Ridley’s factory team racers were torn between picking the lightest, the most aero, or the gravel bike with the widest tire clearance, so the Belgian Cycling Factory gave them one to do it all – the all-new Ridley Astr RS gravel race bike. At first glance, it doesn’t look all that different from the other bikes in the Ridley gravel family. But, by combining race-ready aerodynamics in a lighter frame with clearance for up to 52mm tires, this new Astr RS just became the perfect choice for anyone looking to go faster off-road.
Ridley Astr RS lightweight aero carbon gravel race bike
Ridley already had a bunch of gravel bikes in their lineup – the full-aero Kanzo Fast, the bikepacking-ready Kanzo Adventure, and the light gravel Grifn… with affordable alloy versions of those couple, too. They’ve been building gravel bikes since 2015/2016, and even evolving this type of mixed-surface riding & racing on cyclocross bikes since the brand debuted in 2000. So why did they need an all-new gravel race bike?
Well, it seems gravel racing keeps getting gnarlier. And the pro riders on the Classified Ridley Factory Team simply demanded fatter tires to take on those rougher courses. They already had a Kanzo Adv, but they wanted aerodynamics on par with the Kanzo Fast. So it looks like what Ridley actually did was the same thing that made their latest Grifn RS light-gravel all-road race bike. They mashed up the light & sleek features of their Falcn RS aero road bike. And gave it the mega tire clearance of the Adv.
In the end, this new Astr combines those fastest and most versatile features to create one new top-tier gravel race bike.
What’s new?
What really sets this new Astr RS apart are three features. Lightweight, aerodynamics, and big tire clearance.
Light comes down to a top-tier ultralight carbon layup that comes in at a claimed 890g for the medium Astr RS frame. That’s a whopping claimed 369g savings over the Kanzo Fast!
Aerodynamics is adapted from Ridley road race bikes with aero tube sections throughout, a wide fork crown that transitions into wind diffuser fins on the downtube, dropped seatstays, an aero seatpost, and a rear wheel cutout.
The biggest deal probably though is the mega tire clearance on the new Astr. Ridley says there is room for up to 52mm tires with a single chainring setup, or up to 47mm with a 2x crank and space for the front derailleur cage.
Gravel Race Geometry
Fat tires apparently don’t have to mean slow handling geometry.
Combining big tires, 2x, and aerodynamics was the real trick to keep the race-ready handling feel. Ridley managed to keep the same short 425mm chainstays as the Kanzo Fast, as well as the same 71.5° headtube angle. Plus, there’s the steeper 74° seat tube and slightly lower bottom bracket inherited from the Adv to compensate for the taller ride height of the larger volume tires.
Weight balance is a shade higher than the Fast – +3.5-5mm for taller tires, then -2mm from the extra BB drop. But Ridley also shortened headtube heights and managed to bring frame Stack down a bit for a bit more weight on the front wheel and a more aerodynamic position on the bike.
Tech details
- ultra hi-mod carbon frame weighing 890g (size Medium, claimed), plus 445g fork
- available in 5 stock sizes (XS-XL)
- 1x with aero Wolf Tooth chainguide or 2x compatible with removable front derailleur hanger
- max Shimano 52T or SRAM 60T single!, or regular road compact 50/34T double chainrings
- UDH for compatibility with all electronic rear derailleurs (no mechanical)
- fully integrated internal cable routing through the headset
- 1.25-1.5″ tapered integrated headset IS47/33 + IS52/40
- full carbon D-shaped tapered steerer fork
- BB86 PressFit bottom bracket, 12mm thru-axles, and FM140 flat mount disc brakes
- proprietary D-shaped aero carbon seatpost
- 2 bottle cage mounts inside the front triangle, with 3-bolt on the downtube for aero single bottle setup
- recessed toptube bag mounts with cover, and cage mount under the downtube
- braze-ons for direct-mount strapless aero frame bag (coming in early 2025)
- UCI approved
First Ride Impressions
Stay tuned for a deeper dive into this new bike, but in just a few words I’d say that I was surprised how quick the new Ridley Astr RS felt once I hopped on it. Even on big volume tires, with plenty of room for more. And happy to say that it disappeared beneath me so quickly.
A lot of bikes focused on racing seem to require constant attention to keep them in control and going fast. This bike felt very balanced. I could see riding it as my regular gravel bike when you just want to head out for a weekend spin with friends. And then, when race day comes around you pin a number on and see how fast you can hammer it.
A more affordable carbon Astr, too
Accompanying the new Astr RS is a more affordable carbon Ridley Astr, too. It looks exactly like its Racing Sport analogue, just with a slightly heavier standard hi-mod carbon frameset.
You simply add around 200g in extra carbon to save money. And at the same time you add full 1x/2x mechanical compatibility, and also get the added benefit of a regular 27.2mm round seatpost. Sure, it’s marginally less aero, but more comfortable and versatile. And the regular carbon Astr still weighs just 1090g (size M, claimed) plus a 497g fork.
And pricing is wildly more affordable with complete bike builds starting as low as 3300€ with GRX 2×12 mechanical and alloy wheels, from 4000€ with Apex Xplr AXS wireless. And even standard carbon Astr framesets from just 2300€, mean a lot of value there.
Ridley Astr RS – Pricing, options & availability
The new Ridley Astr RS and Astr are officially model year 2025 bikes, but are available to customize online or pre-order now via your local bike shop. Order now and Ridley says you should receive the bike by the end of the month in most markets. And if you want to try one out now, Ridley has a test fleet of the new Astr RS gravel race bikes on hand at the UCI Gravel World Championships in Leuven, Belgium this weekend.
Like pretty much all of their bikes, there are tons of options for customizing the new Ridley Astr RS, via their online configurator. Pick the design scheme you want, your favorite colors, and your ideal component spec. The Taiwanese-made carbon frames are painted-to-order and then assembled in Europe just how you want it.
New Ridley Astr RS framesets start at 5000€ for frame, fork & aero seatpost in the team replica paint job in the color of your choice.
Complete Astr RS bike builds start at 7300€ with either a Shimano GRX Di2 2×12 or SRAM Force Xplr 1×12 groupset, a Ridley brand 4ZA Nimbus Pro integrated carbon cockpit, and carbon DT Swiss GRC1600 aero gravel wheels.
Then, the top-spec build sells for 11,700€ with a new SRAM Red Xplr 1x 13-speed build kit and DT GRC1400 wheels with more premium hubs. Plus, you can customize component sizes/dimensions, frameset colors, and individual component spec to your liking.
