Revolution Courier Race - What Mountain Bike? Gold Award: October 2007
 'What Mountain Bike' magazine awarded the Revolution Courier Race 07 a score of '8 out of 10', as part of its review of bikes used for commuting purposes – the full review is included below.
'The Revolution Courier Race is the 700C-wheeled version of Edinburgh Bicycle Coop's own-brand Courier that we've praised in the past. It's faster on Tarmac but not so good at going off it. You can tackle a towpath on its 32mm tyres, but forget singletrack.
The single-chainring 1x8 setup means there's enough money in the budget for a half decent rear mech (Alivio) and decent wheels: stronger, eyeleted rims – which should be less prone to cracking around the spoke holes – on Shimano RM40 hubs. A narrower flat bar keeps you out of the wind better, although performance isn't quite up there with the training-required Boardman bike. On the flip side, clearances for tyres and mudguards are bigger and it'll take racks front and rear.
Bar ends should be an early upgrade, because thinner tyres transmit more road buzz to your hands than fat ones when you're on flat bars. Allen bolted wheels would be better for security, too.
Verdict: A cheap, simple and effective city hybrid. Why pay any more? 8 out of 10.'
The Revolution Courier Race was up against 5 other commuting bikes in this test.
Comparing them against each other, the Courier Race was awarded the coveted WhatMountainBike Gold Award. Their conclusion:
'Once you add mudguards both the Pinnacle Mean Streak 2.0 and the Revolution Courier Race are effective work bikes. With its cable discs and Deore kit, the Pinnacle is the better bike. However, the Revolution is nearly £200 cheaper, slightly quicker and still does the job well, so that's where our money would go. Decent commuting bikes don't have to cost a packet.'
Find our more about the Revolution Courier Race.
Archived reviews for the Revolution Courier.
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Archived Reviews for the Revolution Courier Race
 Cycling Plus Budget Bike of the Year: December 2002
'Not only is this bike phenomenal value, it is also impressively well thought out and equipped for its function - city commuting. It may not boast the road bike speed of the runners up but it's no slouch either. This is a robust, slick shod, alu 7005 MTB frame. The frame sports eyelets for front and rear mudguards, bottle bosses and a replaceable dropout on the rear drive side. All up weight is a respectable 28lbs, helped by jettisoning unnecessary items such as the front mech. You still get 8 gears though with a 36-99" range - more than adequate for most cities.'
Dan Joyce, the magazine's ex-editor, added his personal view:
'My favourite bikes of this year all ran with 26" wheels. Top 3:
1. Revolution Courier
A common-sense stripped down 8-speed mountain bike for hacking around town, the Courier's under 28lb and £240. It's equipped with slicks but with a tyre change is off-road capable. It'll take mudguards and, with P-clips, a rack. An indestructible bargain.'
For the record, St John Street Cycles XTC (from £999) was Dan's No. 2 and the Cannondale Bad Boy, number 3.
WhatMountainBike? Gold Award: October 2002
'Excellent value off-the-shelf street hack
As well as selling big-name brands, Edinburgh Bicycle Co-operative offer a selection of good value own-brand bikes. The Courier is a city bike aimed squarely at city use. It's the kind of bike, they say, that their mechanics were building up for their own use for hacking around on, instead of risking their best bikes.
The heart of the bike is a rebadged 7005 aluminium frame - Claud Butler we think. This is the key to the low price. If a bike's rebadged, the retailer can sell it for whatever he wants. The Courier frames are resprayed a utilitarian charcoal black, given some Edinburgh decals, and equipped with some suitable components. The decals aren't underneath any lacquer, so will peel off if you want to make your bike completely anonymous.
It's not nearly as nice as the Cannondale Bad Boy, of course, but the Courier's frame is TIG welded neatly enough. There's a gusset where the headtube meets the downtube for added strength. Forks are Chromoly, and there are eyelets for mudguards front and rear - though none on the seatstays, so you'll need to use P-clips there if you want to fit a rack. There are 2 sets of bottle bosses and the gear-side dropout is replaceable.
Single Chainring
The significant thing about the gearing is that there's only one chainring (a 42). This makes sense on a city bike. Not only is it lighter and cheaper, there's less to go wrong, and with an 11-30 cassette you've still got a wide enough range to cope with any terrain. There's a plastic chain keeper on the seat tube to stop the chain jumping off in low gears, while a chainguard on the crankset helps keep trousers clean. Gearing is Alivio, which is unexceptional but perfectly functional. It's a bit rattly in bottom gear because you can't shift the chain inwards at the front end (no front mech!) but it still works fine.
Along with the Scott Street, the Courier was equal comfiest bike on test. This is due to one thing: 1.5" tyres. A bigger air pocket equals more comfort. The Courier's Camel semi-slicks won't roll as well as the Cannondale's Hutchinsons or Vredestein's Slicks but for all that you can only get 65psi in them, they don't run much slower. The Vuelta semi-deep section rims are theoretically stiffer and harsher than shallower rims, but with 1.5" tyres fitted, it's irrelevant. All up weight for the Courier is under 28lb including pedals. At the price, it's impressive. If you wanted you could retrofit a triple chainset: the cable guides are already there. You could even ride off-road on it with a change of tyres (and not even that on hard-pack).
So while as a basic mountain bike it's good value, as a street bike the Courier outclasses anything in its price range. For what is, frankly, silly money, you get a durable workhorse with functional gears and tyres and nice finishing touches. It might not be as smart as the Cannondale Bad Boy, but it's less conspicuous, does the same job, and is one third of the price. A bargain.
- Performance 8/10.
- Value 10/10.
- WhatMountainBike? Gold Award.'
The Edinburgh Courier has been superseded by the near-identical Revolution Courier, now available in 4 versions: Standard, Women's, Race and Nexus.
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