Reviews

KTM Revelator Elite Ultegra Di2 road bike – review

A quality all around bike that'll put a smile on your face

Calling your bike the Revelator shows no lack of confidence, and Austrian motorbike and cycling specialists KTM clearly believe in their ride seeing as they have thirteen – yes thirteen – different versions of it in their range.

From the £1,300 3300 model all the way to the five grand plus Prestige Di2 and three disc-ready versions, the Revelator is the peg on which KTM have hung their pedal-powered hopes and it’s a bike that doesn’t disappoint.

Of course, the crowning glory of this build in spec terms is the Ultegra Di2 groupset. There’s only one adjective to describe Ultegra Di2 and that is superb. Having ridden both Ultegra and Dura-Ace Di2 I can tell you first hand that the difference between the two basically boil down to looks and weight. That weight difference is around 50g, so unless you’re desperate to have the eye-catching chrome crankset of Dura-Ace, there’s little reason to look much further up the ladder than Ultegra. The shifting is wonderful, powerful and unerringly precise and the braking power with the dual-pivot brakes – introduced for the 6800 series of Ultegra – are every bit as good as the Dura-Ace versions. Full Ultegra Di2 on a bike of this price – £2,499 – is also excellent value.

KTM might be better know for motorbikes but the Revelator Elite Di2 is a very good bicycle indeed

If you want a slightly swankier frame, using a high-end carbon lay-up, then the Prime and Prestige versions of the bike (rather than the Elite frame here) will supply it, albeit at a price. The top end Revelatory Prestige Di2 comes in at 6.6kg thanks to that lighter frame and some other little touches, but will cost you £5,249.99, so it’s up to you to consider whether that 800g reduction is worth three grand.

Another nice see touch are the DT Swiss R23 Spline wheels. They’re not high end alloy clinchers by any means, but certainly not the standard OEM wheels you quite often find on bikes around this price, and certainly not the sort of wheels you’ll be itching to get rid of at the first opportunity. They’re also tubeless ready, which is a good feature whether or not you intend to use it (and you really should consider it if you haven’t already dabbled).

Better than that, the bike comes as standard with a set of Schwalbe One tyres, a quality set that can – and will – be seen on bikes that are far more expensive than this. Schwalbe’s reputation is a good as any tyre manufacturer out there, and the One tyres are a set that I’ve really enjoyed riding in the past. The only thing I’d like to change would be to get a set of the 25mm tyres rather than the 23s. That’s personal preference but there is a widespread shift to 25mm rubber across the board, and that’s what we hope to see on most bikes now.

Specification
Price: £2,499
Weight: 7.4kg
Sizes: 49, 52, 55, 58, 59cm
Size tested: 55cm
Website: KTM Bikes
UK distributor: FLi Distribution

Finishing kit is all KTM own-brand – other than the Selle Italia SLS Flow saddle – and could reasonably described as the weakest part of the build. It’s not bad, it’s just a little mundane but gives you an obvious place to start should you wish to upgrade. The other thing I’m not psyched about is the grey on black colour scheme, especially when the rest of the range makes liberal use of KTM’s signature orange. But that’s just nit picking, really.

On to the important details and the Revelator Elite Di2 is great fun to ride, providing that easy familiarity that you get with good bikes. There’s no getting used to any quirks, it’s just a good bike that feels good from day one, with agreeable handling that doesn’t throw up any surprises.

There’s something quite charming about it, really. The Revelator doesn’t have any features that are thrown at you: it’s not super light, it’s not fully aero-focused, it’s just a good all-round bike that’s thoroughly enjoyable to throw a leg other, with a fun, balanced ride. The sort of bike, in fact, that a wide range of riders can enjoy.

The truth is that most of us don’t need something pro-ready (as much as we’d like it) and a bike that can do a little bit of everything – being stiff and responsive, reasonably light and relatively comfortable – is ready to be ridden out of the garage every day of the year.

Conclusion

While perhaps not being quite the revelation to which its name points, KTM’s Revelator Elite Di2 is a really good all around bike that would be a good choice for anyone who wants just the one bike to ride year round, rather than something all the more specialist.