This week, a sneak peek from an inside assembly with their Polish distributors has revealed an all-new Rondo Ruut CF Gen 2.0 gravel bike with a singular body that includes an interrupted seat tube. Effectively, it will have appeared like a unique body design… till we noticed Specialised’s Angled Strut body patent earlier this week. However whereas that one remains to be only a idea, Rondo’s new Ruut is already a rideable bike.
And we acquired affirmation that it’s going to truly be obtainable later this yr!
2023 Rondo Ruut CF 2.0 carbon gravel bike
First, a shout-out to Przemek from Rondo-dealer bike store Velopoint in southeastern Poland who shot the video and shared it on his YouTube Gravelowy x Velopoint channel. His little leak gave us a sneak peek – and a whole lot of strong screenshots – plus the impetus to badger Rondo immediately for extra particulars.
And surprisingly sufficient, Rondo was blissful to each affirm the brand new bike and provides us a bit extra element. It’s actual. It’s the new 2023 Rondo Ruut CF Gen2.0 gravel bike. Its design has been in improvement since 2020. It’s on the way in which. And it’s extra comfy than ever. It’s simply not fairly prepared but.
After all, they had been nonetheless cagey on the specifics.
What’s new? What do we all know?
The obvious factor is that interrupted seat tube design. Identical to we uncovered within the Specialised patent, Rondo’s longtime technical product supervisor Marcin Skiba confirms rider consolation was the first driver within the new design. As to that patent, Rondo isn’t too involved as their answer predates Specialised’s design and doesn’t truly overlap with their very particular flexing elliptical Angled Strut submitting. And Rondo, virtually certainly might be first to market, anyway.
Plus, Rondo can be not afraid of claiming that they assume it simply “seems cool”, too. Interrupting the continual tube from the seatpost right down to the underside bracket “helps tremendously” apparently, because the carbon body can flex extra vertically with out sacrificing lateral stiffness or general dealing with.
One different concern they did affirm is that the brand new Ruut is just a few grams heavier than the unique model, however not a lot. Whereas we questioned if the interrupted seat tube design made it heavier, Rondo stated it was extra in regards to the acutely aware option to prioritize the distinctive rectangular boxy tube form look of their newest styling. They had been by no means going for absolutely the lightest bike attainable, and are proud of the stability of their gravel bike’s distinctive aesthetic mixed with aggressive frameset weights.
The brand new carbon Ruut may even be 1x solely – no place to mount a entrance derailleur now – however virtually all of their gravel bikes have already been 1x for years. The brand new bike additionally strikes to totally inside cable routing through a brand new Rondo-machined alloy stem and thru what seems to be a flip chip headset based mostly on the “Vario Geo” label on the highest cap.
Marcin additionally confirms that the inner routing is kind of versatile & forgiving. And the brand new Ruut might be obtainable in a number of 1x specs when it launches later this yr, with each mechanical shift & digital shift drivetrains obtainable. This bike is already constructed up with a mechanical rear derailleur AND mechanical disc brakes!
Whereas the Ruut has shared a single normal design for CF carbon, ST Metal, AL aluminum & TI titanium model since its debut – this new carbon mannequin would be the solely to characteristic the interrupted seat tube design. The ST, AL & TI bikes will get up to date quickly as nicely, simply with extra typical body designs.
Tech particulars
Once we pressed them, Rondo agreed to ship us this single body rendering from the presentation we noticed in Velopoint’s authentic video… however no accompanying tech particulars. That’s fantastic, we will dig out loads of particulars on our personal.
In addition to that new body format, the bike nonetheless has Rondo’s signature TwinTip fork with flip chips on the entrance axle to allow you to decide from racy or extra secure gravel geometries. The brand new fork additionally seems to get a giant disc-side aero fin to easy airflow over the brake caliper.
It additionally will get the identical boxy headtube design that we first noticed on final summer season’s Ratt all-road & Mylc journey gravel bikes. Plus, there are dropped chainstays for giant tire clearance, a 27.2mm seatpost, T47 threaded backside bracket?, flat mount disc brakes, 12mm thru-axles, at the very least two units of cage mount contained in the entrance triangle polygon, toptube bag mounts, underneath downtube cage mounts, possibly a set of rear rack or fender mounts, and what seems to be a UDH for compatibility with present and future rear derailleur requirements.
How far alongside is the brand new Ruut challenge?
This carbon gravel bike we’re seeing remains to be formally only a working prototype, though it’s primarily a last design. And it’s definitely rideable. Actually, it’s the private bike of Rondo’s COO Tom Cybula who launched me to the authentic Ruut gravel household all the way in which again in 2017. Tom has been driving this next-gen Ruut across the sandy grime & gravel roads exterior Gdansk and appears fairly proud of it.
Phrase is that the brand new bike is prepared to enter common manufacturing early this summer season.
When will the brand new Rondo Ruut CF 2.0 launch? When will it’s obtainable?
That is actually the place the main points from Rondo begin to run skinny. This new Ruut 2.0 is a 2023 mannequin yr product, and it will likely be obtainable to customers later this yr. No precise dates had been supplied for both an official launch or actual client availability. Our knowledgeable guess is that we’ll most likely get the total technical particulars on the brand new gravel bike this summer season at Eurobike (or quickly thereafter) and it will likely be obtainable in bike retailers spherical the tip of summer season/starting of autumn.
