REVEL RASCAL V2 LONG TERM REVIEW – A VISION OF TRAIL BIKE VERSATILITY

Since 2019, Revel has brought forth bikes that are not only beautiful but also dripping in high-performance capabilities. The Rascal V2 carries that quality into a new generation that is, you guessed it, longer, slacker and more capable than its counterpart.

However, Revel seems to have focused more on refinement than keeping up with the trends of the industry. The new Rascal is built for riders who want to ride a bit of everything with confidence, so we put it to the test to see if that is actually the case.

FRAME

Looking at the two generations side by side, you’d hardly be able to tell the difference in the carbon frames. This new Rascal features a 0.5-degree-slacker 65-degree head angle, a 1-degree-steeper 76-degree effective seat angle, 3mm-longer 436mm chainstays, and a 7mm-longer 451mm reach on our size medium.

This bike comes in sizes S–XXL allowing riders from 5-foot-1 to 6-foot-8 to enjoy it. It doesn’t feature any fancy frame storage system or headset cable routing; instead, it has a mount for a single bottle cage and an efficient cable/hose routing system that will make any service easy to complete.

SUSPENSION

The folks at Revel pride themselves on the CBF (Canfield Balance Formula) suspension platform, which, they claim, directs drive force around the top of the chainring through all of its travel that subsequently drives forward momentum and efficiency no matter where the bike is in its travel. Using this system, the Rascal attains 130mm of rear suspension travel.Revel’s shock of choice on the tested XO build is the

RockShox Super Deluxe Ultimate with high and low-speed compression adjustments, a large rebound knob with plenty of adjustment, and a lockout switch. This shock was paired with a Buttercups-equipped 140mm-travel RockShox Lyrik Ultimate fork featuring the Charger 3 RC2 damper with high- and low-speed compression adjustments and a single-channel rebound adjustment.

COMPONENTS

The Rascal V2 will cost you $6000 for the SRAM GX build, $6500 for the GX Transmission build, $7000 for the XT build, $8000 for the XO build (tested), and $10,500 for the XX build. Our test bike had a couple of slight discrepancies, specifically the wheels. Our bike had Revel’s own RW30 V2 rims laced to Industry Nine Hydra hubs, but their build specs show the bike with Crankbrothers’ Synthesis Enduro rims laced to Industry Nine 1/1 hubs, which is a notable difference, but not too severe in the end.

A new spec we have yet to see on a bike like this is the spec of the Continental Kryptotal 29 x 2.4-inch Trail Soft front tire and Continental Xynotal 29 x 2.4-inch Trail Endurance rear tire. These tires are spec’d on all of the Rascal builds, which is something we came to pleasantly enjoy.

As the build suggests, the bike has a SRAM XO Transmission drivetrain, which is complemented by SRAM Code RSC brakes (not the Stealth lever versions). For the cockpit, they’ve gone with a full Trail 1 setup for carbon bars, alloy stem and grips, along with an SDG Radar saddle mounted to a 160mm Bike Yoke Revive 2.0 dropper post.

CLIMBING

While climbing, we were comfortable in the cockpit, and the Rascal felt well balanced and active, making it easy to direct through just about any section. Technical terrain was eaten up by the bike with its innate ability to accelerate at the drop of a hat while maintaining composure. It was extremely pedal efficient, which meant long days in the saddle were ended feeling a little fresher than we would be riding many similarly capable bikes.

When faced with longer, more boring climbs, we felt as if we’d been transplanted onto an XC bike with the way it would simply scoot up the trail with very little effort. It seems to simply float over the ground with a heightened efficiency that doesn’t seem to take away at all from the suspension performance.

When it came to gripping the trail on loose and steep sections, the suspension remained active enough that we rarely had moments resulting in a burnout or loss of traction. This lack of tire slip allowed more forward momentum, which, in a lot of cases, meant a higher success rate when trying to clear challenging ascents.

DESCENDING

Right out of the gate, the Rascal’s supportive platform made itself known. Any venture into flow with jumps, pumps, and berms was met with responsiveness and acceleration with minimal effort. In certain scenarios, we found ourselves simply not pedaling through entire sections, instead relying on the speed we got from pumping the bike into every backside.

A subsequent result of this well-supported platform was the bike’s excellent readiness to fly in the sky. Finding small features to pop off of in the trail became even more of a game than usual, and we found we could hit our landings with just a little more accuracy due to the confidence we had on the pop.

A similar effect was felt when cornering; with the grip and support the bike had, we found ourselves pushing into corners with just a little bit more intensity than we would normally. This was especially true in berms, whether natural or man-made, where we felt we could push in and pop out with little concern of sliding out.

In the more technical terrain, we found the bike’s limits a little bit more quickly, particularly at higher speeds where we had to be a little choosier with our lines. That said, it was no slouch when the speeds were slowed down a bit.

There were a few instances in Sedona, Arizona, where we chose the questionable line down a section that would put any bike to the test. The Rascal took it in stride and kept its composure throughout each questionable line and would carry on to the next section without a question or complaint about what just happened.

WHAT DID WE LOVE?

Revel gave us a lot to love about this bike, making it one we’d hardly consider upgrading even after an extended period of time. SRAM’s XO Transmission sticks out as an excellent choice for this bike, and we were grateful to have it on more than one occasion when we’d ram it into a rock and just keep on pedaling knowing it was just fine.

We also liked the added fender in the rear linkage where there tended to be a build-up of rocks and debris on previous Revel models. We also can’t help but mention the pedaling efficiency we experienced aboard this bike. We feel like Revel did a really good job of refining this bike to be a true all-terrain weapon.

WHAT DID WE HATE?

No bike is void of flaws, and the Rascal is no exception. Our first complaint is that the dropper post is too short at 160mm on the medium and 185mm on the large. We’d also like to see some shorter cranks, specifically on the smaller-sized bikes. Our bike had 170mm cranks that worked well, but with the low bottom bracket height at sag would sometimes catch rocks in technical sections.

Our last tech gripe has to do with the brakes and, more specifically, the 180mm front rotor spec. We feel this bike deserves a 200mm rotor in the front and is something we’d swap to out of the box were we to purchase this bike ourselves.

There’s one final thing we’d like to note as well, which was the creak the bike developed after only a few rides. This creak was mitigated by greasing the bottom bracket and main suspension pivot, but was annoying up until then.

BOTTOM LINE

Revel’sl Rascal V2 is versatile, well balanced and extremely capable in a manner that could make it a quiver killer if you’re forced to have only one bike. The bike is best suited to the rider who sees a lot of elevation on a day-to-day basis riding trails that range from flow to moderate tech or even light enduro and downhill if ridden in moderation.

Our biggest highlight about this new Rascal is how well it climbs everything it’s faced with, which would make it an excellent choice for any rider whose mission is to tackle all the 30-plus-mile epic rides in the area.

REVEL RASCAL V2 SRAM X0 EAGLE TRANSMISSION

www.revelbikes.com

CATEGORY: Trail

SUSPENSION: 140mm (front), 130mm (rear)

TIRE SIZE: 29″

Price: $8000
Weight: 30.84 pounds (without pedals)
Sizes: SM, MD (tested), LG , XL, XXL
Frame tested: 130mm, carbon fiber (travel and material)
Shock: RockShox Super Deluxe Ultimate
Fork: RockShox Lyrik Ultimate, 140mm travel
Wheelset: Revel RW30 V2 rims, Industry Nine Hydra hubs
Tires: Continental Kryptotal 29×2.4″ Trail Soft front, Xynotal 29×2.4″ Trail Endurance rear

Seatpost: Bike Yoke Revive 2.0, 160mm drop
Saddle: SDG Radar Lux-Alloy
Handlebar: Trail 1 The Crockett Carbon 35
Stem: Trail 1 The Viking Stem
Grips: Trail One Farlow Gap
Headset: Cane Creek 40-series
Brakes: SRAM Code RSC
Rotors: SRAM HS2 180mm (f)/180mm (r)
Rear derailleur: SRAM XO Transmission
Shifters: SRAM Pod AXS controller
Crankset: SRAM XO Eagle T-Type 170mm
Bottom bracket: SRAM DUB Wide BSA
Cassette: SRAM XO ET T-Type 12-speed, 10-52T
Chain: SRAM GX ET T-Type
Chainrings: SRAM XO T-Type 32-tooth

GEOMETRY SIZE LARGE

Head tube angle: 65.5°
Effective seat tube angle: 76°
Reach: 451mm (17.8″)
Stack: 610mm (24″)
Bottom bracket height: 345mm (13.6″)
Chainstay length: 436mm (17.2″)
Wheelbase: 1198mm (47.2″)