A brace of road bikes from Rose have landed in the BikeRadar office: the carbon Xeon CW and the aluminium disc-equipped Xeon DX.
Rose are one of the biggest bike shops in Germany, and have their own range of bikes, covering virtually every cycling discipline. With their massive buying might behind them, their bikes are generally very well specced, and buyers have the option to alter the components on many bikes before purchase.
Rose Xeon CW
The Xeon CW is Rose’s road race frame, constructed from a high modulus, aircraft-grade carbon and weighing in at 1150g. The frame was developed with extensive wind tunnel testing in order to improve the aerodynamics. Rose claim this development phase has created a frame that isn’t overly heavy, but still saved ‘double-digit watt figures’ in aerodynamic tests.
The Xeon CW has some neat features such as its hourglass head tube, which maximises stiffness where needed while reducing frontal area where possible. Internal cable routing (in this case for the Ultegra Di2 cables) reduces clutter on the frame, and the seat tube hides the battery pack.
The BB386 press-fit bottom bracket shell is large, and should aid stiffness in that area. Rose have created a dual-position bottle mount for the down tube – the higher position should make grabbing a bottle easier and more comfortable for regular training rides, while the lower position should be better for racing, with the weight lower in the frame and the bottle shielded more from the wind.
The Xeon CW here is the £2600.81 Ultegra Di2 version, which comes in at 7.1kg. Rose have used their own wheels, in this case the Xeon Aero 1500 wheelset, which come with their own hubs and mid-depth rims. The wheels are shod in Continental Grand Prix Force tyres.
Ritchey take care of the cockpit, with their XCS carbon bar and stem, with Rose providing the carbon aero post, atop which sits a Selle Italia SLS saddle. The saddle is clamped to the post using a Monolink clamp, which Rose claim offers a wide range of adjustment.
Xeon DX
The other bike we have here is the Xeon DX, a disc brake-equipped aluminium bike designed for regular and ultra-distance riders – which could be good for the sportive set.
The aluminium frame boasts internal cable routing and a tapered head tube, and the smooth welding gives the frame a sleek look – almost like a carbon frame. The rear disc sits on the chainstay, leaving it less prone to damage, and allows the frame to have slender seatstays.
To improve stiffness at the rear end, Rose have used 135mm spacing and their Nine2Ten axle system, which, because of its oversized design, provides additional stiffness.
The frame comes with a carbon fork with post-mount disc calliper fitting, mirroring the rear with an oversized axle. A neat gutter in the back of the fork leg keeps the cable tidy and out of the way.
It costs £1686.76 equipped with a SRAM Force groupset but, again, the buyer has the ability to change the spec depending on preferences. Avid BB7 brakes should give consistent stopping power in a range of conditions, without wearing away your rims. The wheels are once again Rose’s own offerings, with chunky hubs and mid-section disc-specific rims. Continental provide a pair of 25c GP4000 tyres to keep things comfortable and controlled.
The rest of the build is taken care of by a Ritchey WCS carbon stem, bar and seatpost, with a Fizik saddle.
