On the heels of the 3T Exploro Racemax, Ridley is launching an aero gravel bike competitor of their own. With clearance for 42mm tires, the new Ridley Kanzo Fast doesn’t have the widest tire clearance, but it still can handle plenty of meat while also taking aero cues from the venerable Ridley Noah Fast. It’s hard to overlook the resemblance, but also the key differences.
Over the past several weeks, Ridley’s social feeds have been teasing the new Kanzo Fast in a not-so-secretive manner. Much of the details have been shared with the exception of pricing and build options.
This prototype Kanzo Fast has been all over Ridley’s social feeds.
In the Bike Valley wind tunnel, the Kanzo Fast came up as 15% more aerodynamic than the Kanzo Adventure and basically as aerodynamic as the Noah Fast.
Here’s what we know about the Ridley Kanzo Fast Gravel Bike:
- Aerodynamically-optimized for bigger tires and long days in the saddle
- Truncated NACA tubes used throughout
- Stated clearance for 700x42mm tires
- Stack/reach on par with what you’d expect (stack: 586mm / reach: 385mm for 56.5cm frame)
- Integrated cockpit offers shorter reach and drop with 16-degree flare
- Proprietary, aerodynamic seatpost
- Fully-internal cable routing with D-shaped steerer for cable inlay
- Press-fit bottom bracket
- It is 1x only with available Classified 2-speed wireless hub for 22 total gears
- Short-ish 425mm chainstay
- Kinked chainstays bend near the axles for added tire clearance
- Aerodynamic F Wings on the fork tabs
- Available beginning in September 2020 with Classified models coming in early 2021
Green fade is available with Ridley’s Pure Line program.
The streamlined front end and cockpit are aero optimized.
Close-up of the Kanzo Fast head tube.
The fork tab adds to the aerodynamic story.
A meaty, aerodynamic downtube shields bottles and adds stiffness.
Clearance for up to 42mm tires.
The Classified rear hub is available for a total of 22 gears.
The Kanzo Fast is 1x only and has kinked stays for added clearance.
Cobbles are old-school gravel.
Gravel is the new school cobbles.
Geometry is about what I’d expect on a large (56.5cm) frame.
Aerodynamic gravel bikes were introduced with the 3T Exploro, but now Ridley appears to be upping their gravel game in a big way with the all-new Kanzo Fast aero gravel bike. We will be attending the virtual launch in the next week, so look for updates as soon as we have them.
Images courtesy Ridley and Classified.
More Info: Visit Ridley-Bikes.com
