Already a popular bike since its inception in 2020, Revel ups the game for the Ranger with some upgrades to make an already kickass bike even, well, kickass-ier. Enhancements like more clearance for tires and chainrings, increased lateral stiffness in the rear triangle, and a one-tool system for ease of maintenance and longer bearing life all come to life from a redesigned rear end on the new Ranger.
When Revel released the original Ranger, it was a cross-country bike built around the Canfield Balance Formula, or CFB, which keeps the chain line inline and corresponding drive forces around the top of the chainring all throughout the range of travel on the back end. This means full pedaling efficiency, no matter what.
The star of the show is the new rear end. Similar to the update on the Rail29, the Ranger, uses a collet design with larger 15mm bearings and a lower rearward pivot. The redesign increases stiffness by 20 percent, which you’ll notice when you are pedaling hard on the climbs, while also improving clearance and making maintenance easier. As part of the redesign, Revel updated the links for the new hardware and also incorporated SRAM’s new UDH derailleur hanger. They also tweaked the carbon layup on the rear triangle, helping to increase stiffness while not adding any weight.
Some of the other smaller changes come with titanium shock mounting hardware, a custom tune from RockShox on the SID Luxe Ultimate rear shock, and additional frame protection from a now standard debris guard and robust chainstay protection from the Rail29, helping to quiet the ride.
A few other details you’ll find include a threaded bottom bracket, integrated headset, fully guided internal routing, and multiple bottle and accessory mount options (2 on a small, 3 on all other sizes). Color options include Tang (orange with gray graphics) and De La Coal (very dark gray with cooper graphics).
The new Raner is available with SRAM XO or XX Eagle drivetrains. Besides the drivetrains and $8,499 and $11,499 prices respectively, the main differences are the wheelset (Industry Nine Trail S vs. Revel RW27 with Industry Nine Hydra hubs), dropper (Crank Bros Highline 7 vs. Rockshox Reverb AXS), and brakes (SRAM Level Silver vs. Ultimate). The Ranger is also available in a frame-only option for $3,599, which gets you the frame, rear shock, headset, and seat post collar.
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