BikeBiz Bicycle and cycling retail news
Belgian bike brand Ridley has launched a revised road bike and a new frame at PressCamp in Deer Valley, Utah.
Editors at the condo-based event have been riding the Noah SL Disc and the Helium SLA.
Based on the Noah SL, the fork and rear triangle for the disc version has been redesigned. The loads of the disc brakes and thru axles also required new lay-up schedules formulas for the carbon frame to handle disc-brake stresses and torques.
An internally routed hydraulic line through the body of the frame and through the left blade of the F-Split fork keeps a clean, aerodynamic design. Mounting is via the new Shimano flat mount system. With 160mm rotors braking power is said to have been increased by 15 percent compared to the caliper brake version.
12 mm thru axles are used front and rear with the rear end now being 142mm wide versus the standard road dimensions of 135mm.
Toon Wills, lead designer on the frame, said: "We did this to allow for a wider hub shell to be used creating a stronger rear wheel. The front wheel release is on the left rather than right hand side normally associated with thru axles.
"We wanted the race mechanics to have the lever on their right hand side so they could change the axle more quickly when addressing the bike from the front."
All of the Fast Technologies integrated in to the caliper brake version of the bike are included in the disc brake version. The in molded F-Surface Plus are unchanged as are the F-Stays. The F-Split fork, which reduces the drag associated with the wheel passing through the fork blades, had to be modified to accept the disc brake mount.
While final pricing has not been finalised, expect prices to be about 500 Euros more than the caliper equivalent.
The entry-level Helium SLA frameset is made from 6000 series aluminium, and features double-pass welding on the head- and seat-tubes for additional strength.
“We are using extremely thin walled tubing and this can make joining these tubes a challenge," said Wils.
“Double-pass welding creates an exceptionally strong weld without the potential of burning through the tube."
The tubing shape is similar to the Helium SL carbon frame. Down tubes and top tubes are hydroformed.
The 1200 gram frame is suitable for standard mechanical shifting. All cables run internally within the frame.
