Edinburgh Bike Cooperative have been selling their own-brand Revolution bikes for a good few years, so most shortcomings have been ironed out. They've also beaten down suppliers in order to spec their bikes with big name brands without massive cost.
The Triad DS is an honest bike, giving you back what you put in, and looking at the quality of the frame and high spec of the parts, it’s very hard to argue against for the money.
If you want to buy a no-frills but satisfying fully-sprung mountain bike, and also a good foothold on the componentry ladder should you later upgrade to a lighter frame, the Triad DS is great place to begin.
Ride & handling: Enjoyable bike that handles both the ups and downs competently
In line with its 31.5lb (14.3kg) weight, climbing on the Triad DS is functional rather than inspirational, with the RockShox Monarch rear shock working well with the Continental Mountain King treads to maintain traction over a wide variety of surfaces.
The riding position is stretched enough to make it feel racy, yet still offers the bar at a position where throwing it downhill still seems a sensible pastime. Actually, the Triad DS goes down rather splendidly.
Much of this is down to the fab RockShox Reba fork with Maxle axle and a confident set of Avid Elixir 5 brakes to rein in the exuberance when you get carried away. Challenge the strength of the Truvativ Firex cranks and the bike can hustle.
The more we rode the Triad, testing both our legs and its ability to track the ground evenly, the more we realised we enjoyed each other’s company. We're happy to ignore its extra few pounds on the ups because with a lighter bar, stem, saddle and post instead of the no-name units specced here you could easily lose over 1lb.
Frame: Good-looking chassis that's a tad overweight
Cast an eye over the sleek black Revolution with its sloping top tube, and it looks muscular, purposeful and ready for action. But the Triad DS is no waif. It’s hard to see where this technically sorted Horst Link bike is carrying its mass; we suspect the 7005 series alloy frame tubes have thicker walls than is necessary.
Of course, fixing this would increase the price of the bike – it’s not a bargain for nothing. However, all the tubes are joined with very neat welds, with head tube gussets and a small buttress for the extended seat tube, so you know it’s going to shrug off hard riding. And that’s what matters most, especially when you’re new to the joys of fully sprung off-roading.