometry, and uni-directional carbon frame.
• From Evil: "Monster truck wheels with a sports car feel. We really wanted to create a FUN,versatile, yet aggressive short travel, big wheel trail bike with progressive geometry that could be at home on all day adventures, slashing trails or riding jump lines."
• From Evil: "Completely redesigned Delta System with a focus on simplicity, weight reduction and strength. We increased lateral frame stiffness with redesigned dog bone links that use integrated forged bosses to connect the linkage and simplify maintenance."
• Vital tested The Following during our 2016 Test Sessions and was blown away. Review coming soon.