XT/Pike vs XLS/Revelation

perfectplanetcouk

Buying a new full suspension MTB, I'm torn between 2 models by the same make which are pretty much identical except one has XT brakes/mech all round and a Pike fork, and the other has XLS all round and a Revelation fork. The difference in price is 500 quid. Is the XT/Pike combo worth the extra outlay?

I've tried both bikes out but only briefly and not off road so it's difficult to know the true differences...

It's for riding a couple hours a week in the Surrey Hills.

Thanks
Simon

slc123

I know you mentioned they are identical in terms of spec, but some idea on the bikes would help. What's the travel difference on the forks?

Fundamentally the XT/Pike combo will be substantially better. Up to you if you think it's worth £500 more. If you are going to hit the trails really hard and be riding aggressively and potentially ride some other bike parks and trails where things are going to step up then I would say yes, it's worth it.

JBA

I disagree. XT / Pike may be better, but not substantially better. The new Revs have 35mm stations and the same lowers as the Pike and SLX is maybe a bit heavier than XT but performs equally as well.

The fact that the OP has written 'XLS' twice makes me wonder if he is new to mountain biking. If so, I would save the £500 and go for the SLX / Rev combo. It's a lot of extra cash to drop and could be used for some nice upgrades to the bike if needed / when thing wear out.

As slc123 has asked, what bike is it?

perfectplanetcouk

Sorry, yes of course I mean SLX!

I'm getting back into MTB after fifteen years away. Gosh how much has changed it's unbelievable the myriad of options nowadays.

The bikes are BMC Speedfox. The two and the three. I've test ridden both and there wasn't much difference but it was just short tests on roads. The double downshift on XT was nice.

I'm 40 now and won't be going crazy on downhills or parks or jumps but a few hours on trails in the Surrey hills every week and maybe a trip abroad occasionally is what I'll be doing.

I'll be honest - the lesser spec is probably fine for my riding. But I'm not a fan of the colour of the cheaper one so looking for other reasons to get the other one. Above all I'm after reliability as I have young kids now and little free time for maintenance and fiddling.

Cheers

slc123

JBA wrote:

I disagree. XT / Pike may be better, but not substantially better. The new Revs have 35mm stations and the same lowers as the Pike and SLX is maybe a bit heavier than XT but performs equally as well.

The fact that the OP has written 'XLS' twice makes me wonder if he is new to mountain biking. If so, I would save the £500 and go for the SLX / Rev combo. It's a lot of extra cash to drop and could be used for some nice upgrades to the bike if needed / when thing wear out.

As slc123 has asked, what bike is it?

In my mind the Rev's were only 32mm stanchions. Just a quick research on the new ones says that the only difference is the damper, which would only make a difference with more aggressive riding. I've only had experience of the SLX range on the gears as I fitted an 11spd on a mates bike. It was really nice and I've heard good things generally.

Based on the above, I would agree with JBA that the £500 isn't worthwhile.

tallpaul_s

The revelations are very good as they're the same 35mm stantion as the Pike, and for the first 6+ months will be more than adequate. Then as your riding progresses you can upgrade the Revs with the new 2019 Debonair air spring and the Charger 2 damper which will basically make them a 2019 Pike RCT3

Best bit, it won't cost you £500! They're currently £200 for the damper and £42 for the air spring. XT will be 95% the same as SLX, and you may find that you want lower gearing and the extra you've saved can then allow you to upgrade/change the SRAM Eagle for example.