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It's extremely close between the Canyon Grizl SF SL 6, Giant Revolt Advanced 2 and the 3T Exploro Primo. All four would have deserved to win the test on the test track, but when it comes to hard facts, the top dogs Canyon and Rose assert their supremacy. The Backroad scores highly in the areas of weight, comfort and features - exactly the criteria that customers value the most.
Rose Backroad GRX: The strengths and weaknesses
The Bocholter makes up for the lack of a second chainring with the twelfth sprocket and brake booster plus 180 mm disc at the front. This and a slim nine kilos allow almost more speed than you can muster in the riding position. You don't sit extremely behind the cranks, but the scales show a lot more weight on the rear wheel, which makes for double the comfort. The front wheel sits loosely, you have less weight on your hands and therefore experience fewer bumps.
You can also feel the highlight of the frame more clearly at the rear. The seatpost is only clamped halfway to the bottom bracket, the frame gives it the freedom to flex comfortably over this length, which works great! You can feel the minimal movement in the saddle, but it doesn't interfere with pedalling at all. The steering suffers somewhat from the rear bias, steering commands are only implemented with a slight delay, but are completely predictable.
A lot of control also means that the ultra-wide flared handlebars would not necessarily have been necessary, but with little drop and a slightly ovalised shape, they otherwise feel variable and comfortable. There are mounting points for a bike computer or lights on the stem - a good thing, as the cable routing leaves little room on the handlebars.
The Backroad is something of a people's bike and a pioneer for the gravel boom: light, stable, easy to control and with great seating comfort. Advanced riders probably wanted more dynamics, which is why the sharper FF version is now available.
More gravel bikes from the test
The Rose Backroad GRX RX820 in detail
- Price: 2999 Euro >> available here
- Weight of complete wheel: 9.02 kilos
- Frame sizes: 47 / 50 / 53 / 55 / 57 / 59 / 62 cm (test size greased)
- Note: 2.0 (test winner)
Features of the Rose Backroad GRX
- Brakes: Shimano GRX RX822 (180/160 mm) | Grade: 1.5
- Drive/gear shift: Shimano GRX RX822 (1 x 12; 40, 10-51 t.) | Grade: 3.0
- Tyres: WTB Raddler LFR TCS 700-44 (eff.: 43 mm) | Grade: 2.0
- Impellers: Rose G Thirty Light
- Impeller weights: 1657 / 2271 grams (front/rear)
Geometry of the gravel bike
- Seat/top/head tube: 500 / 550 / 136.5 millimetres
- Wheelbase/caster: 1025 / 70.1 millimetres
- Stack/Reach/STR: 591 / 379 millimetres / 1.559
- Stack+/Reach+/STR+: 652 / 563 millimetres / 1.158
Advantages and disadvantages
- Plus: top seating comfort, light and stiff, tyres up to 47 mm, robust wheels
- Minus: Handlebars with exaggerated flare, somewhat sluggish steering
