So, the Rondo HVRT is our Road Bike of The Year! Do you think we've made the right choice? Or should it have been something else? As always, Let us know what you think in the comments below.
i'm from poland it's home of rondo bike company, rondo's bikes are so so good especially that designer is from ns bikes which is fr/dh type of bikes, nort shore bikes are also top end performance
Interesting. I'm not expert but have been building and modifying bikes for the past decade and what I have observed is that the big 5 manufacturers have gone aero everything, and when you strip away the components, the frame pricing is above US$5K. When you look at the rondo frame only , it's at low US$3k...based on that I am keen to understand quality of build....just that alone makes this rondo an amazing value. I think this frame built up as 1X with new SRAM force AXS would be a great competitive build. Try doing that with specialized venge, tarmac, madone, and I feel we are looking at a far higher price without the versatility. Potentially my next build.... impressed!
That bikes seems amazing. I like the ideia of 2 different wheel sets . I'm currently working with my LBS to get a set of 650b wheels with 2.2" mtb tires for my trek checkpoint to ride the rougher stuff around here. I borrowed the wheels from a mountain bike for a test fit and they fit nice with plenty of clearence.
I had a custom built road bike in 1981. It was made for me by Gary Klein. I saw a first iteration when I was on an AYH (American Youth Hostle) organized local day country road ride in south eastern Wisconsin. This was during the first "golden age" of publicly popular non-fanatic recreational riding in the 70's. I worked and managed a small bike store (there NO "large" stores yet) staffed with young addicted bikaholics like me. That was the entire focus of our lives at that time. Work, eat, drink, sleep, socialise and ride. What else? So our dream was to build our vision of the perfect bike. At that time it meant lugged frames with beautiful craftsmanship, the perfect paint job, the best components (Campy was the dominant high-end choice). Well, I had something in that arena, but I wanted something more creative and unique. The Klein first and second versions weren't that refined, but when I saw the third, I was hooked. It was work of rolling bicycle sculptural craftsmanship. The guy that had one was a fellow student at MIT with Gary Klein in Material Science. Other than some dubious "Rube Goldberg" aluminum fabrications as in "glued and screwed" as seen raced in the US Nationals held annually for several years in Milwaukee Wi), this was from outer space. There were no aluminum bikes to speak of, all bikes had small diameter tubing and the the top of the line bikes of the time weighed from 21-25lbs. This one had FAT tubes and weighed around 19lbs. All aluminum tubing that was welded and had totally smooth joints, the rear seat stays had boron fabric applied to add more stiffness and strength in some vectors and flexability and dampening in others. Efficient and comfortable! I cherry picked components without regard to "groupos". Modolo Brakes which made Campagnolo parts look cheap, Campy Record derailleur (no front derailleur as I eliminated one front chain ring and derailleur), Zeus track crank, Campy black track pedals, one Huret shift lever, Cinelli seat post and stem, 3T handlebars (now referred to as "vintage"), Unicanitor nylon track saddle, alloy tubeless sew-up tires, High-e aluminum hubs. I had everything that could be, "milled and drilled". So all the teeth on the front chain ring had a hole drilled through etc. Less weight.....right? And the crowning touch was a custom paint color I remembered in my mind that I thought I had seen at one of those US Nationals, ready for this?.......it was a flat grey/pink. To find the color I found a GM paint chip color catalog and it turned out to be a 1957 Cadillac color called "dusty rose pink". I approached Gary Klein by phone to arrange to see if he would a bike to my specs. His sales materials offered, at extra cost that option. He thought it was a little weird to fabricate a six speed (the most number of sprockets that could be put on the rear hub back then), but he okayed it, but didn't want to paint it that color as he felt it was too wild. It was my bike and I was willing to pay the money! The frame finally arrived! It was stunning (in a good way). I assembled all the bike "jewelry"and now for the long anticipated first ride! It was spectacular! Super responsive, very light, no bike creaking etc, "stomp" on it and it would just go, smooth not harsh, tracked as if on rails (going down curvy downhill roads at speed was totally confidently stable), climbed without flexing, WOW. I used it on my first Wisconsin SAGBRAW bike tour (sponsored by the then Milwaukee Sentinal newspaper). This was a one week tour on one of three routes (325 riders max on each) from which to choose ending up back in Milwaukee after having bussed to the starting points and riding back (350-450 miles depending on the route). I rode nine of them, each three times from 1981-1989. The point was whenever I leaned my bike against something especially after each day's ride, there would be ten to fifteen people standing around it. No one had ever seen anything like it. Fat tubes, grey pink paint, only six gears, unusual parts and so light. It was worth the time and money for so much enjoyment and conversation. Sorry for the rambling on.........
Nice, this is a good shout. I much prefer riding 'gravel bikes' as they are much more fun and comfortable but what I ideally would want would be a trek emonda with tyre clearance for 42s. This bike seems to be pretty much that.
Same frame with 105: better choice for off-roading. Their aluminum version could be even better when you have no sponsors, but still want to use a bike for two seasons at least :).
I bought the smallest frame size 51cm, and the geometry simply doesn't work. The seat post was far too long for me, and if I cut it to size then there would be no flex as the cross bar is high. And my shoes overlap the front wheel by about 2 or 3 cm. Never even rode it as I couldn't think of a way to make it work. Shame as it seems a great concept.
HVRT!!! THIS is very interesting for sure, Dura ace mechanical is just fine by me! The 2nd wheel concept possibility n discount is a big plus! Like having two 2.800 £ bike types in one!! And when you get to know both type of rides I'm sure falling in love with it would be easy... K, this is gonna HURT!!!
Nice bike. And I can understanding your choice. But the cable routing is awfull.That is not aero. And the wings i have steen before, Scott I thought. And the price with Ultegra mech. ?? Have not seen a dealer yet in Holland.
Seeing your choice for BOTY I was initially ready to poo poo the hell out of your choice, but watching the video changed my opinion and has made me very curious. About the only thing I can criticise the bike for in appearance is having a bird's nest of cables at the bars on something with an aero intention ... that's what I expect to see on a feather weigh race bike .. not an aero bike. Fix the spaghetti and for me this could well be the one bike (with two sets of wheels) you take everywhere. Crazy to think that I've recently got a top spec TCR, added a Giant Revolt for gravel and I'm now researching an aero bike with a comfort bias - oh dear, maybe I shouldn't have watched this video :( ... now I'm thinking go SRAM AXS on this with appropriate range cassettes on the different wheels and there's less ugly cables to criticise :O
the only down side of having only one bike (with a frame able of doing different things like this one) and using it with different set of wheels is gearing. Gearing is the only thing is not interchangeable easily (not as wheels at least). And if you do proper gravel and proper road riding you need different gearing... at least some difference
I agree. I like the review, and am definitely intrigued about the HVRT, but I was left wondering how one changes the geometry and whether it would be something you could do on the fly. I'm assuming there are additional screws / bolts that you take in and out, but considering it's one of the selling points, it would have been nice to see it in action. Is it a 1 minute change? 5 minutes? Will I need to unscrew the handlebars and then be left wondering if they are crooked for my whole ride? :D Good review otherwise!
Marcin Obara never said it was owned by one particular company. I thought they said this was the first bike to have that design, but he said “one of the first bikes”
Four years later it's still available everywhere, except Poland, the very country that produces it. Come on guys, I'll pay you twice the price, just let me buy your bikeee...
Justin Bohner the Exploro works with 2x groupsets. It’s that most (or maybe all) factory builds come as 1x with 650b wheels. Even the Exploro Speed comes with 1x. I really like the idea of getting a road bike and being able to convert it to gravel bike if I ever wish. With Exploro I’m sort of forced to do the same thing in reverse. Or buy a frameset and complete the bike which costs more. But yes, it seems that HVRT is something that 3T already did in 2016
@@justinwbohner i do travel. But I don't ride oneby ;). If speed isn't an issue then I guess oneby is perfectly fine. You can find a cadence that works and stick with that. Otherwise the range is too small, I agree.
Only available in 4 frame sizes. The stack jumps from 566 on the 56 to 600 on the 59. And the front center distances are too short. I'd be hitting my toes with tires larger than 23 mm.
Mm interesting. I'm trying to learn about geometry but it's a lot to take in. So I'm 6'2 with long limbs and I generally would want a 59 or above. Does the stack being that high mean it would be a less agressive position on the 59 than the 56 if each had a rider perfectly in the middle of it's intended rider measurements? How does the geometry on their other bike, the ruut, look to you?
@@bikehiker1239 > Does the stack being that high mean it would be a less agressive position on the 59 than the 56 if each had a rider perfectly in the middle of it's intended rider measurements? Yes. Pro's often seemingly small frame sizes for their height so that they can get as aero as possible. They use long stems to get enough room on the bike. The modern way to figure out bike fit is with stack and reach... basically figuring everything off the center of the crankset spindle. You can use the free version of bikecalc to experiment.
@@shibaburn7725 Thanks, good explanation. I know trail is an important one too, but I'm still foggy on it since there's a lot to remember. I'll use bikecalc, im sure it will help me learn.
You should call the category 'Best bike that is impossible to buy'. You shouldn't choose bikes from little companies with shitty little distributors - they're just always 'out of stock', it's a waste of time.
Warren, a google search doesn't show this bike for sale anywhere. Wiggle has the AL and the CF0 is missing from Rondo's website. rondobike.com/collections/all-products
BikeRadar a road bike is primarily designed for use on the road, a gravel bike is designed to be used on both gravel and road. This bike is the latter. 😊
@Pete is never wrong You seem to live an opposite type of life to mine. I change rim brake pads once every two years or so and don't wear rims out. Semi arid climate, and I do 10k road miles a year. The mountain bikes are like, oh the rotor is ever so slightly accidentally bent so tick tick tick, it got cold so now the rear has some pump up, oh now a seal is sticking so tick tick tick. The guys I ride with who have disc road bikes, out of 3 of them, 2 have gone back to rim brakes to avoid the headaches.
Was a little apprehensive when buying this with the few negative reviews on here, but this was exactly the kind of bike I was looking for. ru-vid.comUgkxn_jUDSlprMIeubd9rHdEAnv59nKfjcKv I plan to ride it on paved roadways and trails, and wanted a "Grocery Getter" so to speak. After receiving it (without any damage), I had it out of the box, and fully assembled in about 30 minutes. I did not have to look at the manual, and I'm glad because I did look at it after I got it together, and it looks like it's a manual for several different styles. I did have to adjust the breaks and gear shifters, but that's been my experience with every bike I've owned. There was one review in particular that made me nervous, saying it was not meant for someone 6'4", it was too short. Well I'm 6'5" (230lbs) with a 36" inseam, and can tell you this bike fits perfectly, granted the seat is in it's highest safe position. I've only had it for 3 days so far, and if things change I will update my review, but I put 26 miles on it so far, and it rides like a dream. Very comfortable seating position. The front suspension is good for the occasional rock or bump you hit on asphalt, but this bike is not made to be taken off road, and I'm OK with that. I was particularly happy to see the wheels were trued perfectly. I was expecting to have to take them in and have them trued at a local bike shop, as I've had to do with all my past bike purchases, but in this case they were already in great shape. For the money, this is an awesome bike.
What an annoying review, I really want to like this bike but it's a compromise in every way. First up about the cable routing, that's utter BS about transporting the bike. The fact is their Chinese factory would have charged a bit more for full on integration and it would have required a bit more work on Rondo's part to have a design solution. Also the frame angles are too steep for gravel (multi surface in the UK) the 650 tyres come ridiculously close to the seat stays. Plus Hunt are a fake wheel brand, just go direct to Far Sports if you want Chinese wheels and get a better hub than the Novatecs. Or better still get a set of Mavic wheels, they test stuff by measuring wheel deflection with flipping lazers and replicate 10,000km usage in poor weather conditions inside tank of running water. That's no gravel bike and if we compare it to other road aero bikes, it's blown out the water by the Madone, System Six and Venge.
