Rapha continues their Rapha Continental project of seeking out some of the world’s finest road bikes. The latest builder to collaborate with the British clothing manufacturer is VANDEYCK, a German company that seeks to make “rolling art”.
Made from Columbus XCr stainless steel, the frame features a bold 38mm down tube and a 44mm headtube with a tapered fork. Added tyre clearance, longer seatstays and disc brakes are to support the rider on ratty gravel roads and cobbles. The design concept includes small details like the in-house-manufactured dropouts, milled logos and internal brake cable routing. The coding on the seatstays and fork blades translates as ‘Continental’.
   
Ron Callahan is the chief cook and bottlewasher at Bike World News, doing everything from website design to bike reviews.