R-077 Light Frame Bike Review

R-077 First Ride Review

By Justin Hill

My first impressions of the R-077 built up with Di2 and using the new True-U wheelset were very very good.  It is my favorite frame yet!  After coming off of the R-016 built with SRAM Force, the new frame and wheelset were a refreshing change.  That is not to say the R-016 isn’t a great frame, I just noticed some differences which complement each one.

The R-077 is very stable on climbing, descending, and sprinting.  Overall, I felt it was a smoother ride than the R-016.  I do feel that the R-016 accelerated faster compared to the R-077, but once you get the 077 to speed it just wants to go.

It handled cornering very well and was a confident descender.  I had it up to 45mph on one descent and felt comfortable without any speed wobble to speak of.

On our interval training ride, I was able to sit on the front and felt I wasn’t putting as much effort as I used to on the R-016.  While the R-077 isn’t touted as an aero frame, I feel it may have better aero properties than the R-016.  A disclaimer of this is that the new True-U wheelset was on the R-077 and it could be attributed to this.

The size of the frame was a little larger than the R-016 and stretched me out a bit more which actually felt good on the shorter quicker rides I did putting me in a more aero position. One the R-016 I was in a compact position which I liked for quick maneuverability in crits and the like. I had more toe overlap in tight corners with the R-016 than the R-077. I’m looking forward to spending more time with the R-077 to put it through it’s paces!