Revel in Community
The small town of Carbondale has created itself a special niche in the Roaring Fork Valley with a rich mixture of creative industries and artists, cultural heritage, ranching and local food production, as well as abundant outdoor recreation. Revel Bikes is an example of thriving innovation within our community. We had a chance to catch up with Sales Manager, and self-proclaimed “bike nerd,” Matt Hoogenboom on why Carbondale is the perfect place for the Revel’s headquarters.
Bonedale Bike Week, 2024. Courtesy photo.
How does Revel foster a connection between its products and Carbondale's culture, and are there any upcoming community events or collaborations that exemplify this?
Revel works very hard to use our products to generate community and connect people in a different manner. I see Revel as a tool to inspire youth, keep adults active, and have a little fun while doing so. We try to engage the community in many ways, this year's spring bash will be on Friday May 23rd to cap off another year of Bonedale Bike Week.
As the demand for high-end performance bikes grows, does Revel have options that cater to both the serious athlete and those who appreciate the art of cycling and outdoor recreation?
We strive to make a bike for everyone. This can be tough, as we have set ourselves up as a high-end-boutique company. We’re keeping our eyes towards the future– where we continue to expand our inclusivity and work towards becoming a well-rounded household bike brand.
How does Revel support diversity and inclusivity within the mountain biking community that often has a niche, or specialized audience?
Cycling can be a tough market when it comes to this, but it leaves the door wide open to make all feel welcome. We try to remember that we all learned the same way, getting shoved off by our parents and probably crashing a bit. Bringing this mentality of equal start opportunity we find it is easy to make anyone feel welcome in our space. We accomplish this very well with our team. We have people from every aspect, some not even cyclists who help create the brand ethos that makes us approachable and different.
Revel showroom (2024)
Tell us about your new place! Anything exciting the community should know about, or are there any ways Carbondale can continue to support Revel?
Our new facility is awesome. Thanks to everyone who came out on November 1st (2024) to our Grand Opening party! We look forward to welcoming the community into our space more often. First, just show up! If you want to talk bikes, grab a free demo, or just see the space, we are open Monday-Friday 9am-5pm. If these hours do not work, we can likely find a time outside those hours as well. One goal for 2025, and beyond, is to use this new space in a more creative way this summer and offer clinics, movie nights, and free tech help! If you have an idea for a class or a program we can assist with, we would love to support it.
Photos courtesy of Revel Bikes
How do you balance innovation in mountain bike design with the values and lifestyle of the outdoor and art-centric community like Carbondale?
I think one of our greater challenges is the sustainability component of the mountain bike industry. Behind all the pretty colors and fun toys, we really try to make our products as eco-friendly as possible. We want to keep you on your bike and make it last as long as you want it to. We also have built a team that believes in Carbondale first. We all chose to move here for reasons outside of Revel, and were lucky enough to also find an awesome job when we got here. Our team not only loves mountain biking, but we love all the little things Carbondale has to offer. While choosing to operate our business here it does impact our choices for what we choose to develop, and how we plan on using our bikes in the future.
Learn more about Revel’s new space, bikes and events here.