Rondo’s variable geometry Ruut gravel bike has seen several iterations in carbon, steel, aluminum & even titanium since its debut back in 2017 – from cyclocross to adventure gravel to all-road. But the core of the mixed-surface bike with 10mm of fork length AND rake adjustability hasn’t changed much. Now, behind the reveal of some small updates to their premium Ruut X cross build, Rondo teases “a series of game-changing launches” coming soon!
2022 Rondo Ruut X all-road cross bike
After many riders had been racing cyclocross with 33mm tires mounted to their Ruut gravel bikes with the forks set in their high/steep position, Rondo launched a dedicated 1x cross build of the bike last winter – alongside a couple of more adventure road 2x builds, too. That interestingly became their most requested bike build of 2021, and as they call it, “the raciest gravel bike in the Rondo collection”. So, the popular cross bike build is back for 2022 with a new look and a small spec update, built up with a tightly-spaced Shimano GRX 1x setup that’s geared towards cyclocross, but can transition to all-road or gravel riding, too.
Tech details
The Ruut X uses the same carbon frame as the rest of its gravel siblings with a new integrated chainstay protector, plus the lighter updated second-generation TwinTip 2.0 carbon fork with 2-position alloy flipchip dropout inserts. Tire clearance for the bike is fairly generous at 700 x 45mm or 27.5 x 2.2″ (up to 650b x 57mm actually). With grippy 33mm Schwalbe X-One Allround cross tires on the special edition 20mm internal Hunt Aero Wide Disc wheels, you’ll likely be pushing the limits of UCI-allowable CX tire widths. But you should have plenty of mud clearance.
The crossed-up GRX drivetrain build of the Ruut X is a bit unique, combining RX600 shifters, RX400 brake calipers, a 42T cog on a Shimano RX800 crankset with the clutched GRX RX812 derailleur, a KMC chain, and a tighter than normal SunRace 11-36T 11-speed cassette – closer to what GRX would pair with a 2x build. The RX812 derailleur means you could swap to a bigger 11-42T spread down the road with a new chain, if needed.
On top of that, it gets an Easton carbon post & aero carbon bar to keep the setup light, at a claimed complete bike weight of 8.6kg.
Rondo Ruut X – Pricing & availability
The updated 2022 Ruut X is expected to sell for 3800€ (just 100€ less than the gravel-spec’d Ruut CF1 with a mechanical Force 1 build & wider 10-42T gearing).
You can order one up now from Rondo dealers in one of four stock sizes (S-XL) and two color options – stealthy silver or brighter green, each with contrasting black.
What’s next for Rondo?
Calling their upcoming bike launches “game-changing” we don’t actually have any real specifics of what to expect, so all we can do is speculate for now! How about an all-new, lighter 1x-specific carbon Ruut 2.0 with fully internal cable routing? Even the top-tier carbon Ruut has always been a mid-spec, mostly affordable bike. Their last all-new adventure bike was the steel dropbar Bogan 29er, so maybe a lightweight carbon Bogan CF bikepacking bike is in order too.
The bike rumor is that we only have to wait a few weeks to learn more…
