Folks usually take a look at gravel bikes and ask why… Why aren’t you utilizing a street bike? Why aren’t you utilizing a mountain bike? Why are you driving a hardtail with drop bars?
To be frank, I used to ponder the identical form of queries. Do we actually want gravel bikes? With the Large Revolt X, the plot thickens. Not solely does the Taiwanese marque’s newest gravel providing include 52mm tyre clearance however you’ll additionally discover a remotely operated dropper put up, a flip-chip to tweak geometry settings and 40mm entrance journey courtesy of a Rockshox Rudy Final fork.
What’s the purpose? Effectively, we’ll get to that…
The Body
Superior grade composite body with flip-chip, tech borrowed from mountain bikes that finally creates two geometries for various kinds of driving.
(Picture credit score: Future)
The headline right here might be the flip-chip know-how – which comes roughly as customary on trendy mountain bikes. Positioned within the rear drop-out, the chip permits prompt geometry, wheelbase 1,02 and tyre clearance tweaks, primarily making two bikes out of 1. Longer wheelbases are conducive to extra technical driving, providing extra consolation on rock-strewn trails and a extra pliable sense of management on uneven descents.
The body contains high-performance grade uncooked carbon, with the entrance triangle a steady mould by way of a proprietary manufacturing course of referred to as Modified Monocoque Development.
My driving
After some 500 miles of sitting within the Revolt X’s scorching seat, I’ve had zero points with it – and keep in mind that it is a bike that’s traversed a mountain vary, been raced, and, most just lately, been ridden to inside an inch of its life on the South Downs Method. It behaves effectively on most terrain and could be ridden at an inexpensive velocity on the street.
Uneven chainstays have been specced so as to add stiffness on the driveside for improved energy switch, and stability on the non-driveside for negotiating technical sections of path or downhills.
Out there in two colors, Gloss Cordovan or Copper Coin, the body is – as anticipated for a gravel bike – peppered with bottle cage and baggage bosses. The thought course of right here being that that is the style of steed almost definitely to be taken on bikepacking outings. I’m not totally positive why gravel bikes have develop into emblematic of bikepacking journeys… once more, we’ll come to that sooner or later.
The Construct
SRAM Rival eTap drivetrain presents huge unfold of gears courtesy of the 12-speed 10-52 tooth cassette.
(Picture credit score: Future)
The Revolt X Superior Professional will get a liberal serving to of SRAM punctuated with in-house gadgets. As anticipated for this Superior mannequin, eTap Rival AXS has been specced for transitions and presents seamless digital shifts working up and down its 10x52t cassette. The vary shouldn’t be dissimilar to that of a mountain bike, with the 52t bailout cog specced for winching up steep climbs, and with its 1x chainset it’s straightforward to spin out the 10t when there’s a slight decline on concrete surfaces.
RockShox Rudy suspension fork, with 40mm of journey, sucks up the hits.
(Picture credit score: Future)
The Rockshox Rudy assigned to the entrance finish presents 40mm journey, which is greater than ample for many gravel surfaces, and the Postmodern dropper put up doesn’t a lot as trace however bellows this bike’s intentions – particularly, arduous, technical and quick off-road driving.
Carbon hoops (700s) are in-house gadgets, as is the ending equipment, from tyres to stem.
Using the Revolt X Professional
In-house break up Method saddle is constructed for consolation over the lengthy haul. We hardly ever used the dropper put up.
(Picture credit score: Future)
I’ve ridden this bike in a gravel racing state of affairs on the Salisbury Plains, taken it on a long-distance schlep over Snowdonia and ridden myriad routes in Hampshire and Surrey which have comprised easy tarmac, muddy bridleways and technical descents. The gearing for these outings has been just about excellent. I used to be left wanting on just a few tarmac sections when a better gear would have seen me transfer faster between the tough stuff, and ditto when Snowdonia’s precipitous peaks grew to become ever extra strewn with slate and rocks, a decrease gear would have countered just a few hike-a-bike sections. However driving in excessive terrain won’t ever be a easy pedal and being pressured to ‘get well’ on the blacktop is ad-lib preparation for when the race begins heating up on bucolic byways.
Top-of-the-line gravel bikes I’ve ridden…
Talking of easy driving, the 40mm of entrance journey provided by the Rockshox Rudy fork gave this bike an edge. On preliminary perusal of the spec sheet, I’ll admit, that I used to be fast to naysay – this could absolutely add weight for little or no acquire. Quite the opposite, it is a game-changer – and I believe I’ve discovered a brand new weapon of alternative for my favorite off-road experience, the South Downs Method. Combining the forgiving experience the entrance suspension presents, together with the comparatively aggressive geometry, is a performance-boosting coupling. For me, nevertheless, the dropper put up proved superfluous, and the distant swap hampered my grip within the drops whereas winding up velocity on tarmac sections.
The decision
At a coin shy of £6.5k/$7.5k this isn’t the kind of cash you are going to discover down the again of the couch, however to me it looks as if a very reasonable value. You get a hell of quite a lot of bike to your buck. From the body all the way down to the ending equipment and all of the bells and whistles in between, few stones have been left unturned to make this probably the most achieved gravel bikes I’ve ever ridden. It maybe lacks the velocity and racing credentials of lighter gadgets – the Santa Cruz Stigmata springs to thoughts – however for consolation and the flexibility to traverse swathes of terrain the place no curly-barred bike has been earlier than, this will get an emphatic sure, from me.
The spec
- Body: Superior-grade composite, 12x142mm thru-axle, flip-chip dropout
- Fork: Rockshox Rudy Final, 40mm
- Handlebar: Large Contact
- Stem: Large Contact
- Seatpost: Put up Moderne Dropper, 30.9mm with 30mm suspension
- Saddle: Large Method
- Shifters: SRAM Rival eTap
- Rear mech: SRAM GX Eagle AXS
- Brakes: SRAM Rival eTap
- Wheels: Large CXR Carbon Disc
- Weight (as examined): 9.9kg
