Revel Rail Tuxedo.

moorey

moorey

call me Mia
Revel ride update:

Felix took it for a quick thrash in the rain yesterday. As I've mentioned already, he was blown away by the way it pedals. After the ride, he commented that there felt like slightly more flex in the rear than the Kona. To be fair, the Kona was a tank, with huge rocker linkage. The frame weighed almost a kg more despite 12mm less travel. It wasn't an issue/criticism, more of an observation. They are also freshly built Moorey wheels, so I thought they might need a whisker more tension (I build by feel, not owning any proper wheel building tools, but have built many that have lasted years without issue. He's only ever killed factory built wheels).

Unrelated to the frame, I haven't managed to get the gears running quite perfect yet. Yesterday I put it down to the brand new chain that I'd left the factory shimano goop on, seeing it was going to be a wet ride Stripped it off yesterday. I was also unsure about the 9-46 e13 cassette. You need a chunk of B-screw to get to the 46 to clear on the mid cage derailleur, which leaves the small gears a little temperamental in shifting. I've known a few people with these, reporting mixed results. After some ongoing issues today, I'm putting it down to a new chain on a used cassettre, though it looks in great condition. New sunrace 10-46 should be here this week. If that runs fine, I'll leave that on there and try the e13 on my bike with a used chain.

Back to the Revel...

Took him off to Black Hill for a couple of hours of shuttles today to give it a proper thrash on trails with some big hits and tight high speed corners. My first question was about how it cornered. He always loved the way the Kona could corner so aggressively and I wasn't sure how this would compare, especially if he thought there was a bit of flex in the rear. Rail is also about 10mm longer in the chain stays. I'm relieved to say that he thinks it corners even better than the Kona. Its extremely planted, and just doesn't skip like the Kona would under hard rough corners. He's unsure if its the slight flex that helps, or the suspension design doing it's job. Either way, he was stoked.

He went straight into hitting a line he's eyed off for years, but never quite worked up to doing. It's a big hip drop off an optional high A line, with a (now) sketchy rutted landing straight into a 35 foot jump (has done the jump for years). He absolutely nailed it, and says that the Rail is a beautiful bike in the air, and he immediately felt right at home on the bike. Plenty of rocks and roots at Black hill, Felix reports it ate them up.

Next test will be a big pedalling day soon, either Harcourt or the You Yangs, to see what it feels like on a long day of climbing and descending. Expecting very positive results.
 
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Ultra Lord

Ultra Lord

Hurts. Requires Money. And is nerdy.
Flex+longer stays giving better balance between the wheels would make for better cornering I reckon. Bikes can definitely be too stiff. Lean a bike over and suspension stops absorbing bumps because the angle of the dangle doesn’t line up with the arc the wheel follows as it suspension compresses. Abit of give in the frame and wheels helps the bike track betterer.

Definitely a balancing act though. Too flexy a frame feel sooooo gross in berms. Nobody likes a wet noodle.

Glad he’s enjoying it. Black bikes are best bikes.
 
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Mr Crudley

Mr Crudley

Glock in your sock
Geee, @moorey He is getting almost as good as you :rolleyes:

You will have to ship him the B grade stuff in future and eye off heavier components.to keep him in check.
 
moorey

moorey

call me Mia
Now with Sunrace XD 10-46. Was fiddly to install without instructions. Totally different than a SRAM or e13. Bottom 5 cogs are loose, and needed to be kept aligned while tightening up the lock ring.
It’s about 100g heavier than the e13 and X1 (and 1/2 the price), but once installed, feels super solid. Felix just took it for a 20km spin and reports it shifted cleaner than either the X1 or e13. Granted it’s new, with new chain, but the others weren’t worn.
Will see how it goes for durability. Very happy with a minor weight penalty if it works well and has a good life span.
 
moorey

moorey

call me Mia
Mr Crudley said:
Mine has worked quite well and shifts super. Hope you get the same Sunrace lovin'
<Yoda>Happy, be it, you will.......hmmm.......</yoda>
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Cheers. As I say, small weight penalty means nothing to Felix if it’s reliable. He’s hard on gears, pushes hard in the top end range. Crisp shifting is essential. Waiting on a goat link to use as well, to ease off pressure on the B screw.
 
Mr Crudley

Mr Crudley

Glock in your sock
moorey said:
Cheers. As I say, small weight penalty means nothing to Felix if it’s reliable. He’s hard on gears, pushes hard in the top end range. Crisp shifting is essential. Waiting on a goat link to use as well, to ease off pressure on the B screw.
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if it lasts him then it should be fine for the rest of us nancies.

I thought you had a XT M8000 rear mech there which are pretty goat linky anyhow. You need more goat?
 
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