Revelation DebonAir an upgrade on a Crest?

Bit clueless and out of touch with fork specs – Mrsbunk is wanting to upgrade the Giant Crest 34 RCL fitted to her 27.5 bike and Merlin have a Revelation DebonAir that looks to fit the bill and isn’t too spendy. Is it a good upgrade? Anything else out there that would be better?

I cant comment on comparrison with the Crest fork, but the Revelation is a great fork for smooth flowy trails. It plenty stiff (basically a Pike chasis) but the damper won’t handle rough repeated hits very well. It will get overwhelmed and wont handle a lot of oil flow for fast hits. That’s where the more advanced Pike damper is better than the Revelation. But if you’re not riding that sort of terrain, the Revelation is great.

Yeah, that ^

It’s a good fork but the damper isn’t great for light riders or fast, rough stuff.

You can stick a different damper in there but then you’re spending the same sort of money that you would if you bought a Pike.

I guess it depends on how and what your good lady rides.

You could go for the RC and upgrade it if/ when you feel you need to?

I’d probably look for a second hand Pike or a higher spec Rev (RC2/RCT3) for the same sort of money personally.

Alternatives I guess would be something like a Fox 34 or Marzocchi Z2 which are basically the same thing.

Not sure whether they still have them, but Bikeinn had Charger 2.1 dampers for £100 to upgrade the 27.5 Revelations with.

I upgraded my Revs with it, and they’re much improved now.

Tbh they were more than ok before, but the Charger damper is definitely a ln improvement.

*Edit…

Here you go, will fit any Boost 27.5 Revelation or Pike

https://www.tradeinn.com/bikeinn/en/rockshox-charger2.1-rct3-crown-damper-upgrade-kit-for-pike-27.5-boost-set/137383810/p?utm_source=google_products&utm_medium=merchant&id_producte=9829550&country=uk&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAiAxKy5BhBbEiwAYiW–2nyuOX9PF33xHkfEaFpJqwNbjU5on39LF9MC7TKDZ9sOHn9vGj16RoCEVsQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

Agree with the above. I had a 140mm Revelation and could never really get it that smooth. I would look on ebay as there are lots of lightly used 140mm Pike forks for around £300-£350, also plenty of Fox 34.

Thanks, yes, should have said performance over fast hits is more important than dealing with big drops and jumps. Will look out for Pikes. Presume I want Pike Select+ or Ultimate rather than Select? (I bloody hate fork naming conventions).

Also, is it possible to reduce a 140mm Pike to 130mm?

is it possible to reduce a 140mm Pike to 130mm?

Yes, you need 130mm air shaft. Depending on the year of the fork, a 130mm C1 airshaft is readily available.
However, if it were me I’d look for a 140mm B1 airshaft. While it sucks down into the travel a little (about 6mm resulting in 134mm travel, others will tell you this), it also offers a more supple ride in the initial stroke while offering good support in the mid stroke.

I also have a revelation and I’m thinking of upgrading. How much better are the charger dampeners over a debonair? The aftermarket 2.1 dampener is affordable, the 3.1 less so, are they significantly better performing? Do you get all the performance and configuration as you would with a Pike.

Alternatives I guess would be something like a Fox 34 or Marzocchi Z2 which are basically the same thing.

I’d go careful there, there are some shared parts, but the Z2 has some unique cost cutting parts (fixed bushings for example).

How much better are the charger dampeners over a debonair?

Debonair is the airspring, Charger is a damper.

Alpkits outlet on eBay has them for £199.

I bought the 29er version and I’m happy with them. I had planned to upgrade them through time to coil, but the smashpot is now north of £400! Might see if I can get a charger damper, but they do work just fine tbh.

Might be worth checking steerer spec with it being a giant, they sometimes do odd things…..

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/226415641741?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=5Iez2I_TTmO&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=6Fcb5-HYRwK&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

Fast Up! Damper is another option. Not quite as fancy as the Charger 2.1 or 3.1. It’s only semi sealed rather than a bladder but so, so much better than MoCo

@doubleeagle – I fitted the 2.1 Rct3 charger damper.

I liked my Revs as they were, and always found the Moco damper was fine on big hits. But they really struggled over chattery, rooty stuff, and my wrists would get tired.

The Charger makes them a lot more supple over the smaller stuff, and they still feel great on the bigger stuff.

Upgrading was very easy – not much more involved than a lower leg service.

I replaced the seals and wipers at the same time too (though they looked ok).

Adjustability and performance-wise they’re basically a Pike now ?

Eyup. I’ve got a set of Revs on my bike. They’re okay but like mentioned above not great on small chattery stuff. Bird have got a bit of a sale on ATM, don’t know if there’s anything there of use…

https://www.bird.bike/product-category/outlet/fork/

I’ve said this on here a few times but the Novyparts Splug damper for a Revelation is excellent. €160 now so not cheap but might work out cheaper than a Charger and is excellent. And I was able to fit it myself which is saying something given how bad I am at home mechanic jobs.