# Upgrades for my Giant Revel 1



## Bananas HD (Jun 19, 2013)

So I just bought my first mtb from my LBS its a 2013 Giant Revel 1 and I'm very satisfied with the bike. I was wondering what upgrades I could get for it to make my riding experience better. I was leaning towards hydraulic brakes, maybe some tires, but what the heck do I know, thats why im asking. I ride the streets and the trails. The trails aren't anything special just something to start on. So please let me know what's good to buy or what you guys think I should buy. Thanks Anthony.


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## rangeriderdave (Aug 29, 2008)

The things that you should think about are ,the seat ,grips, pedals and tires. You should ride it until things wear out or break. A upgraded bike isn't going to make your rides any more fun,they will make it more relaible or lighter.After riding your area for 6 months you might decide that you want a diffrent bike.


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## Bananas HD (Jun 19, 2013)

Ya that makes sense. I already have some grips and pedals on the way. Thanks for the feedback!


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## DiRt DeViL (Dec 24, 2003)

Change what ever makes you feel uncomfortable, usually saddle and grips, upgrade components as they break or wear out.

Plenty of Revel related topics on the Giant sub forum, check them out.


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## Flowy (Dec 16, 2011)

Good tires might be the biggest bang for your buck in terms of performance if the stock tires are mediocre. Of course nice tires with 65 psi will suck on trails, set up matters.


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## wmac (Sep 29, 2010)

I wouldn't change a thing until I understood what and why I wanted to change something. That only comes with time in the saddle.


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## Bananas HD (Jun 19, 2013)

Thanks to everyone that helped out! Much appreciated!! I'll ride it for a few months and come back to that question.
But one more thing, is there a break-in time for disk brakes?? Mine are rubbing and I've adjusted them every which way but they still rub. Its nothing bad but its noticeable. And they don't stop me as good as i would like them too. Once they break in will they work better?


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## rangeriderdave (Aug 29, 2008)

Yes there is a bedding in process,what you do is get going 10 or mph ,put the brakes on hard ,release, repeat a few times. As far as rubbing the rotor could be warpped or bent .Check it by spinnig the wheel and wactching the rotor,you can straiten the rotor some with a adjustable wrench.


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## AndrwSwitch (Nov 8, 2007)

It's a 2013 bike. Return it and buy one for your "real" figure.

The really high-yield parts swaps are the contact points. It's really nice to have my cockpit really set up, a saddle I like, pedals I like, and tires I like.

After that, things start getting a lot higher-dollar and also make a lot less difference in the ride.

Your brakes should break in about as much as they're going to within the first ride. I had a Novela on the front of a commute bike for a while. It worked okay but was never great. The brake pads are attached to the inside of the brake with powerful magnets, at least if I'm thinking about the right thing. The one attached to the moving piston will never settle quite the same way each time you release it. Get the alignment as good as you can and call it a day. If you don't have a good set of instructions to follow, the ones for the SRAM BB5/BB7 are pretty good and you can download them from their web site.

Mechanical disc brakes' performance is affected by how well the cable housings were finished. They need to be very square within the ferrules, and there needs to be very little friction in the housing.


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## Bananas HD (Jun 19, 2013)

rangeriderdave said:


> Yes there is a bedding in process,what you do is get going 10 or mph ,put the brakes on hard ,release, repeat a few times. As far as rubbing the rotor could be warpped or bent .Check it by spinnig the wheel and wactching the rotor,you can straiten the rotor some with a adjustable wrench.


I'll have to try that out. I was thinking the rotor was bent a little but if remember correctly, it was fine but I'll definitely have to take a second look. I'm out of town now so I won't be able to just yet. But I'll be back when that time comes around.


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## Bananas HD (Jun 19, 2013)

AndrwSwitch said:


> It's a 2013 bike. Return it and buy one for your "real" figure.
> 
> The really high-yield parts swaps are the contact points. It's really nice to have my cockpit really set up, a saddle I like, pedals I like, and tires I like.
> 
> ...


I have pedals ready to be put on that I had on my old bike and I really liked them. I'm DEFINITELY getting a new saddle. But I'll get tires at some point down the road. When I get back home I'll see what I can do.


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