Rose Bikes

richard36

In my quest for a road bike at a cost of about £2000 I have now stumbled upon Rose Bikes. I have previously been looking at Planet X and Ribble as they seem/ed to represent good value for money and I liked the idea of customizing the bikes.

I'm after a red/black bike and will use it mainly for longer rides and next year for an Ironman. I don't think I'll get that sort of money again and really like the look of the Rose Carbon Pro RS 4400. The cost (after customizing) is £2397 and includes a SRAM Force groupset with a SRAM Red crankset. Mavic R-Sys Red wheels.

Several questions (I have searched the Forums and can't find the answers)

1. Anyone got the above bike, or a Rose bike, that can give an opinion about ride, quality etc

2. There are a whole load of options for the wheels - DT Swiss RR 1850, Easton EA 70, Mavic Ksyrium SL, Elite, Equipe, DuraAce 7900 C24 and many more - all for the same price. I like the look of the Mavic R-Sys Red wheels - are they as good as the others that I've mentioned?

I appreciate I won't be able to test ride the bike but to be honest I wouldn't have been able to do that with the Ribble or Planet X and also because of where I live it's going to be difficult to test ride any bike. I'm not entirely convinced I would notice a massive difference between different bikes if a tested them out anyway and the main thing is that I whatever bike I get is properly fitted via a bike fit.

The only other bike I've seen which I quite like is the Trek Madone 3.5 which is red/black but the Rose seems much nicer.

Any comments would be really appreciated.

Cheers

Stevo_666

This bloke has got one so might be able to help

I remember the Alu version got a good write up in last years C+ bike of the year. They do look cracking value for money, like the other German direct sellers like Canyon and YT Industries: also if you like to customise your bike online then it will be a good option.

richard36

Thanks for that. I've pm'd him.

schweiz

you don't want R-Sys wheels though if you're doing Triathlon. They're nice and light for climbing but the thick carbon spokes aren't aerodynamic.

richard36

I'm no where near a top end rider so I'm not sure whether the fact the R-Sys wheels are not aerodynamic will affect my riding though I'm open to be persuaded otherwise.

The problem is that on the Rose website for the bike I'm looking at there seem to be so many 'good' wheels available for the same price that I'm not sure which ones to go for. They may be pretty much the same and in which case I would go with the R-Sys Red wheels because they match the colour scheme!

The bike will be my main bike and will be used mainly for long rides with mates.

schweiz

If your aim is triathlon and ironman in particular, that's a lot of solo riding and aerodynamics will help you no matter how good or bad you are.

You can get deep section mavic cosmic carbone wheels at no extra cost so I'd go for them.

You may have a few problems on windy days if you're a light rider but otherwise you'll be fine.

As for riding with your mates, then any of the wheels will do. But if it's down to aesthetics then whatever floats your boat!

tom22

i have the rose pro-sl 2200.
very happy with it, great value.
its a great bike and i love it.
the only problem was that it took 3 months to deliver, even though they stated 3 weeks, this was because they didnt have a particular part and they werent prepared to like me chosse a differemt one to speed up the process

woody1545

Did you see this report on bike radar?
http://www.bikeradar.com/road/gear/arti ... d-up-32919
Skip to the end and there's a picture of the Rose CRS Xeon in matt black with red bits, including cosmic carbones with red writing which might be better for your triathlon. You can use the 'configurator' on Rose' website to spec the SRAM force version to look like this, with SRAM Red chainset for about £2330. Thats what I'd do.....if my wife would let me.....

richard36

Thanks for the replies.

I'm in no rush for the bike so if I go for one from Rose then the wait won't be a problem.

Yes, I had seen the report and like the look of the Xeon. Whilst I will use the bike for a triathlon I'm doing next year the bike will mainly be used for all other things so don't want to buy a 'tri' specific bike as such. I'm more interested in getting one that is comfortable after a long ride. According to the Rose website the Pro RS type bikes are meant for the sportive type rides.

Xommul

Hi Richard

I have the Rose bike you are after the carbpn pro RS 4400, its great and i do long rides on it. Its very light even without lighter wheels. The tubes are large and round, bigger than the trek frame tubes. Groupset it great for the price. Its a very comfortable bike.

If you have any questions pm me

Xom

jamienorton

Just to counter the post about the long delivery time, i ordered a CX bike from them on the 19th, and according to the tracking should be here tomorrow or wednesday, also said a 3 week wait on the site.

richard36

Glad to hear it Jamie. Hope you enjoy your bike.

alwaystoohot

Guys, I have a ROSE Pro-RS 4400 compact with upgraded wheels to DT SWISS 1850 (I am 105kgs+ and they're heavy spec'd wheels) and SRAM Red chainset. Bought direct from the website etc.. and shipped out to Singapore.

It is the D's B's....... I can't tell you how pleased I am with it, with nearly 2,000kms on the clock I can't wait to take it out every time. And as light as a feather, you don't need carbon. I've called teh factory a few times and they've always been helpful when tracing orders, discussing spec etc..

10/10, I can't recommend ROSE any higher, you won't be disappointed.

richard36

Alwaystoohot - Thanks for your reply and glad to hear you're enjoying your bike.

The more I look at the bikes the better value they seem. I've also yet to hear a bad comment about the quality of the bikes or the ride.

jamienorton

Got mine yesterday, not had a ride yet, first commute on it tomorrow. Looks great, and even though the bike i bought didnt have a customize option set up, whoever built it must have noted my location and put the brake levers on the 'right' side, top marks to rose so far. Heres a shoddy pic