The stylish carbon racer from Rotwild has one thing over our professional testers Florian Vogel and Robert Mennen: it can call itself world champion. It was only in September that 18-year-old Lukas Baum crowned his perfect racing season on the R.R2 with the World Championship title. Not a bad omen for the test. The basis for our two test bikes is the solid carbon fibre frame weighing 1160 grams. Thanks to its outstanding stiffness values, the chassis does not waste a single watt of power and is also suitable for heavy endurance athletes. Whether on steep slopes, berms or jumps over boulders, the smooth-running 29er hardtail masters the tricky sections of the test track in Neustadt like a car pilot on rails. Thanks to the low bottom bracket, you sit comfortably in the middle between the large wheels, even if you sometimes pay for the low centre of gravity with pedal bumps. The wide, but at the same time low front end puts a lot of pressure on the front wheel in addition to the desired saddle elevation. The result is a sporty, harmonious riding impression that even motivated our professional testers to rave about it. The equipment of the two high-end racers follows the principle: functional instead of radical. On both bikes, the chain slips over 20 Shimano gears, suspension is without lock-out remote control with Fox forks, and the fast Conti tyres sit on DT system wheels. The difference is that with the Team, your wallet doesn't matter, everything is a touch more exclusive and a tad better. As a result, the race version can easily add a kilo to its weight, but this is only noticeable in terms of acceleration.
Conclusion Worthy of a world champion: Rotwild's stiff R.R2 proves impressively how effectively you can use the large wheels for feel-good handling on a race bike. You can already enjoy this with the reasonably equipped and 2300 euro cheaper race version, as even professionals only feel the difference minimally.
Rotwild R.R2 HT 29 Team
PLUS Balanced handling, rigid frame, well thought-out equipment, ergonomic grips
MINUS Low bottom bracket, pedals touch down early (both bikes)
Rotwild R.R2 HT 29 Race
PLUS Same frame as the top model, balanced handling, fast/damping tyres
MINUS Expensive (in relation to the equipment), only three frame sizes
