Full Review Yoeleo R12 Carbon Aero Bike
The legendary Yoeleo R12 is a bike that is getting a lot of interest at the minute from many cycling enthusiasts like myself. Who knew you could get an aero disc brake carbon road bike at such a low cost with a huge amount of performance. It is a bike that has hugely surprised me and something I have grown to enjoy riding more than my other bike right now.If you would like to watch my video review, please click below. If not, continue reading for the written review.
Who is Yoeleo?
Yoeleo is an amazing brand that offers top-end quality for mid-range prices, and they currently, as far as value for money goes, cannot be touched by practically any brand. Yoeleo was started around ten years ago by Leo and his team. They were working in a factory that produces high-end bikes for very popular brands and came together to design and make their own bikes. They have a Yoeleo sponsored team and will be working with leading cycling teams soon at the rate they are going.
The R12 Frame
The Yoeleo R12 is an aero road bike and is incredible. It's a full carbon fiber frame and fork, and the bike is incredibly stiff and agile to ride. It comes in various colors, the bike I was testing was the Chameleon, and it looked so good that I found myself getting stopped by other cyclists regularly, as the flip paint changed color as your rode past people. It's a full internal cable routing system, which looks incredibly smooth and clean. The total weight of the Yoeleo R12 without pedals came to 8.35kg, which I thought for an aero bike with 50mm rims was excellent, and they have intelligently kept the weight down without sacrificing performance. The frameset is not an open mold and is completely unique.
Like the top brands, the product goes through a very high standard of special testing to comply with a strict quality control process such as vibration fatigue test, vertical fatigue test, pedaling fatigue test, and horizontal fatigue test. When it comes to carbon fiber, safety equals quality. The Yoeleo test team has very strict quality control and goes above and beyond regarding the bike. You can feel it when you ride it as the aero frame material just feels so connected to everything else.
The Wheels
The wheels on the Yoeleo R12 are next level, and they use incredibly fast wheelsets on these bikes. They are carbon fiber as standard. Yes, you did read that right. On the R12, I had 50mm aero wheels which just pulled the bike like a train on the road. One thing I noticed was how easy they made a climb and how much the bike wanted to accelerate naturally on the downhill sections. They come in a beautiful matt black and look really stealthy.
The wheels for their size are very lightweight and come in disc and rim versions. The bike I used had disc brakes with 140mm rotors on, which gave excellent stopping power. The wheels are really special for many reasons, such as they are tubeless ready as standard, they come with carbon fiber spokes and an excellent width that makes them seat modern tyre sizes perfectly.
The Groupset
The group set on this bike was Shimano's legendary R8000 Ultegra. It was the mechanical version and worked perfectly for this bike. If you like electronic shifting, the bike comes standard with all the parts you need, such as seat post, battery holder, etc. The groupset has 11 speeds on the rear and a double chainring on the front. If you have ever used Ultegra before, you will know its silky-smooth shifting with incredible reliability.
It's the perfect groupset for this bike and also comes paired up with the Shimano Ultegra hydraulic disc brakes, which have great stopping power, and slowly down is very easy in any kind of conditions. Disc brakes are the future, and although many speak about flat-mount weight, they are slightly heavier than rim brakes, but from a performance side, they are much better in every way possible.
Finishing Kit
One thing that makes this bike stand out from many others on the market is the finishing kit. When you order the bike, you pick your handlebar width and stem length, and upon delivery, you will see this to be a fully intergraded carbon handlebar and stem all as one. It doesn't just look amazing. It's super light and very stiff, making those sprints and standing climbs feel amazing.
The seat post is an aero seat post and what I loved about this was how easy everything was to adjust and making minor adjustments to things like seat height and reach could be done in seconds. It also comes with a very good saddle. Not your typically new bike cheap saddle but a high-end stubby sit bone saddle which, for me, was so comfortable I didn't even feel the need to change out for the regular saddle I use on my other bikes.
How does it Ride?
It rides amazingly. It's silky smooth and fast and surprisingly comfortable when long-distance riding. I have done short and long rides, and this bike has just been perfect for each. I still could improve the fit on it as well by going to see my bike fitter.
How much is it?
Before I tell you what they roughly cost, you have to apricate a bike of this level from a well-known brand would cost about $7000-$8000. The R12 Disc Ultegra comes in about $4300, which is incredibly cheap, and you can get models for even less. They have many different options you can choose from depending on gearing etc.
Is it worth it?
The Yoeleo R12 is amazing value for money, and I highly recommend it to anyone. Although I first came to Yoeleo for a gravel bike, I now really want the road bike. It's an incredible bit of kit for very little money.
For more information check out
Yoeleo’s Website