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Ridley Kanzo Fast aero gravel bike gets official; first bike with Classified ‘1×22’ drivetrain

ridley Kanzo fast aerodynamic gravel bike riding
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The new Ridley Kanzo Fast is ready to slice through those country road crosswinds and deliver you to the finish line faster than ever. But how? How does a bike that’s battling washboards, soft sand, and sketchy surfaces use aerodynamics to cut down on drag and lap times?

We teased a lot of the aero design features in our preview of this bike. In this post we get a closer look at the actual frame tech and details, and the official specs and colors from Ridley. It’s also the first bike to get OEM spec of the lightweight 2-speed internally geared Classified rear hub, letting them build this 1x-only frame into a bike with 2x gear range!

What makes the Ridley Kanzo Fast so aerodynamic?

ridley Kanzo fast aerodynamic gravel race bike technical features and details

The Ridley Kanzo Fast was created as a system and modeled after the Noah Fast, relying on shaping and design of both the frame and individual components…and their integration and interaction with each other…to deliver bigger gains. Or, rather, losses if we’re talking about drag. Here’s how it all comes together:

ridley Kanzo fast aerodynamic gravel race bike technical features and details

Up front is a combination of a fully integrated bar/stem/headset system that hides all cables, hoses and/or wires inside. Nothing’s visible until it pops out at the brake or derailleur.

Ridley Kanzo Fast in the wind tunnel

Essentially, Ridley took their Forza Aero Integrated handlebar design and added gravel geometry to it with 16° of flare, and a shorter drop and reach. Handlebar – stem combinations will be available from 38cm to 44cm width and 9cm to 14cm lengths.

ridley Kanzo fast aerodynamic gravel race bike technical features and details

Ridley states that the biggest aero gains come from the handlebar, the steerer tube, and the junction of the fork into the downtube.

ridley Kanzo fast aerodynamic gravel race bike technical features and details

 

The aero treatment extends to the fork with their F-Wing design.

 

ridley Kanzo fast aerodynamic gravel race bike technical features and details

While less used on the frame as some of Ridley’s original FAST aero bikes, they’re sticking with the trip lines where they make sense. Here, the seatpost gets their F-Tubing indent to “trip” the air and induce a smoother, more laminar air flow around the D-shaped seat post.

This isn’t the only trick Ridley’s used over the years to reduce turbulence, but it’s the easiest to produce. The rest of the frame relies on truncated NACA tubing profiles for additional aerodynamics.

Ridley Kanzo Fast in the wind tunnel

All together, Ridley claims the Kanzo Fast is nearly as aerodynamic as the Noah Fast. More importantly, when tested against the Kanzo Adventure, it’s 15% more aerodynamic.

1×22 Drivetrain is Classified

 

ridley Kanzo fast aerodynamic gravel race bike technical features and details Ridley Kanzo Fast classified system

This will be the first bike available with the Classified 1×22 drivetrain which will work on the Kanzo Fast, even though it’s 1x specific. That’s because the Classified system uses a planetary gear system hidden in the rear hub to provide a ‘virtual shifter’.

Ridley Kanzo Fast classified shifting system

 

Using a proprietary 11 speed cassette, the rear derailleur shifts just as it would on any other bike. However, inside the hub you have two ‘speeds’. One is a 1:1 ratio so it pedals just like the chainring and cassette combo would normally. And the other is a 0.7 ratio which will make the pedaling easier. This is done with a planetary gear system that Classified claims is 99% efficient, while the 1:1 ratio has no additional losses. And since the system is always in the “big ring”, they claim it’s more efficient mechanically than a 2x system when in the small chainring. Classified shifting system cassette gearing

The proprietary cassette design will mean that you can’t just add your own ratio, but cassettes will be available for sale in 11-27, 11-30, 11-32, and 11-34t ratios. Classified will not be selling the drivetrain as an aftermarket group yet, but they will sell additional hub shells if you want to build it into different wheels for your Ridley.

Shifting the system starts with a standard Shimano Di2 shifter, which relays the signal to the transmitter installed at the end of the handlebar. From there, the transmitter communicates wirelessly with the thru axle which communicates with the Power Shift Hub to make the shift. There are no cables to foul, and the system inside the hub is sealed from the elements to make it durable.

Classified claims the “front” shifting can be done under full load (tested to 1000w) and takes just 150 milliseconds to complete, either up or down. It’s also fairly light, with claimed weight to be as light or lighter than a comparable 2x drivetrain. In fact, Ridley says that the same bike is 70g lighter with Classified than a 2x group. The weight of the frame and fork set is listed at 1190g, while the fork alone is claimed at 490g.

Classified system with Tom Boonen

 

You can bet that we’ll hear more about the Classified system in the coming months, and it was just announced that Tom Boonen has invested in the company and is serving as an advisor.

Geometry

Ridley Kanzo Fast geometry

Available in sizes XS to XL, the Kanzo Fast uses a gravel specific geometry with a shorter reach and higher stack.

Ridley Kanzo Fast colors and build kits

Ridley Kanzo Fast complete bike classified

Complete bikes will be available in a few different builds and in stock paint schemes or custom paint options through their Customizer program as shown below.

Ridley Kanzo Fast Complete bike

With the exception of the Classified build, all of the Kanzo Fast builds are 1x, with a €3300 Rival HD, €5000 Campy Ekar, €5250 Shimano GRX Di2, and €4200 GRX 800 build available.

The Shimano GRX Di2 with Classified system is priced at €6300, and is expected to arrive in January, though the rest of the bikes will start shipping on September 1.

camo fade color for the ridley kanzo fast aero gravel bike

camo pure line xl color for the ridley kanzo fast aero gravel bike

golden fade color for the ridley kanzo fast aero gravel bike

green fade color for the ridley kanzo fast aero gravel bike

orange pure line xl color for the ridley kanzo fast aero gravel bike

Ridley-Bikes.com

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josh
josh
3 years ago

I know aero is the new MacGuffin for the bike industry, and the no exposed cable front end *does* look very tidy. But the epic spacer stack on most of those bikes looks really awkward. Like, let’s totally clean up the wires, but ignore the overall flow of the bike… Leaves me feeling very meh about the whole effort.

Also, d-shaped seatposts are dumb.

Alfus
Alfus
3 years ago
Reply to  josh

Are unused bikes, without cutted fork.

Tim
Tim
3 years ago
Reply to  josh

I initially thought d-shaped seatposts were dumb, too. But they allow more flex than round posts, and it is a lot easier and cheaper to engineer a seatpost that flexes than to do the same for a frame. A flexy seatpost costs ways less and has more “travel” than a titanium or well-made carbon frame.

SomeGuy
SomeGuy
3 years ago
Reply to  Tim

Ya just gotta make the round post narrower and longer. That’s not expensive, and no fancy shaping required. D-shaped can be a lot stiffer (for same material, wall thickness, and overall dimensions) if the sides are straight and you’re trying to bend them in their long direction.

Josh
Josh
3 years ago
Reply to  Tim

@Tim – I can recommend several good Engineering for Beginners type books if you want to actually learn how it works instead of just regurgitating marketing nonsense you read some press release.

Mike T
3 years ago
Reply to  josh

Respectfully disagree. The bike is really beautiful, not only the tidy looks with the hidden cables but the overall flow of the bike Is fantastic. And also , based on experience D-shape seatpost works.

Jt
Jt
3 years ago

It’s only tested to 1,000 watts? That’s my steady state output usually.

Jeff
Jeff
3 years ago

this hub is interesting but i have to wonder how durable that electronic piece is on the axle. Now you have to decide if you lay your bike on the derailleur or the electronic axle handle. either one seems expensive if you damage it.

Rider
Rider
3 years ago
Reply to  Jeff

Just get a kickstand and stop whining!

Eggs Benedict
Eggs Benedict
3 years ago

Proprietary cassette, nice!

Involuntary Soul
Involuntary Soul
3 years ago

the frame already have super high stack, why are those spacer tower required? Looks like the rider are riding one size too small

Clovis
Clovis
3 years ago

Introduces aero, integrated gravel bike: No cables, low drag!

Promo shots show riders wearing baggy shorts and t-shirts?

Morten SB
Morten SB
3 years ago

No, I’d argue that it is still a 2×11 drivetrain. And how on earth is having a planetary gear more efficient than not having a planetary gear?

Btw I really do like igh’s and would like to see them made more widespread for sports use.

ttxxdd
ttxxdd
3 years ago

(deleted)

Pete
Pete
3 years ago

They’ve added an electronic shifter to the good old planetary design (like what Schlumpf hubs and others have made in the past). So another good question is: what are the maintenance requirements of this proprietary hub?

And the actual weight of it please, without dancing around by talking about the bike weight instead.

That said, I do hope this intriguing design has enough of an advantage to make sales.

Chris
Chris
3 years ago

I like that ridley made this, and perhaps with ridley it has a chance of being much more robust than some of the early aero gravel concepts that ended up with the customer testing resilience .. i think we are seeing the 2 different main stream gravel offerings, 1 Racer and 2 Adventure. i’d like to see mini tri bars and the full package on the racers as they are free to design what they like before the sport gets controlled and we lose innovation

Caleb McCracken
Caleb McCracken
3 years ago

Proprietary cassette, electronic axle shafted internally geared hub “always in big gear” operating at 99% (claimed), d-shaft post, integrated cockpit, 11% more aero…
Whats not to love & what could POSSIBLY go wrong?!

Tim
Tim
3 years ago

No need to be a jerk, dude.

chris
chris
3 years ago

99%? Can’t wait to see that backed up with science.

Nuno Pinto
Nuno Pinto
3 years ago

I like it, at least is an inovation…something new and an attempt to get rid of the derraileur system we have bee using for more than 50 years…

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