I spent the past weekend at a MTB demo event in Moab. The conditions were great and I spent most of the time riding bikes that were way outside my price range, but I think I’ve finally decided.
The brand is barely two weeks old, but they’re based out of Carbondale, CO and run by the same people that founded and operate Why Cycles.
This is the Revel Rascal 29. Of everything I rode this past weekend, this one felt by far the best. It just fit well, handled well, rode well, and seemed to be always in the right place at the right time. It didn’t have the most or the least travel and didn’t seem to out-spec or under-spec any other bike present, but it just felt so perfect.
This is highly subjective, and I’m of the opinion that a proper fitting bike is far more important than your brand of fork, drivetrain spec level, etc. It is, after all, an extension of yourself and like a good shoe or backpack, needs to fit you well.
I spent quite a bit of time talking to one of the co-founders about suspension geometry and his reasoning for designing it in such a way. They follow the Canfield suspension design, with a center of curvature near the top of the chainring. This means that there is negligible pull on the chain at full droop vs full sag- the driveline can remain almost static throughout the suspension travel.
They’re somewhat backordered on frames at the moment and awaiting shipment, but I’m hoping to have one in the next month or so.
https://www.revelbikes.com/ I’m not affiliated in any way, nor do I get anything from these guys, but I thought I’d share and keep you updated if you’re following the MTB search.