A classic urban bike with a modern drivetrain: Creme Cycles offers with the Ristretto Roadster a visually highly attractive bikes – which thanks to the 7-speed hub gears from Shimano’s Nexus series and a clean belt drive instead of the conventional bicycle chain is quite up to date! The advantage of such a drive is on the one hand the largely maintenance-free, since neither the gearshift nor the belt require special care. In addition, both parts are hardly susceptible to external weather influences and guarantee a particularly quiet operation.
Reason for the slim look of the diamond frame is of course the starting material of Cro-Mo steel frame, which — compared to aluminum — allows significantly narrower tube diameters. In addition, steel is also said to be somewhat more compliant and thus more comfortable. The Gravelking tires come from Panaracer and offer with their width of 38 mm additional reserves for damping bumps in the road.
The braking system has to make some minor concessions: disc brakes are used here, but they are mechanically controlled. You don’t have to worry about the braking performance, at most the brake cable has to be readjusted now and then. The sporty look of the bike also includes that no mudguards are installed, but a very practical front carrier, on which a transport box can be mounted, for example.
With a weight of 14 kg, the bike is certainly not one of the lightest representatives, but its price is quite affordable: the bike is currently available at Fahrrad-XXL for a special price of 899.99 euros, which is far below the regular retail price of 1,249 euros. The same also applies to the corresponding model with a trapezoidal frame, which is on offer at the same price.
