BIKE TESTS
SENIOR TE C HE D WARREN R OS SITE R EXPLAINS WHAT MAKES RONDO’S HVRTCF 0 OUR BIKE OF THE YEAR 2019
This issue has been taken over by our 2019 Bike of the Year test - as has much of my riding for the past few months, with over 70 bikes to run the rule over. You can find the winner on
We know that many of you reading through our rundown might be wondering ‘who the hell is Rondo?’. And yes, this upstart Polish brand is certainly upsetting the apple cart with its different approach to bike design. That said, is it really any different to the major players? When the likes of Giant arrived on the scene in the ’70s, the established European bike brands probably thought the same thing; as with the invasion of American brands Trek, Specialized and Cannondale. In the ’90s, brands such as Cervélo (Canada) and Canyon (Germany) helped take bike production and design even more global, pretty much putting an end to the stranglehold British, French, Spanish and Italian firms had on the road-bike world.
Personally, I think the bike industry needs this level of division, this kind of outsidethe-box thinking. Without it, we wouldn’t have had the BMX, the mountain bike, or the humble folding bike. If we kept with tradition, bikes wouldn’t be as diverse as they are now. We’d have slight improvements on what we’ve always had and nothing more.
But let’s get back to the HVRT, this is a bike that’s taken on the best
“T H AT ONE BIK E CA N H AV E T HIS DUA L PERSONALITY AND NOT FEEL COMPROMISED IN EITHER OPTION IS QUITE BRILLIANT”
WE SAY… HUGELY VERSATILE, LIGHT, FAST AND FUN THE HVRT IS ONE BIKE THAT REALLY CAN DO IT ALL