German direct-to-consumer brand ROSE Bikes sponsor the 2nd tier Unibet Rose Rockets, giving the squad a bike that got quite a lot of attention at recent races. 

For the Omloop race, they choose a 1x setup, with SRAM’s Red AXS XPLR rear derailleur. That was a setup debuted in the classics last year by Lidl-Trek, and we have already seen quite a few different teams using it this year. 

The Rose bike featured here is the Shave FFX, and whilst the shape is pretty common these days, it is a decent paint-job.. 

For the Rockets team, the bike marks a step up in equipment to match their growing results, and their ambitions – they received a wild card for the Giro d’Italia this year and are aiming for the Tour in 2027.  They are a French-licensed UCI ProTeam with Dutch roots, founded in 2023 by former professional cyclist Bas Tietema. Originating as a ‘YouTube cycling team’ with the aim of ‘modernizing’ the sport, they registered in France in late 2024.

What’s with this modernising lark, I hear you barking!

Well, thanks Google: ‘The team aim to modernise professional cycling by bridging the gap between traditional racing and digital-native fan engagement, focusing on authenticity, content creation, and a “community-first” approach to building a team.’

They chose a name that they hope will remain with the team, so rather than Sponsor A + Sponsor B = Team Name – which is a bit naff when you think about it – they ‘Americanised’ it, in the vein of say, the Houston Rockets… To be fair though, whilst I get the concept, Rose Rockets does sound like a peewee baseball team from Rose, WIsconsin (and yes, that is a real place).

For ROSE, it’s a statement: performance bikes, raced hard, at prices that undercut much of the WorldTour grid – their Ultegra Di2 version of the Shave FF comes in at $6000USD, and the top SRAM version at $8.5. Daft prices but not that daft.

Thoughts? Like it or not?!