The Rail29 offers “confidence in any terrain” according to the Revel website. After testing this big-wheel behemoth, specifically the X01 Eagle build, I found it to be supremely capable, especially for enduro races and bike park trails. However, for someone of my size (read: short), the larger frame was a bit of a drag for all-day riding.
Price: $8,299
Rating: ★★★★☆
Specs:
- Frame: Carbon w/CBF suspension, 155mm
- Fork: RockShox ZEB Ultimate 29, 160mm
- Shock: RockShox Super Deluxe Ultimate
- Drivetrain: SRAM X01 Eagle
- Wheels: Revel RW30 carbon rims w/Industry Nine 1/1 hubs
What I like: The Revel Rail29 is fast and super capable. There’s no question this bike is well suited for big mountain riding.
What I’d change: I’d add 3 inches to my current height.
My call: Regardless of your height, this bike is going to be ideal for steep and chunky riding. The shorter you are, the less playful it may feel.
Revel Rail29: Build
Revel’s Rail29 is the bigger sibling to the 27.5-inch Rail. The Rail29 is a long-travel 29er tailor-made for enduro races and days at the bike park. I’ve ridden the 27.5-inch Rail and had a ton of fun on it, so I was stoked to check out the big-wheeled version while I was in Moab, Utah, with the rest of the Dawn Patrol crew. While the 27.5-inch Rail is a fun and playful trail bike, the combination of 155mm of rear CBF travel, a 160mm fork, a 65-degree head angle, and aggressive 29-inch Maxxis tires makes the Rail29 a monster truck that flies through and over whatever gets in front of it.
The Rail29 has several build kits and a frame-only option, which you can see here. While in Moab, I rode the X01 Eagle build. If you look close, you’ll notice a few small differences in spec between the bike in these photos and Revel’s website due to supply chain issues. I haven’t listed those specs in this review and won’t speak to them. Despite some supply-chain hiccups, the majority of the build I rode was spec’d as stocked.
Revel Rail29: Suspension
Revel licenses the Canfield Balance Formula (CBF) suspension design from Canfield. I am not an engineer, so when you ask me what that means, my safe answer is “ask an engineer.” My shoddier answer is that it’s a type of virtual pivot point suspension. The suspension is designed around a virtual point in space that the rear wheel travels around throughout the suspension’s travel. There are much smarter people than I who can explain the leverage rates and various different graphs you’ll see when looking at suspension systems.
What I can explain is the ride quality. Revel’s use of CBF means that the Rail29 balances pedaling efficiency with suspension travel. Squatting when climbing is virtually nonexistent. The same can be said for brake jack. The suspension is active and responsive for both smaller bumps and bigger hits.
Revel Rail29: The Ride
I spent a weekend riding a small Rail29 in Moab and I enjoyed it. The bike has traction for days, corners well, and tracks straight on punchy climbs. I can’t overstate this bike’s stability, speed, and capability. It obviously has solid footing on descents, but the CBF suspension and 76-degree effective seat angle also make it an efficient climber. I was surprised how well it rode on rockier, slow-speed climbs, especially. It stayed high in the travel, which meant I could put in a couple of high torque pedal strokes to get up and over something without any squattiness or pedal strike. Ideally, I would have also taken the Rail29 to Keystone or Winter Park bike park, because that’s where this bike is really going to shine. Alas, at the time of testing, both bike parks were still covered in snow.
Rocks in general are not a problem for the Rail29. Carefully pick your line or just smash down the trail—the Rail29 is fine either way. The overall geometry of the bike gives you a very stable platform at high speeds. “Go fast, take chances, be rewarded” is more or less the Rail29’s motto. That stable platform means that you feel confident to go faster and take those harder alt lines. I love how fast the bike is and how well it handles on steep descents and through chunk.
Revel Rail29: Questions and Possible Concerns
There weren’t many tight corners during our test rides, but the few present weren’t a problem for the size small frame’s 1,181mm wheelbase. I would like to see how the Rail29 handles steeper switchbacks (up and down). I’d also like to see how I feel on long, sustained climbs. It’s a big bike, and it’s one thing to blast up a punchy climb. It can be quite another to settle in and grind out a miles-long slog up a mountain, and still have enough left in the tank to fully enjoy taking the Rail29 down that mountain. I would ride the bike down the Pike’s Peak Plummet, a shuttled nearly 30-mile rocky descent off a 14er. Monarch Crest is another shuttled ride with similar mileage but significantly more pedaling, and I’m not sure if I’d want the Rail29 there. It might be fine (and fun), but it might be just that much more exhausting.
Russell Eich and I discuss my one real challenge with the Rail29. That challenge isn’t necessarily specific to this bike. It applies more broadly to longer-travel big-wheeled bikes. While we all rode the Rail29 in Moab on the same trails, I was the only person who felt like it wasn’t a particularly playful bike. Fast and able to get through chunder, for sure. But it was also incredibly planted. I struggled to get it off the ground in almost any context. I’m also 5’4″. Everyone else testing that weekend is in the neighborhood of 6 feet. The way smaller bodies fit into the frames of longer-travel 29er bikes may lead to a different experience on larger-sized frames. The Rail29 fits and rides well, it just takes a lot more effort for me to get it off the ground.
Revel Rail29: Final Word
Is it a great bike? Yes, absolutely. If you’re looking for an enduro race bike, this is the ticket. If most of your riding is at the bike park, it’s a great option, especially if you’re taller than me. However, I’m not sure I agree with Revel’s pitch that the Rail29 is an “all-day epic ride” bike. As previously mentioned, the Rail29 just seems too big for that last one, at least for most all-day rides near me. That’s a highly subjective statement based entirely on my personal riding preferences and the trails I ride. Take it with an appropriately-sized grain of salt for your circumstances.