BIG SUGAR PROJECT BIKE: REVEL ROVER x SPINERGY GXX CARBON WHEELS

While both of the gravel bikes we brought to Big Sugar came out of Colorado, they couldn’t  be more different, or intended for a different customer. Where the Alchemy Lycos was handcrafted at the small brand’s factory in the town of Golden, our Rover comes to us from Revel’s office in the mountain town of Carbondale and is an off-shore made frame that when built-up  and ready, costs less than the naked Alchemy frame.

Though not handmade, owing to it’s eye appealing  tube shapes, the Rover frame is one of the more impressive we’ve seen of late.  The “mint chocolate chip” color seemed to be a hit with everyone who laid eyes on the bike (a silver finish is also available). From the asymmetric chainstays and tapered top tube to the multi-surfaced downtube and stout fork, there’s nary a tube shape on the bike that is perfectly round and proof-positive that someone spent some time pouring over the details.

REVEL ROVER

The Rover  has tire clearance for up to a 50mm tread and is available as a frameset ($2400) or as a complete build. Revel lets you choose between the three builds; SRAM Rival kit ($3999), a Shimano GRX kit ($4600) or a SRAM Red kit ($8199).

A few other highlights that that caught our attention was the use of a BSA 68mm English threaded bottom bracket along with internal cable routing for a dropper post. Still, the drastic asymmetric chainstays are undoubtedly among the more eye-catching of test bikes that’ve rolled into the RBA office of late.

In addition to the Spinergy wheels we also added a few chi-chi’s from Pro Components including their Smart bottle cage that can house a compact  mini-pump, tire levers and even an integrated (clip on/off) pouch that zips open. The notable feature about the Smart cage is that can mounted for left, center, or right bottle pull which is especially handy for smaller frames.

For more: Revel 

 

SPINERGY GXX CARBON WHEELS

This was our second project bike that we’ve built with the Spinergy wheels, While there are plenty of shallow carbon gravel wheels on the market today, what makes the Spinergy hoops unique is the use of their proprietary & patented PBO Power spokes with the added value of being available in nine different colors.  The wheels have a 24mm internal width and  are compatible with Shimano/SRAM 9/10/11 speed, SRAM XD, SRAM XDR AXS, and Campagnolo driver systems.

The spokes are encased in a “chemical resistant, water / UV proof composite containing over 30,000 strands of polyphenylene bensobisoxazole fiber.” All which adds up to what Spinergy says is a spoke that  “delivers 3-times the strength of stainless steel at just half the weight resulting in less rotational weight and a faster responding wheel. ”

Added tech details include center lock brake mounts, a front and rear 24 spoke count (radial (f).two-cross (r)) and a Hadley  aluminum freehub body. It’s nice to see swappable end caps to use of either QR, 12 or 15mm axles.  And yes, we mentioned it once already, but just to be clear, you can choose spokes in either white, red, green, orange, yellow, blue, pink,  purple, and yes, black.

On top of all the options, perhaps best of all is the $1199 price.

For More: Spinergy