2023 Revel Ranger
Wheel Size: 29’’
Travel: 115 mm rear / 120 mm front
Geometry highlights:
- Sizes offered: S, M, L, XL
- Headtube angle: 67.5°
- Seat tube angle: 75.3° (effective)
- Reach: 473 mm (Large)
- Chainstay length: 436 mm (all sizes)
Material: Carbon fiber
Price:
- Complete bikes: $8,499 – $11,499
- Frame w/ RockShox SIDLuxe Ultimate Shock: $3,599
Intro
Revel’s shortest-travel, most XC-oriented full-suspension bike, the Ranger, has been in their lineup for a few years now, and today it’s getting updated to a new V2 version — but the changes from the prior generation are comparatively modest. So what has Revel changed, and where does that leave the Ranger in the modern bike landscape? Let’s take a look.
The Frame
Similarly to the Ibis Ripmo V2S that we just reviewed, Revel has given the Ranger a new rear triangle with a SRAM UDH derailleur hanger (for compatibility with the new SRAM Transmission) and in doing so has beefed up the rear end, and supposedly refined some of the pivot hardware and construction. But the front triangle carries over unchanged, and with it, the geometry stays the same as well.
The Ranger is offered in carbon fiber only, and it’s still a 115mm-travel bike (paired with a 120mm-travel fork), based around Canfield Balance Formula (CBF) suspension, like the rest of the Revel line. It’s a dedicated 29er, as one would expect for the category in 2023, and Revel refers to the Ranger as a Cross Country bike, rather than a short-travel Trail one or anything like that — they’re making it clear that they view the Ranger as an efficient, uphill-oriented bike first and foremost, but one that’s just a touch burlier and more composed on rougher descents than true XC race bikes.
Put differently, the Ranger is aimed at folks who want a bike for quickly covering big miles in rolling, varied terrain, and to that end, it’s got a lot of room to carry stuff on the frame. Sizes Medium and up have three water bottle / accessory mounts, with two on top of the downtube and one below; the Small frame has to lose one of the two above the top tube due to space constraints. The bottom bracket is still threaded, the cable routing is internal, and the brake mount takes a 160 mm rotor directly.
What has changed is the rear triangle. Revel says they’ve beefed it up to be 20% stiffer than the old version by way of a revised carbon layup — allegedly without any added weight over the prior version. And along the way they’ve added a SRAM UDH derailleur hanger, revised links and pivot hardware with bigger bearings in key areas (and that only take a single tool across the whole frame), a new chainstay protector (shared with the Rail 29), and a few other minor refinements. Revel doesn’t mention any suspension kinematics tweaks, and it seems fair to think of the updates as primarily being durability and ease-of-maintenance oriented, plus the addition of the UDH for T-Type derailleur compatibility.
Fit & Geometry
The Ranger’s front triangle carries over from the prior iteration that we reviewed a couple of years ago, and as such, the geometry remains unchanged as well. It’s offered in four sizes from Small through XL, all of which get a 67.5° headtube angle, 75.3° effective seat tube angle, 436 mm chainstays, and 38 mm of bottom bracket drop. Reach ranges from 430 mm through 498 mm with the Large coming in at 473 mm. The not-super-steep seat tube means that the effective top tubes (639 mm on the Large) are comparatively roomy relative to the reach figures but we’re definitely of the opinion that dialing those back a bit for more XC-oriented bikes makes sense in general, and despite the front triangle being 3 years old now, the Ranger still looks pretty up-to-date for its class.
The Builds
Revel has given the new Ranger a UDH derailleur hanger (and consequently, compatibility with the new SRAM Transmission) and they’re going all in on the T-Type groupsets — the Ranger is now available in two complete builds, with the X0 and XX versions of the Transmission. Both get a RockShox SID Ultimate fork, SIDLuxe Ultimate shock, Maxxis Dissector front / Rekon rear tires, and SRAM’s new Level 4-piston brakes.
That seems like a sensible set of builds for a bike that’s meant to be a touch more aggressive and descending-oriented than a true XC-race bike, with 4-piston brakes, a tire package that is still fast rolling but a little grippier than stuff that’s just supposed to roll well, and so on.
- Drivetrain: SRAM X0 T-Type
- Brakes: Shimano SRAM Level Silver w/ 180 mm front / 160 mm rear HS2 rotors
- Fork: RockShox SID Ultimate
- Shock: RockShox SIDLuxe Ultimate
- Wheels: Industry Nine Trail S rims w/ Industry Nine 1/1 hubs
- Dropper Post: Crank Brothers Highline 7 (S: 125 mm; M: 150 mm; L: 170 mm; XL: 200 mm)
- Drivetrain: SRAM XX T-Type
- Brakes: Shimano SRAM Level Ultimate 4-piston w/ 180 mm front / 160 mm rear HS2 rotors
- Fork: RockShox SID Ultimate
- Shock: RockShox SIDLuxe Ultimate
- Wheels: Revel RW27 rims w/ Industry Nine Hydra hubs
- Dropper Post: Crank Brothers Highline 7 (S: 125 mm; M: 150 mm; L: 170 mm; XL: 200 mm)
Even the least-expensive X0 version of the SRAM T-Type ecosystem isn’t cheap, and the builds on the new Ranger are both correspondingly nice and priced accordingly. Revel does have V1 Rangers available with some less expensive builds, at least for the time being. Check out their website for the latest.
Some Questions / Things We’re Curious About
(1) The Revel Ranger looks like a bike that’s meant to be light, efficient, and uphill-oriented first and foremost, but to maintain a little more composure on the way back down than true XC race bikes. So will that balance actually hold true on the trail?
(2) And how does the Ranger stack up against a bunch of the other bikes that we’d say similar things about, such as the Transition Spur, Canyon Lux Trail, and so on?
Bottom Line (For Now)
The new V2 Revel Ranger doesn’t look like a wild departure from the original, but on paper, it still looks like a compelling option for the everyday XC rider who maybe isn’t racing, or only doing so occasionally, but who still wants a light, efficient bike for moving quickly in rolling, varied terrain — while still being fun on the way back down, too. We’ve got a Ranger on the way for review, so stay tuned for a whole lot more to come very soon.