Revel El Jefe Grande First Impressions: Going Big With 32-Inch Wheels

Revel Goes Big with 32" Wheels

Intro

Just when 29-inch wheels started feeling completely normal, Revel decided it was time to go bigger.

The new Revel El Jefe Grande is a titanium XC hardtail built around 32-inch wheels. It is based on the original El Jefe 29er, but Revel did more than stretch the frame until the larger wheels fit. After showing an early Concept Labs version at Sea Otter, the company continued experimenting with prototypes, revised the geometry and developed an entirely new front end for the production frame.

The result is one of the more interesting hardtails we have seen in a while. It combines enormous wheels, 100mm of front travel, adjustable dropouts and enough frame mounts to take it well beyond short XC rides.

A few months before the production bike was announced, Jared and I also had the chance to ride two of Revel’s prototypes. That short ride was enough to change my opinion of 32-inch wheels almost immediately.

32-Inch Wheels

The El Jefe Grande will be available in four sizes. Medium through XL frames use 32-inch wheels front and rear, while the small pairs a 32-inch front wheel with a 29-inch rear.

Larger wheels should carry speed and roll through rough terrain more easily, but fitting them into a mountain bike without making the bike feel enormous is the real challenge. There is more wheel to package around the rider, and simply stretching conventional 29er geometry would likely create a bike that feels long, slow and awkward.

That was a major focus during Revel’s development process. The early Concept Labs bike helped the company gather feedback, but Revel says the production frame received completely reworked geometry after additional prototypes and testing.

The El Jefe Grande is still positioned primarily as an XC hardtail, but it is not limited to racing. The titanium frame, adjustable dropouts and five sets of bottle or accessory mounts give it the versatility to handle longer trail rides, singlespeed builds and bikepacking trips.

After riding one of the prototypes, the biggest surprise was how quickly the large front wheel stopped feeling unusual. It tracked extremely well and generated a ridiculous amount of traction, but it did not feel as huge from the saddle as it looked from the ground.

New Frame Construction

The El Jefe Grande uses a titanium frame with a 3D-printed titanium head tube that is smooth-welded to the top tube and down tube. This is the first time Revel has used this construction on one of its production bikes.

The printed head tube is not only there to make the frame look different. A 32-inch wheel requires a long fork combined with a relatively short head tube. According to Revel, that combination places a lot of force into the front of the frame, and conventional titanium construction did not provide the strength and stiffness it wanted.

Revel says the new head tube has been ISO tested beyond standard mountain-bike requirements and creates a stiffer, stronger and more durable front end. The construction also allows Revel to route the cables more cleanly through the frame.

It is a good example of using a new manufacturing method to solve a specific problem instead of adding technology for the sake of having something new. The smooth welds also help the printed section blend into the rest of the frame rather than looking like a separate piece.

The finished frame gets a two-tone combination of bead-blasted titanium and polished graphics. It still looks unmistakably like an El Jefe, only with a considerably larger footprint.

Geometry and Specs

The El Jefe Grande is designed around a 100mm fork with a 550mm axle-to-crown measurement. All four sizes use a 67.5-degree head-tube angle, while effective seat-tube angles range from 75.8 degrees on the small to 76.4 degrees on the XL.

Reach measurements are 440mm, 460mm, 480mm and 510mm across the four sizes. Medium through XL frames use adjustable 440mm to 457mm chainstays. The mixed-wheel small gets shorter 430mm to 447mm chainstays.

Each frame includes UDH-compatible titanium sliding dropouts with 17mm of adjustment. That adjustment lets riders fine-tune the wheelbase or build the bike as a singlespeed.

Other frame details include:

• Titanium frame with a 3D-printed head tube

• 100mm fork travel

• 32"/29" wheels on the small

• 32"/32" wheels on medium through XL

• Boost 12x148mm rear spacing

• Clearance for a 32" x 2.4" rear tire on medium through XL

• Clearance for a 29" x 2.6" rear tire on the small

• 73mm threaded BSA bottom bracket

• 34-tooth maximum chainring

• 160mm post-mount rear brake with a 180mm maximum rotor

• 31.6mm seatpost with a 34.9mm seat clamp

• Five bottle or accessory mounting locations on every size

• Internal cable routing

• 4.76-pound claimed frame weight in a size large

The El Jefe Grande is initially available as a frameset for $3,499. Revel is accepting reservations with a $500 deposit, with frames expected to begin shipping in December.

Riding Some Prototypes

Jared and I were lucky enough to spend an afternoon riding two El Jefe Grande prototypes. One was roughly a size large with 32-inch wheels front and rear. The other was closer to a medium and used a 32-inch front wheel with a 29-inch rear.

I rode the mixed-wheel bike and had an absolute blast.

I already have a 29-inch El Jefe in my regular fleet, so I am very familiar with how that bike feels. That made me especially curious about the prototype because Revel had changed relatively little beyond the wheel setup.

The ride was incredibly smooth, and the amount of front-end traction immediately stood out. Even with an Aspen tire up front, I could not get the front wheel to break loose. It tracked through the trail extremely well and carried a surprising amount of grip, but it never felt overly large or awkward.

I started the ride thinking 32-inch wheels were probably too big, too weird or both. By the end of the afternoon, I was asking Adam and the Revel crew whether a production bike was coming.

The strangest part was how the 29-inch rear wheel felt compared with the 32-inch front. On the hardtail, the rear occasionally felt like it was getting hung up on things that the front wheel had already rolled through. Some of that sensation came from having no rear suspension, but the difference between the two wheel sizes was noticeable enough to make me laugh.

I got into mountain biking right as 29-inch wheels were becoming common in XC. At the time, plenty of trail and downhill riders said those wagon wheels did not corner and did not belong on more aggressive bikes. Now I was riding behind a 32-inch front wheel and thinking the 29-inch rear felt small when it hit something.

That does not mean one afternoon answered every question about 32-inch wheels. It was a short prototype ride, not a long-term review. Still, I went from being skeptical of the entire idea to wanting much more time on one.

Final Thoughts

The Revel El Jefe Grande could have easily ended up as a novelty bike built around a headline-grabbing wheel size. Based on our short prototype ride and the changes Revel made for production, it feels considerably more thought-out than that.

Revel did not simply make an El Jefe bigger. The company tested multiple prototypes, reworked the geometry and developed a new 3D-printed head tube to manage the additional forces created by the larger fork and front wheel.

There are still plenty of questions we can only answer after spending more time on the production bike. We want to see how a full 32/32 build corners on tighter trails, how it climbs on technical terrain and whether the rollover advantage is worth the larger overall package.

What I can say is that my first ride did not feel like a gimmick. The front wheel delivered incredible traction, tracked cleanly and felt much more natural than I expected. I went into the ride thinking 32-inch wheels were probably unnecessary and came away asking when I could get my own El Jefe Grande.

As soon as production bikes arrive, I cannot wait to spend more time on one.