racing bikes: Test: Rondo Ruut AL – The mountain gravel cross bike

Test: A few months have passed since it was presented in spring, but the Rondo Ruut is now available. We subjected the aluminum version of the all-round gravel bike to an extensive test.

This spring, the Rondo Ruut was presented for the first time at the Berlin Bicycle Show. New bike, new manufacturer, familiar faces: Rondo is based in Poland, the people behind the brand have years of experience with other manufacturers such as NS Bikes and Creme Cycles. The Ruut is the first and only model in Rondo's portfolio to date and is sold in Germany via Sports Nut, which also takes care of the aforementioned manufacturers NS Bikes and Creme Cycles.

Product news: Rondo Ruut: New all-round cross gravel racer with adjustable geometry

Published: 4. March 2017

Market: Yesterday evening, the Polish manufacturer Rondo presented its very first bike at the Beliner Fahrradschau - the Rondo Ruut is a universal gravel bike with plenty of tire clearance, a unique design and some technical refinements. For us, too, who deal with the topic of bicycles day in and day out, it is always exciting […]

0 comments

You don't really want to classify your Ruut at Rondo, but the key data shows quite clearly where the journey is going: 40mm wide Gravel tires are installed ex works, and there is even space for MTB tires on 650b rims in the rear triangle and fork. However, the bike is not seen as a classic gravel bike and instead it is placed somewhere in the gap between said gravel bike and a sporty endurance bike. Whether you want to split hairs like this is up to you. However, it always helps to understand a wheel if you know what the idea behind it is.

The Rondo Ruut is available in a total of four model variants and three(!) different frame materials. The two top models are available with carbon frames in a striking design, the inexpensive entry-level model is the Ruut AL with an aluminum frame that we tested, and in between is the Ruut ST with a classic steel frame. You definitely can't complain about a lack of choice.

Rondo Ruut AL – frame and geometry

The aluminum frame of the Ruut comes in an attractive, matte finish and an overall simple design language. You have to do without the distinctive kink in the top tube, which is reserved for the carbon versions and should provide additional comfort there. The cables run inside the down tube and chainstays. The attached eyelets for luggage racks and mudguards are nice, which significantly expand the range of use if desired.

The axle standard used is a bit unusual for a gravel bike - a 142x12mm axle at the rear and 15x100mm at the front is more familiar from the MTB sector. That makes sense on the Rondo Ruut, however, because the large tire clearance means that not only conventional 28″ tires up to a width of 45mm can be used, but also 650b wheels with MTB tires up to 2,1″. This option is particularly interesting because the Boost standard wheelsets with 142mm at the rear and 15mm at the front are now often available at bargain prices thanks to the increasingly popular MTBs.

The Ruut's carbon fork, which is shared by all equipment variants, is both optically and technically special. Its beefy look immediately catches the eye, the large pink decals on our test model do the rest. The great technical feature of the fork is in the dropout: This is where a so-called flip chip is located, which can be used to adjust the geometry of the entire bike in just a few simple steps. By simply turning the chip around, the front axle and thus the entire wheel move up or down a little. The result: In addition to the steering and seat angle, the fork trail and the bottom bracket height also change. Rondo speaks of an endurance and a racing position. The differences are not huge, but should definitely be noticeable in practice.

Overall, the geometry sounds extremely sporty: the top tube is quite long and the front end is very low. Friends of a stretched seating position in particular should get their money's worth here. In both positions, the steering angle is a bit slacker than usual, which should definitely be helpful, especially off-road.

Rondo Ruut AL equipment

At just under €1.800, the Rondo Ruut AL is priced in the middle class, which is also reflected in the overall quite successful equipment. Drive and brakes are from SRAM. With the Apex 1, the decision was made to use a drive with just one chainring, but with a wide-ranged cassette (11-42 teeth) on the rear wheel. In combination with the 40 chain ring at the front, the range is still quite suitable for forest roads, asphalt and easy, not too steep terrain. However, if you want to take a small or larger trail with you from time to time, maybe even with MTB tires, the lowest gear is quite tight and requires thick calves. Subsequent derailleur assembly is possible, but almost the entire drive has to be replaced.

The brakes also come from the Apex group. The hydraulic stoppers are mounted in the Flatmount standard and combined with 160mm discs at the front and rear. It's nice that Rondo has also opted for the 160 mm disc at the rear, which overheats noticeably less quickly than small 140 mm discs and only weighs a few grams more.

When it comes to the wheels, they rely on quality from their own company: the set is already a win in terms of looks. The aluminum rims are divided into two colors, the spokes on the valve holes come in a chic rainbow look, as does the entire front hub. The factory-fitted hub cleaning rings at the front and rear add a touch of retro flair.

Most of the add-on parts also come directly from Rondo, and the cockpit in particular stands out. On the one hand due to the daring and yet successful look with a silver stem (100mm long), on the other hand due to the handlebars with their flared drops. This so-called flare makes the grip position on the lower link much more comfortable and control better. The fact that the aerodynamics suffer is negligible on a bike like the Rondo Ruut.

Rondo Ruut AL – In practice

So the Rondo Ruut offers a lot of flexibility - we mainly rode the gravel bike with the standard wheelset and tires. We were surprised at first by the overall very sporty seating position. Not that this is a bad thing - on the contrary - but given the alignment between Gravel and Endurance communicated by Rondo, we expected something different here. However, the top tube is quite long, while the front end is low. So you sit quite stretched out and also put a lot of pressure on the pedals. However, fans of a more upright sitting position might be disappointed.

Furthermore, the pleasingly low background noise of the installed Panaracer tires is already noticeable on the first asphalt meters. The rolling resistance is also first class for a tire in this class. Despite its not exactly light weight, the Ruut is light-footed overall and can be quickly accelerated to a comfortable cruising speed. The ergonomics of the cockpit are convincing, the Flare handlebars are extremely comfortable and the Apex grips also offer no cause for criticism. Speaking of Apex: The shifting performance is consistently very good, even on longer rides in poor conditions and with a correspondingly dirty drive, we never had shifting problems. Sure, double-tap is certainly not for everyone, but once you get used to it, changing gears is quick and easy.

The brakes grab fast and snappy - maybe even a little too much for our taste. The braking behavior is quite digital, the margin between the onset of the braking force and the wheel locking is quite small. Experienced disc drivers probably won't have any problems here, but those switching over should exercise some caution at first.

The Rondo Ruut is in its element on gravel roads and well-maintained trails. The tires are very good-natured, and although they don't offer an infinite amount of grip, they do indicate that they're going to slide quite early on and are therefore almost always easy to control. The frame and fork are not miracles of comfort and they noticeably pass on shocks and vibrations to the driver, but on the other hand they convince with a lot of rigidity, which is an advantage in "real" terrain.

Geometry adjustment via flip chip - hardly noticeable effects

Of course, we also experimented with the much-discussed geometry adjustment in the fork dropout. The conversion works as advertised in a few seconds and takes only a little longer than installing and removing the front wheel. It's nice that the brake disc runs through the brake caliper with enough space, no matter what the setting, so that any tinkering isn't necessary here.

We were able to determine a noticeable difference between the two settings, but in the end it was a bit smaller than we had expected. This may also be due to exaggerated expectations on our part, but if you think that you can transform the Ruut from a comfortable touring bike to a lively racer and vice versa, you will be disappointed. Due to the overall very sporty basic orientation, we were out and about most of the time in the “endurance setting” – with a slightly higher cockpit and a slacker steering angle.

Big slippers thanks to the large tire clearance - lots of grip, but small space problems

As already mentioned, the Rondo Ruut comes with 28″ wheels and 40mm wide Gravel tires. However, the manufacturer also promises tire clearance of up to 2,1″ with 650b wheels. Of course, this had to be tested – so quickly fitted and installed the wheels from the mountain bike with Gravel+ tires. Since the Ruut comes with a 15mm thru axle at the front and 142mm at the rear, normal (non-Boost) MTB wheels will fit here. In our case, these were lightweight Industry9 Trail24 wheels with 2,1″ wide Nano40 tires from WTB.

Installation at the front was quick and the bulky carbon fork would even have room for wider slippers. Unfortunately, things are different at the back: There would be more than enough space between the chainstays and seat stays, but the cable holder for the rear derailleur is unfortunately mounted on the inside of the stay and causes small space problems. With the cable installed, stress-free operation was unthinkable. After we removed the outer casing from the bracket and quickly fastened it on the outside with cable ties, the wheel turned freely - but there is only a few millimeters of space between the tire and the cable holder and at the latest when pedaling out of the saddle there should be a slight grinding.

The problem is at least partly due to the 23mm wide I9 rims. For a 2,1″ tire, 21mm or 19mm would also be sufficient here and the tire would be a few millimeters narrower overall. So if you're toying with the idea of ​​running 2,1″ tires in the Ruut, you shouldn't choose overly wide rims.

Depending on the area of ​​use, however, the wide tires are a real benefit for handling. In our case, the Ruut blurred the boundaries to an XC hardtail and we kept finding ourselves preferring to switch to the next trail rather than cruising along the forest highway. The fact that you need more grains on asphalt with the wider tires or that you are a good bit slower is beyond question and cannot be argued away. Having both options is really great though.