Rondo Ruut

Rondo's new Ruut is a rebellion on wheels

- Words Jack Evans Photography Chris Teagles

Polish brand Rondo claims the original Ruut was the world's first gravel bike with adjustable geometry. Flipping the insert at the end of the TwinTip fork changed the fork offset and trail to offer either racier or more stable handling depending on preference. It's a feature that has since been adopted by a number of other brands.

'We wanted to make the Ruut suitable for different riding experiences,' says product manager Marcin Skiba. 'We all ride different terrain and surfaces.'

That original feature is perhaps the only thing left over from the first-generation bike. Even the phrase 'complete overhaul' would be a mild way of putting Rondo's update of the Ruut versus the one Cyclist reviewed back in 2019. It has changed beyond recognition into something radical.

Rondo has lowered the junction between the seatstays and down tube, squashing the traditional rear triangle into a diamond or rhombus shape and kinking the top tube so the front 'triangle' adopts a similar shape.

'The root of the double-diamond design was our willingness to make the bike stand out and create something unique, more than anything else,' says Skiba. 'We also wanted to increase frame compliance and make internal cable routing easy. The diamond shape introduces more movement into the frame than two triangles, which is a very rigid shape.'

What's more, Skiba says Rondo switched framemaker so that the overall quality of the frame is much higher in this second generation.

Against the grain

The distinctive features don't stop there, as the head tube and fork legs are incredibly boxy with flat leading edges.

'Primarily this was a design choice but also a protest against everything having to be aero,' says Skiba. 'It should be about having fun on the bike.'