There have been far too many stories recently of brands shutting down, employees being let go, and generally hard times for the bike industry. Perhaps the most shocking and saddening to me, was the surprise announcement that Revel Bikes was closing. The brand had just unveiled three new bikes, and seemed to have a ton of momentum heading into the Sea Otter Classic, but that all came crashing to a halt when the brand lost their funding due to the complex economic environment.

Revel Bikes and Why Cycles founder Adam Miller, made the decision to sell Revel Bikes to a Private Equity firm in 2021, believing, “that with more capital and infrastructure, Revel could grow into something even bigger, while holding on to what made it special.”

However, as is often the case with Private Equity firms, what had made Revel special wasn’t as important as growth and increased sales. “The private equity firm had a very different vision for Revel than I did,” Miller said. “They helped us by making heavy investments in manufacturing and supply chain that built world-class infrastructure—something I believe will benefit Revel for years to come. But they also pursued an aggressive growth-at-all-costs model that didn’t align with the DNA of the brand. High inventory, high overhead, and a rigid financial structure left little room for being nimble and adjusting to the times. When funding dried up in a tough macro environment, the company was forced to shut its doors.”

Adam was just as surprised as we were to hear that Revel was closing, only hearing the news himself the day before the official announcement. It didn’t take long for Adam to decide that it was time to step back in and save the brand. “When I left a year ago, I thought and hoped Revel would live on and continue to thrive, but that didn’t happen. Last month, I found out, just a day before the public announcement, that Revel was shutting its doors.  The employees, the community, the customers…we were all left hanging. This news was truly devastating to me – I had poured my heart into Revel for the better part of a decade, and I couldn’t just let it disappear. This wasn’t something I planned on doing, but Revel means a lot to a lot of people. I’m excited to work with our awesome team in Carbondale and Taiwan to build Revel into the best world-class mountain bike brand that we can dream up,” he said.

As a result, Revel is back – though it wasn’t a sure thing that Adam would be back at the helm. After JP Morgan foreclosed on the company, there were reportedly 125 offers in just two days to buy the brand. Ultimately, the bank didn’t care about the fact that Adam was the founder, they just wanted the most money they could get. After a tense waiting period to find out if his final bid was accepted, Adam signed the final paperwork yesterday to purchase back all the assets and rights to the Revel Bikes company.

Adam points out that this isn’t an attempt to quickly scale back up the business or build it back up to sell it again, “it’s about building a company we’re proud of—one that makes the best bikes we can dream of, takes care of its customers around the globe in the best way possible, and sticks around for the long haul. Revel is back, and we’re getting to work.”

What’s Next for Revel Bikes?

Revel is now back under founder control with a clear direction:

• Make the best, most innovative bikes we can
• Support our customers with world-class customer service
• Run a smart, sustainable business that works for riders and shops

Business Model Updates

The new Revel will adjust its operations to meet the needs of today’s riding and retail environment:

• Significantly improved retail pricing, better than anything seen since before COVID
• Smarter inventory planning, with fewer complete bikes in stock and more nimble assembly capabilities using our Colorado and Taiwan facilities 
• A refined dealer program, offering frame-only sales with no minimums, so shops can build custom bikes their own way
• Stronger DTC infrastructure, to provide better value and access to riders globally

New Bikes are Back

The newly released Ritual: a 170mm travel enduro race bike with internal frame storage and modern features and “the best CBF platform yet”, is available now with frames starting at $3099 and complete bikes starting at $5199. 

The Revel ReRun eBike: Revel’s first ebike, the ReRun includes the Bosch SX motor, and is available for pre-order now with a refundable deposit and will begin shipping to customers in July. Complete builds start at $6999. 

The Revel Rascal SL: an improved version of the bike that put Revel on the map (and one that I still own), now with a stiffer, lighter, and better carbon layup, is available now with frames at $2999 and completes at $4999. 

The Ranger: available in two new colorways with two build kit options and frames at $2999.

Revel is also offering discounts on a limited supply of last year’s model products. Their office is closed during the last week of May to give the team a break from the craziness of the last few weeks, but Revel is taking orders online and will be back in full operation starting June 2. More details can be found at www.RevelBikes.com.

Adam Miller lifting dogs, and lifting front wheels. (All Photos/Revel Bikes) A Letter from Adam Miller

Founder of Revel Bikes

My whole life has been shaped by bicycles. I started tinkering with bikes as a kid, and by the time I was 11, I was running a mini bike business out of my bedroom in Anchorage, Alaska, parting out used bikes and selling them on eBay. A few years later, when I was 14, I landed a job at our local bike shop, and that’s when my future in bikes truly grabbed hold. I wasn’t just wrenching and changing tires and learning about all sorts of bike companies and business models, I was getting more and more passionate and fascinated by bikes, the people who ride them, and the kind of community that two wheels can create.

As my career evolved, and I started and then sold my first company, I was lucky enough to travel all over the world and form incredible relationships with people in manufacturing, distribution, and everything related to bikes, from factories in Asia to the trails in Colorado to shops across Europe. Those experiences led me to start Revel Bikes in 2015. Over the next four years, I worked on designs and logistics and developed Revel’s first two carbon fiber mountain bike models – while also designing fun titanium bikes and running Why Cycles. I was surrounded by an amazing group of designers, engineers, and bike nerds, many of whom were also my roommates. We’d spend long days at the office, and nights in the living room tinkering with prototypes, dreaming about launch day.

When we finally launched Revel in 2019 with just those two models, it took off faster than we ever imagined. We were just six friends in a warehouse in a small Colorado mountain town, and somehow, our ideas were working.

Revel was never just a company to me – it was a personal mission. We built the bikes we actually wanted to ride, rooted in quality, sustainability, customer service, and a genuine love of riding bikes and being outside in the mountains. I had an absolute blast working crazy hours and running the company for several fantastic years. 

In late 2021, I sold the company to a private equity group. I believed that with more capital and infrastructure, Revel could grow into something even bigger, while holding on to what made it special. I stayed on for a while to help with the transition, and then I fully stepped away in early 2024 when the company’s mission started to deviate from my own.

When I left a year ago, I thought and hoped Revel would live on and continue to thrive, but that didn’t happen. Last month, I found out, just a day before the public announcement, that Revel was shutting its doors.  The employees, the community, the customers…we were all left hanging. This news was truly devastating to me – I had poured my heart into Revel for the better part of a decade, and I couldn’t just let it disappear.

So I bought Revel back, and now we’re here to stay. The business is going to be smaller, leaner, and smarter, and the team and I are more motivated than ever to make Revel what we always knew it could be – a responsive, customer-oriented company with incredible, carefully crafted bikes that we want to ride and we think you will too.

As Revel re-emerges, we’re planning to stay laser-focused on what really matters.  This company is not going to chase growth for growth’s sake. We’re going to create something we’re proud of, for the long haul. We’ll sell directly to riders, and we’ll have a frame-only program for dealers with the hopes of seeing more epic custom builds. My team and I are committed to running everything with the same obsessive attention to detail that started in that bedroom bike shop in Alaska and that put Revel on the map in 2019.

To everyone who stuck with me and this company, thank you. To those just discovering Revel, welcome. We’re just getting started, again.
Adam Miller
Founder & CEO, Revel Bikes