OP
OP
russ.will
Slimboy Fat
- Location
- The Fen Edge
.... and I should have mentioned - Your thread on the 3100 was very useful. I'll keep it on the list. 
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.... and I should have mentioned - Your thread on the 3100 was very useful. I'll keep it on the list.
Glad someone out there found it useful. It's a real shame that (unless you lived close to Finlay) you can't test one. I have the 2015, so the spec on sale now is the slightly refined version that looks ever so slightly more gorgeous (were that possible) with the flat mount disc brakes.
When I was looking for my bike I too read every group test I could, but it seems that bike group tests are very random and often include various eclectic exotica that I can only think comes from what the manufacturer had available at the time (or what they had most of and needed to sell). There were many reviews of Rose bikes in Europe that needed some translation and they were all positive, over in the UK they are rare and almost always start from the position "this is way too good to be true, lets find something very small wrong with it".
Agree that it's kinda wrong that Canyon can produce test bikes when there are thousands of customers waiting many months for bikes. But us British love a queue, so luckily for Canyon there's no budging them.
OP
OP
russ.will
Slimboy Fat
- Location
- The Fen Edge
I'm not one to faff about and bought the KTM. It kind of helped that I got offered the actual test bike from the Bikes Etc review at a price way too good to ignore. If I'm lucky it will be here by Friday which (if this hobby is anything like my astronomy) means we're guaranteed at least a week of rain.
Pictures to follow.
Russell
Pictures to follow.
Russell
OP
OP
russ.will
Slimboy Fat
- Location
- The Fen Edge
Just to bring this up to date; The Revelator turned up Friday and it's smashing. I've only managed a quickie twenty miles on Saturday (in a howling gale and it was wet in parts) and based setup on my RT-58 bike-fit measurements. The only thing I'll change is the bar stem, which needs to be 20mm shorter to be truly comfortable, but in the mean time I compensated by turning the stem over to point upward and rotating the bars back a touch.
What have a learned? After the ali RT-58 which I always found comfortable, I wouldn't say the Revelator is exactly magic carpet, but the ride definitely has a more muted edge to vibration and the buzz through the bars is very muted.
What is massively improved is the way it picks up in speed when to stand up and stamp on the pedals. I can't put this down to just the carbon, as the DT Swiss wheels are a step up from the Campy Khamsins, but it postively leaps forward when you command it to do so. Once up to speed, the difference is less pronounced, obviously.
I do need to adjust the brakes. Reach to the levers is no problem (and the hoods are at least as comfortable as my Rival 22), but there is quite a lot of travel before the brakes bite. However, when they do, the bite is far less aggressive and there is a greater range of modulation, not to mention better feel through the lever, giving more confidence in the wet. The Schwalbe One tyres seem very confident in inclement conditions and as the FLI gave me some tubeless valves, these will be going tubless soon.
Anyway; enough of my rattling on, some hastily grabbed shots post ride and prior to a thorough cleaning:
Hope you like.
Russell
What have a learned? After the ali RT-58 which I always found comfortable, I wouldn't say the Revelator is exactly magic carpet, but the ride definitely has a more muted edge to vibration and the buzz through the bars is very muted.
What is massively improved is the way it picks up in speed when to stand up and stamp on the pedals. I can't put this down to just the carbon, as the DT Swiss wheels are a step up from the Campy Khamsins, but it postively leaps forward when you command it to do so. Once up to speed, the difference is less pronounced, obviously.
I do need to adjust the brakes. Reach to the levers is no problem (and the hoods are at least as comfortable as my Rival 22), but there is quite a lot of travel before the brakes bite. However, when they do, the bite is far less aggressive and there is a greater range of modulation, not to mention better feel through the lever, giving more confidence in the wet. The Schwalbe One tyres seem very confident in inclement conditions and as the FLI gave me some tubeless valves, these will be going tubless soon.
Anyway; enough of my rattling on, some hastily grabbed shots post ride and prior to a thorough cleaning:
Hope you like.
Russell
Pale Rider
Legendary Member
I'm no roadie, but that looks like a helluva bike to me.
As you like things just so, might be worth putting some carbon paste on the seatpost, which looks dry in the pics.
As you like things just so, might be worth putting some carbon paste on the seatpost, which looks dry in the pics.
OP
OP
russ.will
Slimboy Fat
- Location
- The Fen Edge
Yes. There's a few things I'm going to have to buy as a result of this arrival and that's on the list!
To be fair, it arrived like that, so you can blame the journos. They clearly didn't work out that once you undo the seat clamp bolt, you have to give it a good hard shove to loosen the other side, at which point the post slides up and down quite freely. But no, they just graunched it up and down...
Russell
OP
OP
russ.will
Slimboy Fat
- Location
- The Fen Edge
It was things like that made me take the plunge. The frame is Di2 specific, with no rubber plugs covering up unused gear cable holes and stuff like that - All the details seem thought out.
Given that the Fouriers Di2 adaptor is 4.83 Euro RRP, it makes you wonder why other manufacturers of premium bikes resort to crap like zip ties?
Russell
Heisenberg71
When you're dead, you're dead
- Location
- Wakefield
Gorgeous bike.
How did you strike on an ex-demo one?
How did you strike on an ex-demo one?
Pale Rider
Legendary Member
I can't resist sharing my slightly anal carbon paste tip.
When you apply some to the seat post, put a little on the inside of the open end of the post.
It doesn't do anything, but will be there to be used when you remove the post in the future and need to apply another smear.
OP
OP
russ.will
Slimboy Fat
- Location
- The Fen Edge
Pure luck.
Basically, I pinged the importer (FLi) an email with questions regarding dealers, sizing and availability. He was extremely helpful on all points and a few more that transpired in the course of the discussions, but said the current run was sold out and it would be late Feb/early March before anymore were about. Mind you, that's still sooner than the Canyon I'd been looking at....
However, if I could wait a couple of weeks, he had a 57cm out for review that he'd do a very good deal on. Boom!
I won't say what the discount was and it doesn't really matter, because there aren't any others out there. Suffice it to say, I could still afford a 105 equipped carbon thingy as a winter bike or, as is more likely, I'll go to the London Bike Show on Friday to do some purposeful 'shopping'.
Russell
OP
OP
russ.will
Slimboy Fat
- Location
- The Fen Edge
Now that is a Top Tip Viz would be proud of, but there's a Di2 battery in that location and CF paste might be conductive?
<EDIT> Just went and had a look and it's the alloy Ritchey WCS seat post.
Russell
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Pale Rider
Legendary Member
Ah, electronic gear change battery in the seat post.
I hadn't thought of that, it's all cable operated around here.
It could explain why the post is dry, to avoid any grease getting anywhere near the battery, although I can't see a smear on the post doing any harm.
I would still keep carbon paste on the shopping list, it works a treat on any seat post/frame, so some will be handy for your other bikes, if not this one.
Now that is friggin gorgeous.... me want's.... me want's lots and lot's.
OP
OP
russ.will
Slimboy Fat
- Location
- The Fen Edge
As your aesthetic discrimination is clearly highly refined, I'll take a better picture once I have the right length stem on, the right way up and with the bars set level, rather than compensating for a reach that is about 20mm too far. At that point, I'll be nursing a semi.
It's dawned on me, that despite having curves aplenty when viewed in the oblique, the basic outline is one of straight edged triangles and that makes it look like a real bike. Maybe it was subliminal up to now, but to this Raleigh racer boy from the '80s, it now seems clear.
I'm even sitting in the kitchen with the laptop typing this, because that's where the bike is and peering over the screen is a better backdrop than whatever Mrs. russ.will is watching right now. Sad?
Russell
