Rufus Stone review
I met Sam in the Summer of 2022 at The Woods Cyclery. Our shared passion for bicycles sparked an instant friendship between us. He has been riding one of the sample Rufus Stone frames since we got them back in May last year. Sam is as particular about his bikes as I am if not more so he was a great person to have test the sample out and put it through his paces. He hit me up at the end of November saying he would like to write a review on the bike which I knew would be an honest one. He also sent over some rad film shots that he took to go along with it. Take a read and hear what someone who knows bikes has to say bout our first frame offering.
When Ash approached me to try out the 'Rufus Stone', one of his new Rune prototype frames, the build came together pretty quick as I had been collecting some bike parts for a while, waiting for the right build. I had some Nitto stems floating about and with the geo of the frame having a long top tube it worked best with my personal favourite the 50mm Tullux, fitting perfect with the new Rune bars.
For the wheels I was looking to use some 35mm velocity blunt MTB rims that had been hung on the wall far too long, pairing them with some 2.2” tyres. I was worried about the chainstay's clearance but there was an ample amount of room.
The way the cable routing has been placed for the brakes it works really well with the flat mount Paul’s Klampers which happen to be my 1st choice when setting up a disced bike. The gearing I like to go for on this type of build is a 1x setup with a 10 speed cassette, 11-46 on the back and a 32 tooth on the front to keep it simple and get up those steep hills while loaded.
For the first ride out on the Rufus Stone Ash and Faz from The Woods Cyclery came down for an evening ride around my local trails in the South Downs National Park and I don’t think there’s a better place for a test ride. After a mile of road we head into the tree line and hit a fast single track.
Wow this machine feels good! The steel raked fork worked perfectly sucking up the small roots, loose flint rocks and all over obstacles that came its way weaving through the forest. There's some real steep descents and accents that I was looking forward to seeing how it held up, and there was no disappointment. There wasn’t too much side flex at the bb while putting the power down on climbs, allowing me to really drive up them instead of worrying about the bike flexing too much and losing momentum. Then we hit my favourite descent, it’s fast, loose and rutty. Without hesitation I hit the first corner, dug the tyres in and it pulled through super smooth and sturdy into the rock garden-ish section. It breezed over the rocks with no issues and I could tell this frame is strong enough to take a bit of the rough stuff. We all finish the ride with high spirits, buzzing about this new creation with it ticking all the boxes.
Over the summer it has been my go to bike for any situation. Having braze ons in the right places it’s been easy to chuck a rear rack on for some support for a saddle bag if needing a bit more luggage. But this year I haven’t had much spare time for tours so I’ve just snuck in a couple of overnighters where I’ve been able to use a large handlebar bag stuffing it with my sleeping bag, sleep pad, bivvy, stove and all the other knick-knacks. Having a slacker head tube means it's great for taking heavy weights on the front end without losing the steering quality making it a really fun light tourer.
After riding a few bikes similar to this in geometry, and style, over the past few years - I certainly noticed the difference in the build quality and the way the subtle differences add to a better sturdier ride that I feel I’ll be able to trust, for many years and a bike that’s going to stick around for a long time.
Written by Rusty Sam