Rose Backroad with Classified Powershift hub: The end of the derailleur?

Product news: The Rose Backroad is no longer a newcomer among gravel bikes, but the latest model from the German manufacturer is still causing a stir. The fault is not necessarily the bike itself, but much more an innovative hub gear system from Belgium, called Powershift from Classified Cycling. Here you can wirelessly control an electromechanical gear hub via Bluetooth, which deprives the front derailleur of its right to exist almost overnight. Rose Bikes is the first German manufacturer to integrate the innovative switching technology of the Classified Powershift hub.

At first glance, the latest Rose Backroad looks like the model introduced in 2020 Shimano GRX DI2 equipment. The Backroad was able to convince with good all-round abilities, a light-footed acceleration and high driving comfort and compared to our last encounter with one Rose Backroad upped the ante again.

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For once, the focus of the new model is not on the frame or the bike itself, because nothing has changed here since last year. Rather, it is about the equipment, or more precisely - about a very special component. Rose Bikes was the first German manufacturer to team up with Classified Cycling and install an electromechanical gear hub. That means: at the push of a button, the gear ratio of the hub changes back and forth in two settings. Just like the front derailleur, only completely integrated in the hub - without a second chainring.

It's unfamiliar; if a drive innovation is presented, the eye always inevitably wanders to the rear derailleur, the crank, the shifters. But here you don't see a big change on the Backroad at first glance, because the shifters are still the same. You can clearly see that there is no front derailleur, but that is also not uncommon on gravel bikes these days and for many it is considered good manners on an off-road bike. The special feature can only be seen on closer inspection, because the end of the thru-axle looks a little different and the hub of the rear wheel also has a slightly different shape. And this is exactly where it is hidden, the Powershift hub.

Classified Powershift shifting technology- How the derailleur killer works

Okay, let's start with the facts: The new Classified Powershift hub is designed to replace the front derailleur and deliver 2x gearing with all the benefits of a 1x drivetrain. The new shifting technology not only promises a clean look on the bike, but should also be low-maintenance and easy to use.

The company behind the Powershift gear hub

The whole system comes from Classified Cycling, a Belgian cycling technology company. The flagship is the Powershift technology, which is also used on the latest Rose Backroad. Classified develops and produces all products, including the Powershift hub, in Belgium. In addition to the innovative hubs, Classified's range also includes complete wheel sets with Powershift Setup. All products are available from selected bicycle manufacturers, through a network of certified dealers and via the online shop.

Function of the Classified Powershift gear hub

The functionality of the Classified Powershift hub is actually quite simple and quickly explained. In order to be able to shift gears without a front derailleur and to be able to use the Powershift technology, a transmitter is mounted in the handlebars, which sends a Bluetooth signal to the receiver in the end of the thru axle via a switching impulse on the shift/brake lever. Upon receiving the signal, the Classified Powershift hub alternates between two ratios, creating a virtual small chainring. The driver does not feel any difference to the usual shifting process, because the cleverly tuned electromechanical gear hub acts like a common drive system. Since the gear change takes place electronically and the receiver and transmitter naturally need to be supplied with electricity, rechargeable batteries are required. The transmitter in the handlebar unit is powered by a standard button cell that should last at least a year. The battery can then be changed without removing the handlebar tape. The battery in the rear wheel hub is rechargeable via micro-USB and should be able to handle over 10.000 switching operations when fully charged. LEDs and transmitter and receiver provide timely information when the charge is coming to an end. Nice: The hub also sends an ANT+ signal and can be paired with the corresponding bike computers. If you want, you can also display the current translation here.

The function at a glance:

1. A shift lever or satellite shift button triggers a shift and is attached to the handlebar unit.
2. The smart thru-axle receives the wireless shift signal.
3. The Powershift hub switches between two gear ratios when receiving the signal.

Powershift technology offers these advantages!

So much for the function, but of course you are now wondering why you should switch to a Powershift hub at all and what advantages the system can actually offer apart from a simple look.

Even if the system manages with just one chain ring and no front derailleur, you can still benefit from 22 gears thanks to the hub. On the one hand, this means small gear increments for precise adjustments while driving and a large range for a wide range of applications thanks to the gear ratio of 451 percent. According to the manufacturer, the switching speed is extremely high at 150 milliseconds. Added to this is the weight saving for the front derailleur or a second chainring, which is not even remotely compensated by the weight of the hub. The electromechanical switching group also promises fast and precise switching processes under full load of up to 1000 watts and also works with an efficiency of 99 percent with almost no losses. So it seems that the Classified Powershift hub combines the best of both worlds (1x and 2x) and could soon become a real competitor for Shimano, Campagnolo and Sram.

The technical details: ratio, weight and gradation

But how does it actually compare to a traditional drive? In this context, we use a Shimano GRX 2×11 drivetrain with 48/31 chainrings at the front and an R8000 11-32 cassette as a reference. This combination offers 450% bandwidth and, thanks to the closely spaced cassette, pleasantly narrow gear steps. With 451%, the Classified Powershift hub offers a slightly larger range, but partly buys this with a wider graduated cassette (11-34). With the internal translation of the gear hub of 0,686, you get a "virtual" small ring with 48 teeth when using a 33 chainring. In concrete terms, this means: The gear steps are slightly larger with the Powershift hub - this saves you the front derailleur. Rose relies on a 46 blade on the Backroad x Classified Powershift, which is then supported by a virtual 32 blade.

Due to the special design, the special Powershift cassette is absolutely necessary for operation. The 11-34 variant installed by Rose comes with a somewhat idiosyncratic gradation (11-12-13-14-15-17-19-21-24-28-34) compared to the competition. While the gear jumps are very small with a high translation ratio, they become larger and larger as the translation decreases. One reason for this could be the hardly relevant chain skewing due to the omission of the second chainring. With the Powershift system, it is therefore possible to drive "big/big" or "small/small" without any problems - without sacrificing shift quality or efficiency. Frequent drivers may have to get used to this a bit first. Speaking of frequent drivers: The cassette is made entirely of steel and should therefore have a good durability - not unimportant, because a new cassette costs 175 euros. In addition to the 11-34 variant, Powershift also offers cassettes with 11-27, 11-30 and 11-32.

And what about the weight? If you use the Rose Backroad with GRX Di2 2×11, which is identically equipped except for the front derailleur and crank, as a comparison, the weight remains unchanged apart from a few grams according to Classified.

The new Rose Backroad X Classified Powershift

At the start of the cooperation, Rose will offer Powershift technology in a model of the Backroad. Except for the shifting system (hub, cassette and crank), this corresponds to the equipment variant with GRX Di2 2×11. In terms of price, however, you have to dig much deeper into your pocket for the innovative hub gears: the 3.599 euros for the GRX Di2 variant are offset by 5.299 euros with Classified Powershift.

WEB: rosebikes.de/backroad_classified