Bike Review: Revel Ranger

Blast From The Past - Looking At My Revel Ranger V1 From A Couple Bikes Ago And Why I would Get the V2 Ranger Now

Looking back at some of the bikes I've had, one that I seem to think about the most is my Revel Ranger. This bike was pretty special. On paper the geo numbers actually look like this would be a fairly tame and reserved bike suited for flatter rolling terrain when you just want to go out and hammer out a whole lot of miles. But this bike was much more than that! It was an absolute short travel party bike that had traction for days going up or down and a much deeper feel than it's 115mm rear travel. If you were not hitting the steepest lines with the biggest chunk or drops this was the perfect bike for pretty much everything else! The one thing I didn't love about it was the flexy rear end. Under pedaling power the rear triangle would move back and forth quite a bit. The new V2 Revel Ranger has been stiffened up a good bit and you can get one for 40% off at Jenson USA right now.

Green mountain bike on grassy hill, with snow-capped mountains and a lake in the background. Clear blue sky, rugged terrain.

Climbing

Climbing the Ranger was nothing less than a heavenly experience. The way the CBF suspension platform works is absolutely magical. It's kinda like DW link but dare I say better? Never a sign or hint of bob whether seated or standing but the rear end stayed glued to the ground when the climbs got technical with rocks and roots and square edged ledges. The bike has such and effortless feel and seemed to give back a percentage of your energy that was put in. It was almost as if it had a small motor hidden inside the frame giving a bit of assist. The Ranger paired with carbon wheels (Mine had the Revel Fusion Fiber Wheels) was an experience that I would rate 10/10 bitchin! The only downside was the rear end flex I mentioned above which has been addressed in the V2 Ranger. The seat angle at 75.3° was spot on. On flat terrain I never felt too far forward or got numb hands and on steeper stuff I found it steep enough that I never felt the front end wanting to lift much at all. I should mention acceleration here as well. When you wanted to pick up a bit of speed and you stood up and gave some effort the Ranger would really launch with sort of a sling shot effect.

Mountain bike with orange grips on a dirt trail in a rugged, dry landscape with sparse bushes and hills. Text on forks reads "FOX." — My Ranger after putting a Fox 130mm 34 and proper Magura MT7 brakes. This bike would go hard with the new Fox 36 SL!

Descending

Going down was just a good as going up. The Ranger has a very smooth and fast feel. You rarely felt any chatter or small bumps if ever at all. It is the most damp, buttery smooth bikes I have ever been on. On fast flowy trails the Ranger was crazy fast and crazy smooth! This bike can pick up speed extremely easy and is always finding more speed through pumping and pushing through corners and on the backsides of transition. It only has 115mm of travel available but it honestly feels like 130mm. It has a very bottomless feel and I never felt it reach the end of the travel at least not in a harsh abrupt way. But sometimes bikes that feel super bottomless also tend to have less pop. Not the Ranger. This bike has a good amount of mid-stroke support and you can literally pop off of any sized bump at any time. It feels super light and playful and very sporty. But it also keeps planted through chattery bumpy stuff too. At least the smaller bumps. The head angle on paper is 67.5 which is pretty conservative these days but I never felt like I was going over the bars even on a bit steeper terrain. What I did feel was insane amounts of response to steering inputs or leaning the bike through corners. Sizing feels spot on. I am a bit over 6'3" and rode an XL with a reach of 498 which felt comfortable seated or standing.

Mountain bike on a forest trail, leaning against a tree. Sunlight filters through tall trees, highlighting the green and black bike frame.

Things I Changed

I rode the bike as it came for a while with a Fox 34 stepcast 120mm fork and Sram G2 brakes. I felt like at 250 lbs the stepcast fork was not quite enough and I felt like the front end was a bit low and the bike felt unbalanced. The brakes were underpowered for me as well. I ended up putting a 130mm Fox 34 which allowed me to put a 200mm rotor up front with some Magura MT7 brakes. This set up was just what I needed and I had the braking power I needed and the bike felt much more balanced and the front end had a lot more smashing ability. The bike felt way better hitting drops and riding steeper terrain without changing how the bike climbed negatively much at all. If I were to get the V2 Ranger I would put Fox's new 36 SL up front.

Mountain bike on rocky trail, green frame. Surrounded by lush greenery with mountains under a clear blue sky in the background.

Geometry

Bike size chart for S, M, L, XL. Lists dimensions like seat tube, wheelbase, stack, for various rider heights in inches and cm. Black background.

Would I buy the Revel Ranger V2

If I had budget for a second bike I would put the Revel Ranger V2 at the top of my list. The bike I am currently riding is the Ibis Ripmo V3 which handles the biggest and steepest terrain I would ever ride. The Ranger would be the perfect shorter travel companion to my Ripmo I can imagine. Efficient enough to do some long soul endurance rides but fun enough to plaster a smile on your face for all the after work rides with friends for the not as gnarly terrain.