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Cycling Weekly
Cycling Weekly
Sport
Anne-Marije Rook

This bike has won Unbound Gravel two years in a row - but getting your hands on one may be difficult

The Rose Backroads FF Force XPLR AXS gravel bike reviewed.

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.

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