The new Giant Revolt X Advanced Pro gravel bike goes for the squish

The new Giant Revolt X is a gravel bike for bumpier terrain. All models of the Revolt X are spec’d with 40-mm-travel suspension forks and dropper posts. While the Revolt X bikes have pretty much the same tire clearance as the standard Revolt models, the new bikes ship with bigger rubber compared with their ridged counterparts. These changes make for a gravel bike that handles rough roads and trails quite capably. It’s mountain bike-esque, if you will, while feeling speedy on flat ground.

The Giant Revolt X Advanced Pro 0 not in Canada you say? Pity

The Revolt X I’ve started testing is the Advanced Pro 0. It’s the top bike in the lineup. The drag for us Canadians, however, is that it won’t be available here in this country. Instead, Giant is bringing in the Advanced Pro 1 and Advanced Pro 2, as well as the aluminum Revolt X 1. Still, there are features that all the bikes share that I’ll explore here.

Forks of the Giant Revolt X

The Advanced Pro 1 and 2, and the X 1 come with the 40-mm RockShox Rudy Ultimate XPLR fork. I have some experience with this fork after riding the Canyon Grizl CF SLX 8 last year. The Rudy Ultimate XPLR has a lockout feature that does firm things up for cruising on flat surfaces. If you regularly ride rigid forks, you’ll still notice a bit of play in the Rudy’s lockout mode.

The Advanced Pro 0 I’ve been riding has the Fox 32 Performance Elite fork, with open, medium and firm settings. Firm is, well, firm but by no means locked out. If you’re concerned about the suspension damping not only the bumps, but your watts, the Advanced Pro 1 and 2 models with the Rudy fork might be the best option for you.

The Giant Revolt X dropper post

A Postmodern dropper post is the standard on all Revolt X bikes. This post can drop 100 mm. If you’re a rider on an extra small frame, you can move your saddle down a maximum of 75 mm. (Sorry extra-small-frame riders, this size is not coming to Canada with any of the Revolt X bikes.) The post offers 25 mm of suspension of its own to take the edge of bumps. I found the thumb lever on the bars that activates the dropper requires a bit of muscle to start the drop. It’s definitely not as easy as droppers I’ve used on mountain bikes. With the Revolt X’s dropper, I sometimes find that I need to bounce a bit to start its travel. I know I’m light, but surely I’m not that light. The post definitely snaps to its full extension quite emphatically.

The current non-X Revolt is also capable of running a dropper. It, however, is outfitted with Giant’s D-Fuse seatpost. (The exception is the Revolt Advanced 1. It has the Giant Contact Switch dropper. In fact, with 45c tires, the Revolt Advanced 1 is the most X-like of the standard Revolts.) You can also put a D-Fuse post on a Revolt X, which will give you some flex to manage road vibrations. Do you have a favourite seatpost with a traditional 30.9-mm round diameter? You can pop that onto the Revolt X, too.

Tire clearance of the Giant Revolt X

What’s the widest 700c tire you can run on the Giant Revolt X? Well, as you know, that important question never really comes with a short answer. The wheel that the tire sits on can affect its actual width. To add another factor into the tire-clearance equation, Giant specs the Revolt X—like the standard Revolt—with a flip-chip at the rear dropout. If you put the flip-chip in its long setting, you set the rear wheel axle 10 mm farther from the bottom bracket. That setup gives you a slightly more stable bike and clearance for a 53-mm tire. Flip the chip to the short setting for a more nimble ride. The tire clearance in the short setting is 45 mm, which is about 3 mm greater than the same setup on the standard Revolt. (Both models have a maximum of 53 mm.)

Yet another tire-clearance factor is the front suspension fork. The official clearance for the RockShox Rudy Ultimate XPLR and the Fox 32 Performance Elite is 50 mm.

My Giant Revolt X Advanced Pro 0 comes with 700 x 50c Maxxis Rambler tires. The models coming to Canada—Advanced Pro 1, Advanced Pro 2 and Revolt X 1—wear Giant’s 700 x 45c CrossCut Grip 1 treads.

Weight of the Giant Revolt X

The weight of my test bike—the Giant Revolt X Advanced Pro 0 with a SRAM Force eTap AXS shifter, X01 Eagle AXS cassette and Force crank—is 9.94 kg. The models coming here have slightly heavier components (SRAM Rival eTap AXS, GX Eagle and Rival 1), but have narrower tires, so I expect their overall weights to be similar. The exception is the Revolt X 1 with its aluminum frame, which will be heavier than the Advanced frame built with Giant’s second-tier carbon-fibre formula.

Can you run 650b hoops on the Giant Revolt X?

No.

The forks are designed around 700c wheels.

Frame and geometry differences between the Giant Revolt and Giant Revolt X

The parts of the frame of the Giant Revolt X that first struck me were the seatstay bridge and the head tube. The bridge is beefer on the X compared with the non-X. Also, the head tube is shorter. A medium Revolt X has a 115 mm head tube, whereas the Revolt’s is 150 mm.

Ready for some more numbers? The wheelbase, in both short and long settings, is the same for medium, medium/large and large frames of both Revolts. For the extra small and extra large Revolt X frames, the wheelbase is 1 mm longer. The small frame increases its base by 4 mm.

The head tube angles are largely unchanged. On all models, the rake is 5 mm less on the Revolt X compared with the Revolt. That move to an offset of 45 mm increases the trail figures of all the models. That tells me the Revolt X’s steering is more stable than its predecessor, which should give you more confidence on descents.

Also a control booster: the increased reach on all Revolt X frames. That figure goes up 2 to 6 mm depending on the frame size.

The bottom bracket drop of the Revolt X is 68 mm in the short setting and 69 mm in the long. On the Revolt it’s 80 mm/81 mm.

Other notable parts on the Giant Revolt X

The Revolt X Advance Pro bikes come with the new CXR X1 wheels. Remember, the CXR 1 hoops debuted on the standard Revolt in 2021. I don’t know a whole lot about the CXR X1. My handy calipers tell me they have the same internal and external rim widths, 25 mm and 31 mm. The rim depth on the new hoops is about 30 mm, about 5 mm less than the CXR 1.

As with the original Revolt, the Revolt X has a D-Fuse handle bar. On the new bikes, it’s the Giant Contact SL XR. It is designed to dampen road vibrations, while still providing the rigidity you need in sprints and tough climbs.

The Canadian prices of the new Giant Revolt X

Giant Revolt X build	Canadian price
Giant Revolt X Advanced Pro 1, SRAM Rival eTap AXS shifter, 1 x 12, Rival crank and GX Eagle AXS rear derailleur	$6,499
Giant Revolt X Advanced Pro 2, SRAM Rival 1, 1 x 11, Rival crank and Rival 1 rear derailleur	$5,499
Giant Revolt X 1, SRAM Rival 1, 1 x 11, Rival crank and Rival 1 rear derailleur	$3,599

First impressions of the Giant Revolt X

Giant Revolt X Advanced Pro wears its big tires well. The 50c treads can feel sluggish in the corners if the frame’s geometry isn’t dialed. The Revolt X feels nimble going left and right.

I’ve ridden the bike on short outings. It is, after all, winter. I took it on some trails along Hamilton’s Escarpment. The 40-tooth chainring and 52-tooth cog (a 10-tooth is the smallest on the SRAM cassette) got me up some pretty steep bits. The squish of the tires and the 40-mm travel fork had me bumping over roots and rocks easily. As I mentioned off the top: it’s mountain bike-esque. Or MTB-like (lite?).

Once the weather warms, the snow clears and more trails are open, I’m keen to try the Revolt X on longer rides, stitching road (paved and unpaved) and singletrack together. This bike is designed to explore, ideally get you through places that might have you turning around or walking if you were on a less-burly machine. I’m wondering, though, how I’ll feel about the travel and the heavy tires on smoother surfaces connecting the trails. We’ll see.

Actually, I know some ATV trails that would be a blast to bash around on with this bike. Spring’s just around the corner, right?