Bergamont Grandurance RD Elite

The Bergamont Grandurance RD Elite has a relaxed riding position and a plush carbon frame and fork that allow you to zing along on smooth tarmac in total comfort, as well as room for wide tyres, and a gravel groupset that'll happily tackle rougher terrain. Bergamont describes its Grandurance bikes as commuter, tourer and explorer, and this range-topping model is definitely equipped to tackle them all. It's a proper all-rounder.

> Buy now: Bergamont Grandurance RD Elite for £3,099 from Bergamont

Bergamont is a German company based in Pauli, Hamburg that has been producing bikes since 1993. Since 2015 it's been under the ownership of Scott Sports, and offers a range of bikes covering entry-level mountain bikes, all kinds of urban steeds, gravel and adventure bikes, and a large selection of e-bikes too.

Bergamont Grandurance RD Elite: Ride

I'll go straight in by saying that the Grandurance RD Elite is an absolute joy to ride. Everything seems to work – the geometry, the carbon layup and design of the frame all work together to make a bike that you can ride very comfortably for hours and hours on end.

First up, it's not light – and with a dynamo system, full aluminium guards and a rack, that's not unexpected – but it doesn't seem to have any negative effects on the ride as a whole.

When loaded up with a few bags and extras, whether on the road or off, the RD Elite never feels ponderous or a challenge to ride through slow corners or anything technical. I rode it both on gravel trails and through rush hour traffic and it's an easy bike to steer through any obstacles you find in your way.

I'll go into the full geometry details in a bit, but for now let's just say that things are very stable and predictable.

For a 57cm frame, the saddle to handlebar position is shorter than expected, and when paired to the tall fork and head tube you are left with a relaxed, upright riding position. That obviously gives you a good field of view when riding in traffic, plus it puts less stress on your back and wrists when out on an adventure or cruising along on the commute.

While I spent a lot of time riding the RD in normal clothes or baggy styled cycling kit, it's no slouch if you want to don your Lycra and put in a bit of effort. It's no racer, but with the amount of rain about during the test period it got a lot of use on wet roads for training rides, so I was tackling my usual technical descents and long straight roads at a decent lick.

Once rolling it feels efficient, helped by the lower ratios of the Shimano GRX groupset over a traditional road offering.

The neutral handling means you can take the corners positively, and with confidence. I had to back off a couple of times as I went into a tight bend, forgetting I wasn't on one of the race machines I was also reviewing at the time, but even a hard yank on the brakes doesn't unsettle it, and if you do get into a bit of trouble it'll get you out of it without too much hassle.

Stiffness throughout the frame and fork is great, so the bike always feels tight and responsive. I found the geometry worked very well for me when climbing too. I could hold a seated position for a long time where the steep seat angle puts you in the ideal position to really get the power down.

If used as a gravel adventure bike, all of the above transfers well from the road to the trails. It swallows up miles even on rough terrain while that neutral steering keeps the front end in check on loose surfaces.

Overall, from a ride point of view it hits the brief of what it is designed to do. It's a comfortable, easy-to-ride mile-muncher regardless of the surface or terrain.

Bergamont Grandurance RD Elite: Frame & Fork

Many touring/adventure bikes of this ilk tend to have metal frames. Steel tends to be the material of choice, but aluminium or titanium are popular too. The Bergamont has an 'ultra lite HSC' carbon fibre frame, though, with a full-carbon fork to match.

It looks smooth and sleek, especially at the front end where the top, head and down tubes blend seamlessly into each other. In contrast you can see where Bergamont's designers have factored in some robustness and strength for load carrying, with extra material around the top tube/seat tube junction, and beneath the seatstays as they join the seat tube.

Chunky chainstays and an oversized bottom bracket area mean a tight, stiff lower half of the frame which obviously helps power transfer when you pull away from a standing start or when climbing, but also helps to offset any sidewards load and sway when loaded up with kit.

Speaking of loads, Bergamont gives a maximum weight limit of 130kg, which includes the bike itself, all kit and the rider.

There are certainly plenty of mounts for all that kit too. Not only do you get rear rack mounts and those for full guards, you also get three bottle cage mounts – two in the traditional positions (with three bolts so you can play with your bottle position)…

…one underneath the down tube…

…and a set on the top tube for a bento bag kind of thing.

You also get three bolts on each fork leg.

Internal dynamo light wiring is also included for both the frame and the fork, while both the gear cables and hydraulic brake hoses also pass neatly through the frameset. This is a clean-looking bike.

Bergamont has kept the seatpost clamp external, though, with the Grandurance models using a 31.6mm diameter standard round seatpost. A nice touch as it means you can easily add an off-the-shelf suspension seatpost if you like, or even a dropper.

The Grandurance uses a press-fit bottom bracket, which might make a few people suck air in through their teeth, but from my experience of riding hundreds of bikes over the last few years I'd say we are over those early adoption days of poor tolerances between frame and bearing cups which were responsible for noisy running and premature wear after a few rides in the wet.

I haven't had a single issue with creaking press-fit bottom brackets even after a wet winter and spring, so its fitment here definitely wouldn't be a deal-breaker for me.

As for tyre clearance, the Elite RD comes with 40mm rubber fitted, which I'd say is about as large as you want to go with the included guards fitted. Take them off, though, and you've easily got mud clearance for 45mm deeply treaded gravel tyres.

Bergamont Grandurance RD Elite: Geometry

The Grandurance is available in four sizes ranging from 50cm to 61cm. I'm riding the 57cm here, which has a 570mm top tube length, if you measure it horizontally to a point at the same height as the top of the head tube.

It's a bit longer than I'd normally ride, but because of the height and relaxed angle of the head tube, things don't feel overly lengthy. I'd say it feels more like a 55cm frame; if you are unsure which size frame to buy you can put your dimensions into the fit guide on Bergamont's website. I did and it recommended the 57cm.

Looking at other numbers, the head tube is 180mm long, sitting at a 70-degree angle, while the seat tube is a much more aggressive 75 degrees. The wheelbase is 1,081mm, with chainstays of 430mm, and you get a standover height of 837mm. The fork is 420mm in length, with 50mm of rake. Stack and reach figures are 616mm and 405mm respectively.

Bergamont Grandurance RD Elite: Groupset

The RD Elite is built around an 11-speed mechanical GRX 810 groupset, Shimano's gravel-specific line-up (which has recently been superseded by GRX 820, which is 12-speed).

It's a great groupset overall, with a similar performance to its road sibling Ultegra – at least when that was available as a mechanical offering.

The shifting is quick and precise, with a defined click as the chain moves from one sprocket to the next. That's something I like, especially off-road, where the chain could be dirty and noisy – the solid feel to the gear change lets you know you have changed ratio.

This build uses a 2x chainset with 48/31T chainrings paired up with an 11-34T cassette. These lower ratios compared with what you would find on a road bike help offset the overall weight of the bike and help on the climbs, and off-road when loaded too.

I have this groupset on my own bike and I can vouch for its long-term durability and reliability.

One of the biggest plus points for me is the flat sections on the front of the levers which give you a bigger platform to rest your fingers on when braking compared with the curved units found on Shimano's road levers. The biggest benefits are found when braking on descents, especially rough ones, as you have more purchase on the lever without fear of being bounced off it.

Bergamont has specified 160mm rotors front and rear, which gives ample stopping power even when loaded up.

Bergamont Grandurance RD Elite: Wheels & tyres

Being a part of Scott Sports SA, the parent company of Scott bikes, it's no surprise to see its in-house brand Syncros make an appearance on the RD Elite, in the shape of the Capital 2.0 wheel rims which are aluminium and specced with 32 stainless spokes front and rear. The rear build gets a BGM Allroad disc hub and 12 x 142mm thru-axle while the front uses a Shimano DH-UR705 dynamo hub.

The wheels seem solid and durable, and I found them tight when accelerating out of the saddle or climbing, so no worries in terms of lateral flex.

Schwalbe's G-One Speeds are one of my favourite mixed surface tyres. Their tread is minimal, so they are only really any good for hard surfaces, but you've got enough bite for dry trails and byways.

On the road they are supple and so give a smooth ride, along with good cornering grip and plenty of feedback. One trade-off of this is that they aren't the most robust when used off road for long periods of time.

They are set up here with Kenda tubes but are tubeless ready if you want to go down the sealant route.

Bergamont Grandurance RD Elite: Finishing kit

The aluminium Satori X-Race handlebar is a very pleasant shape with a gentle sweep back towards your wrists, and a 16-degree flare at the drops. I found it a relaxing shape for long rides on the hoods or tops, while the flare gives a wider, more secure stance in the drops as well as providing clearance for your wrists.

The BGM Race Grip tape also deserves a mention too, as it feels plush considering it's not the thickest tape on offer, and it's very grippy and squidgy too. The fact that it isn't too thick also helped me feel connected to what the front tyre was up to.

The stem is also branded Satori and is designed to divert the cables and hoses into the frame via the top of the head tube.

It's Syncros again for the aluminium seatpost and Tofino 2.5 saddle, both of which are decent components without exactly filling you with excitement.

Up front, the dynamo hub powers an 80-lux B&M IQ-XS T Senso Plus LED headlight mounted on the fork crown and a Herrmans H-Trace Mini rear light, both of which have standlights for a bit of added safety (they'll stay on after you've stopped pedalling).

The front light is bright enough to see by up to around 25mph on dark country lanes, and it was only on faster road rides that I would add my Exposure Strada to the handlebar for a bit of extra clout on descents.

The rear is bright too, enough to be seen by even in daylight, although I would often run a flashing light on the seatpost as the mudguard-mounted Herrmans is solid state only.

Finishing things off are the rear rack and mudguards.

The former is made by Racktime and has a payload of 20kg. It's completely aluminium and impressively stiff with no movement whatsoever.

The mudguards are also full aluminium and some of the rear's mounting points are to the rack. I was expecting a bit of rattle but had no such issues. My only real criticism is that the front is a little short. If you are riding a lot in the wet you could do with some more length, or at least a mudflap, to divert spray away from your shoes. Drilling it to accept a homemade flap wouldn't be too arduous a task, and is definitely something I would do if the RD Elite was mine.

Their width does a good job of stopping spray from exiting around the sides, though, which kept the bottom bracket area and groupset impressively clean even after riding in some very wet conditions.

Bergamont Grandurance RD Elite: Value

In total there are 11 Grandurance models on offer, starting with the £1,099 Grandurance 4 which has an aluminium frame, a Shimano Sora grouspet and cable-operated disc brakes.

Our RD Elite model is the range topper and costs £3,099, but if you don't want the rack, mudguards and dynamo you can buy the standard Elite for £2,999.

Looking at a few of the models in between, the Grandurance 8 sits at £1,699 with an aluminium frame, 1x GRX groupset and the same wheels you see on our model (but without the dynamo). The Grandurance Expert gets the carbon frame and a GRX 400/600 2x 10-speed groupset for £2,399. It also has the same wheels, saddle and cockpit as ours.

There are women-specific models in a couple of different build levels, too.

> Buyer’s Guide: Best gravel bikes

> Buyer’s Guide: Best touring bikes

In terms of competition there aren't many carbon-framed bikes on the market with the same spec as the Grandurance, as in mudguard/rack mounts and full internal dynamo routing.

Cube's Nuroad FE range is fully equipped with such parts, but the top model, the Race FE, has an aluminium frame and carbon fork. It's £1,999 and comes with a range of Shimano GRX components spread across the RX400/600/810 levels. For a side-by-side comparison it's closer in spec to the Grandurance RD 5, and the RD 5 is £1,699. Mat reviewed a Nuroad EX back in 2022.

Dolan's GXC Carbon gravel bike in a similar build to the Grandurance Elite (non-RD) is £2,599.96 when upgraded to the adventure fork with mounting points and a 2x GRX 820 groupset. It has similar tyre clearance and will take mudguards and racks too, although there is no option for internal dynamo routing.

When John reviewed the aluminium GXA version he found the Dolan's geometry very road biased, so not as relaxing to ride as the Grandurance on trails or for long distances on the road.

Bergamont Grandurance RD Elite: Conclusion

In my opinion the Grandurance has all of the design elements that a bike of this ilk needs. The geometry is spot on, as is the comfort and riding position. You have all of the mounting points you could possibly need, and on top of that, the ride quality is perfect for long distance adventures.

> Buy now: Bergamont Grandurance RD Elite for £3,099 from Bergamont

Verdict

Perfect geometry and comfort for those far-flung adventures on the road or away from it