Giant Revive



tyler_derden

New Member
Mar 22, 2004
260
0
0
I bought a Giant Revive DX for my wife on ebay. It arrived a few days ago and I must say I am impressed with its build quality and the well considered feature set. There was a lot of attention paid to details- for example, there is a spring that conects the fork and frame. It took a few minutes to figure out what it is for, but then I realized- when you stand the bike on the kickstand, the spring keeps the steering from flopping over and making the bike fall down. The computer (it seems sort of silly for a bike like this to have a speedometer) mounts into a cutout in the handlebar with a lock lever that holds it in place. Very neatly done! The chain is completely enclosed, there is a boot over the shock, the 7 speed hub works flawlessly. The quiet roller brakes, front and rear, work well. The seat is very quickly and easily adjustable, as are the handlebars. The step-over height is very low, so it is very easy to get on and off the bike. My wife is small (5' 2") and the bike adjusts to fit her perfectly.

This is a VERY sturdy bike. It is also a heavy bike, a fact of little consequence, unless you have to lift it in and out of a car or van. It has a long wheelbase compared to most bikes, and the handlebars are high, so you may have trouble fitting it into most vehicles. I have no idea how it would go on a bumper-type rack. It fits into my Honda Odyssey if I drop the handlebars to minimum height.

Quibbles:
1) for people who don't ride bikes much the steering takes a little getting used to. The wheelbase is a little long and there is considerable fork rake, both of which make steering at speed very stable but contribute to some wobbliness when one first starts up. The long wheelbase also makes for a relatively large turn-around radius. The steering is the only thing my wife has had cause to mention in a less than enthusiastic tone.
2) Its been fashionable, for several years, among people who exercise, to carry around and sip water constantly, and Giant's neglect of this habit is hard to understand considering the otherwise excellent attention paid to detail in the design of this bike. There is a water bottle loop on the accessory bag that fits the luggage rack, but if you don't get the bag, you can't carry the water.

If you're looking for one of these bikes, check ebay. There were 5 of them listed when I bought my wife's bike, all with such low mileage so as to be indistinguishable from new, yet the price, including shipping, is a few hundred dollars lower than the retail price. Giant doesn't change these bikes much from year to year, so they must have a difficult task competing with the sizeable used-market where nearly new bikes sell for hundreds less than new bikes.

TD
 
I've been using my Giant Revive for a year now to commute to work. It's about 8 miles each way and I average riding about 3-4 times a week. I'm 56, 5'10" tall and weigh 250 pounds. (I've weighed the same for the last 20 years and I am according to my doctor the healthiest fat man he has ever seen.) I love the Revive. It is comfortable and easy to ride. I don't set any speed records on it, but I wouldn't on a road bike either. I attached a water bottle cage to the back of my seat and I can reach it quite easily. I have the 7 speed DX model and I hope I never have to change the back tire on the way to work, so I carry a couple of cans of Seal Flat (which is supposed to seal and inflate a flat tire) and my cell phone. I also have a Sony AM/FM bike radio that has push button presets. I can listen to music or news without having to use earphones so it is safer for my commute. For what I do, the Revive fits real well, but I still like the tandem with my wife on the weekends. I only wish she would stop slapping me on the side of the helmet to signal which way to turn......
 
I've had my revive dx for over a year now and I really love the bike. I was looking for a recumbent but this was a much better choice. I have one problem however. When I put a stress load on the drive train (like when going up a steep grade) the chain creeks quite loadly and when the left padel crank gets to about the 2 o'clock position I get a pop like something in the drive train is impinging on something. It's hard to diagnose because the chain is so completely enclosed. Also it has proven to be intermittant and so far the bikeshop hasn't been able to duplicate the problem. They lubbed the chain and that helped for awhile but in pretty short order it has returned. Has anyone else had this problem?
 
Great. But more rake makes for more trail and faster steering. A relaxed head angle needs more rake to give it enough trail. Steep head angle bikes are much more effected by the rake on a fork. When you change the rake on a fork with a head tube @ 90, the trail changes more than a rake change on a 70degree HT. Correct me if I'm wrong.

To topic, I think they are interesting bikes. A good idea, but I'm not sure if the world is ready for them. They still look a little strange.
 
bobbyOCR said:
Great. But more rake makes for more trail and faster steering. A relaxed head angle needs more rake to give it enough trail. Steep head angle bikes are much more effected by the rake on a fork. When you change the rake on a fork with a head tube @ 90, the trail changes more than a rake change on a 70degree HT. Correct me if I'm wrong.

To topic, I think they are interesting bikes. A good idea, but I'm not sure if the world is ready for them. They still look a little strange.
Bobby, a relaxed head angle needs more rake to bring down the trail to a normal level, not increase it. Relaxed head angle and less rake= steering that is too stable/heavy.
 
tyler_derden said:
I bought a Giant Revive DX for my wife on ebay....
I haven't owned a Revive, or even rode one (-I haven't owned a wife either, and that's all I'm gonna say about that-).

A couple things I hear a LOT obout the Revive:
1. It's heavy
2. It's not real good for long-distance riding, even on flat ground (think <20 mile rides)
3. People with certain back problems LOVE the rear suspension.
~
 
artemidorus said:
Bobby, a relaxed head angle needs more rake to bring down the trail to a normal level, not increase it. Relaxed head angle and less rake= steering that is too stable/heavy.
Ahh, sorry, little brain mix up. I'll fix it up.

Sorry More rake = less trail. Slacker steering angle means more trail with the same fork. Less trail = faster steering.
 
bobbyOCR said:
Great.
To topic, I think they are interesting bikes. A good idea, but I'm not sure if the world is ready for them. They still look a little strange.
They look strange and get a lot of strange questions. I have owned the DX seven speed for five days and put 101.2 miles on it. I do know by butt is happy to have it. I had a nice seat on my Specialized but the DX is all most like sitting at home. I would like to have one gear lower and one higher but for 95 percent of the time it works well. I do top out now and then at some where over 16 MPH and have one steep bridge to go over that a lower gear would be nice. But over all I would give it a 9 1/2 out of ten for fun.
Wink