After this update, the Following is going to have a lot more followers. For the latest version of Evil’s short travel 29er, the Following has evolved with geometry trends while also picking up some new standards along the way. The bike is still built to rally, but as Evil puts it, this “rally car drifts uphill too.”
Still rocking the Delta Suspension System, The Following offers 120mm of rear travel. For the XC focused, the bike can run a 120mm suspension fork and Evil offers it with a Fox Stepcast 34 or RockShox Pike Ultimate 120mm fork for that reason. Otherwise, the majority of riders will probably opt for the 130mm Pike Ultimate to make the most out of the bike’s potential. Note that Evil claims that the frame rides well with both reduced or traditional offset forks, but the stock forks will use a 51mm offset.
Additionally The Following is moving to inline rear shocks to keep the bike poppin’. Don’t worry though, if you can’t live without a piggyback shock, there’s still plenty of room. There’s also room for the newest Push ElevenSix Micro coil shock as well.
The back of The Following has evolved with the times, which is why you’re now seeing a 157mm SuperBoost+ rear axle spacing here. Evil states that in testing, the wider spacing allowed them to make a stiffer frame while maintaining the 430mm chainstay length and clearance for 29 x 2.5″ tires. This is more or less on par with what we’ve heard from every company moving to SuperBoost, which all seem to validate Pivot’s early claims.
Along with the new axle spacing, you’ll find updated geometry with a very steep 77° seat tube angle mated with a 66.4/66.9° head tube angle with a 130mm travel fork. The frame keeps the flip chip for the geometry which drops the BB by 8mm, and slacks out the front end by 0.5°. The wheelbase has increased by 18mm to 1,177mm for a medium, and the reach has grown 25mm to 460mm for a medium.
Cable routing is all internal with tube in tube construction for easy set up. Frames will include their Direct Injection chainguide which is light weight insurance against chain drops. Too heavy? It can be removed. Along with the new rubber noise-cancelling chainstay protector.
Many riders should be happy to see a 73mm threaded bottom bracket which houses a crank with a 51mm chainline. That gives clearance for up to a 36T chainring, with a minimum chainring size of 30t. The frames run a 30.9mm internal dropper post, and 180mm post mount brakes in the rear with a maximum rotor size of 203mm.
Available in Protein Powder or Black Out Drunk, the frame only starts at $3,099 with either a RockShox Deluxe Ultimate RCT or Fox DPS rear shock. Complete builds then start at $5,799 for the GX I9 Hydra kit, or $6,299 for the XT I9 Hydra build. Check out the site below for the full specs. Available now.
