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Simply introduced, the Revelate Designs Rifter is a universal-fit body bag that’s USA-made in 4 sizes from 100% recycled RVX 30 and designed for contemporary hardtail geometry. We obtained a maintain of the feature-rich Rifter for this first-ride evaluation. Discover all the main points and our preliminary findings right here…
It’s wonderful to consider how a lot hardtails have modified during the last decade, and I’m not simply referring to axle requirements and tire clearance. Body shapes are dramatically completely different, which the under-bed bike storage behind our camper van not too long ago confirmed. I initially constructed it again in 2013 round a dropper-less Surly Krampus and a Santa Cruz Superlight 29. Quick ahead 10 years, and the house isn’t practically lengthy sufficient for the mountain bikes Virginia and I at present have. Most fashionable hardtails have vastly longer wheelbases than those being made just some years in the past. To not point out, I didn’t need to manually decrease the inflexible posts each time we rolled the bikes in, so the house is just too tall, cramping the mattress space. Had I recognized droppers can be my favourite staple element sooner or later, I might have made it shorter.
Extra related to this evaluation, body triangles are additionally significantly completely different. Seat tubes are shorter, seat tube angles are steeper, prime tubes are longer, and lots of triangles are squeezed on the entrance with a bent downtube that types a really tight wedge. Retrofitting older body baggage on new hardtails tells this story. The brand new Revelate Designs Rifter addresses these modifications and some others. I’ve been testing one on my Pipedream S5 for just a few weeks main as much as the discharge.
Revelate Designs Rifter in measurement medium (left) and huge (proper)
Revelate Designs Rifter vs. Ranger
The Revelate Designs Ranger body bag was the predecessor to the Rifter. Much like my van bike storage space, Revelate’s unique universal-fit body bag was first designed about 10 years in the past round in style hardtails reminiscent of these Surly and Salsa had been making on the time. Suppose Karate Monkey, El Mariachi, and Krampus. The Ranger isn’t being changed by the brand new Rifter, because it’s an amazing bag that’s nonetheless related to many bikes, new and previous, particularly these with extra classically designed metal frames. Nevertheless, as bikes have modified each in supplies and geometry, the oldsters at Revelate Designs realized a distinct bag form was wanted to spherical out their product catalog.
Opposite to what you would possibly suppose, since fashionable bikes are successfully longer, the brand new Rifter is shorter in size and taller than the Ranger. The discount in size is especially resulting from modifications in head tube/down tube gusseting, ensuing within the tight entrance triangle house I discussed earlier. Except for angle tweaks, Revelate additionally took the entrance derailleur and huge chainrings out of the equation. As a result of most fashionable hardtails are designed for and fitted with a 1x drivetrain, it allowed them to increase the underside of the bag decrease within the triangle towards the underside bracket, the place Rangers stopped brief to not intrude with entrance derailleurs. Nonetheless, the online storage quantity of the Rifter stays about the identical because the Ranger from measurement to measurement. It is available in 4 sizes to suit a wide range of bikes. Right here’s an inventory with weights and volumes; word that the quantity was calculated for an irregular proper triangular prism:
Measurement | Weight | Quantity | Value |
---|---|---|---|
Small |
9.0 oz 254 g |
226 cu in 3.7 Liters |
$170 |
Medium |
10.6 oz 301 g |
269 cu in 4.4 Liters |
$170 |
Massive |
11.5 oz 325 g |
348 cu in 5.7 Liters |
$170 |
XL |
12.2 oz 347 g |
433 cu in 7.1 Liters |
$170 |
Match
In line with product designer Dusty Eroh, the Revelate Designs Rifter was designed by analyzing the triangles of many fashionable hardtails, together with however not restricted to the Otso Voytek, Salsa Rangefinder, and the Specialised Epic—principally, frames with alloy and carbon tubes and a “fats” space the place the tubes are joined collectively on the entrance.
I actually solely had one fashionable hardtail to strive with the Rifter. The dimensions “Longer” Pipedream S5 is certainly fairly lengthy, and it has a brief and squat triangle. This bike won’t be the audience for the Rifter with its past fashionable—even futuristic—geometry. Even so, the Massive Rifter match very nicely, as proven. Whereas it leaves just a little unused house on the entrance with the small-diameter metal tubing, it fills out the rear of the triangle completely. It additionally makes it simple to see how the Rifter can be perfect for titanium, alloy, or carbon frames of this ilk.
The dimensions giant Revelate Designs Rifter was used on the “Longer” Pipedream S5 for this evaluation
Oddly sufficient, I beforehand fitted the S5 with an previous body bag made by Bedrock a few decade in the past. It was designed for a measurement medium Jamis Dragonslayer that has been used on the Why Cycles El Jefe and different hardtails we’ve reviewed—most which might have been excellent for the Ranger body bag. The Bedrock bag match the S5 fairly nicely, however there was some leftover house on the backside, and the again angle of the bag was just a little slack. The Rifter match a lot better and didn’t really feel as cramped or askew because the Bedrock bag.
End
Like a lot of Revelate’s stitched merchandise, the Rifter body bag was designed in Alaska and is made in Seattle, Washington. It’s additionally constructed out of USA-made supplies, together with a brand new 100% recycled RVX 30 materials from Dimension Polyant that’s manufactured in Connecticut and made particularly for Revelate Designs. The RVX 30 has a 100% recycled polyester backing, which Revelate claims will increase the sew power and makes the inside brighter. Moreover, the Rifter contains a polyester lining material that’s additionally 100% recycled.
Just like the Ranger, the Revelate Designs Rifter has three mounted velcro straps on the again and a big prime tube strap. The Rifter will get three moveable straps for the downtube, every with a foam body protector, plus a moveable two-position velcro prime strap on the entrance.
The Rifter kind of has all of the options you may want and count on. Like many body baggage, it has an non-obligatory inside divider fashioned by a two-piece velcro attachment, a pleasant function for storing a prepare dinner pot just like the Vargo BOT or simply an additional water bottle for day rides. Revelate additionally added a small mesh pocket on the underside of the bag, which I discovered to be a useful spot for instruments or keys to maintain them from bouncing round on day rides. The Rifter additionally has a port for a hydration hose on the entrance, and my favourite options, a full-length facet pocket quite than simply the entrance half on the Ranger. I like this for the power to toss in a pump, telephone, or different small objects to maintain them from bouncing round when the bag isn’t full. That stated, the left pocket can be the one con I got here up with for this bag, particularly the truth that the pocket isn’t full-height. It solely takes up about half the peak of the bag.
That brings me to certainly one of my favourite traits of the Rifter: it’s wider than most of my customized body baggage and has a reasonably flared entrance, offering just a little extra packing house—maybe one other profit afforded by hardtail modernity, particularly barely wider Increase cranks.
- Mannequin Examined: Revelate Designs Rifter Body Bag (Massive)
- Weight: 301 grams (10.6 oz)
- Place of Manufacture: Seattle, USA
- Value: $170
- Producer’s Particulars: RevelateDesigns.com
Execs
- Glorious materials decisions and development, as traditional from Revelate
- Good particulars and options, such because the mesh pocket and moveable straps with foam padding
- 4 sizes and considerate geometrical design ought to work with a variety of recent hardtails
- The Rifter is wider than most of my customized body baggage and has a reasonably flared entrance, which I actually like
- Made within the USA from virtually 100% recycled supplies
Cons
- Solely is available in black
- I’d wish to see the left-hand pocket with a deeper, full-height pocket and maybe a pair pockets stitched in
Wrap Up
Each time I exploit my previous Ranger or Tangle body baggage, I’m reminded how well-made and completely thought out Revelate’s body baggage are. The Revelate Designs Rifter is not any completely different. The Alaskan model married its wonderful manufacturing and development methods with 100% recycled materials, a full function set, and a well-researched geometrical design. It additionally has an appropriately thick width, beefy zippers, and is available in 4 sizes to suit a wide range of fashionable hardtails. In case your previous body bag doesn’t fairly suit your new hardtail otherwise you’re simply weighing out choices, the Rifter shouldn’t be missed.
Additional Studying
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