 Revolution is the Edinburgh Bicycle Co-op's in-house brand. With the Shadow it had the intention of creating the lightest machine, with the best possible specification - for under a grand. Weighing in at just under 24lb and £949, it has already knocked off two of those aims; a quick look at what’s hanging off the bike and it ain’t far off the other either.
Straight out the box it is clear the Shadow has been built as a sleek racing bike. From a matt black finish to the steep racing angles and razor blade of a carbon saddle, there can be no doubt at what this bike is firmly aimed at. A lack of rack or mudguard mounts, no graphics at all and no canti bosses completes a very sleek looking frame and give you an idea of the ride you are in for. The frame is built in the Far East of course, dropping out of the same factory that's putting together Tomac and Orbea frames, but a healthy design input from local UK riders has meant worthwhile developments from previous versions.
After some criticism of last years frame flexing laterally just a little too much (and consequently a poorish review) the boys went back to the drawing board and beefed up the frame. The result is a triple butted, sub-3lb frame with oversized down tube, and a similarly flaring seat tube that widens to 34.9mm at the bottom bracket. Mud clearance has been given deep consideration too.
As soon as you get on the bike and undertake some serious pushing of cranks the benefits of this become clear. The bike just wants to climb - it positively pulls at the reins once you start to put the power down and this could only be a major boost when your head is down in a race or hard training situation. Nothing flexes any more than you would want it to, and the whole bike feels like a very solid unit - a confidence inspiring, predictable ride.
Manitou R7 Comp forks (black, of course) save a few quid on the build up, but seem to perform excellently on most surfaces without a huge amount of flex or weight to bring the bike down. After a short burst of tweaking we got them set up nicely, absorbing large and small lumps on the trail with good grace.
The rest of the components have obviously been chosen for their weight and performance too, with 660mm wide carbon bars and seat post from Guizzo (the high end arm of Kalloy) combining with a 90mm alloy stem to give a nicely proportioned cockpit in practice, with plenty of leverage for more technical riding.
Avid Juicy 7 brakes, SRAM X7 shifters and an X9 mech show Edinburgh Bicycle's commitment to high end spec, while Deore LX cranks put in a solid performance without flash. We didn’t get on with the Continental Edge tyres from day one, with their flexible side knobs and squirrely cornering performance; we changed them for something a bit more up our street.
It all adds up to a bike that can literally be raced, or just plain ridden hard and fast, straight out the box with lightweight, well chosen components and a geometry that just demands to be ridden uphill and down twisty singletrack. You wouldn’t want to be riding it all day every day, but for a machine you can lift off the rack and go for a blast on, you would struggle to beat it for the price.
MBR (Mountain Bike Rider), March 2008.
Edinburgh Bicycle Co-op's Comment. Please note that this review refers to the (sold out) 2007 version.
For 2008, we have used the same ULTRALIGHT triple butted scandium frame and carbon finishing kit. Then we updated the fork to a Marzocchi Corsa Marathon; the drivetrain has been upgraded with Shimano XT shifters and rear mech, and we have even supplied a pair of XT SPD pedals (it came sans pedals last year). Despite all these upgrades, we have still kept the price of the bike under a grand. The 2008 Revolution Shadow Mountain is £999.
Find out more about the Revolution Shadow Mountain.
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