In 2024, German rider Rosa Klöser stormed to victory at Unbound Gravel, clinching the sport’s most coveted crown in an unprecedented nine-rider sprint. A year later, Poland’s Karolina Migoń soloed to glory in the same race. Different winners, different tactics, same result, same bike: the Rose Backroads FF. This lesser-known machine has carried riders to gravel’s biggest wins yet beyond Europe, few have ever swung a leg over one.
Curious about the bike, and the German brand behind it, I had a Backroads FF sent over. Here are my thoughts on this race-proven machine in the hope that tariff battles soon ease up and DHL resumes transatlantic shipping, so you can try one too.
About Rose Bikes
(Image credit: Anne-Marije Rook)
Rose is a German bike company based in Bocholt, North Rhine-Westphalia. Founded in 1907 as a small family shop, it has grown into a direct-to-consumer brand with an online presence and a handful of retail stores across Europe.
The company produces a broad range of models spanning road, gravel, mountain, urban, and electric categories, but in recent years has become best known for performance-oriented bikes like the Backroad and Reveal series. Rose designs and hand-assembles its bikes in Bocholt, while frames and components are manufactured in Asia.
Meet the Backroad FF
(Image credit: Anne-Marije Rook)
Rose’s Unbound-winning bike is the Backroads FF, a frame designed with one thing in mind: to go Fast Forward. This purebred racer is built from a high-modulus carbon layup that uses six different fibre stiffness classes and zonal reinforcement to add rigidity where it matters and compliance where needed for long-range comfort.
Every line of the frame, each component on the build has been shaped using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD), what Rose calls its “virtual wind tunnel,” to optimise the aerodynamic benefits. Beyond the fully tucked-away cables, the clear contours and the D-shaped seatpost, Rose developed its stock GC50 wheels alongside the frameset and specifically around Schwalbe’s 40mm G-One RS tyres. The end-result is a complete system with two different rim profiles that blends outright speed with control and grip on loose surfaces. In the front, where the wheel catches most wind, the 27mm internal rim is 40mm deep, while the rear rim measures 32 mm deep for greater weight savings. The rear hub also uses a wider flange to boost wheel stiffness, helping it cope with the extra torque and side-loads that come with today’s wide-range gravel cassettes.
(Image credit: Anne-Marije Rook)
Up front, Rose continues the aero theme with claimed drag savings thanks to a one-piece cockpit that, despite its funky profile, still offers solid ergonomics.
The geometry is equally performance-driven. Aggressive and roadie-like, it combines a short wheelbase and steep seat angle with a moderate stack and slack-ish head tube to create a fast, forward-leaning position that still feels composed at speed. More on that below.
Finally, Rose developed size-specific frame bags to reduce drag while carrying essentials. The bags use Fidlock magnetic mounts to snap neatly into the frame, blending storage with aerodynamics and slotting seamlessly into the bike’s sleek profile.
The Backroads FF is offered in five builds, with options for Shimano, SRAM and Classified drivetrains. We tested the mid-tier model equipped with SRAM’s new 1x13 Force XPLR AXS group.
- Brand: Rose
- Model: Backroad FF Force XPLR AXS
- Size reviewed: XS
- Groupset: 1×13 SRAM Force XPLR AXS
- Wheelset: ROSE GC50
- Cockpit: ROSE one piece cockpit Gravel,
- Saddle: Selle Italia Flite Boost S1 Carbon
- Tyres: Schwalbe G-One RS Pro, 40mm
- Seatpost: ROSE Aero D-shaped seatpost
(Image credit: Anne-Marije Rook)
Features:
- UDH compatible
- Includes a Wolftooth chainguide
- Tyre clearance: 45mm
- Well thought-out magnetic Fidlock bag concept
- Frame guards on the down tube and chainstay.
- Price: €5,199.00
- Weight: 7.8kg weighted, without pedals or frame bag
Riding the Backroad FF
(Image credit: Anne-Marije Rook)
Out of the box, the Backroads FF is a headturner. Crisp, clean and minimalist, with sharp lines, an oversized down tube and distinctly aero-influenced profile. Cleanly integrated cabling, a one-piece (funky) cockpit, dropped seatstays and deep-section wheels underline its race-bred intent. And, finished in an all-white paint, it’s a bike that radiates sleekness.
The size-specific magnetic frame bag is a neat add-on. It’s not new —Canyon offers something similar on the Grail— but Rose’s execution is impressively clean. The bag snaps into place via Fidlock mounts integrated into the frame and sits flush with the contours, almost disappearing into the silhouette.
(Image credit: Anne-Marije Rook)
Rose claims the CFD-tested design actually improves aerodynamics by smoothing airflow through the main triangle. Practical touches like a water-repellent coating (essential in the rainy Pacific Northwest) make it easy to live with, and in testing it proved quick to attach or remove and stayed rock-solid over rough terrain. That said, it’s worth noting that Fidlock’s system has received mixed reviews globally, even if it worked flawlessly for me.
Plenty of mounts between the magnetic Fidlock screws and regular M5 mounts
(Image credit: Anne-Marije Rook)
The first ride on a new bike is always revealing. Some steeds show their character straight away, while others take several rides to show you who they are. The Backroads FF was very much the former: we clicked instantly.
After a quick saddle swap (something I do with every test bike), I was off — first on a cyclocross-style spin through the local park, then into the deep end with an 80-mile gravel sufferfest, and finally onto my favourite mixed-terrain loops. Through it all, the Backroads felt familiar, trustworthy and unmistakably quick.
The bike has a distinctly race-bred personality: quick to accelerate, agile, eager to keep going, and with a pedaling position that allows you to stay on the gas for long stretches at a time. Perfect for the rolling terrain and long straightaways of the Flint Hills in Kansas. And while at first the bars’ funky shape may take some getting used to, they proved to be very comfortable both on the top and, thanks to the shallow drop, when riding in the drops.
On rolling terrain, the bike’s geometry struck a good balance between stability and responsiveness. The 71.25° head tube angle and longish front-center meant the front wheel tracked confidently through sweeping turns and loose gravel sections, offering a planted and controlled ride feel. On mixed terrain and not-too-technical gravel, the Backroads feels like a perfect mix of playful and sure-footedness. And I was decently impressed with Rose’s own GC50 wheels, too. I’d say they’re pretty comparable to a Hunt 40 GCR wheelset.
The excellent new 1×13 SRAM Force AXS XPLR drivetrain
(Image credit: Anne-Marije Rook)
I did find the bike’s limit pretty quickly though
My XS test unit featured a rather steep 76.25° seat tube angle, which places the rider directly over the bottom bracket. This forward-rotated position is meant to maximise power transfer by letting you drive straight down on the pedals. It also keeps the front wheel weighted and steady on steep climbs, and it naturally drops your torso into a lower, more aerodynamic position. It’s the sort of geometry you’d expect from a TT bike, not a gravel machine, and it makes the Backroads FF feel racy the moment you get on it.
The trade-off comes when the terrain turns technical. There’s a short section of steep, rooty singletrack that I like to ride. It comes at the end of a mixed-terrain jaunt and it’s the last bit of fun before returning to the busy city streets. It’s techy and I’ve yet to clear the whole section without having to put a foot down, but it’s totally doable on a gravel or cyclocross bike. On this stretch, the Backroads quickly reminded me what it was bred for. The steep seat angle kept my weight pitched forward, and more than once I found myself teetering on the edge of an endo.
It’s a fast bike, but not a very shreddy one. This is also evident in the 45mm tyre clearance.
The bike came specced with 40mm Schwalbe G-One RS Pro tyres. These tyres are great but they’re practically a file tread. I think it would be a bit of squeeze to get some knobby 45mm tyres in there. And with so many U.S.-based gravel racers now clamoring for 2.2″ tyres, the Backroads is somewhat limited.
Value & Verdict
(Image credit: Anne-Marije Rook)
The Backroads FF delivers a fun and fast, race-inspired ride for riders who like to stay on the gas for long stretches. It shines on rolling or punchy terrain and thrives on fast, open gravel. Think the Flint Hills of Kansas, the champagne gravel of SBT or many of the events on the UCI circuit. If your gravel outings lean more toward rowdiness, bikepacking or Grinduro-style racing, this isn’t your weapon. But if your goal is speed, the Backroads FF is built to deliver it.
At €5,199, the Backroads FF punches well above its price class. A similarly specced gravel bike from the “big four”—Specialized, Trek, Giant or Cannondale—would typically run $1–2K more. In the aero-gravel category, its closest peers are the likes of a Canyon Grail or Ventum GS1, both of which sit in the same ballpark on price but may not have quite the same finesse and all-out race focus as the Rose. The flip side though is that these do sport a bigger tyre clearance and are a tad more all-rounded.
The Backroads biggest drawback, however, is availability. When I received the bike in August, Rose shared that while it wasn’t actively distributing in the US, customers could order via its international website with longer and more expensive delivery. Since then, shifting tariff rules and DHL suspending U.S. shipments altogether have made stateside fulfilment effectively impossible. In the UK, Rose says it cannot currently deliver bikes either, citing different standards.
Image 1 of 8
