Gravel bikes and adventure riding are two of the hottest words in cycling right now, even more so since the start of the pandemic. A gravel bike opens up so much more of the world for you to explore, whether you come from a road or mountain bike background or a complete novice. You could best describe them as the best of both worlds. They give you the fast rolling nature of a road bike on tarmac combined with the ruggedness of a mountain bike to tackle trails off the beaten path. Ask any number of us here at Tweeks Towers what our N+1 or only bike would be, and we’ll likely answer with a gravel bike.
Rondo Bikes are based out in Poland and while a few of us here were familiar with their MTB sister brand NS Bikes, Rondo were a bit of an unknown to us. But the hype behind the brand was growing strong, so we decided to see what was what with Rondo. We liked what we found, so much so you’ll now find their range for sale on our website. We thought we’d introduce the highlights of the line and give you the lowdown on what makes these bikes so rad and ready for adventure!
Stuck in a Ruut
The core of Rondo’s awesome range is the Ruut. Awful puns aside, sometimes with a bike you can feel they are a little one dimensional and you need to change it up and get out of the rut as it were. The Ruut is about as versatile as a bike can get, allowing you to experience it in a number of ways. Built around a aluminium, steel or carbon frame, the Ruut range has something for everyone, from those looking for great value, right through to a superlight carbon gravel monster. But we’re skipping ahead, so lets comeback to what makes the Ruut so versatile, as that really is the key to the whole range.
Rondo designed the Ruut to be used with either your common 700c wheels and tyres or the new breed of 650b wheels and wider, more voluminous tyres. All Ruuts come with the former as standard, but with just a quick wheel change you can fit a set of 650b tyres up to 57mm wide and have yourself a real party off road. We love how this means you can almost have two bikes in one; stick with the stock wheels and tyres and have a fast bike on the road with some rugged capability, or swap it out and have what feels like a rigid mountain bike with drop bars.
The other thing that makes the Ruut so versatile is the Twin Tip Fork. This innovative fork features a swappable chip that allows you to alter the geometry of the bike. Riding mainly on the road? Leave the chip in the steeper setting and you’ll have a faster handling bike that feels fun and engaging. Or you can flip it and have a more stable bike for hammering off road with or with out bags. Ahhh yes bags! That brings us onto the great thing about the Ruut; its plethora of mounts for fitting bags, panniers, mudguards you name it.
The Ruut also comes with a wide range 1x drivetrain and powerful disc brakes on all models, so you get all the gears you’ll ever need in a clean, simple package along with the power to bring you to a stop in a rapid and controlled manner. The Ruut is the perfect companion for any bike packing or gravel adventure, and they’re already proving themselves to a real favourite with consumers and staff alike.
But I want Aero!
The road bike world (and even the gravel scene) have gone aero crazy in the last few years. We’ve even seen brands lightest road climbing machines forgo some grams in the search for a more aerodynamic frame. Rondo saw this trend and thought they’d get in on the act too, but do it in their own, unique way.
The result is the HVRT CF. From afar it looks like a lot of other aero road bikes, not dissimilar to a Scott Foil or new Cube Litening. But look closer, and you’ll see Rondo has infused some the Ruut’s DNA into the HVRT. It gets the same Twin Tip fork that allows you to alter the geometry so you can get the bike handling just as you like. The frame and fork have crazy tyre clearance too, so even though this is an aero race bike in spirit, it can still get down and dirty with 650b wheels and wider tyres.
The HVRT is the perfect blend of seriousness and silliness and we love it for that! It’s equipped with a superb spec, with a Shimano 105 drivetrain and powerful disc brakes as well as Rondo x Hunt wheelset that is the most aerodynamic wheelset you can buy. It’s all the business for sure, but it can get down and dirty too when the need arises.
We’re loving Rondo’s range, they’re stylish, versatile and great value to boot, so check it out on our website and in store and you’ll see exactly what we mean! They’re just the kind of bike that makes us want to go for an hour long ride that turns into a multi hour epic!