What’s all the fuss about Gravel Riding? Giant Revolt Advance Pro 0
Ride your bike anytime, anywhere! Why this is our bike of the month
In this blog we review the Giant Revolt Advance 0 to see if we can explain what all the fuss is about. Gravel riding has been a rare growth sector in the cycle trade over the last 4 years. According to the Bicycle Association, sales have increased by 59% since 2019; Firstly, the Revolt is the most popular bike amongst our staff. With the nights drawing in,the weather heading south and the roads getting worse, there is probably no better way of ensuring you can continue to ride through the winter than to own a Gravel Bike.
Great for…
Everything! The first thing that strikes you about this carbon framed bike is just how comfortable it is to ride.The Revolt has excellent handling; equally at home on road,bridleways or forest trails.The acceleration, even with the standard Cadex 40 mm Tubeless tyres, is impressive and matches many a road bike. With the Giant proprietary D-fuse seatpost adding to the bike’s compliance, it handles almost as well as a road bike whilst on the hard stuff and switches to the tracks with no effort. The Revolt could even be used as a perfectly proficient cyclo-cross bike. Fitting a dropper post allows you to tackle more technical trails..
The Heart of the matter
The carbon frame, with its low seat stays and slightly curved top tube, may not be easy on the eye for everybody, at least initially. But Giant, having worked with Mike Burrows extensively, when they came up with the now almost ubiquitous compact frame, have ensured that these aesthetics translate into an eminently rideable all-round bike;The holy grail of speed, responsiveness, comfort and handling found in the one frameset package. The Revolt comes complete with a myriad of boss fittings, meaning it can easily be fitted-out as an effortless bike-packing mule.
Laying down the power
Equipped with the GRX 800 Shimano mechanical groupset, (the beefed up, all-rounder equivalent of Shimano’s stalwart Ultegra Groupset)the Revolt Adv 0 has, smooth gear changing and assured disc breaking; This leads to a fit and forget mentality, enabling you to simply concenrate on enjoying the ride. The GRX RX-810 31/48 double chainset, paired with the HG800 11×34 cassette, gives you a gear ratio of lower than 1:1, meaning there’s plenty of gear range for those steep muddy kickers and fast tarmac descents.
Keep ‘em rolling
The Giant CXR wheelset is a good match for the frame and concept of the bike as a whole; that is, trying to make the perfect all-round bike. They ride like a quality road wheel and handle the off-road opportunities well but without being the super strong gravel wheel you might want, if tackling more adventurous off-road terrain. The wheels come set-up as tubeless, which adds to the fit and forget ethos, leading to a very engaging ride experience.
Geek Garage
The flip chip. Giant have cleverly included the ability for the rider to change the wheelbase and therefore handling of the bike. Located at the rear drop out, an insert can be removed and ‘flipped’ to change the wheelbase length. The short position is used if your focus is mainly road or hard pack trails and the longer one is for going off-road more often. This also changes the tyre clearance from a generous 45mm in the short configuration, to a truly remarkable 53 mm in the long position.
Female Friendly Facts
Liv make a dedicated female gravel bike; the Devote . This bike has much in common with the Revolt, but has female specific geometry,slightly smaller chainrings and a wider spaced cassette, making it an excellent choice for women or smaller riders.
Great with…
If you want to set up your revolt as a more road friendly ride, try an upgrade of the tyres and the addition of mudguards.
If you want to use your Revolt to escape the rat-race and go bike-packing. then consider these luggage options.
Great with…
We have two options here, the money no object choice;
And for those on a tighter budget
Better if…
The saddle were slightly more comfortable, such as Selle San Marco Shortfit,or hardier wheels, for the more challenging off-road rides, such as the Zipp 303s
Verdict
With Giant reducing the price to £2949, the Revolt Adv 0 represents outstanding value for money and is guaranteed to put a smile on your face whether you’re rolling on the roads or tearing up the trails.
