Rose bike; too good to be true?

Xommul

Hi there,
I am about to buy my first road bike, I have £1800 to spend. I am bemused by the large range but it's rather narrowed as I'm 6'7" tall so many manuf dont cater. On my research I found Rose bikes which are made up to 66 cm. What I find odd is that they do carbon frames, full shimano ultra setup and decent wheels all for around £400 less than like the trek 4.5 equivalent or bianchi, or specialised.

Am I missing something? Why are Rose bikes so cheap? What's the catch?

I already have a trek mtb and want to spend wisely so if Rose are legit I would give the rs pro sl 4400 a good look.

Any advice on this gratefully received .

ademort

Rose bikes have a very good reputation here in the Netherlands and are very helpfull should you wish to call them. I order quite a lot of gear from rose and it,s always quick delivery and spot on.Why are other brand bikes so much more expensive i dont know but you wont go far wrong if you buy a rose bike.
Ademort

nochekmate

You're paying for the brand name of the other bikes that you have mentioned. Bear in mind that should you come to sell it, this will be reflected in the secondhand market price of your bike. A secondhand Trek or Specialized will fetch considerably more (and maybe up to £400 more) than a secondhand Rose - pardon the pun!

Still I suppose that there may not be much of a secondhand market for a 66cm bike anyway

P_Tucker

Xommul wrote:

Am I missing something? Why are Rose bikes so cheap? What's the catch?

The question you should be asking is why Bianchi, Trek etc are so expensive. The answer is of course marketing.

stronginthesun

arnt rose mail order only ? then thats why . do look tempting thou !

prb007

Can only see up to a 63cm on the website...
http://www.rosebikes.co.uk/article/rose ... aid:477121

where did you see the 66?
Are you sure you need a 66?
I'm 6'4"/1m92 and own an XL Planet X Ti Sportive, (57cm)
so a 66cm would be MAHOOSIVE, are your legs really THAT long??
Be very careful with a Carbon frame of those dimensions - I imagine
it would be a fair bit more 'whippy' than the same model, in a 52 cm size!

Xommul

Hiya,

I thought that the marketing for the bigger brands would add a lot onto the price, i have an 8 year old trek mtb so i dont really sell my bikes on, use them till they dont work any more.

Rose do have a factory in Wiltshire you can go to to arrange test rides, its 1 3/4 hours from my place though so quite a trek,

Rose carbon pro rs goes up to 66cm as do many of their frames.

Some poeple mention geometry, how can i tell if thats right and the bike size is sufficient?

Xommul

jibberjim

stronginthesun wrote:

arnt rose mail order only ? then thats why . do look tempting thou !

They have a massive store you can visit...

... it's quite a long way away though and not too convenient

mrwibble

Rose bikes are good, I have bought items from them. Great customer service.

Blacktemplar

66cm does seem a bit large. My brother in law is 6' 5" and he rides a 60cm Cannondale Six which fits him just fine. Good bike too... worth considering.

Kib

Hi,

I have a Rose SL4400 Alu frame full Ultergra. Its very nice, light and rides well. I do triathlons and have come from a mountain bike back ground so my road bike knowleged is limited. I shall say that I work for RGActive who have Rose as a sponsor.

They are called Rose as they are rebranded in the UK from the Red Bull bike range in Germany due to the energy drink. They are cheaper as its mail order only I believe and they are not in shops. Hence can sell cheaper as no shop overheads?

And yes they are legit! UK distrubition is in Bristol I think.

Cheers

Kib

Xommul

I just spoke to rose on the phone,

They recommended me to go and see bike lab in Richmond. They will be able to do a bike fitting and plug my stats into a batabase and see what kind of frame sizes im looking at.

Its going to cost 75 but i reckon its worth it to get the right size if im going to spend almost 2k on a bike.

I am glad about this as im really tall and was worried i would buy the wrong bike and have trouble with it.

Will post what happens.

Anonymous

I'm about 1/2" shorter than you and I've just got a 61cm (XXL) Scott.

It's pretty much a perfect fit, if anything I'm slightly stretched as it came with a 140mm stem.

hmbadger

Xommul wrote:

I just spoke to rose on the phone,

They recommended me to go and see bike lab in Richmond. They will be able to do a bike fitting and plug my stats into a batabase and see what kind of frame sizes im looking at.

Its going to cost 75 but i reckon its worth it to get the right size if im going to spend almost 2k on a bike.

I am glad about this as im really tall and was worried i would buy the wrong bike and have trouble with it.

Will post what happens.

I think the bike fit is an excellent idea. I'd be very wary of others saying on here what size they use, etc. For the money you're paying its's a good investment.

alwaystoohot

Hi guys,

I'm 6'7" also and on this forum for the first time looking for the same advice.

I have a 10 year old Sannino hybrid, 700c, flat bars, 25mm tyres made of light steel but I want to move up a gear into something more sportie.

I have a 37 inch inside leg and long arms so imagine I'm going to need something equally big as Xommel.

What other suggestions do folks have, again my budget is about 2 grand.

Thanks
Richard

alwaystoohot

The top end Boardman bikes also look good value for money at 1,800 pounds, carbon, .mavic wheels and shimano ultegra etc...

http://www.boardmanbikes.com/road/road_pro_carbon.html

Anyone have any experience of them and know what size XL relates to and its suitability for tall riders?


Thanks
Richard

Xommul

Richard,

I am going to Bike Lab in Richmond to get fitted, they will then help me get a bike, usually they get a comission on bikes they order in but the ranges they do will not cater for our heights so they said, they will help me buy one, then i can take it in to them and they will set it up for me. All included in the 75 bike fitting cost.

Am going in tomorrow then more than likely going for the Rose Carbon RS Pro 4400 with some upgraded parts like wheels, tyres, seat post, stem length and 175mm crank compact. Comes in around 1850 sowith shoes and trip comp and other bits will be around 2k.

Its all Sram Force and after doing some research seems to be a better smoother/lighter buy than ultegra.

Xom

Anonymous

That'll be a very nice bike.

I was tempted to get a Rose, went for the Scott in the end.

I also wanted SRAM and got the bike shop to swap the 105 for SRAM Force before they sent it to me. Really pleased with it the double tap shifting is very intuitive, more so than you might think if you've never tried it.

Xommul

just spoke with the Rose guys in germany re delivery times

5 weeks - Ouch.

Trouble is i think it will be the best bike for the money, downside is there are not many reviews out there and nothing on you tube to help with the decision.

Anyways looking forward to my bike fit tomorrow and see what they reccomend.

schweiz

There might not be many reviews in English magazines and websites but Rose always come out well in in reviews in the German language cycling press.

And their huuuuge catalogue is sat on my coffee table too!

Thebigbee

How about this

http://theamazing39stonecyclist.wordpre ... d-goodbye/

he is 6'4 I think.

Seems like a nice bike and would save you near on a grand!!

Xommul

I've specced up a Rose carbon rs pro 4400 with a few mods which takes it up to 1850. Slightly more than I thought of spending but for the money you get a lot Inc red pedals keo classics. I upgraded the tyres, handle bars, stem and saddle post, all carbon and red/White colour.

I hope my bike fitting shows this bike as a good fit as it is good value and looks great.

5 week build time tho,

alwaystoohot

Go for it Xom and let me know !!

Xommul

Well i have ordered a Carbon RS 4400 in white/lack/red.

5 weeks delivery time then i will write a review.

The wait will be excruciating

alwaystoohot

Tell us about the fitting session, what did they do, take into consideration, advise for you? Did they propose any changes from standard spec because of your height? Did they agree the stock 63 cms frame is within the design parameters at 6'7"?

The big lads need answers? A full trip report no less! :shock:

Thanks
Richard