I am seriously considering one of these :
https://www.giant-bicycles.com/gb/revolt-x-advanced-pro-1
to replace my Topstone Lefty. It will be used for the more trail side of my gravel riding and I have a Spesh Diverge for the smoother stuff.
It can be had from various local shops for around £3300, which seems a great deal. I know about the warranty issues that have been discussed at length, though I have always had good support from my lbs when I had a couple of Defy’s over the years.
Anyone riding one and have a view on it ?
Love my Revolt with 'normal' forks. The only issue I have is the sloped top tube reduces the triangle space and my frame bag kills the second bottle cage (medium frame).
I haven't googled the geo, what does it offer over the lefty?
Thanks, the Lefty is a good bike but I find the standard 650 wheels heavy and slow, plus the fork is away for a service at the moment, so rather than upgrade wheels and poss drivetrain I’m planning on selling it on, with a freshly serviced fork.
The Revolt has more/ better suspension, dropper, fast light carbon wheels and electronic shifting, all which I quite fancy, plus a very low ratio for climbs which my body will appreciate!
Topstone, Diverge and Revolt, aren't they all purpose built gravel bikes? Why have 2 of the same?
Is there that much of a difference between them?
I have been riding the Topstone for a couple of years, it’s great on tame MTB trails, not so good on longer gravel trails or credit card touring, where the Diverge is spot on.
Diverge is significantly lighter and faster, though I do have the Expert with carbon frame, fork and wheels, and some comfort from the Futureshock. I reckon the Revolt will work well for the stuff I use the Topstone on, so yes, they are similar but different enough given the stuff I use them for.
Why not just put 700cs on the Topstone?
Unless you are looking to get another bike 🙂
^^^ it’s a 650b specific frame and fork, would cost a heap to upgrade wheels with lefty hub etc.
And the second point is valid too.. 😁
If you have the means why not.
I think Giant make excellent, great value bikes, even more so when heavily discounted...
I may be biased 🙂
I've just recently got the same bike, its my first gravel bike so not the best to provide reviews/comparisons but i'm enjoying it so far!
I had a couple of rides on a mates rigid gravel bike beforehand which I really enjoyed, really comfy on the road and gravel, way more enjoyable than a road bike, however coming from a full suss mtb once you got on the rougher stuff it nearly shook my teeth out.
The revolt x lets you blast across the rough stuff in a lot more comfort.
The suspension seatpost can be a bit annoying when on rough ground as it makes a bit of a clunk every time it moves but its comfy.
I couldn't find anything close for value for money, did look/test ride a diverge but at 50% off the expert was still similar money and no where near as good a spec as the revolt, also put off by the headshock, no where near enough damping for a 90kg rider i thought.
I've also had some recent warranty experience with Giant on another bike and couldn't fault them. I've not heard of any revolt x's suffering the seat post cracking issue either.
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Not ridden the Giant, but I just fitted some 40mm Rudys to my bike. They’re ace! Managed to find some new boxed ones on Marketplace for £300. Money well spent.
I briefly rode on something similar without the suspension forks and a lower spec (Revolt Advanced 1). Overall I liked it, but the position of the dropper would imho take a lot of getting used to. It’s halfway down the left drop. Not sure where you’re meant to put the lever on drop handlebars, but the position on the Revolt was a hindrance to taking positions whilst riding in the drops.
If it’s AXS and indexed to a control on your levers, then please ignore the above. That would be mwah! 👌🏻
Yeah forgot to mention the dropper remote position is pants, there are better alternatives available for the remote I believe.
An AXS one like you mention would be spot on, 30.9 seatpost opens up the options for an AXS dropper too.
Great feedback thanks
cheers all, will give it a go. I am looking at the option of running an AXS dropper however with the Rival eTap AXS 1×12 shifters, I think I would need to get a blip box as both levers are used for rear mech shifting – one up, one down. That may push the cost of changing the dropper a bit too high for me..
that kind of sucks, you would've thought they'd integrated the dropper control into the shifter somehow at least for the gravel-specific group sets! Does anyone know if the higher (Force/Red) shifters have extra buttons? A quick google suggest that with Rival you can actually only use [I]either[/I] the shift paddles built into the levers [I]or[/I] a blip-box, but not both, which is pretty rubbish if so! Except Force & Red as they have expansion ports for the blips? (unless they've changed this with the latest group sets?)I am looking at the option of running an AXS dropper however with the Rival eTap AXS 1×12 shifters, I think I would need to get a blip box as both levers are used for rear mech shifting – one up, one down.
^^^^ this from another thread :
honourablegeorgeFull Member
no, the reverb drops when both levers are clicked at same time.I have the exact setup above, no blips needed
^ yeah that makes more sense if you have a 1x AXS setup (as that action would be used to shift the front with 2x, I think?)
thanks stw 🙂
Have spoken to LBS and AXS reverb will on the bike when I get it at the weekend.
Sorted !
Which axs dropper are you looking at the 30.9 mtb or a gravel one?
I believe the gravel xplr ones give some suspension when dropped a fraction but are rigid at full extension which is appealing as the stock giant one is really comfy.
Only available in 27.2 though but i think the bike might be supplied with shims in the part box.
^^^ have gone with the 30.9 MTB one, not just as it's heavily discounted at the moment (30% off at Winstanleys for example, though I'm buying from LBS). I do like the idea of a bit of suspension in it, as there is good flex in my Spesh post on the Diverge, but I reckon the MTB one will be pretty good and out of the way on more techy stuff anyway.
I had a sit on the Giant the other day and liked the feel, but even on a pavement ride outside the shop I could hear it clunking at the top, and I could see how the lever position could be problematic when riding on the drops.
@mark_rich - what shims came with the standard dropper ? I am going to buy a fixed one for bike packing, and will either go for the round profile Giant carbon one, which can be had for £30 at the mo, or a D Fuse one, which will be more comfy, but more spendy. The blurb indicates the bike comes with shims to allow using a D Fuse profile post in the round seat tube...
I have the D Fuse post, the metal shim is simply a loose profiled lump of metal which takes up the difference between the seat post D shaped cross section and the circular seat tube. It makes adjusting seat height an acquired skill (for me at least) as it is just held in place by friction, but the post has a noticeable flex and definitely helps smooth the ride.
I would expect the round cross section dropper to not require a shim.
@mark_rich– what shims came with the standard dropper ? I am going to buy a fixed one for bike packing, and will either go for the round profile Giant carbon one, which can be had for £30 at the mo, or a D Fuse one, which will be more comfy, but more spendy. The blurb indicates the bike comes with shims to allow using a D Fuse profile post in the round seat tube…
Sorry for slow reply, not been on for a couple of days, just had a look, its comes with what i think is a 27.2mm shim, doesn't actually say on it but measures about that.
Also comes with a strange bracket, looks a bit like a seat clamp but looks angled to sit on top of the clamp in the frame and with 2 threaded holes in the sides, looks like its to fit mudguards or a rack, although not entirely sure !
Thanks, picked bike up today and spent the evening setting it up. I ordered a spare round profile carbon Giant post at £30 for bikepacking duties. AXS Reverb works a treat with the Rival shifters. I see what the reviews mean about the noisy freehub !
I wanted to move the shifters up a bit and there wasn’t much leeway in the Giant bar tape, so I removed that and got the levers setup where I want them.
A trip to bike shop in the morning for some Lizard Skins DSP bar tape, I was sure I had some in my spares drawers but not !
Thanks for all the advice and suggestions. Bike now sorted and ready to roll.
Changes from standard spec :
ISM saddle as per all my bikes
Reverb AXS 100mm dropper
Supacaz bar tape (not my first choice, usually use Lizard Skins DSP, but none in local shops. Had to remove the Giant stuff, which was all stuck on, to move levers up a bit).
Oh, my Cannondale Topstone Lefty is in the Classifieds for £1250 🙂
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Looks good - be interested to see your thoughts after a couple of rides.
edit - loss of points for doorstop position on skirting.
^^^Yeah, me too.
Have fun. Looks pretty swish.
Thanks, laid up post surgery at the moment, but hoping to try it out in a week or 2.
Looks good, I'm going to try dropping in a 30.9 Thompson post I have knocking about to see how i find it without the suspension post, then might consider a reverb AXS too.
I'm looking forward to banging some fast skinwall tyres on when it dries up a bit, I think gravel bikes look way better with skinwalls 😃
^^^ my other gravel bike agrees with you 😁
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