The Revel Ranger, and it's not especially close. The Canfield Balance Formula linkage is specifically tuned to minimize bob under pedaling — reviewers consistently describe "very little energy lost to the rear shock" and keep the shock fully open on singletrack. The Ranger also tips the scale lower in reviewed trim (complete weights land in the 26–28 lb range across builds per Escape Collective and Blister).

The Evil Following climbs well for what it is — the steep 75.5°–76° effective seat tube angle puts you over the pedals and the DELTA platform is firm in the mid-stroke — but Singletracks weighed an X01 AXS build at 31.8 lb, and some reviewers noted it "doesn't feel zippy compared to other bikes in this category." On a long fire-road climb, the Ranger will get you to the top faster; on a technical pitch with roots, the Following's traction narrows the gap.

The Evil Following, clearly. It runs 5 mm more rear travel (120 mm vs. 115 mm), a 0.9° slacker head angle (66.6° vs. 67.5°), and more wheelbase at equivalent sizes. More importantly, the DELTA linkage's "bottomless ramp" lets it absorb hits that have no business being hit by a 120 mm bike. MBR said it "trumps plenty of enduro bikes with way more travel."

The Revel Ranger is more capable than its numbers suggest — reviewers call it "much more than a straight up XC bike" — but it has limits. Bikepacking.com's reviewer noted it's "not a smash-through-features bike" and "isn't designed to absorb repeated hits at speed" in long rock gardens. If your local trails include steep, chundery descents, the Following is the right tool.

At tier-matched SRAM Eagle 90 Transmission trim, the Revel Ranger is $4,499 and the Evil Following is $6,199 — a $1,700 gap. That difference shows up in three places:

- Wheels: Industry Nine Enduro S Hydra2 (Evil) vs. DT Swiss XM1700 (Revel). Both solid; the I9s carry a real price premium.
- Rear spacing: Evil's Super Boost 157 mm hubs cost more than standard 148 mm Boost.
- Platform baseline: Evil starts at $6,199 regardless of build; there's no budget entry point. Revel's two builds are priced identically at $4,499.

If your budget caps at $5k, the Ranger is the only option in this comparison.

Evil Following: 120 mm rear, paired with a 120 mm RockShox SID fork on the builds reviewed here.

Revel Ranger V2: 115 mm rear, paired with a 120 mm fork.

The 5 mm rear-travel gap sounds trivial but compounds with geometry: the Following's slacker head angle and longer wheelbase make the travel feel bigger on steep terrain. Reviewers who rode both consistently placed the Following a category above the Ranger for descending.

For complete-bike buyers, no — the I9 Enduro S Hydra2 wheels ship with the bike, and Evil sells replacement wheels to the standard. The spacing is what enables the Following's short 430 mm chainstays and generous tire clearance simultaneously, which is a chunk of why the bike corners the way it does.

For frame-only buyers, sometimes. MBR explicitly called it "a headache for frame-only buyers" — Super Boost 157 hub options are limited compared to standard 148 mm Boost, and you can't adapt a Boost wheel. If you're planning to build up from a frameset, factor the wheelset cost and availability in before committing.

The Revel Ranger, by a meaningful margin. Revel designed the V2 with three bottle/accessory mounts on sizes M and up, a threaded bottom bracket for trailside serviceability, and guided internal routing that doesn't fight cable runs. The bikepacking.com review was explicit that the composed CBF platform stays predictable when the bike is loaded down — the added weight actually "plants" the bike on both descents and climbs.

The Evil Following will technically work for bikepacking but wasn't designed with it in mind — the suspension is tuned for dynamic trail riding rather than loaded composure, and the playful geometry gets twitchier with weight on the bars.

Both are carbon full-suspension bikes with linkage-driven designs, so neither is low-maintenance. Two specific callouts:

Evil offers lifetime replacement bearings on Following frames — a meaningful long-term cost reduction, since bearing replacement is typically the main recurring service cost on full-suspension platforms.

Revel's V2 update introduced a one-tool linkage system with larger cartridge bearings and titanium shock mounting hardware specifically to reduce long-term service hassle. Reviewers report the frame stays creak-free under sustained use.

Both run guided internal cable routing (not headset-through), which is the correct choice and makes brake bleeds and housing swaps straightforward.

Both fit a 5'8" rider on a Medium. On the Evil Following M, reach is 460 mm, stack is 604 mm, top tube is 612 mm. On the Revel Ranger M, reach is 453 mm, stack is 609 mm, top tube is 616 mm.

The Following will feel a touch longer and lower; the Ranger a touch shorter and more upright. Neither is wrong for the size — it's consistent with each bike's broader character.