Meet the FR. There’s a reason it’s our flagship race bike. Actually, there are dozens of reasons. But here’s all you need to know: If you’re looking for the best-handling, fastest-climbing, smoothest-riding road racing bike in the world, you’ve found it.
BUY IT IF:
You’re looking for a road racing bike that can climb like an angel, descend like a beast, and sprint like Usain Bolt.
DON’T BUY IT IF:
You long for the classic feel of mechanical shifting. In which case, we’ve got you covered with both a Shimano Ultegra- and a Shimano 105-equipped model. Or, perhaps you want to save every gram of weight at the expense of a few extra dollars. If so, check out the no-holds-barred FR FRD | Ultimate model.
HIGHLIGHTS:
- Advanced-level frameset with TeXtreme carbon
- Clearance for up to 28mm tires
- Electronic shifting and disc brakes
UPGRADES OVER FR | ADVANCED | ULTEGRA:
- Shimano Ultegra Di2 Electronic Shifters and Derailleurs
- Shimano Ultegra R8000 Crankset
The FR represents one half of the ideal union between bike and rider. Free of excess, it was painstakingly and obsessively honed for the needs of the most committed road cyclists, in order to win battles of will, attrition, and tactics on any racecourse. When you strip away unnecessary indulgences and gimmicks, all that is left is pure performance, embodied in a bike that is an extension of you.
This is the bike of choice for both the men’s and women’s contingents of the Rally UHC Cycling pro continental team. The North American-based squad is amongst the most well-respected in the global pro peloton, thanks in large part to their professionalism. They’ve been steadily racking up race wins year in and year out while simultaneously developing the newest generation of cycling superstars. But they’re also a gutsy team that races each event with a tenacity like no other. The team’s primary goal for every race is to shake things up, rattle the nerves of their competitors, and give all of the fans lining the road or tuned in to their television sets the greatest show on two wheels. Whether it’s flying off the front of a breakaway, attacking the GC favorites up the final push of a queen stage climb, or stretching out the field with a white-knuckle display of bike-handling panache down a harrowing descent, the men and women of Rally UHC Cycling demand a bike that can not only do it all, but do it all phenomenally well.
The FR is the world’s best-performing platform for all road racing conditions. The FR | Advanced is crafted from several unique types of carbon fibers. UHC (“Ultra Hybrid Carbon”) Advanced fiber is high-modulus, meaning that it’s incredibly stiff to maximize pedaling efficiency and handling feedback. But it’s not quite as stiff as its more expensive sibling, UHC Ultimate (which is found on the FR FRD | Ultimate model). However, this makes the UHC Advanced a better option for most cyclists, as it helps yield a slightly more supple chassis to mitigate road feedback and suppress rider fatigue towards the end of a long road race. TeXtreme is another type of carbon that is not only found on our best-performing framesets, but is also utilized in the aerospace industry and on Formula One race cars to both add strength to a structure, as well as reduce its weight relative to alternative composite options. Now, we can talk about the materials themselves until the cows come home. But just like how the finest food ingredients demand the skills of a chef to yield a truly exquisite meal, bicycle frame materials require engineering expertise to produce a truly great bicycle. The FR | Advanced frame platform was developed by our engineering team, who have a combined 90 years of experience developing carbon fiber racing bicycles.
We partnered with Shimano to deck out the FR | Advanced with three different component packages to give riders the freedom to choose how they interact with their FR and with the road itself. Shimano’s Di2 electronic shifting has been ridden to countless world championships and grand tour victories, and has proven its dependability in every riding condition on planet earth. The Ultegra Di2 iteration functions identically to its pricier Dura-Ace counterpart in terms of feel at the shifters, customization of the shifting interface, and the responsiveness of gear changes at the front and rear derailleurs. On the whole, it’s a few grams heavier than the Dura-Ace Di2 version, but there’s a reason that the Shimano sells boatloads of Ultegra-level components. Each and every piece of Ultegra kit offers rock-solid dependability. Each bike in the FR | Advanced line also includes hydraulic disc brakes for complete control on fast descents and reliable performance in all weather conditions. This particular FR | Advanced | Ultegra Di2 model rolls on carbon, tubeless-ready Reynolds wheels for a fast-rolling ride and instant acceleration under power. A carbon fiber cockpit component selection from Devox completes the build.
Once you’ve ridden the FR | Advanced | Ultegra Di2, you’re never going to want to ride anything else