The new Giant Revolt Advanced will D-Fuse your gravel bomb
Carbon adventure machine takes 45mm tyres
The 2019 Giant Revolt is an all-new carbon gravel and adventure bike with clearances for big tyres. It’s a rowdier sibling to the new Defy Advanced, with specs and geometry geared to rough terrain and big distance.
Racer, adventurer, tourer?
The Revolt Advanced is the very same machine we spotted in prototype form at this year’s Dirty Kanza 200 gravel race.
The bike is designed for “versatility, compliance and long-distance efficiency on adventurous terrain including roads, gravel and dirt,” according to Giant.
Compared to the TCX ‘cross racer, it’s got a taller stack and a touch more reach, but shorter stem sizes mean it’s effectively shorter out of the box.
The bottom bracket is lower for better handling, and trail figures are higher across the board which, generally speaking, should mean calmer handling.
The frame is classic Giant inasmuch as its top tube has a pronounced slope, but radically dropped chainstays for rear-end squish take things further.
Both ends of the bike are designed to take rubber up to 45mm wide and the option to run 650b wheels is there too.
In keeping with the adventurous theme, there are three sets of bottle bosses and a protector on the down tube to guard against stone chip damage.
The frame also features a “smart mount system for racks and accessories”, the precise nature of which is not totally clear from the press information we have.
D-Fuse: smoothing the ride with cross-sectional magic
The Revolt Advanced makes use of the same D-Fuse seatpost design as other comfort-oriented Giants. This entails a D-shaped cross-section which resists flex in one direction, and encourages it the opposite way.
For the Revolt, Giant has also applied this principle to the handlebar.
The Contact XR D-Fuse is designed to be stiffer than a standard round bar when you pull upwards — as in a sprint — but more compliant when applying downward pressure as you would when simply riding along.
The bar is also flared by 8 degrees at the drops for more confident off-road handling, and its tops have a 5-degree sweep for comfort.
Giant Revolt Advanced prices and specs
The Revolt Advanced will be available in three models in the US and two in the UK. All share the same Advanced-Grade Composite frame.
The range-topping Revolt Advanced 0 costs $3,300 / £2,999.
The Revolt Advanced 1 (which is not available in the UK) comes in at $2,500.
The Revolt Advanced 2 will retail at $2,000 / £1,799.
Authors
Matthew Loveridge (formerly Allen) is an experienced mechanic and an expert on bike tech who appreciates practical, beautifully-engineered things. Originally a roadie, he likes bikes and kit of every stripe, and he's tested a huge variety of both over the years for BikeRadar, Cycling Plus and others. For a long time Matthew's heart belonged to the Scott Addict, but he's currently enjoying Trek's lovely aluminium Emonda ALR and having a torrid affair with a Giant Trance e-MTB. At 174cm tall and 53kg, he looks like he should be better at cycling than he actually is, and he's ok with that.
