The project simmered in the oven for a long time. Now, almost a year after its presentation at Eurobike 2006, the new race flagship "R.R2 FS" from Rotwild is ready for testing. "We started from the safe side and worked our way down," says developer Peter Böhm, explaining the delay. Rotwild prioritised durability and stability in the elaborate production process.
That sounds reasonable and yet the finished product is immediately convincing: the frame is very light (1955 grams plus shock 202 grams) and therefore has a very good STW value (27.6, absolute stiffness 59.6 Nm/degree). Together with the luxurious equipment and the light wheels, you have a race fully weighing just 10.6 kilos. This is the best value in the full-suspension luxury class in the 2007 annual comparison, even 150 grams lighter than the Scott "Spark 10" (BIKE 1/07) with similar dimensions and from an adequate price category.
You could feel this immediately on the two-hour Isar Trail tour. You feel damn fast on the "R.R2". The steering is agile and manoeuvrable, a joy in the labyrinth of bends. The suspension works very actively, surprisingly you never feel the need to lock the shock absorber, and you don't even miss a platform function. The rear works with a lot of noticeable travel, without you feeling impaired in your propulsion - this is how race fullys should work!
Only when it gets very fast do you have to be careful: On gravel downhills, the front end flexes a little and the steering lacks one hundred per cent precision. But you can get over that. The bike was developed for sporty, good riders, subjectively we would say: for riders under 90 kilos. However, we make this judgement for almost all carbon race bikes. Nevertheless, Rotwild says: "We recommend carbon to heavy riders because it is more durable than aluminium in the test bench tests."
In addition to the great handling, the "R.R2 FS" has other plus points that will appeal to the target group: Two bottle cages fit into the frame triangle and the seat post can be fully lowered. Perfect features for Alpine crossings, long tours or stage races. Professional racer Wolfram Kurschat recently proved that the bike can also hold its own in Formula 1 by finishing eighth in the CC World Cup.
CONCLUSIONS: The "R.R2 FS" presents itself as a top race fully for lightweight riders. You can look forward to the first comparison test with the established race competition.
Photos: Daniel Simon
