Tech

Review: Rondo RUUT CF

Written by Nicholas Webb.

· By Bike Hub Features · 0 comments

The Ruut is a gravel bike from newcomer Rondo out of Poland. Like most gravel bikes, the Ruut promises versatility over varying surface types while still feeling light, stiff, and sporty enough to do duty on the road. It’s a bold promise to make but can the Ruut deliver?

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Rondo’s aim with the Ruut is to give customers a do-it-all adventure bike. Something a performance rider will appreciate racing on gravel, riding on trails, clocking training miles on the tar, touring through the countryside, or even as the daily commuter.

Rondo the brand

Rondo is a new brand originating from Poland but Rondo does come to the market claiming with many years of bike industry knowledge, albeit from mountain biking.

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The founder of Rondo is Szymon Kobylinski. He played in a relatively famous Polish rock band and he was also a decent downhill mountain bike racer. But more importantly, some mountain bikers may know Szymon as the man responsible for NS Bikes, a reputable brand with many years of experience designing and building bikes.

The Frame

The Rondo Ruut frameset is available in a safe but stealthy black-on-black or the outspoken aubergine and orange eyegasm pictured in the review. Both options look great and will suit most personalities on the spectrum.

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The Ruut is a carbon fibre frame with specific points that flex to provide relief to the rider. These flex points include: a) the sharp kink in the top tube before the seat tube, b) the seat tube and seatpost, and c) the bend in the seat stays that is set behind the rear wheel axle so that the forces do not travel directly up the seatstay into the seatpost.

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The Ruut can support both single and double chainring driver systems with internal routing for the cabling. Rondo specifies that the Ruut has clearance up to 700 x 40c and 650b x 2.1” tyres, although I reckon you could squeeze in a tyre size or two bigger. For those looking to do bike packing missions, all the necessary mounts are included to fit mudguards and rack mounts on the front and back. The Ruut is available in four frame sizes.

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Adjustable Geometry

The Ruut has the option of two geometry settings: HI and LO fit. In the LO setting the bike is best suited for race performance with a low cockpit height, steeper head and seatpost angles, and a shorter fork trail. In the HI setting, the head and seatpost angles slacken by half a degree, the cockpit rises higher, and the trail grows by 13mm. The geometry is modified by changing the height and position of the fork axle.

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Small changes in geometry can make a difference and it is noticeable when switching the chip on the Ruut. The LO mode is great for grinding miles of gravel and riding on tar or even a CX race (should such things ever catch on in SA). In HI mode, a more upright riding position creates better comfort and confidence with a noticeable improvement in rollover ability through roots and rocks. Personally, I was happy with the racier LO fit for most of the test period.

Switching the chip between LO and HI modes is a straightforward process requiring loosening the front brake bolts and apply or removing a brake adapter (which is supplied by Rondo). It took me roughly 10 minutes to make the switch. Although a simple enough task, I would not recommend it as a trailside procedure. All you need is the correct sized hex keys and the confidence to realign the brake caliper.

Geometry

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Models and Pricing

The Ruut CF is a full carbon frameset which retails for R 32 900. There is also a steel frame (Ruut ST) priced at R 17 900 with an aluminium option also available shortly. A complete Ruut CF build with SRAM components starts from R 54 950.00 while the Rondo Ruut ST builds from R 41 750.00.

The Build

The parts build on the demo Rondo Ruut is completely custom. It is the bike of Switchback Sports owner Charles Keey and shows off a number of products from his distribution company’s catalogue including Easton and Panaracer.

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The RUUT features a SRAM Force drivetrain with a single 38 tooth Easton chainring up front with a SRAM 10-42T cassette. I found the spread adequate with good climbing range on steeper mountain bike type trails while providing enough high-speed drive on gravel roads and even out on my morning Chappies peninsula loops (granted, I was not trying to hold a wheel down the hills at race pace). The Easton EC90 SL with CINCH Power Meter was a nice touch with the power meter component fitting neatly in the crank axle.

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The carbon Easton EC90 SL wheelset is solid but light, offering confidence when hurtling down gravel roads and holding a line when picking your way through rock and roots. The Panaracer SK GravelKing tread design impressed with excellent grip in dry loose turns while rolling supremely well. I did manage to mortally wound my front tyre by smashing into a spearhead-shaped rock while hurtling blindly down a gravel road at the back of the pack. Even a mountain bike would have struggled to keep from spilling its sealant guts in that incident, so there’s no blaming Panaracer for the pit stop.

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The cockpit features more Easton carbon bits with the highlight being a flared handlebars providing additional steering control and comfortable position in the drops. The Ruut frame arrives standard with an Easton carbon seat post and a Rondo own-branded stem.

In this dress up, the extra large frame Ruut weighs a frisky 8.4 kilograms. Throw on some road tyres for race days and you’ll be knocking on the door of many well-specced road bikes, especially in the smaller frame sizes.

Specifications

  • FrameRondo Ruut Flex Design EPS Carbon Frame (Extra Large)
  • ForkRuut TwinTip Carbon Fork
  • HandlebarsEaston EA70 AX
  • StemRondo
  • GripsEaston
  • SaddleRitchey WCS Streem
  • SeatpostEaston EC90
  • BrakesSRAM Force
  • RotorsSRAM Centreline 160
  • Shift LeversSRAM Force
  • Rear DerailleurSRAM Force
  • CassetteSRAM 10-42T
  • CranksetEaston EC90 SL with CINCH Power Meter
  • ChainringEaston 38T
  • Bottom BracketRotor
  • ChainSRAM PC-1110
  • WheelsEaston EC90 SL
  • TyresPanaracer Gravelking SK 700x38C
  • Weight8.4 kg (XL frame including two bottle cages and sealant)

Riding the RUUT

The Ruut makes bold claims about its versatility over different types of terrain, so I set out to test it on a variety of surfaces including a 100-mile gravel race, Constantia green belts, the rough Jonkershoek plantation roads, and my regular morning tarred road loop.

On Gravel

Jumping on the Ruut I was immediately impressed by its eagerness to go. The bike is sharp, firm, and attentive when pedalling giving the feeling that it’s working hard to make you go faster. Although the extra large frame did resemble a farm gate, the Ruut felt surprisingly compact and responsive possibly thanks, in part to, the shortish 420mm chainstays. This plays out well in climbing where the positive feedback paired with the relatively light weight make for an enthusiastic ascender.

The Ruut glides with road bike like ease over smoother gravel roads. On rougher broken roads, it copes well giving you the confidence and manoeuvrability to hold a line, punching through the roughest sections. Even in the sand, when the grip goes and the bike lurches, the Rondo frame feels reasonably composed under the rider.

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Comfort

The longest ride I completed on the Ruut was Around the Pot 100 Miler in well over 7 hours. The Ruut was a blast to ride, keeping me entertained with the sharp feedback and super efficient pedalling, coupled with being able to assume a slippery road bike riding position. It brings many of the aspects I enjoy from road riding to the gravel without losing any of the joy of being off the tar.

Most importantly though, the seven hours on the bike gave me an indication of comfort in the racier LO geometry position. On the drops, the bike’s geometry positions the rider aggressively, well suited to speeding down a gravel road for hours. I’ll admit to lacking the core fitness for racing in this position all day and jumping on the hoods or tops still allowed me to clock the miles efficiently with the more upright position providing some respite for my arms and back.

The Ruut’s vibration dampening does well to absorb smaller road chatter type vibrations but does little to soften bigger impacts. But it is the gravel tyres that offer the most ‘suspension’ and finding the correct pressures for the style of riding will go a long way to improve the ride quality.

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On the road

On the tar, the Ruut feels surprisingly like an ordinary carbon road bike. Only the heavier, wider tyres hint at the bikes gravel abilities and some speed loss. An easy enough fix for those who might want to occasionally get a bit racey on the road is to change tyres or have a spare wheelset to swap out when required.

There is no doubting that serious roadies seeking every little advantage will benefit from their purpose built machines but for everyone else from training to coffee rides and the annual Cape Town Cycle Tour dash, the Ruut is more than fast enough with gravel tyres. And when your road ride needs some spicing up, simply hop onto the trails and leave the tar behind. The Ruut really is a viable option for those looking for that one (road) bike to truly explore their surroundings.

On the trails

Also being a keen mountain biker, it is always fun to see how far you can push a gravel bike on rougher terrain. If you’re up for an adventure, there are lots of opportunities to link road and off-road routes in South Africa. Assuming the attack position in the drop bars is necessary but rewarding, as trails that were routine on the mountain bike now take on a whole new level of complexity. On more technical trails, the Ruut is limited by its genre being reasonably capable over rocks and root but not entirely suited to such terrain. For this type of riding, the HI geometry position was noticeably more capable and confidence inducing. At the end of the day, it is not a mountain bike and trying to ride it like one will only disappoint.

Where is the Rondo best suited?

The Ruut is highly adaptable switching between gravel and tar riding. It is also comfortable flowing mountain bike style trails, keeping up with the suspended big wheel bikes is not a challenge. Not surprisingly, on technical rocky and routed trails, the Ruut starts to exceed its comfort zone.

I found the Ruut to be an excellent gravel race bike and endless gravel road adventures. And with my podium ambitions being non-existent, I’d happily race it on the road too. For on tar training and coffee rides, it’s more than capable of keeping up with, if not beating, your mates to the top of Chappies. Perhaps consider a spare wheelset with skinnier tyres for even better road results.

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In the end

The Ruut delivers on its promise of being a versatile adventure bike. From speeding along gravel to dicing your mates between traffic lights, the Ruut delivers. The Ruut is a bike that I’d happily give up having a road bike for. Opening up the world of adventure bike exploration without losing what the road bike offered.

Pros

  • Agile, repsonsive ride feel, especially on the climbs
  • Decent all day comfort
  • Versatile across gravel and road
  • Capable on smoother trails

Cons

  • New brand with a new bike lacks a track record

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