Giant’s Revolt launched in late 2018 and it is a clever culmination of the best bits from the TCX cyclocross machine and the Defy endurance roadster.
Giant Revolt Advanced 0 frame details
The frame is built using Giant’s premium Advanced carbon technology in a process it calls ‘modified monocoque construction’, which means the frame is formed into a single piece.
The frame shape mimics the Defy’s super-dropped rearstay design. The shaping of Giant’s super-sloping compact top tube’s evolved, gradually narrowing from the deep head-tube junction to the triangulated seat-tube junction.
Bike of the Year 2020
The Giant Revolt Advanced 0 is part of our annual Bike of the Year test.
Head to our Bike of the Year hub for the full list of winners, categories and shortlisted bikes, as well as the latest reviews – or read our behind-the-scenes feature on how we tested Bike of the Year 2020.
The down tube has a large rectangular profile, its lower third deflecting stones via a substantial rubber cover. Plugged into the seat tube is Giant’s D-Fuse seatpost, its D cross-section allowing a degree of flex without sacrificing stiffness.
The down tube runs into Giant’s ‘Powercore’ bottom bracket, an integrated and oversized 86mm-wide design that meets asymmetric chainstays, which balance the forces acting on the back end from the drivetrain.
Giant Revolt Advanced kit
Upfront, the squared-off forks and tapered overdrive steerer tube absorb vibrations. The frameset offers added clearance for high-volume 45c tyres; this rises to 50c if switching to 650b wheels.
The chunky Contact stem provides a solid fixing for the Contact XR D-Fuse handlebar, which features a backswept top section and slight flare on the drops.
The Revolt rolls on Giant’s wide 21mm-rimmed CXR-1 carbon wheels that weigh 1,753g a pair. They’re wrapped with Maxxis’ 40c Velocitia tyres, which are tubeless out of the box.
Giant’s Contact SL ‘neutral’ saddle isn’t my favourite, although it’s light and inoffensive.
Praxis’ excellent carbon Zayante chainset features gearing of 48/32 combined with 11-34, which offers a good off-road spread without compromising any road duties.
Giant Revolt Advanced 0 ride experience
The geometry, plus 602mm stack and 391mm reach, forge a racy off-road machine with a ride position similar to the Defy. The 73-degree seat angle sends you over the cranks for max power, while upfront the slightly relaxed 71-degree head angle ensures accurate steering when the road crumbles.
The Revolt comes into its own on rutted roads, the smoothing back-end matched up front by the bar’s ability to deaden buzz.
The tyres are excellent on hard-packed gravel roads; on anything muddier, the tight-knobble texture can fill quickly for a slightly slippy sojourn. In all honesty, there are few gravel treads that can hold up to slick muddy conditions.
On tarmac, the tyre’s relatively rigid centre-line affords rapid road progress, especially with 50psi in the tyres. That’s also a psi that’s flexible enough for off-road bite. Being tubeless you can experiment with much lower pressures. The Revolt’s compact design is extremely manoeuvrable when ripping up MTB-style trails and singletrack.
Shimano’s Ultegra drivetrain is typically efficient, while the inclusion of the clutch-equipped anti-chain-slap rear mech is most welcome.
The Praxis chainrings do a great job of holding the chain in place, albeit they’re more reluctant to shift the chain between rings than Shimano units.
The Revolt feels road-bike stiff on climbs. It’s easy to propel yourself up challenging gradients, with the lowest 32/34 gear offering a bail-out option as and when required.
Giant Revolt Advanced 0 bottom line
As a package the Revolt offers pretty much everything I’d desire from an all-rounder. It does, however, disappoint in one area and that’s the braking.
The Ultegra hydraulics are usually excellent but here they’re paired with Shimano’s lower-grade RT70 units, which were prone to incessant screeching.
On the road, noisy brakes are bad enough; when riding off-road on mixed-use trails, byways and bridleways, it’s even more anti-social. It’s a shame because, that aside, this is an impressive machine. But please – sort those brakes!
Giant Revolt Advanced 0 (2020) geometry
- Sizes (* tested): S, M, ML, L*, XL
- Seat angle: 73 degrees
- Head angle: 71 degrees
- Chainstay: 42.5cm
- Seat tube: 51cm
- Top tube: 57.5cm
- Head tube: 18cm
- Fork offset: 5cm
- Trail: 7.1cm
- Bottom-bracket drop: 7cm
- Wheelbase: 1,046mm
- Stack: 60.2cm
- Reach: 39.1cm
Product
| Brand | giant |
| Price | 4699.00 AUD,3599.00 EUR,3249.00 GBP,3650.00 USD |
| Weight | 8.7800, KILOGRAM (L) - |
Features
| Fork | Advanced carbon composite |
| br_stem | Giant Contact |
| br_chain | KMC X11SL-1 |
| br_frame | Advanced carbon composite |
| Tyres | Maxxis Velocitia AR 40c tubeless |
| br_brakes | Shimano Ultegra |
| br_cranks | Praxis Zayante carbon, 48/32 |
| br_saddle | Giant Contact SL neutral |
| br_wheels | Giant CXR-1 composite |
| br_shifter | Shimano Ultegra |
| br_cassette | Shimano Ultegra. 11-34 |
| br_seatpost | Giant D-Fuse SL, composite |
| br_handlebar | Giant Contact XR D-fuse |
| br_availableSizes | S, M, ML, L, XL |
| br_rearDerailleur | Shimano Ultegra |
| br_frontDerailleur | Shimano Ultegra |
