Rides4Beer

Picked up my 2021 Giant Revolt Advanced 2 last week, absolutely love it! Didn't have any doubts, since I loved my 2019 Revolt Advanced 2. lol

But there have def been some changes, first off, they come with GRX groupsets now (some still with Praxis cranksets, some with GRX cranksets). First thing I noticed was that it felt lighter, put it on the scale, and it's 2lbs lighter!

They have similar specs, my 2019 was full 105 (removed the Conduct crap) and weighed 9.52kg without pedals. The '21 Advanced 2 is a mix, technically it's 105 level shifters (GRX 600) and Ultegra level derailleurs (GRX 800), and Tiagra level brake calipers (GRX 400). The only difference I can determine between the levels of brake calipers is the finish, they all look exactly the same, and I'm guessing they are the same internally. But the 2021 Advanced 2 weighed in at 8.64kg!

The stock wheels/tires weigh the same, so it's frame & components. I never checked the steerer on my '19, but now I wonder if it was aluminum (maybe someone with a '19 can confirm?), whereas it's carbon on the '21. That would be a decent chunk of weight. The GRX stuff might be a bit lighter than r7000, not sure. The 2021 frames are also di2 compatible now, with a hole near the front mech, so it's possible they shaved some weight in the layup, and the thru axles have a removable composite handle. Guess all the little stuff adds up.

I'll be upgrading to GRX di2 if Shimano ever ships the parts, but the mechanical GRX stuff is def nice, shifters are better than the r7000 imo, and the clutched RD is great, even on the road, I'm just leaving the clutch on all the time (not a peep from the chain on high speed bunny hops, or rough sections of road). The new Approach saddle is just a touch wide for me, not that uncomfortable, but enough that I noticed it, so I swapped it with a carbon saddle that I've used on other bikes (that also happens to be 175g lighter).

As pictured with Fulcrum Rapid Red 5 wheelset w/ 42mm Pathfinder Pros, she weighs 8.5kg. Not bad for alloy wheels & bars. Might do carbon bars when the di2 stuff goes on, and maybe some carbon wheels eventually, could prob drop another 3-400g. I'm not a huge weight weenie, I'd rather have it be durable and reliable, but I'll take durable and lighter when I can. lol

Metieval

Very nice! I should have waited, but.....oh well

Rides4Beer

Can always sell your current one and get a new one. lol Sold my 2019 without even listing it for sale, just word of mouth, market is pretty hot right now. Of course the trick is getting your hands on a new bike. My LBS was able to order me one, they also had an Advanced 0 that came in the same shipment, it sold the day after they got it in.

Metieval

Yeah well I do love my Niner bolt on half frame bag.
Had I known that Giant would put the grx on that color. Maybe I would have waited.
Or sell the supersix himod, and get a revolt. Keep the 35c on the RLT9, and put 700x42s on the giant. Always options!

DorkDisk

That's a very nice color; I bet you'll score a lot of beer on that rig!

Rides4Beer

The 42mm Pathfinders measure out a lil over 44mm on 23c rims, with plenty of room left. I thought about getting a set of 650Bs, but I don't think I'll need more tire than this. lol But the Revolt will fit 650x47 if you want.

Her first race is on Sat, and there will def be beer after!!

sarhog

Rides4Beer Which race, the Falling Creek Pinnacle Punisher Gravel race? If so, how was it?

Rides4Beer

Yup! Probably the toughest race of the series, imo. That second loop was brutal (I've done those climbs before, but never twice in a single ride, much less twice as hard as I can lol). The bike performed flawlessly, I'll never ride without a clutched RD again, not a peep out of the chain and shifting was perfect no matter how rough it was, and it was pretty rough! Almost made it across the river, drifted to the left and it got deeper and there was a big rock right in front of me, so I stopped and put my foot down and walked it the rest of the way. Just glad I didn't go full into the water like some folks did. lol 42mm Pathfinder Pros were fantastic, I was thinking about going to the 38mm in the future (they were out of stock), but now I don't think I will, these are plenty fast and did great on the chunky descents.

They haven't released the official results yet, but if my math is correct, I'm pretty sure I won the series for my AG.

Phatman

Soo...that saddle angle though. Does it not put a bunch of pressure on your arms/hands?

Love the bike by the way, that purple bass boat flake is not something I'd pick on my own, but it looks good on your bike.

Rides4Beer

It's mostly the angle of the picture, it's pretty straight, maybe just a hair downward if I were to put a level on it. No pressure issues tho, it's comfortable for me.

Turns out my math was correct, won the series for my AG, $300 worth of Thomson gear coming my way, new stem and bars, woohoo!!

shoota 

I can't believe it's this light. I went fairly WW with my Warbird and it's a pound heavier. grr

Rides4Beer

I was really surprised, but I'll take it! Now I get to add new bars/stem that should drop a lil weight over the stock pieces, and if I can get my hands on it, the SLR seatpost (seems to be only available for the international market, but its 100g lighter so it'll be nice if I can get one, no other options since it's a proprietary seatpost). Could drop a lil weight on the wheels, but I'm not sure I want to spend a bunch of money on carbon wheels to beat the crap out of them. lol The Fulcrums are 1700g, but have been bombproof, so I'll stick with them for a while. I'm 180lbs and ride hard, so I don't want to have to worry about the durability of my gear to save some extra weight.

shoota 

Same here. But I would actually worry more about the durability of alloy wheels than carbon. Run these Fulcrums into the ground and then get a nice of carbon wheels. I bet they last longer

Rides4Beer

Could be, I know plenty of people race hard on carbon, gravel and MTB, guess it just depends on the brand/build.

sarhog

Pinnacle mountain is a tough climb once, I’ve no interest in doing it twice in one day! I did the 66k (one loop) race and had a good time. I did the 100k for the Tryon event and it kicked my ass.
Congrats on the series win!

zen_

I was wondering what that color was on the new Advanced 2, and it looks really good. Tempting as it would be to run out and buy one, I think I'll wait one more year to decide between a Revolt or custom steel bike. Nothing else seems to come close in value, and an awesome warranty if there are problems.

It's too bad they didn't update to the newer Alba X crank. I had some issues with my Alba at first because it wasn't installed correctly by the bike shop (I assume), but it's surprised me as an OE crank. 5,000 miles of gravel with plenty of hard banging on dirt roads and washboards with only 1 dropped chain, and I think the shifting is excellent (do a lot of it on rolling hills around here).

Rides4Beer

Giant does a horrible job of representing their awesome colors properly. lol

Had no issues with the Alba crank on my 2019, hopefully the same on this one. I'll prob upgrade it at some point, maybe the Zyante carbon with a power meter (lighter than GRX).

Rides4Beer

Got my Thomson X4 stem and carbon bars installed, they’re beautiful pieces, and dropped 100g over the stock bars (stems were the same weight).

Found out that I won a set of Boyd Pinnacle carbon wheels, should be picking them up tomorrow, I’ll get some pics posted when I get them mounted up.

Rides4Beer

Picked up the Boyd Pinnacle carbon wheelset that I won, looking forward to breaking them in proper! My first hookless wheelset, had no issues mounting up the 38mm Pathfinder Pros. I really liked the 42's I have on the Fulcrum wheelset, but I noticed just a lil bit of rub on the inside of the seatstays after the race last weekend (had some mud and they measure almost 45mm on those wheels), so I wanted to be safe and make sure I have plenty of clearance for any conditions. The 38's measure out at 39.7mm freshly mounted, will prob end up a hair over 40mm on these 23.4mm internal wheels.