One of GearJunkie’s favorite brands has become the latest casualty of a tough marketplace for bike-makers. Colorado-based Revel Bikes is going out of business, a sales manager for the company confirmed to GearJunkie on Friday. The news comes just days after Revel debuted three new bicycles at Sea Otter, one of the bike industry’s biggest annual events.
According to an email sent out to dealers and shared by multiple bike news publications, including the Radavist and MTBR, Revel Bikes “as it currently stands” is closing. The email cites the brand losing its financial safety net. As a result, control has been given to a bank while the company starts an “orderly wind down.”
“All good things must come to an end, but what a ride it’s been,” Revel Bike’s Chief Financial Officer Ola Verploegh said in a LinkedIn post. “Though the Revel name may be taking its final bow, the spirit of innovation and the love for the ride will live on.”
At the moment, it’s unclear how long the brand’s site and inventory will remain available. But Matt Boughton, the brand’s product manager, lamented the brand’s sudden downfall in a LinkedIn post.
“Well we had a damn good run boys & girls! To everyone who helped get Revel this far, THANK YOU!” Boughton wrote on LinkedIn. “You know who you are. I guess all good things must come to an end. RIP Revel Bikes.”
From Kona to Revel
The news comes almost exactly 1 year after Kona Bikes went out of business — while the brand was proudly showing off its bikes at Sea Otter 2024.
It was surprising for industry veterans to see Kona’s parent company, Kent Outdoors, decide to sell off the brand just days after unveiling a new adventure bike at Sea Otter. The brand had already paid to get its booth to the venue and set it up.
Now, a similar turn of events seems to be happening at Revel Bikes. But with Kona, the brand’s original owners ended up buying it back from Kent Outdoors. So far, there are no signs that a similar Hail Mary will save Revel.
The bike industry has faced a difficult marketplace for the last several years, a situation that has only worsened with President Trump’s tariffs. According to representatives of PeopleForBikes, a nonprofit advocate, the bike industry is confronting a future with increased costs of production, declining consumer spending, and an economy that could soon dip into recession.
Revel’s fate means losing another brand making stellar bikes, including some of GearJunkie’s favorite mountain bikes.
In a 2024 review of the Revel Ranger, GJ Cycling Editor Seiji Ishii said last year’s upgrade made “one of our favorite mountain bikes even better.” But the brand didn’t just make great mountain bikes. It also made GearJunkie’s list of the Best Gravel Bikes of 2024.
“Revel is a relatively small brand, but it has gained a reputation for producing quality, albeit somewhat expensive, bikes that rival the performance of the mainstream competition,” Steve Graepel and Jeremy Benson wrote in the guide.
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