German direct-sales brand Rose Bikes has launched its new carbon-fibre gravel bike, the Backroad, following in the footsteps of the Reveal endurance bike.
The Backroad has a 1,020g carbon frameset that Rose says ups comfort and off-road ability to handle long off-road and mixed surface riding.
Key to this are the lowered seatstays – anyone who’s read about a bike launch in the past couple of years will have noticed the trend towards dropped stays – and an integrated clamp, which holds a D-shaped seatpost.
There’s either 8mm or 25mm of setback to the post head for different amounts of flex and a tuneable riding position.
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The frame and fork have clearance for 47mm (700c) or 50mm (650b) tyres. There’s also a straight-through headset with 1.5in bearings top and bottom, and frame protectors to protect the chassis from bumps and bashes.
Like any good gravel frameset, there are tons of mounting points, with three bottle cage mounts, top tube bosses and three-bolt Anything mounts on the forks for extra portage.
Wide range of 1x and 2x builds
Rose sells its bike direct through the company’s website. The Backroad range includes six standard builds, plus two limited edition builds. Prices start at €2,499 (£2,268.01, correct at the time of writing) and rise to €4,949 (£4,491.56).
The cheapest bike in the range, the Backroad GRX RX600, comes with a Shimano GRX RX6000 11-speed single-ring groupset with a 40-tooth chainring and 11-42 cassette. Wheels are 700c Rose R-Thirty Disc with Schwalbe G-One Allround 38mm tyres. There’s a Ritchey cockpit and Selle Italia Novus Boost saddle.
Rose Bikes says this build weighs around 8.6kg and there are six sizes available from 50cm to 62cm.
Higher spec options include SRAM Force 1 or Shimano GRX RX810, both priced at €2,799 (£2,540.29), while the Shimano GRX RX810 Di2 build costs €3,499 (£3,175.58) and includes satellite shifters for easier gear changes on tricky terrain.
Next up is a €3,799 (£3,447.85) SRAM Force eTap AXS build with a 46/33 double chainset and 10-33t 12-speed cassette.
Mullet gravel bike, anyone?
For extra off-road grunt, there’s the Backroad AXS Mullet Build. This isn’t a mullet bike in the mountain bike sense (with a 27.5in rear wheel with 29in front), but instead refers to the mix of road and mountain bike components on the build.
Shifting is courtesy of a Force eTap AXS 40-tooth single-ring chainset paired with a SRAM Eagle AXS MTB rear mech and a 12-speed 10-50t cassette for massive low-end gearing.
The 650b Rose R Thirty Disc wheelset comes wrapped in 47mm Schwalbe tyres. Price is €3,699 (£3,357.10) and claimed weight around 8.9kg.
Limited edition builds
But that’s not all: at launch there are two 'limited edition' builds. Both come with Rose’s own GC Forty Disc Carbon wheels and WTB Venture Road TCS 40mm tyres.
At €4,649 (£4,219.29), the Shimano build comes with a GRX RX810 Di2 single-ring groupset, while the €4,949 (£4,491.56) build has a SRAM Force groupset.
