Ridley’s multi-time World Cup winning X-Night cyclocross bike is completely new and now comes with SRAM Red 22 Hydro-R Disc in top form. They’ve also completely redesigned the Fenix, making a more cobble-capable Spring Classics racer.
The new frame was introduced to their team racers in December as a canti version, but for the first time will be sold with disc brakes. Actually, for 2014, all complete ‘cross bikes will be disc only. Every model will still be available as a frameset with canti options.
The new X-Night was designed to be lighter, stiffer and more comfortable than the prior model. To do that, it swaps the seatmast for a standard 27.2 seatpost. This makes it a bit easier to travel with, but also combines with the slimmer seatstays to improve comfort.
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Disc brake hose/cable runs internally, as do all other cables or wires.
The old frame was based off the Damocles road bike. This new one is based off the much lighter Helium SL. Frame weight dropped approximately 500g (!!!) to come in under 1kg. Some of the weight savings came from switching to a PFBB30 and revised cable routing with bare internal runs rather than full length housing sleeved through the frame. The only external cable you’ll see is the rear shift cable from the BB to the derailleur. Electronic systems will see the wire pop out of that hole just about the dropout…which does get a rubber plug, it’s just not shown here.
Good tire clearance top and bottom.
Front fork is all new, running the hose into the crown and out of the leg just above the brakes for a super clean look.
Geometry is completely new, too. The wheelbase is 9mm shorter, BB is 3mm lower and headtube height averages 15mm shorter. The goal was to “sharpen the knife” and make it more suitable to the more groomed, faster European courses and offer better sprinting and handling. The graphics are pretty sharp, too, showing off the 7 World Cup Championship wins (they’re hoping to make that number an 8 on final production bikes).
The 56cm frame came in at 16.58lbs (7.52kg).
The frame is electronic/mechanical shifting using flip-flop grommets. Frameset is $2,695 (disc) and $2,595 (canti). Complete bike with the new Red 22 and hydraulic disc brakes, Stan’s Iron Cross wheels, Challenge Grifo tires, Prologo saddle and Forza cockpit for $5,695, and all 50 of them for the US market have already been presold to dealers. Want one? Contact Ridley USA and they’ll point you to a stockist. It’s also available with Ultegra mechanical and Hayes CX5 brakes for $4,695. It’s the first year they’re offering two complete models for the X-Night.
Fenix Team Issue road bike is also new, and was ridden in most of the Spring Classics, including Flanders (3rd, under Jurgen Roelandts) and Paris-Roubaix, among others.
The frame was developed to be more comfortable than the Noah and stiffer than the Helium, but still very much a race. The seatstays are tapered, thinner as they go down with a slimmer, flattened section in the middle. This gives it better compliance.
The headtube is a full 1.5″ tapered design, versus the 1-1/4″ taper of the Helium, so it’s a bit stiffer and stronger for the cobbles. It’s also getting spec’d with Deda Elementi’s 35mm OS handlebar and stem, and it’s their first Campagnolo spec on a production bike. They wanted it to be as close to the team spec as possible, but still sort of affordable, so it sticks with the mechanical Record group.
The bottom bracket is still PFBB30, and the chainstays, seat tube and downtube all get pretty big as they wrap around it, all with boxed or otherwise angular sections to reduce flex. This gives it plenty of power transfer
It’s also available as a frameset, in the same classics paint scheme, and all Fenix frames are both electronic and mechanical compatible, with all internal routing with rear shift cable popping out under the BB and running externally under the chainstay.
Frame weight is 1230g (claimed, medium), and retail is $1,795 for the frameset (frame, fork, HS), and $5,295 complete. The complete bike came in at 16.84lbs (7.64kg). They’ll be in stock July 1, and the prices are pretty respectable for a Pro Tour-raced frame/bike. Want the complete bike? Order now, there’s only 20 of them coming to the US.
