{"id":295036,"date":"2025-12-02T14:58:15","date_gmt":"2025-12-02T14:58:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/295036\/"},"modified":"2025-12-02T14:58:15","modified_gmt":"2025-12-02T14:58:15","slug":"lukas-postlbergers-rose-backroad-ff-a-gravel-bike-outlier","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/295036\/","title":{"rendered":"Lukas P\u00f6stlberger\u2019s Rose Backroad FF – a gravel bike outlier"},"content":{"rendered":"

Lukas P\u00f6stlberger was one of a few retired WorldTour road racers on the start line of Gravel Burn<\/a>. The Austrian is a former Maglia Rosa<\/a> jersey wearer and stage winner at the Giro d\u2019Italia<\/a>, known for his huge engine, and was naturally a marked man at the race. While he attempted a few breakaways, nothing stuck, leaving the Rose Racing Circle rider to contend with bagging a top ten on the general classification instead, something he secured on the final stage.<\/p>\n

\n

\"Lukas\n<\/p>\n

His white Rose Backroad FF was one of two models at Gravel Burn<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Aaron Borrill)<\/p>\n

With only a brace of Rose Backroad FF<\/a> gravel bikes at the race (the other belonging to P\u00f6stlberger\u2019s teammate, Luis Neff), they proved a rare commodity amid the quotidian mainstream brands. Lukas\u2019s bike proved a welcome contrast to his rivals; its white frame provided the ideal canvas for graffiti-style decals to make an impact. The Backroad FF is a lightweight racing gravel bike<\/a> known for its all-round ability on mixed terrain.<\/p>\n

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\"Lukas\n<\/p>\n

To add some character to his bike, P\u00f6stlberger plastered his bike graffiti-style stickers<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Aaron Borrill)<\/p>\n

P\u00f6stlberger\u2019s choice of white bar tape was bold, given the nature of Gravel Burn, but it complemented his bike, which was black or white. While the Backroad FF has a suggested maximum tyre clearance of 45mm, the Austrian squeezed in a pair of 50mm Schwalbe G-One RS Pro tyres wrapped around a set of 1,245g Newmen Advanced SL X.R.36 Vonoa with carbon spokes and Fade hubs \u2013 a popular choice tyre among the European pro riders.<\/p>\n

Best picks for you<\/p>\n

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\"Lukas\n<\/p>\n

A SRAM Red XPLR AXS rear mech handles shifting duties at the rear, while a rubberised chainstay protector keeps the chain from damaging the paint<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Aaron Borrill)<\/p>\n

Given the flat, open roads of Gravel Burn, as well as the stretches of tarmac, Lukas opted for a SRAM Red AXS XPLR groupset<\/a>, set up in a 1x configuration, complete with a 48T and 10\u201346T cassette. Closer examination reveals a Wolf Tooth LoneWolf chaincatcher to ensure chain security over the rough, corrugated roads that underscored much of the Gravel Burn route.<\/p>\n

As was the overarching theme at this year\u2019s event, the Austrian favoured road bike pedals<\/a> over off-road-specific hardware, in this case, a pair of Shimano<\/a> Dura-Ace R9100 SPD-SL carbon pedals.<\/p>\n

\n

\"Lukas\n<\/p>\n

A pair of Shimano Dura-Ace R9100 SPD-SL carbon pedals provide a better aerodynamic advantage over the off-road equivalent, not to mention a better pedalling platform<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Aaron Borrill)<\/p>\n

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\"Lukas\n<\/p>\n

A stock Rose integrated handlebar is adorned in white bar tape, a bold yet confident move by the Austrian pro<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Aaron Borrill)<\/p>\n

The remaining touchpoints include a Selle Italia Flite Boost S1 Carbon perch and a Rose integrated one-piece carbon handlebar.<\/p>\n

Image 1 of 5<\/p>\n

\"LukasP\u00f6stlberger fitted his Backroad FF with a SRAM Red XPLR AXS groupset with 48T up front<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Aaron Borrill)\"LukasThe carbon spokes of the Newmen Advanced SL X.R.36 Vonoa are laced to Fade hubs(Image credit: Aaron Borrill)\"LukasWhile tyre clearance is rated at a maximum 45mm, 50mm were squeezed in at bith the front and rear(Image credit: Aaron Borrill)\"LukasThe Selle Italia Flite Boost S1 Carbon balanceds low weight with comfort(Image credit: Aaron Borrill)\"LukasThe Back Road FF is Roses’s racing gravel platform, a bike that has won Unbound two years in a row(Image credit: Aaron Borrill)SpecsFrameset: Backroad FF, CarbonFork: Backroad FF, CarbonCockpit: Rose integrated one-piece carbon handlebarSeatpost: Backroad FF V2 carbonGroupset: SRAM Red XPLR AXSWheelset: Newmen Advanced SL X.R.36 VonoaTyres: Schwalbe G-One RS Pro 50mmSaddle: Selle Italia Flite Boost S1 Carbon<\/p>\n

The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Lukas P\u00f6stlberger was one of a few retired WorldTour road racers on the start line of Gravel Burn.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":295037,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[4985,101,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-295036","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cycling","tag-cycling","tag-sports","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/295036","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=295036"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/295036\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/295037"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=295036"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=295036"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=295036"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}