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My Baby: My custom Giant Revel. Love/Hate? Share your projects!

21K views 45 replies 23 participants last post by  Mr Cup 
#1 · (Edited)
I bought a Giant Revel 2 off a friend for 150 bucks (he bought it for 300 and immediately decided that he wanted a FS). I was looking for a HT 26er project, and here it was. As you all know, the stock components were terrible and the bike was quite a load (I'm not sure of the stock weight, but it had to be 35lbs). So I spent about 4 months compiling new parts via cheap internet sales (I was determined to do this on a budget...I'm a grad student), and here is my final product: Every single component has been upgraded other than the headset.

I've got the weight down to 23 pounds, which has made riding it lot of fun. Also, this is my first time going 1x9 and I LOVE it!
 

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#29 ·
Hey Neil, because this is such an expensive upgrade, I did a ton of research before buying the fork. After a ton of people on this forum recommended the it, I went with the Manitou Minute Expert, 100mm. It has made a HUGE difference, and everyone was right: this feels like a much more expensive fork than it actually is.

As for the questions about how much my upgrades have cost, the rims cost me $150, $279 for the fork, and $70 for the cranks, hydro disc brakes for 70. Handle bars were 40, stem was 20. Tires I most likely would have upgraded on any bike. All of this brings me in at just barely under $1000 with the cost of the original bike (I got it for $320). I bought most of the parts from Jenson USA and Ebay.
 
#31 ·
As a general guideline, you don't want to exceed 20mm more than the manufacturer's spec'd travel. If you ask the manufacturer they will probably say that if you exceed the travel at all then you void the warranty, so that might be worth considering if a warranty applies to your frame.
 
#32 ·
That's the thing the revel 1 comes with an sr suntour 80mm fork (rubbish) and the revel 1 ltd has a 100mm rock shock, exactly same frame just better components. I'm thinking just get an awesome 100mm fork or could I get a 120mm fork???
This stuff confuses me :(
 
#33 ·
That probably means that the Revel is compatible with 100mm forks. A longer travel fork will slack out the bike making it handle slower but more comfortable through bumps and steep terrain. If you make too large a difference in travel, you can end up with "flop" where the wheel tends not to want to come back to center once it is turned. It's not so fun at slow speeds.

My old frame was designed for 65mm forks and with an 80mm fork it does have a small tenancy to flop. It was impossible to ride with the fork in the 100mm configuration; kind of funny, but I would never take it out on the trail like that. Ideally you would find a fork with travel adjust that would allow you to ride from 80mm to 120mm and see what each one feels like.

Practically speaking I would just buy a fork with a decent quality damper system and 100mm of travel. The difference in quality of travel is much more important than the difference in increased travel on a bike not built for it.
 
#40 ·
Excuse me for butting in, I just have to field this question to more experienced mtbikers. I upgraded the fork Giant Revel 0 from the XCM fork to that of Epicon. The new fork's travel however is at 120mm. Can the geometry of my bike handle the 20mm increase in fork travel? Will its headtube not suddenly snap after some time of heavy use? Thanks in advance!
 
#42 ·
Hey I'd like to jump in with my revel 1, I had asked previously about changing the fork. Well the bike is totally different now, only standard parts are the breaks which are totally rubbish and will be changed soon and of course the frame.

What I've upgraded;
fork:100mm rockshox recon single air.
Wheels: mavic cross rides.
Front/rear mech: shimano deore.
Cassette: smimano 9 speed deore.
Shifters: shimano 3x9 deore.
Tyres: maxxis minions.
Seat post: rockshox reverb.
Stem: race face 50mm.
Handle bars: 680mm Ritchie carbon.
Grips: lizard skins "peaty"

That's it I think pretty much a different bike from when I got it. It's been my dpi it all bike from hard trail riding, to xc racing, to enduro racing, I can't complain with the bike other than coming with TOTALLY rubbish components as standard. Only problem I've got now is jumping, I'm jumping bigger and further and the bike is struggling a bit now I'm sure it won't be long till it breaks.

Neil.
 
#46 ·
I was wondering this also. I've got a revel frame sitting around and was thinking about doing a fun build with it. I don't have any 650b wheels to try but from looking at it with a 29er wheel in the rear, which didn't fit with a 2.1 tire but I was able to install the wheel, I think a 650b might fit. Tempting....
 
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