David Lupafya, the designer of the Rogue C6, has a personal story that is interesting enough. He grew up in Apartheid era South Africa with bicycles as the primary means of transportation. Unable to afford bike repairs, he began fixing bikes on his own and eventually turned that into a business. Fast forward to today, and David is now designing bicycles with quality and affordability in mind – a likely nod to his humble beginnings.
David designed the Rogue C6 Commuter Bicycle to be a “lightweight, efficient machine” that you can take on a “commute, tour, or leisurely ride with the family”. Besides creating a unique, custom design, David wanted to make an affordable bike. To do this, he stripped away several levels in his company’s supply-chain that helped him move from a retail price of $3,500 for the C6 and $1800 for the C6+, to $1,950 and $950 respectively. The Rogue C6 features a proprietary High Modulus Unidirectional and 3k woven carbon frame & fork. They say that makes it 7.5x stronger than a standard steel frame, which should help it hold up to daily abuse. The other benefit? It weighs only 3.5 lbs!
The Rogue C6 features:
- Choice of Carbon Fiber (C6) or Aluminum (C6+) bike frame and fork
- Shimano Alfine group set with shifter, hydraulic disc brakes, pedals & hubs.
- Alfine 8-speed internally geared hub.
- Intelligent, waterproof LED lights integrated into the custom handlebars and seat post
- Location based services with GPS application.
- Custom 700c (2-in-1) wheel-set that can run tubeless or standard clincher tires.
- Dual platform Shimano Pedaling Device, so you can wear cleats or regular shoes.
- Gates Center Track Carbon Belt Drive ™ reported to be quieter, lighter, cleaner and longer living than a chain-based system
It’s hard to imagine a more feature-packed commuter bike at this price. Even with that, Rogue isn’t only devoted to designing, manufacturing, and selling an affordable bike, they’re also concerned with being good corporate citizens. They’ve partnered with World Bicycle Relief to provide bicycle transportation in developing countries. For every five bicycles sold, 1 Buffalo Utility bicycle will be made.
Want one? It’s on Kickstarter and already the pledges total more than half their $50,000 goal. The timeline for production is January – February of 2015 with the estimated delivery between April – June 2015. There are just two weeks left in this Kickstarter campaign. So, if you’re interested in a commuter bicycle with what looks to be a fairly full feature-set, you may want to give the Rogue C6 a thorough look.
