question for Reba and Revelation owners

uk_mr_brownstone

Been a lurker for a while but wanted to ask a specific question not quite covered in other topics:

I'm trying to decide on getting either a reba (prob the merlin SL deal ) or revelation fork (Winstanleys doing 08 coil u-turn for £230 ish). Can current owners comment on the performance, reliability and ease of setting up of these forks?

I've currently got a 24Seven all mountain SS hardtail with a RS psylo, however I'm thinking of getting a new On-One Inbred sliding dropout frame which can run SS + gears for longer summer rides, so it could run 100mm, but could take a bit more if needed. I guess that something with around 90/100-130mm adjustable would cover it's total range nicely.

On my current frame it'd be the Revelation for sure as it suits 120mm+ but the One-one would suit either.

I mainly ride XC, quite hilly in the cotswolds so a good climber is essential, with some moderate DH (certainly not hardcore / jumps, but wanted to mention it as the extra travel on Revelation would make for a bit of comfort and slacker angles as needed). Maybe a few small (couple feet MAX) drops and some small rock gardens. Certainly not alpine riding, but not football fields either (probably what most people here do). I only weigh 10stone so don't need a heavy weight handler which makes me think the Reba would handle the range of riding i'd do- the main sticking point is I've only ever had coil forks (currently a Psylo coil) and have read some negative things regarding air forks being difficult to set up right and being less smooth, also more difficult to service properly.

Bottom line is that i'm sure either would be fine, with the Reba being lighter and super sweet on 90% of the riding, but the Revelation being a bit more flexible for a reasonably small extra weight and cost. I used to have some Manitou Black's which were nice and light but way too flexy under braking, but I haven't read anything like this with the Reba's.
Some views from actual owners, especially about the dual air V's coil systems would be great.

Just to throw in a last curve ball, Merlin have the dual air revelation with poplock with £110 off @ £260, but it's not a u-turn and would need work to set it at 115mm

BTW: yes, I have thought about just buying a merlin hardtail package

thanks!

nicklouse

both very nice forks work wel and can be ajustable in travel up to 30mm or have U-turn.

dual air works well and can be tuned to how you want. Air u turn works well.

you will be happy with either.

pittpony

I use Rebas and love them. Mine are only 85mm travel but have never failed to cope with anything i've ridden, although I don't do anything too hardcore. I can't comment on revelations as i've never used them...

supersonic

I'd take the extra weight of the Revelation: a bit sturdier, more travel - reba is xc and trail at the most, RVL hits harder.

artillerydave

I have the fixed travel 130mm Air revelations and can say they are a great fork, to answer your concerns they are very smooth very strong and also reasonably light (1746g) so I would highly recommend them, as you rightly say to step this version down to travel 115mm needs a strip down, however I am happy with them in the 130mm mode, the Air U turn would be the answer if you fancy running a 100mm frame at a later date however rebas would be no good with your current frame. Mine have been reliable and very easy to tune and I couldn't rercommend them highly enough.

Chaka Ping

I have the air Revs with U-Turn on my Cove Handjob - but I never wind them down to less than 130mm.

So if you were just using them on your existing frame, I don't think you'd miss the U Turn. But you might on the On One.

Performance and set-up wise, it did take me a long time to get them right - but now that I have, I'm quite happy with the way they work.

They're not a light fork, even in the air model, so a coil version may be too heavy for a light steel frame?

Sir HC

4-5inches is perfect for the Inbred, 4 inches seems to suit it better though on the climbs.

I've got a set of Reba SL's, been maintenance free for the last year, perform really well and are a doddle to set up.

uk_mr_brownstone

Thanks for all the replies so far- very useful. BTW: if buying a new fork I'm pretty sure i'll be getting the on-one frame so 100mm fork isn't out of the question.

[quote="Chaka Ping"

They're not a light fork, even in the air model, so a coil version may be too heavy for a light steel frame?[/quote]

At under 2kg the coil will be the same of less than my Psylos and quite a bit less than Tora's. I can certainly handle 2kg if it comes with good strength and a bit more travel which the Revelation would score high on


It's good to hear that despite the air forks possibly being a bit difficult to set up initially, once done they run nicely. It's very hard to tell from magazine reviews as they are pretty expert at fine tuning and setting up stuff!

I'm leaning towards the Revelations, and thought this would be the case unless people were really pushing the Reba's as being able to take a bit more abuse. Reading the latest SID reviews, RS seem to be angling even these at the 'trail' market (or at least, saying they are suitable for it), rather than strictly race/xc only, so I'm sure that the Reba's would be fine in terms of performing on terrain that seems to be fashionable to refer to as 'aggressive XC'.

I'm not surprised that there is no clear answer, but will likely come down to deciding if on the fly travel is required or if there is a 'magic' compromise. Out of curiosity, does anyone run either of these forks on an inbred or on-one 456 frame (i'm going for the Inbred but the principle looks similar on the 456 if limiting to 130mm max travel)? I'd be curious to know if a set travel of 130mm is bearable on the climbs (i'd guess that it'd probably be ok as the frames aren't lardy and the fork and front wheel combo will be on the bearable side of average in terms of weight). In contrast, does anyone with either of these frames have a set 100mm fork and find they have a bit too much of a forward bias on the descents?

thanks for all the replies. There'll be no 'solution' to choosing the right components, but it is useful to get some 'owners' feedback, especially when it's virtually impossible to 'test ride' a fork unless you get lucky and you can have a go on a bike with the fork and frame angles you'll be using.

ride_whenever

i'm running 110-140 air u-turn pikes on my 456 if that helps, but it isn't finished yet.

Sir HC

I'm running the Reba SL's on my vertical dropout inbred. I wouldn't go anymore than 4 inches of travel, the head angle is too slack, the front end is too high (I'm running no spacers, low rise stem and low rise bars)

supersonic

The very latest Inbred (not 456) has revised geo for 100-130mm forks, the old one is 80-100. I orl on UKMTB forum has an older one with Revs at 130mm - she likes it, but to me it looks far too slack angled, and BB too high. So depends which Inbred!