Product Review Revel Rail

Tubbsy

Packin' a small bird
Staff member
372773


Once upon a time the mountain bike landscape consisted largely of road-bike derived deathtraps piloted by the brave and uninsurable cutting their own lines in a fledgling sport. Those lines filled maps, the bikes spawned categories within categories and today’s thrillseeker is as confident hunched over pages of geo charts as a 120mm stem.

XC, DH, trail, downcountry, upduro: categorising and analysing what kind of rider you are, and what bike you should own has become a hobby all its own. But do we really need to define our bikes and our riding in these terms?

And so, the Revel Rail. Looking at the all important spreadsheet the travel suggests a bike firmly in the Enduro category. Yet intriguingly, that E word is nowhere to be mentioned on Revel’s website.


372774



Who are Revel?

Revel Bikes are based in improbably-named Carbondale in the US. They’re a relatively new player, but while their bikes have only been on the market a couple of years there’s a team of industry veterans behind the scenes. Notably their engineers and designers hail from companies like Enve, Rockshox and Trust Performance, and so it’s no surprise that the suspension was a major focus.

Starting a bike company from scratch inevitably means either going way out there with a design that doesn’t infringe on any patents, or licensing one already on the market. Revel chose to license, but rather than going with one of the more familiar designs and risking their bikes jostling in a crowded marketplace of clones they went with a less well known option, CBF.


372775



CBF

CBF stands for Canfield Balance Formula, designed by the Canfield Brothers for their big-hitting gravity bikes. But as we’ll find out, balance is the key word here and the design is capable on any terrain. CBF focuses on the centre of curvature remaining at top of the chainring throughout the entire motion of travel, which means the chain remains perpendicular to the axle path at all times. The result is the suspension remaining active whether you’re putting power down, braking through rough terrain or JRA.

You can geek out on all the finer detail here, but two aspects of CBF are of particular interest: First, a slightly rearward axle path more commonly seen on high pivot designs is great for taking the sting out of square-edge hits. Second, CBF’s pedalling efficiency isn’t affected by your chosen sag, which takes some of the guess work out of suspension setup, but also allows you to tailor how firm or soft the bike feels for a given trail without getting lost in complex tuning puzzles.


372776



ORBO

Offroad Bikes Online are the local distributor for Revel, represented on Rotorburn by Sam and Al (@russthedog and @Nerf Herder). Although primarily an online business, they offer something many bricks and mortar outlets don’t, and that’s a rental & demo fleet. Rather than a quick and uninformative circuit of a car park, ORBO will courier a bike to your door and give you a full fortnight to put it through its paces on your home trails. If you choose to buy a Revel after sampling the demo they’ll deduct the cost of the rental.

I’m not aware of any other brand of high-end mountain bikes in Australia offering this service and when you’re dropping a decent wedge on a bike it’s relatively cheap insurance against buyers remorse, as well as a great opportunity to try something different. The bike arrives just about fully assembled; all you need to do is attach the handlebars, front wheel and a set of your preferred pedals and you’re ready to hit the trail.


372779



The Rail

The frame sports 165mm travel paired with a 170mm fork, 65 degree head angle and a 75 degree seat angle. Reach numbers are just slightly on the shorter side of modern, and chain stays are 430mm across all the sizes. It’s an interesting set of numbers with travel suggesting the enduro category but geometry leaning more toward a modern trail bike.

But, as we pondered earlier, why define your bike by marketing labels?


372781


372788



First Impressions

Unboxed and assembled, first impressions are promising. Paint and detailing on the frame are as good as any of the established players, and there’s no mistaking the Rail for anything else in its distinctive ‘Mint Choc Chip’ livery. The colour drew a lot of comment, all of it positive for a shade I’d expected to be somewhat divisive. One little niggle to bother the cockpit-OCD among us is the internal routing not accommodating our moto setup, although it might be possible to cross over under the BB where the brake and shifter lines are briefly exposed.

My demo was built up with a solid component mix: Rockshox Lyric out front, Guide brakes alloy i9 wheelset wearing DHF and DHR, X0 drivetrain with Descendant cranks, alloy Enve bars and a Crank Bros dropper post. I won’t comment too much on individual parts since this is Rotorburn and most on here are pretty confident and opinionated when it comes to speccing their components. In any case, everything worked flawlessly and while the spec favoured durability over weight savings I was impressed with how light the bike felt given its travel and ambitions.

ORBO have three build kits on offer, but with Covid-affected component shortages, the spec you see here is not one of standard builds. ORBO will work with you to build to your taste and budget which is another plus, getting your bike configured the way you like from the start.


372782



Riding the Rail

Covid lockdowns around Christmas and New Year scotched plans to visit Dungog and Thredbo with the Rail, so test rides were on familiar territory in Canberra and NSW South coast.

Climbing

On steady singletrack climbs the Rail settles into a relaxed rhythm staying high in its travel without sapping energy from your pedal stroke like some long-travel rigs. Despite being a big bike, with a deliberate hand it’ll point around tighter switchbacks neatly enough. On steeper fire roads I found the front end a little light; with relatively long legs the actual seat angle is a tad on the slack side. However traction from the CBF suspension is superb, which at times combined neatly with that front end on slower technical pitches. A little burst of acceleration would naturally lift the nose over small rooty and rocky obstacles with the rear wheel following neatly without snagging. Nice. It’s not the sort of snappy accelerative climbing feel that you get with something like DW-Link, but I found it more confidence-inspiring than Weagle’s work when picking trickier lines. Still, with 165mm of travel, this bike is not about the race to the top.

372783


On the Trail

Cranking undulating singletrack at pace the bike’s character changes markedly. From relaxed climber the Rail transforms into an agile and accurate instrument, weaving around trees and boulders with real precision. I think the 75 degree head angle is really well judged; where some competitors have gone slacker to sell their descending chops, Revel have been clever here and are catering just a smidge toward the middle ground that the bulk of our local trails cover. Given that Aussie trail networks don’t feature as many sustained steep descents as the Northern Hemisphere this is a big plus for the Rail. Shortish chain stays play their part, and one of the Rail’s neat party tricks is lifting the nose into a little manual approaching rocks and roots and letting the CBF’s slightly rearward travel arc absorb the impact without slowing progress. Although that rearward suspension movement isn’t huge, and like many mtb ‘innovations’ is subtle rather than game changing, nevertheless it’s noticeable and I found myself seeking out little optional trail features that I might otherwise have skirted around to maintain momentum.

372784


Descending

Hailing from the peaks of Colorado it’s no surprise that this thing is not shy about the descents. The combination of Lyric up front and SuperDeluxe in the rear are perfectly matched to the CBF design - having an ex-lead engineer from Rockshox on board obviously pays dividends with the tune. The Rail lives up to its name leaning into built up corners, and feels nicely composed even through rutted out berms. Slow-speed tech requires a little more care than you’d take on a slacker 29er - 27.5 wheels reward alert and deliberate riding - so keep the pace up and let the Lyric soak up the hits.

Having adjusted nothing but sag before heading out on my first ride, with the brakes off carving down the rocky single track at Stromlo the Rail managed to combine plush small bump compliance with a really poppy feel off obstacles. That reads like such a bike test cliché, and here’s another: the harder you push and the more you throw the bike around the better it gets. That compliance in the damping really inspires confidence to maintain pace across rough ground, but there’s no doughy sensation blunting takeoff.

Jumping is not my strongest game, but the Revel was eager to grab handfuls of air off all sorts of trail features with little encouragement. After the first couple of rides I felt emboldened to go bigger in places than I have on other bikes and even with my average technique take off and landings had a neat balanced feel about them, making runouts from drop offs feel more generous and setting the bike up comfortably for what came next. For riders with the brass to hit the big lines, I can imagine the Rail being an excellent partner.

372787


372785



372786


Conclusions

And so to the question of which category this bike sits in. I think Revel have pulled a neat trick here and created an unexpectedly versatile bike. After a couple of rides on the Rail “could this be my only bike” was a recurring thought - and not one I’d expected going in. For some riders, I reckon it just about could.

Sure climbing was a more sedate than KOM-chasing affair - I think steepening the seat angle a degree or so would make a difference for me - but for others the fit may well be spot on. The neat and composed handling and brilliant suspension platform means that with a light build you’d not feel held back on mellower trails, and when the descending starts it’s an absolute ripper.

For those who ride mainly XC trails plus the odd dark blue, a short travel bike or hardtail is generally plenty. But if you climb for the downs, do a few shuttles and like to travel to ‘destination’ trails whenever you can, the Rail ticks a lot of boxes. It’s often said that most riders are over-biked for their needs, but the flexibility here is genuinely impressive. The sag-independent suspension performance of CBF is no doubt a big part of this, letting you tailor the firmness for any given trail with minor air pressure adjustments without compromising everything else.

Aggressive riders who love to throw a bike around and hit every jump and drop will really take to the Rail - but even if you’re not that kind of rider it might just make you think you could be. The faster you go, the better it gets. Confidence inspiring, flexible and with the most impressive suspension platform I’ve tried; the Rail is an absolute cracker.
 

moorey

call me Mia
Great review. Excellent do all bike for the amount of travel, and excels on technical, rocky climbs. Felix is only one race in, but says it’s more than capable as a full blown race bike as well. Jealous of you both now.
 

moorey

call me Mia
I had to give it back sadly.

But yeah, traction is really good for the techy stuff, just keeps on trucking.
No you. Felix and a random hobo that just walked by. His bindle was to die for.

Back to the bike, I’d love a 140ish version in 27.5. I’d be very tempted to clear out a few bikes from the quiver to try one out if it was an option.
 

Tubbsy

Packin' a small bird
Staff member
Back to the bike, I’d love a 140ish version in 27.5. I’d be very tempted to clear out a few bikes from the quiver to try one out if it was an option.
Funnily enough I thought that too. Keep all that playfulness in a slightly lighter package. I get the feeling some tweaks to the linkage and different shock might well make that possible.

Kind of like a Santa Cruz 5010 or Ibis Mojo rival.

Revel Rapscallion?
 

moorey

call me Mia
I’m sure you’re right, I just rarely need the bigger travel these days. Felix says it pedals and climbs better than the previous Process 153, I just keep finding myself opting for a shorter travel bike these days, unless a really gnarly race track.
 

Tubbsy

Packin' a small bird
Staff member
Ranger is what, 110? Just too little for me to consider as a daily rider.
Yeah the Ranger's pretty short travel, but I'm on the lookout for something quick and poppy for the fast and relatively groomed stuff like we rode at The Mont - not sure if the Ranger is like that or not, but I can see a short-travel bike in my future. Ranger, Ripley, Spur or a hardtail like the Paradox. Might consider beefing up the Highlander a bit more if I did that.
 

madstace

Likes Dirt
Great review, was happy to read the comparison with DW Link, sounds like you've got experience with both and makes me think I've chosen to go the right way for how I like bikes to ride.

While I'm not getting the Rail (it was close, the Orange is gorgeous!), I will say I did reach out to the guys at ORBO and they came across as possibly the most helpful and personable guys in this space, would have had no issues giving them my hard earned. The demo program is an awesome idea too, shame I can't see other companies going this way.
 

Tubbsy

Packin' a small bird
Staff member
Great review, was happy to read the comparison with DW Link, sounds like you've got experience with both and makes me think I've chosen to go the right way for how I like bikes to ride.
Yep, ran a Ripley for several years. DW-Link is great too, with performance slightly tilted in favour of rapid climbing, where the CBF slightly tilted in favour of descending. Both are fantastic platforms, on balance (geddit) I think downhill performance is the clincher for me.
 
Last edited:

komdotkom

Likes Bikes and Dirt
I can see a short-travel bike in my future. Ranger, Ripley, Spur or a hardtail like the Paradox. Might consider beefing up the Highlander a bit more if I did that.
Let me know if you add anything else to this list. I'd really like a Spur but they are just not available at the moment. I love the idea of the Ranger but I was so disappointed with the Rascal that I'm not sure I want to drop the $600 to demo one.
 
Top