So my ride today was the first mountain bike ride I've done in about 5 weeks due to selling my Ripley, plus I was sick last week so lets just say I wasn't in top physical shape today.
That being said, I cleared numerous climbs today that I haven't cleared before. The traction is UNBELIEVABLE. I couldn't get the rear tire to break loose no matter what combo of clumsiness I tried. I'm talking glued to the ground, velcro traction. Seated, standing, mashing too tall a gear...nothing but traction. I was thinking that I would give up something going from the DHR2(my all time fav for grip) rear tire to the Ikon, but I was pleasantly surprised. It really didn't make a difference what body position I had, the front wheel stayed down and the rear tire just dug in.
The short chainstays are legit. I had flashbacks to my Lenz Punkass in terms of tech climbing. It really does make a huge difference having the wheel tucked right underneath you. Also, the front end comes up so nicely when needed to clear trail obstacles. For example there is this one switchback that goes right into a rooty step-up ledge about 10-12 inches high that I could never seem to clean before. Today I cleaned it the first try without even having to think about it. Super pleased and impressed on the climbing ability. If you have the legs(which I didn't have much of today) you can motor up anything.
There is NO perceived energy loss either, it all seems to propel you forward in a very efficient manner. This bike is as good, if not better, than the Ibis Ripley in this regard. If you like DW link bikes, you're in luck. The Delta system rides high in its travel and doesn't noticeably squat under power at all. I'll say that the Evil seems to better the Ripley in that the traction is better and the frame is noticeably stiffer so it holds it line much easier in the rough stuff both up and down.
From the first few yards of trail I thought that my new Thomson dropper was sagging because the bumps just seemed to disappear in a comfy couch type of way. I actually stopped to check the post to make sure, but its just supple off the top. It reminds me a lot of a coil shock in terms of small bump compliance.
I rode the rear brake purposefully through some choppy terrain/rock gardens to see if I could feel the suspension firming up and I honestly can't say that I noticed. The same goes for pedaling through the same terrain checking for pedal kickback, nope. I'm sure it's there, but if so it is certainly no worse than any other bike I've ridden. I've never ridden a FSR/Horst link bike, so I can't comment on the comparison of those vs. the Following.
Cornering: Well lets just say that if Ibis designed the Ripley to ride like a 26er, the Following rides like a BMXer. Take a corner as fast as you'd dare, very agile. In terms of switchbacks, effortless. Which is huge around here because a lot of our trails feature tons of them. I even found myself whipping the rear of the bike through turns/tree gates, it just seems to intuitively go where you want it.
Descending: Of course it does this well and I'm nowhere near talented or brave enough to push this bike anywhere near it's limits. It yields nothing to the Lenz Lunchbox, Banshee Prime, etc. The suspension really does feel bottomless. If you didn't know better you'd think it had 150mm of rear travel, except when you mash on the gas and it takes off like an XC rocket.
Jumping: Yeah it does table tops and 3-4 foot drops without flinching. Much more capable than I am. I tried to bottom the suspension out and never did, especially never felt like I was. Bottomless.
I'll also add the it feels super agile and light on its feet. It reminds me of a 20 lb carbon hardtail in this regard. It isn't heavy, but what weight it does have it hides it extremely well. It feels much lighter than any bike I've had before and I've had a few that weighed about 2 lbs less on the scale. What that adds to is the feeling/ability that you can just put the bike anywhere you want to. Awesome feeling.
Cons: It doesn't photograph very well in the woods
But here are some pics anyway. I tried to capture the rear tire clearance the best I could, but the intricate molding of the seat and chain stays makes getting a clear shot difficult. Keep in mind that's a 62mm(2.44 inch) wide tire stuffed in there. There's still room for mud as well. I also included the non drive side pic just to prove that it has one