Individuals usually have 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 sort 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? Properly, 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 types of driving.
(Picture credit score: Future)
The headline right here might be the flip-chip expertise – which comes kind of as customary on trendy mountain bikes. Positioned within the rear drop-out, the chip permits immediate 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 includes high-performance grade uncooked carbon, with the entrance triangle a steady mould through a proprietary manufacturing course of often known as Modified Monocoque Building.
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 Manner. It behaves nicely on most terrain and will be ridden at an inexpensive pace 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 probably to be taken on bikepacking outings. I’m not solely certain why gravel bikes have grow to be emblematic of bikepacking journeys… once more, we’ll come to that sooner or later.
The Construct
SRAM Rival eTap drivetrain gives extensive 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 gives seamless digital shifts operating 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 simple 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 gives 40mm journey, which is greater than satisfactory for many gravel surfaces, and the Postmodern dropper put up doesn’t a lot as trace however bellows this bike’s intentions – specifically, exhausting, technical and quick off-road driving.
Carbon hoops (700s) are in-house gadgets, as is the ending package, from tyres to stem.
Driving 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 situation 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 good. I used to be left wanting on a couple of tarmac sections when the next gear would have seen me transfer faster between the tough stuff, and ditto when Snowdonia’s precipitous peaks turned ever extra strewn with slate and rocks, a decrease gear would have countered a couple of hike-a-bike sections. However driving in excessive terrain won’t ever be a easy pedal and being compelled to ‘recuperate’ on the blacktop is ad-lib preparation for when the race begins heating up on bucolic byways.
The most effective 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 is able to certainly 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 selection for my favorite off-road experience, the South Downs Manner. Combining the forgiving experience the entrance suspension gives, 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 pace 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 loads of bike in your buck. From the body right down to the ending package and all of the bells and whistles in between, few stones have been left unturned to make this one of the vital completed gravel bikes I’ve ever ridden. It maybe lacks the pace and racing credentials of lighter gadgets – the Santa Cruz Stigmata springs to thoughts – however for consolation and the power 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: Publish 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
