Ridley’s manufacturing facility group racers have been torn between selecting the lightest, probably the most aero, or the gravel bike with the widest tire clearance, so the Belgian Biking Manufacturing unit gave them one to do all of it – the all-new Ridley Astr RS gravel race bike. At first look, it doesn’t look all that completely different from the opposite bikes within the Ridley gravel household. However, by combining race-ready aerodynamics in a lighter body with clearance for as much as 52mm tires, this new Astr RS simply grew to become the proper alternative for anybody seeking to go quicker off-road.
Ridley Astr RS light-weight aero carbon gravel race bike
Ridley already had a bunch of gravel bikes of their lineup – the full-aero Kanzo Quick, the bikepacking-ready Kanzo Journey, and the sunshine gravel Grifn… with reasonably priced alloy variations of these couple, too. They’ve been constructing gravel bikes since 2015/2016, and even evolving this kind of mixed-surface using & racing on cyclocross bikes because the model debuted in 2000. So why did they want an all-new gravel race bike?
Effectively, it appears gravel racing retains getting gnarlier. And the professional riders on the Categorized Ridley Manufacturing unit Crew merely demanded fatter tires to tackle these rougher programs. They already had a Kanzo Adv, however they wished aerodynamics on par with the Kanzo Quick. So it seems like what Ridley truly did was the identical factor that made their newest Grifn RS light-gravel all-road race bike. They mashed up the sunshine & glossy options of their Falcn RS aero highway bike. And gave it the mega tire clearance of the Adv.
In the long run, this new Astr combines these quickest and most versatile options to create one new top-tier gravel race bike.
What’s new?
What actually units this new Astr RS aside are three options. Light-weight, aerodynamics, and large tire clearance.
Gentle comes all the way down to a top-tier ultralight carbon layup that is available in at a claimed 890g for the medium Astr RS body. That’s a whopping claimed 369g financial savings over the Kanzo Quick!
Aerodynamics is tailored from Ridley highway race bikes with aero tube sections all through, a large fork crown that transitions into wind diffuser fins on the downtube, dropped seatstays, an aero seatpost, and a rear wheel cutout.
The largest deal in all probability although is the mega tire clearance on the brand new Astr. Ridley says there may be room for as much as 52mm tires with a single chainring setup, or as much as 47mm with a 2x crank and area for the entrance derailleur cage.
Gravel Race Geometry
Fats tires apparently don’t should imply sluggish dealing with geometry.
Combining huge tires, 2x, and aerodynamics was the actual trick to maintain the race-ready dealing with really feel. Ridley managed to maintain the identical quick 425mm chainstays because the Kanzo Quick, in addition to the identical 71.5° headtube angle. Plus, there’s the steeper 74° seat tube and barely decrease backside bracket inherited from the Adv to compensate for the taller trip top of the bigger quantity tires.
Weight stability is a shade increased than the KanzoFast… +5-10mm for taller tires, then -3mm from the additional BB drop. However Ridley additionally shortened headtube heights and managed to carry body Stack down a bit for a bit extra weight on the entrance wheel and a extra aerodynamic place on the bike.
Tech particulars
- extremely hi-mod carbon body weighing 890g (dimension Medium, claimed), plus 445g fork
- accessible in 5 inventory sizes (XS-XL)
- 1x with aero Wolf Tooth chainguide or 2x suitable with detachable entrance derailleur hanger
- max Shimano 52T or SRAM 60T single!, or common highway compact 50/34T double chainrings
- UDH for compatibility with all digital rear derailleurs (no mechanical)
- totally built-in inside cable routing by way of the headset
- 1.25-1.5″ tapered built-in headset IS47/33 + IS52/40
- full carbon D-shaped tapered steerer fork
- BB86 PressFit backside bracket, 12mm thru-axles, and FM140 flat mount disc brakes
- proprietary D-shaped aero carbon seatpost
- 2 bottle cage mounts contained in the entrance triangle, with 3-bolt on the downtube for aero single bottle setup
- recessed toptube bag mounts with cowl, and cage mount below the downtube
- braze-ons for direct-mount strapless aero body bag (coming in early 2025)
- UCI accepted
First Experience Impressions
Keep tuned for a deeper dive into this new bike, however in only a few phrases I’d say that I used to be stunned how fast the brand new Ridley Astr RS felt as soon as I hopped on it. Even on huge quantity tires, with loads of room for extra. And pleased to say that it disappeared beneath me so shortly.
Lots of bikes targeted on racing appear to require fixed consideration to maintain them in management and going quick. This bike felt very balanced. I might see using it as my common gravel bike if you simply wish to head out for a weekend spin with pals. After which, when race day comes round you pin a quantity on and see how briskly you possibly can hammer it.
A extra reasonably priced carbon Astr, too
Accompanying the brand new Astr RS is a extra reasonably priced carbon Ridley Astr, too. It seems precisely like its Racing Sport analogue, simply with a barely heavier commonplace hi-mod carbon frameset.
You merely add round 200g in additional carbon to save cash. And on the similar time you add full 1x/2x mechanical compatibility, and in addition get the additional benefit of a daily 27.2mm spherical seatpost. Positive, it’s marginally much less aero, however extra comfy and versatile. And the common carbon Astr nonetheless weighs simply 1090g (dimension M, claimed) plus a 497g fork.
And pricing is wildly extra reasonably priced with full bike builds beginning as little as 3300€ with GRX 2×12 mechanical and alloy wheels, from 4000€ with Apex Xplr AXS wi-fi. And even commonplace carbon Astr framesets from simply 2300€, imply lots of worth there.
Ridley Astr RS – Pricing, choices & availability
The brand new Ridley Astr RS and Astr are formally mannequin yr 2025 bikes, however can be found to customise on-line or pre-order now through your native bike store. Order now and Ridley says you need to obtain the bike by the tip of the month in most markets. And if you wish to attempt one out now, Ridley has a check fleet of the brand new Astr RS gravel race bikes available on the UCI Gravel World Championships in Leuven, Belgium this weekend.
Like just about all of their bikes, there are tons of choices for customizing the brand new Ridley Astr RS, through their on-line configurator. Choose the design scheme you need, your favourite colours, and your excellent part spec. The Taiwanese-made carbon frames are painted-to-order after which assembled in Europe simply the way you need it.
New Ridley Astr RS framesets begin at 5000€ for body, fork & aero seatpost within the group reproduction paint job within the shade of your alternative.
Full Astr RS bike builds begin at 7300€ with both a Shimano GRX Di2 2×12 or SRAM Pressure Xplr 1×12 groupset, a Ridley model 4ZA Nimbus Professional built-in carbon cockpit, and carbon DT Swiss GRC1600 aero gravel wheels.
Then, the top-spec construct sells for 11,700€ with a brand new SRAM Pink Xplr 1x 13-speed construct package and DT GRC1400 wheels with extra premium hubs. Plus, you possibly can customise part sizes/dimensions, frameset colours, and particular person part spec to your liking.
