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Nov 06, 2024

Review: The Haro Rivette Road Bike

Put another brand on that down tube, and it would fit right in as the latest road bike Photo: Alvin Holbrook/Velo Get a free Giordana cycling jersey when you subscribe to Velo with Outside+! It’s our

Put another brand on that down tube, and it would fit right in as the latest road bike Photo: Alvin Holbrook/Velo

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Rarely did I meet someone for whom this Haro Rivette road bike didn’t elicit a reaction.

Most of that is down to the paint scheme, which is so different from just anything else out there that it seemingly compelled people to tell me their thoughts. Riding the Rivette in this paint scheme felt like an act of defiance. Only a few folks seemed to dig the paint scheme, and they all seemed to have fond memories of Haro’s peak decades ago.

I’m not sure anyone expected the company most associated with mag wheels and chromed BMX frames from the 80s to come out with a new road bike, much less a new gravel bike to match. But that’s exactly what it’s done. And believe it or not, I think this Rivette is better than it has any right to be.

For better or worse, perhaps the defining characteristic of the Haro Rivette road bike isn’t necessarily how it rides, or the value for money in this build especially. Rather, I think it’s the name on the downtube that works its darndest to define this latest road bike.

Here are some of the comments I’ve heard:

“Is that a custom paint job? I’ve always wanted a Haro road bike.”

“Haro makes road bikes? I thought they went away years ago!”

“Yeah, makes sense that that’s a Haro. I’m not sure anyone else would do that paint scheme.”

Of course, this bike is more than the name on the downtube.

Haro says that the Rivette was designed completely from the ground up using the expertise of its road product director, Lasse Norman Leth (nee Norman Hansen). There are some serious accolades behind the name, as a multi-time Olympic track cycling medalist and pro cyclist up until recently. You don’t need to be an Olympian to design a bike, but it certainly gives it some credibility.

The frame itself looks fairly standard, with the paint ensuring the bike looks far from generic. The head tube doesn’t have the narrowness of many a modern race road bike, and while the fork has a capped end hiding the dropout, it too looks fairly unremarkable.

A look at the downtube reveals a fairly big downtube, however. The bottom bracket area is bigger still, taking advantage of that T47 threaded bottom bracket area. Take a look behind that and the chain stays are similarly beefy to boot. It all looks quite impressive from first glance.

A closer look reveals some interesting touches. The area that the seat post wedge uses to clamp against the seat post is smaller than I would like, and the M5 bolt it uses might encourage some overtorquing of the wedge itself. Bar widths seem properly modern for folks looking for a fast road bike, going narrower than you’d think in just about every size. And tire widths are wider than you’d think too, using 30 mm wide tires on every build.

While the drive side of the front dropout is covered and hid away, the rear dropout isn’t. Here, there’s a SRAM Universal Derailleur Hanger (UDH), a somewhat uncommon choice on road bikes with chainstays as short as this. It should prove to offer simple derailleur hanger replacement at local bike shops, even if they don’t carry Haro.

Haro calls this version of the Rivette the ‘Top Shelf’, which nets a Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 drivetrain, Vision Metron 45 SL wheels, a Blktec one-piece carbon bar and stem, a top-end Selle San Marco saddle, and a pair of 30 mm wide Vittoria Corsa Pro Control tires. Its all befitting a bike called the Top Shelf.

My size 51 cm bike weighed in at 7.1 kg (15.7 pounds), without pedals or cages. That isn’t quite as light as bikes like the Specialized S-Works Tarmac SL8 or Factor Ostro VAM, but it isn’t too far off from the likes of the Trek Madone SLR. All things considered, the weight isn’t all too bad.

Rivette geometry is surprisingly sorted, so long as you’re looking for something that leans toward being a racier road bike. The Rivette is defined by its long front end, however. When paired with the 62 to 58 cm trail figures across sizes, the Rivette geo chart promises handling that isn’t quite as razor-sharp as a race bike.

That longer front center is paired with relatively short 408 mm chainstay figures, easily one of the shortest chainstay lengths of any bike with a SRAM Universal Derailleur Hanger (UDH). Keeping it short should result in a bike that feels responsive under pedaling. If you dig riding with a low setback or zero-setback seat post, you’ll probably love the geometry of this Rivette.

Other things of note here are that Haro offers the Rivette in six sizes (from 48 cm to 61 cm), with two different fork rakes. You’ll likely need to consider sizing down, as the 51 cm bike seen here was decidedly on the big side of things compared to other bikes in that size.

The Rivette is available in four builds, all of them with electronic shifting.

The pick of the bunch has to be the Rivette Carbon 3, with its 105 Di2 drivetrain and carbon wheels. It uses the same frame as the other models but brings in a two-piece handlebar and stem. While the Ultegra, Dura-Ace, and RED models still fill the spec sheet for the price, they don’t stick out quite as much as the 105 Di2-equipped bike.

It is worth noting that while the Rivette Carbon 1 and Rivette Carbon 2 use a compact 50-34t chainring and 11-34T cassette combo, the Rivette Top Shelf and Rivette LTD bikes use decidedly racier gearing. That’s no bad thing, but a concession that the user base is a bit different between the build kits.

I don’t think the Haro Rivette is at the same level as the best road bikes out there. It doesn’t quite have the balanced smoothness of a Cannondale Supersix Evo or Trek Madone 8. It’s not quite as light as the Specialized Tarmac, and it doesn’t have that same endless feeling of speed that the likes of a Canyon Aeroad has.

What it does have is balance. It checks just about every box you can think of on a spec sheet, and the bike itself feels generally ready for anything on the road.

That being said, I feel like the reason one chooses the Rivette over the competition is its value for money. There’s nothing lacking on this Dura-Ace-equipped bike, but even the 105 Di2-equipped bike has about everything one could want from a road bike. An equivalent build from the big brands is more expensive, and the same goes for the Canyon Aeroad and Ultimate, both of which cost more and have alloy wheels rather than carbon.

I don’t think the Rivette has any one standout characteristic. That said, I mean that in the best way possible; it’s just very well-rounded.

The frame feels stout when riding it. There’s hardly any perceivable flex when riding, and the classic “push your foot against the pedals” test for bottom bracket stiffness shows the frame to be surprisingly stout. If you’re heavier-set or you dig a particularly stiff frame, the Rivette is a happy choice.

I wouldn’t call the bike necessarily uncomfortable as a result of its stiffness. There’s not a ton of smoothness in the bars or the seat post, but it is fairly balanced front to back. Haro’s decision to spec a 30 mm wide tire front and rear is a great mix for this bike, here the Vittoria Corsa Pro Control. It balances out that stiffness with good small bump compliance. We suspect more road bikes in the near future will adopt 30 mm tires, and its good to see here.

What surprises about this bike is how the longer front center seems to affect the bike in the real world. The long front center results in a bike means the front wheel feels at its best the faster it goes; there’s lots of stability here but it doesn’t quite have the turn-in of the race road bikes out there. It also means the bike really feels at its best on long, fast descents, where it feels quite stable and unbothered by cracks in the road.

Despite the longer front end, I didn’t find it so long that it couldn’t corner at speed. I think this bike’s handling is better suited for a road racing-type situation, but I wouldn’t hesitate to race in a criterium with it, either.

If you’re doing lots of long, fast, and non-technical descents, I suspect you’ll appreciate how the Rivette handles.

I’m a fan of the Blktec one-piece carbon bar here. In particular, I like the backsweep of the tops which felt natural and a comfortable place to be on an extended climb. The drops could perhaps a bit more comfort, but I dig the out sweep and flare in the lower area. Further, Haro specs a 38 cm wide bar on my size 51 cm bike, which is bang on for what most folks looking at this build will want. Bravo, Haro.

There isn’t much that I dislike here, frankly. I found the seat post needed the max torque figure as well as a huge helping of carbon paste to prevent it from creaking. The paint felt rough in a couple of small places, but that’s not the first time I’ve experienced that on a modern bike. The computer mount–a universal shape with tons of adjustability to its length–was more than twice the weight of the computer mounts found on the Black inc Aero Barstem and Roval Rapide Cockpit.

The same goes for the Selle San Marco Shortfit Carbon FX saddle. This is the top-spec model, and it happens to work well with the bars I like to use.

Besides that though, there isn’t much to complain about here so long as you dig the paint scheme. And if you don’t, the Rivette is also available in a gold and black color with a huge block text Haro logo.

I’m not sure how much value there is in the Haro name, at least for the people who I think would really dig the core elements of this bike. Haro was at its peak in the mid 1980s, conquering BMX with the first freestyle BMX frame.

I have to hand it to them, however, because this paint scheme is… different. Bike companies tend toward muted and simple schemes because that’s what sells on the floor. This teal colorway is anything but.

I did find a few people with whom this bike seemed to click. They were around for Haro’s hayday and they rode the fast race road bikes that are popular today. The Rivette seemed to really appeal to them, but only once I showed them the more muted rose gold and black colorway.

Haro says it’s planning an alloy version of this bike as well as a time trial bike in an effort to really get back into racing. Here’s to hoping Haro can find a new group of people the brand really resonates with, because this feels exciting.

The question I regularly came away from with the Haro Rivette is why I would want to spend anything more. The bike might lack the ultimate polish of the best road bikes out there, but it comes awfully close.

This Dura-Ace build feels like great value for money, as it checks every box I could want from a road bike in 2024. However, I really think the things I liked the most about this bike–its excellent chassis stiffness, the stable handling–are all preserved in the 105 Di2 bike.

I think I’d spend more because I want a brand I resonate with. For better or worse, the bike you ride can be a vanity play at some level. As much as I enjoyed riding the Rivette, I suspect I’d want a brand that feels like it comes closer to my values on the bike, both in terms of handling, feel, and yes, aesthetics.

Regardless of how you feel about the brand, the Rivette is worth a look. Maybe just not in the teal colorway.