Rondo MYLC CF1 review

The Rondo MYLC continues Rondo’s tendency towards radical design, a gravel bike that brings much of the spirit of mountain biking to drop bars.

A very slackened head angle and long front centre make for a gravity-focused graveller.

Testing reveals the MYLC to be a bike that can handle fast, technical and challenging gravel trails – excelling especially downhill.

Rondo MYLC CF1 frame details

The MYLC has a gravel geometry that’s far more off-road oriented, compared to the Rondo RUUT.

This entails a significantly longer reach, whilst shortening the stem and slackening the head angle. In turn, this gives the MYLC a long front centre.

Rondo’s designers have also shortened the seat tube for dropper post use, lowered the standover height to aid manoeuvrability and given the bike generous tyre clearance of 47mm (up to 54mm with 650b wheels).

In part, this is thanks to its asymmetric dropped chainstays, which also ensure an efficient chainline in 1x and 2x formats.

In a world where many gravel bikes are difficult to tell apart due to similar design tools and aims (CFD, CAD systems, wind tunnels, etc) Rondo bikes certainly look different.

Radical tube shapes dominate, with the flat-fronted head tube, kinked top tube, slammed-down skinny stays and sharp edges.

Whether you think this is a success is down to personal taste. I like the statement the bikes make, and the contrast of the very bold design and muted colourways and graphics certainly stands out in a crowded marketplace.

Even with its radical looks, though, Rondo hasn't forgotten the practical.

Three sets of bottle bosses are included, plus top tube bento box mounts and mudguard mounts, while the fork has triple mounts on its legs.

There’s also provision for internal routing for a dynamo front hub.

Rondo MYLC CF1 geometry

The forward kink from the fork crown to the fork legs is yet another very distinctive design, featuring ‘Twin Tip’ dropouts, which change the bike from the gnarly-terrain biased ‘Low’ position (giving it more trail) to the ‘High’ position (which shortens the trail and steepens the head angle).

Both setups are slacker than most. In the Low position, my XL test bike had a 68.6-degree head angle with a 45mm fork offset, giving a 95mm trail.

In the High position, the trail is reduced to 80mm, with a 55mm fork offset and slightly slacker 68-degree head angle.

In both settings, that’s much more trail than most gravel bikes provide – to epic effect in the rough.

Rondo MYLC CF1 specifications

The Rondo MYLC CF1 is the premium model in the MYLC carbon range (the brand also offers steel and aluminium versions of the frame).

The drivetrain is SRAM’s excellent Rival AXS XPLR, combining wireless electronic shifting with the wide gearing of a 42-tooth chainring and a 10-44t 12-speed cassette, and impressive braking.

The bike comes with a special Rondo edition of Hunt’s X-Wide alloy gravel wheels. These 6066-T6 extruded aluminium rims are tubeless-ready, with a big-tyre friendly 25mm internal width.

The freehub has a rapid 10-degree engagement and at 1,698g a pair these are light for alloy wheels, especially ones built tough for gravel riding.

They’re shod with Vittoria’s attractive-looking, grey-walled Terreno Mix tyres in a 40mm width.

Up-front, Rondo provides its own short (70mm) stem. It’s a sharp-looking unit with angular edges, a flattened profile and a unique clamp system, which adds a fifth bolt at the rear of the bar clamp for extra security and adjustability.

It clamps to a Spank Vibrocore bar, which combines lightweight aluminium with a foam-filled core that’s claimed to minimise vibrations.

The bar has a huge 46cm width (centre-to-centre), with a 25-degree flare, for off-road control and lots of leverage. The drops are both shallow (just 110mm) and short (with 65mm of reach).

At the back, Rondo provides a carbon seatpost that, thanks to the short seat tube, has plenty of exposed shaft for additional flex. It’s topped with a Selle San Marco Shortfit saddle.

Rondo MYLC CF1 ride impressions

The MYLC achieves its off-road ambitions with aplomb, but I found I sometimes needed to change how I rode to get the most from it.

The slackened head angle and overall ride position make the MYLC wonderfully balanced.

On gravel roads and byways, it brings a very smooth ride quality. The exposed seatpost and compliance in the skinny seatstays – along with the seat tube's scalloped leaf-spring like shape – take the sting out of rutted terrain and washboard chatter.

The slackened front end, combined with the excellent handlebar, gives comfort at the front.

Get the MYLC onto woodland singletrack, and especially steep downhill slopes, and it’s a marvel.

I could rail corners with such composure and thrash over exposed greasy roots with such confidence that it always impressed.

The Vittoria Terreno Mix tyres are a great complement to the bike. The defined knobs of the tread are well spaced, so they shed mud easily, yet the shoulder tread brings plenty of bite even in sloppy conditions.

I’ve taken the MYLC down trails and slopes that I simply wouldn’t on most gravel bikes. It’s a match for the fun factor of the GT Grade Carbon X that I reviewed alongside it.

This, though, exposes the one omission that would take the MYLC to a new level: a dropper post.

On steeper, trickier descents, the saddle height was the limiting factor, often getting in the way when I’d prefer to tuck it away.

A bike this well-designed for gravity-focused gravel riding really should have a dropper as standard.

The dropper post absence aside, the MYLC is so good on rough and downward terrain, I expected its Achilles heel to be riding back up.

The bike climbs well, but you have to adapt to its charms. The ride position, wide bar and slack front end mean staying seated is the best way to climb.

At 9.35kg, it’s light for a gravel bike with 40mm tyres, with a light wheelset, so it feels good when sat in the saddle.

The gearing is spot-on for tricky ascents with steep gradients, while the front end tracks superbly and requires the lightest of touches to switch direction.

Get out of the saddle, though, and it all feels a little unbalanced – you feel a bit too far forward, as though you’re trying to lean over the bars. The rear-wheel grip suffers too, as a result.

Rondo MYLC bottom line

The MYLC’s build offers a lot of fun for the money. The shifting is superb, the braking a match, and the contact points are well-considered.

The rolling stock is excellent, too.

The radical looks of the frame and fork, and extreme geometry may not meet everyone’s aesthetic sensibilities, but the ride is addictive thanks to its off-road handling chops.

A dropper post seems like a luxury on most gravel bikes, but on a bike with this much potential for the extreme end of gravel endeavours, it’s a shame it’s the one thing that’s been left out.