YOELEO R12 Complete Bike Review: Elegant But with Flaws

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NOTE: I updated this review in 2024 after my experience with Winspace Agile, which provided me with a better comparison.

This is my in-depth YOELEO R12 complete bike review. I share my experience from the unboxing, first ride impressions, and experience after 15,000 km.

YOELEO offers wheels, framesets, bike accessories, and complete bikes. I decided to give them a try and ordered their R12 all-rounder road bike with the highest specs they offered:

And the result? My overall impressions are mixed. I like the possibility of choosing custom paint, which is pretty cheap and high-quality. I could also customize the stem and handlebar dimensions to ensure proper fit. I also like the frame shape, even though it’s a bit outdated by today’s standards. Unfortunately, I encountered multiple issues. You will learn more about them below.

The Order Process & Delivery Time

I ordered the bike on the 29th of October 2021 and received it on the 3rd of January 2022. This period would probably be much shorter if I ordered one of the default paint schemes, but I decided to go for the custom paint. Here is how it works:

I sent YOELEO an email that I wanted a custom paint with a few examples and waited for their designer to send me the first draft.

We exchanged a few emails because I wanted to choose the right color. My inspiration was a Factor Aqua Blue:

Once we agreed on the color, they sent the info to their paint shop. The limited operations due to COVID caused around a 2-month delay.

Anyway, once they finished it, the bike went to their assembly line, and they finally sent it on December 13th. The shipping included the import fees and took about two and a half weeks from China to the Czech Republic.

YOELEO R12 Unboxing

I shot an entire unboxing video so that you can watch it here:

I received two boxes – the wheels and the frameset. Both packages were packed securely. I didn’t find any damage caused by the transport.

The frameset was packed really well. All its parts (including the chain) were wrapped with foam. It took me about 15 minutes to unpack it.

Here are a few pictures I took from the unboxing video (unfortunately, I forgot to take pictures during the unboxing process, haha).

YOELEO R12 Specs

Below, I list the main specifications of my bike:

YOELEO R12 has a relatively relaxed geometry. See the following comparisons (source bikeinsights.com):

YOELEO R12 Pros & Cons

Here are the pros and cons of the R12 bike I found so far. Below, I explain them in more depth.

Size Options

YOELEO R12 is available in plenty of sizes suitable for short people, even tall riders. However, what I find helpful is that you can choose the handlebar width and the stem length.

The integrated cockpits are often criticized because you can compromise your comfort if you don’t choose wisely. Furthermore, they offer no possibility of making further adjustments.

Mainstream manufacturers usually ship larger bike sizes with wider handlebars and longer stems. So naturally, this approach increases the chances that the bike won’t fit you.

For example, there are plenty of tall riders with narrow shoulders but relatively long arms like me. Therefore, I opted for a 380mm handlebar and 120mm stem. Let me just remind you that the frame size is 56cm. This would probably translate to a 420mm handlebar and 110mm stem with most Western brands.

Customizability

Another area where YOELEO collects valuable points is customizability. They do customized painting for an extra fee. I didn’t like the color schemes, so I ordered the custom color (spoiler alert: I LOVE IT!).

The truth is that we had to exchange a lot of emails before I approved the color. This is where I see room for improvement. It would be great if they could make the color palette more accessible.

You can also choose the wheelset. I went for their highest-end wheels at that time, YOELEO SAT 50|50 PRO with DT Swiss 350 hubs.

Geometry and Design

This frame’s geometry is more relaxed. Although R12 looks like an aero bike, YOELEO markets it as an all-rounder because of its geometry and clearance for up to 32mm tires.

I find this wider tire clearance pretty handy because I can ride with wider tires (for example, in autumn/winter or if I decide to ride on rougher and dirt roads).

Please note that the tires in the following pictures are Tufo Calibra 4TR 28mm (but their real width, as in the pictures, is 31mm).

What I like the most about this bike is its clean, minimalistic design. The integrated cockpit and hidden cables are super cool.

I didn’t like the frame design in the pictures, but it looks much better in person, and it has started to grow on me. It’s original, and I’ve already received a lot of compliments.

Included Extras

The complete R12 also has YOELEO carbon bottle cages and a carbon bike computer mount.

Although I find the mount longer than it needs to be, the good news is that it comes with adapters for multiple cycling computer brands, such as Garmin, Wahoo, Bryton, etc.

A Low Attention to (Some) Details

I feel like YOELEO doesn’t pay enough attention to some details. Let me explain. Some bolts (a seat post and saddle clamps) are difficult to access. See the following pictures:

A big question mark is a rubber protecting the seatpost. Will it wear out over time? Will I be able to get a replacement? Only time will tell. UPDATE: It has not worn out yet.

The rear through-axle seems longer than necessary, with no cover for it.

Lastly, I think the golden handlebar tape doesn’t match the rest of the bike. Other than these details, I didn’t find anything else that would bother me.

First Ride Impressions

I couldn’t wait to hop on my new bike and try it. I planned a local loop to test everything—riding on the flat, descent, steep climb (over 10%), and smooth and harsh tarmac.

Look, I had never ridden a carbon road bike before, so of course, the first ride felt out of this world. The biggest difference I noticed was the comfort (also thanks to 28mm tires; I’d been using 25mm until that point) and stiffness.

I felt like riding a tank. I couldn’t feel bumps, cracks, etc., so the ride felt really comfy. The only thing I didn’t like was the saddle.

Although it’s the same shape as the Specialized Power Comp I used on my previous bike, it became uncomfortable after two hours or so, so I decided to replace it.

The higher stiffness was noticeable, especially when climbing or accelerating. It feels like every watt is transformed into a forward motion.

My friends with older (aluminum) bikes have to work noticeably harder in some sections of rolling terrain.

My First 1000 km on R12

I’ve already clocked some kilometers on local roads and in Croatia. I also rode some longer rides exceeding 5 hours. So, did something change from my first impressions?

Probably the only thing that changed is that I started to enjoy cycling even more. The YOELEO SAT PRO 50mm wheels are great for steady efforts and for flats. They are excellent at maintaining speed and pretty stable in crosswinds (compared to other Chinese wheels I used). They are not too stiff, on the other hand, they are pretty comfortable compared to carbon-spoked wheels.

It took a lot of effort when I wanted to ride 40km/h (around 25mph) on my old bike. But on R12, not so much. When I get a tailwind, it feels like the bike wants to go faster and faster.

One of the most surprising things for me was that my friends without deep-section wheels sometimes had issues staying in my draft. I didn’t expect the bike to ride so well.

Regarding comfort, I am still tweaking the fit but getting closer to the desired outcome. I can ride longer on drops and hoods with arms at a 90° angle.

Thanks to the narrower handlebar (380mm), I am also more aero and feel more comfortable than with the previous 420mm handlebar.

The geometry is not too aggressive, so even longer rides (3 or more hours) are more comfortable than on my old Canyon Endurance AL.

I can’t comment much about R12’s ability to corner for two reasons. First, I don’t push it to its limits for safety reasons, and second, I don’t have many reference points.

I feel confident at high speeds (around 70km/h [43.5mph]) because I trust the material, and the bike doesn’t shake or vibrate. It’s perfectly stable.

Additional Findings After 15,000 km on R12

After 15,000 km in multiple countries and terrains (French, Swiss, and Italian Alps) and experience with another carbon bike (Winspace Agile), I came to the conclusion that the R12 is not as comfortable as I originally thought. It has a very stiff rear end and seatpost. This leads to a lot of vibration being transmitted to the body with stiff wheels, which leads to fatigue on longer rides.

It is also quite sluggish compared to Agile. It doesn’t move forward as quickly as lighter bikes. My friend, a bike mechanic, also noticed a problem with the off-center rear wheel (see this part of my video review). Fortunately, it doesn’t affect the ride, but it is a serious manufacturing defect.

Some bolts also started to rust. It seems YOELEO used the cheapest bolts available. Disappointing.

Finally, since the middle of 2023, I have noticed that YOELEO has started to struggle with customer support and fulfilling orders.

Summary

My overall impressions of the complete YOELEO R12 road bike are mixed. I liked the bike a lot until I tried a better, not that much more expensive alternative. It has a comfortable geometry, but due to the stiff rear end, I don’t recommend combining it with too stiff wheels if you want to enjoy comfortable endurance rides over 3 hours.

I am a huge fan of my chosen custom color and the finish quality. I also like the frame design, even though it is a bit outdated nowadays. The bike looks clean thanks to the integrated cockpit, which is better made than on some road bikes of Western brands.

There are a few things I don’t like, though. Some bolts are difficult to access (especially the seatpost clamp bolt) and have started to rust. I also noticed a serious manufacturing issue, which caused an off-center rear wheel. It doesn’t affect the ride characteristics, but it shouldn’t happen!

Anyway, I hope you find this review helpful. Feel free to share it if you do, and contact me or comment below if you have any questions.

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