Rose Bikes, in collaboration with the French ProTeam Unibet Rose Rockets, has unveiled one of the coolest special editions of recent times: a very special version of its urban flat-bar gravel bike, the Hobo. To mark the start of the Giro d’Italia, the steel-framed bike hasn’t just been decked out with team logos; it has been thoroughly customised for the Rockets – complete with a pizza rack!
And this goes surprisingly well with the Hobo: the bike has always been more of a versatile everyday companion than a hardcore gravel machine, and the Rockets version takes this approach even further. Whilst it certainly features high-quality components from the team’s racing setup – including Sram electronic shifting, carbon wheels and fast gravel tyres – the focus is on a different detail: the front rack.
After all, in this configuration, it doesn’t carry bags or shopping, but up to eight pizza boxes. It might sound like a crazy idea at first – but it’s a perfect fit for the Hobo, for which front racks have been available since the bike’s launch. And anyway, the Unibet Rose Rockets have stood for a much more relaxed and creative approach to cycling for years – including initiatives where co-founder Bas Tietema handed out pizza to the peloton after stages.
That’s exactly what makes this special edition so successful: it doesn’t feel contrived, but simply authentic. It’s a shame, then, that the Rockets version won’t be available as standard. Still, one of the custom-built bikes is set to be given away during the Giro d’Italia! As usual, the standard versions of the Hobo are available right here in Rose’s online shop.
