We will match or beat anyone’s advertised price on this bicycle.
This off-the-cuff comment by 2005 Cyclocross World Champion Sven Nys after a World Cup race in Wetzikon, Switzerland might rank as the perfect summary of just how savage 'cross racing can be. Nothing you can do on a bike quite equals the sustained violence you get in 'cross, and no other discipline makes the same paradoxical demands on your bike: On the one hand, you need a bike that can withstand rocky, rutted courses better suited for a brutish 4" travel full-suspension mountain bike. On the other hand, since you have to dismount and essentially clean-and-jerk your bike over your shoulder 20 or 30 times per race, weight matters because you feel every last gram of it (whether it's bike weight or mud weight) as the race wears on.
With the X-Night, Ridley offers a cost-be-damned solution for the 'cross paradox. Its full carbon fiber construction is built in a monocoque design in order to maximize its strength, its impact resistance (in case you miss when you try to bunny hop a barrier!), and its resistance to torsional flex. Ridley employs the same "Sharp Edge Design" tubing configurations they perfected with the Damocles and Noah road bikes -- the day-in, day-out race bike for Team Predictor-Lotto. In comparison to traditional round tubes, Ridley's unique tubesets give their carbon bikes unmatched strength-to-weight in the cyclocross marketplace. They can shave every unnecessary gram from the frame, resulting in an overall weight of 1.32kg. That's just an ounce or so more than some of the best loved road bikes in the marketplace, such as the Colnago C50, the Cervelo Soloist Carbon, and the Ridley Damocles. It's the stiffest, strongest, carbon 'cross bike in the world, and it'll give you the same advantage it gives Team Fidea pros Bart Wellens and 2006 World Champion Erwin Vervecken.
The X-Night is available in Black Carbon with White and Grey highlights. It comes in even sizes from 50cm-58cm. One superb detail of the X-Night is its Ridley Python carbon fiber 'cross fork -- the most respected fork in the 'cross marketplace, and one you'll see on countless brands of pro bikes. It has a stiffness and lightness that mirrors the qualities you get from the X-Night itself, and it allows the X-Night to track through technical courses (at both low and high speeds) with unmatched precision. It also comes with an FSA integrated 1-1/8" headset. It requires a 31.6mm seatpost, a 34.9mm front derailleur. It has a 5-year warranty from manufacturing defect.
The X-Fire is beautifully engineered and made of 24 ton 12k carbon weave. It has striking details and flowing lines. The top tube, seat tube, and seat stays artfully meet at a juncture whose elegance is reminiscent of an Italian road race bike. The down tube styling reminds us of the square oval shape found on the Cervelo R3 series that has won the Paris Roubaix the past two years. The tubing shapes provide ample front triangle stiffness, and the full carbon fork keeps the front wheel tracking straight in the nasty terrain so often dished up in 'cross. The X-Fire also has a super stiff bottom bracket and chain stays, to compliment the box-shaped down tube for additional torsional strength. You get top routed cables, an integrated headset, a replaceable rear derailleur hanger and a front derailleur pulley mounted on the back of the seat tube that allows use of a normal road bike bottom pull derailleur .
The X-Fire requires a 34.9mm clamp on front derailleur, a 31.6mm seat post, English bottom bracket and comes with an FSA 1-1/8” integrated headset. It comes in even sizes from 48 through 58cm in Black Carbon with Silver and White accents. NB: The 4cm variance between C-C and C-T seat tube lengths on the X-Fire can easily distract when choosing your ideal size. A strong suggestion is for you to choose your frame size based on top tube length.
The heart and soul of the Supercross is its featherlight scandium tubeset. The incorporation of scandium into the base aluminum alloy of the Supercross enables Ridley to build it with ultra-thin wall thickness without compromising its impact strength or longevity. At a weight of 1.35kg, you end up with a frame weight that rivals what you get in the monocoque carbon X-Night 'cross frame, not to mention esteemed road racing frames like the Colnago C50. Sub-1400g for a 'cross frame is astonishing, and when you combine it with the fact that scandium is also widely loved for the fact that it provides a smoother ride than any other aluminum alloy on the market, it's proof of why the Supercross is the standard against which all other alloy 'cross frames are measured.
The Supercross comes standard with the Ridley 4ZA Python monocoque full-carbon fiber fork -- the same fork that gives the X-Night such tremendous handling on even the most technical courses. It matches the Supercross' 4ZA carbon fiber seatstay that further adds to the smoothness provided by the scandium tubing. It's available in even sizes from 48cm-60cm in a striking White with Blue highlights. It also comes with an FSA integrated 1-1/8" headset. It requires a 31.6mm seatpost, a 34.9mm front derailleur. It has a 5-year warranty from manufacturing defect.
The Crosswind is the kissing cousin of the Ridley Supercross -- the bike ridden to 4 consecutive pro World Championship 'cross victories between '01-'04. In fact, there are only two fundamental differences between them: The Crosswind is built with Easton's butted Ultra Lite aluminum tubeset, not scandium. And instead of a carbon fiber seatstay, you get aluminum stays instead. What's the net effect? The Crosswind comes in at a scant 100g heavier than the Supercross, but you save $400 in cost. For most 'cross racers it's a trade-off they'll make in a nano-second. The reality of things is this: If you're fit and you have the technical skills to handle 'cross, nothing about the Crosswind will prevent you from crossing the finish line with your hands aloft. It's a thoroughbred 'cross race bike through-and-through, and it packs more performance, more 'cross-specific race heritage, and more curb appeal than any other "budget" 'cross bike in the marketplace.
One huge bonus on the Crosswind is that it comes standard with the same Ridley 4ZA Python monocoque full carbon fiber fork you get on the X-Night and the Supercross. The Python is the most respected fork on the World Cup 'cross circuit, and you'll see it on countless brands of pro bikes. It's stiff, it's light, and it allows the Crosswind to track through technical courses (at both low and high speeds) with precision equal to what you get in Ridleys that cost 2x or 3x more. It also comes with an FSA integrated 1-1/8" headset. It requires a 31.6mm seatpost, a 34.9mm front derailleur. It has a 5-year warranty from manufacturing defect. It's available in even sizes from 48cm-60cm in a glossy White/Blue scheme or Red/Black each with white logos..
The Crossbow comes standard with the Ridley 4ZA Zornyc carbon fiber fork and an FSA integrated 1-1/8" headset. It's available in even sizes from 48cm-60cm in a White/Black paint scheme with World Championship Rainbow accents. It requires a 31.6mm seatpost, a 34.9mm front derailleur. It has a 5-year warranty from manufacturing defect.
