German consumer direct bike company Rose is back this week teasing an all-new refresh to their popular Backroad carbon gravel bike. Sharing a number of similarities with the new Reveal endurance road bike they launched last week, we got an exclusive look at the new Rose Backroad which they’ve now opened up for pre-orders.
2020 Rose Backroad affordable carbon gravel bike refresh
The gravel Backroad has been Rose’s top seller. In fact, they didn’t plan to reveal this update until next month, closer to when the new bikes would be in stock, but since the old model is completely sold out, Rose figured they’d open up a pre-sale early.
Developed as a do-it-all adventure bike the off-road ready Backroad is a reasonably-priced carbon gravel bike with a fast, comfortable ride.
New Backroad – Tech Details
Some of the details are a bit incomplete before the real launch, but we know a lot about the new carbon bike already, like its claimed 1020g frame weight (50cm) & 425g full carbon fork. We also have it on good authority that the complete bike here tipped the scales at 8.66kg/19.1lb with some dirt & that Redshift suspension stem on it.
The new Rose Backroad frame gets dropped seatstays to improve comfort, with the seatpost clamp actually located down at the stays, and its bolt easily accessible from the side of the non-driveside chainstay. All of the proprietary D-shaped carbon post above the stays is able to flex back for comfort, with that black rubber element acting as a gasket against the frame. Two posts are available, with either 8 or 25mm of setback to dial in your ideal fit.
The bike features fully internal cable routing, guided in through a special headset spacer setup, plus 12mm thru-axles, flat mount disc brakes, the option to run 1x or 2x drivetrains, and a Shimano direct-mount rear derailleur hanger.
Rose updates the Backroad with ever-so slightly slacker 71.5° head angle across the middle sizing range & steeper 74° seat angles for a forward weight balance and stable handling off-road. Then, longer size-specific 427-434mm chainstays help the handling and give room for big tires, up to 700x47mm or 650x50mm.
Integrated rubber downtube and chainstay guards should keep the carbon frame well-protected, and there are mounts for fenders front & rear, four sets of bottle bosses on the frame, and 3-bolt anything cage mounts on the fork.
New Backroad – Options, Pricing & Availability
The new 2020 Backroad comes in six frame sizes (50, 53, 55, 57, 59 & 62cm) three colors: this deepest purple & evil pepper green in six regular build, or dark midnight laser grey in two electronic shift limited edition builds. Complete prices for the new Rose Backroad start from 2500€ with a Shimano GRX RX600 mechanical groupset, and top out at 4950€ with a SRAM Force eTap AXS wireless build. The GRX RX810 Di2 build we spotted with alloy wheels sells for just 3500€.
The new gravel bike isn’t ‘officially’ launched until April 8, and the first bikes from this pre-order will actually ship out direct to consumers at the beginning of May 2020.
