Ridley’s Astr RS is a lighter, sooner, fatter-tired gravel race bike than the Belgian bike builder has ever made. It’s a premium race-ready carbon gravel bike that I’d even be pleased to experience as my go-to for informal gravel driving, too. I’ve examined numerous gravel bikes, together with the three Ridley gravel fashions that this one mashes up – the Kanzo Quick, the Kanzo Journey, and the Grifn. And the brand new Astr undeniably comes out on high in my e-book.
It’s considerably lighter, way more versatile, and essentially the most snug of the bunch – on par with the ADV on that final one.
2024 Ridley Astr RS gentle aero carbon gravel race bike
Labeled Ridley Manufacturing unit Workforce racers demanded a extra succesful gravel race bike for harder races like Unbound, Traka, Badlands, The Rift & extra the place quick intense racing will get blended up with rougher terrain. They wished all of the aerodynamic good points, a lighter bike, AND a minimal of 47mm tire clearance. So Ridley went again to the drafting board. And so they primarily created the all-new Ridley Astr RS gravel race bike by scaling up their newest aero all-road Grifn RS to create a fats tire gravel bike with aero highway race bike inspiration.
The important thing takeaways on the brand new bike embrace:
a body that now weighs simply 890g for a medium Ridley Astr RS, for 369g saved in comparison with the Kanzo Quick
aerodynamic tube shaping and cockpit integration, similar to on Ridley’s Falcn RS aero highway race bike
as much as 52mm large tire clearance with a 1x setup, or 47mm clearance with a highway compact 2x
gravel race geometry that manages to mix all of that with out sacrificing responsiveness or high-speed stability
Wish to get the total breakdown of every little thing that’s new within the Astr RS? Learn my in-depth launch protection from earlier this morning, right here.
So, how does the bike really really feel to experience?
Using Impressions: Sooner on fatter tires
It’s a light-weight race bike, so I shouldn’t have actually been stunned at how fast the brand new Ridley Astr RS felt as soon as I hopped on it. But it surely nonetheless caught me off guard a bit. Burned into my mind is the thought that fats gravel tires will really feel heavy & gradual, and that you just solely really want massive tire quantity for backcountry adventures or driving gravel bikes on mountain bike trails.
However similar to we see driving high-end 30 & 32mm slick tires on the highway, these fast-rolling 47mm Vittoria tires helped make the Astr RS really feel gentle & fast. The broader, larger quantity tires meant I may run decrease pressures to clean out even clean gravel roads. They meant I elevated grip in sandy and free gravel corners. And when the gravel roads bought tough, I merely didn’t should decelerate to really feel like I used to be nonetheless in management.
Race Geometry Assessment: Tweaked for taller tires
And whereas massive tires lent some consolation & confidence-inspiring cush, the body itself felt snappy and responsive. Stomp on the pedals and the brief chainstays rocketed the bike up to the mark. Then, leaning it onerous into turns and the steep (for me) 71.5° head angle dove into the corners.
Ridley talks in regards to the additional 3mm of BB drop being there so as to add extra stability at pace and cornering. However for the reason that axles are already sitting about 7mm greater off the bottom than the Kanzo Quick due to larger tires, weight steadiness remains to be a bit greater right here. So, it’s extra the longer entrance heart / enhance in total wheelbase that reinforces stability, since it seems that the Astr has extra fork rake to offset the in any other case longer fork Path that comes from larger, taller tires.
The bonus counterpoint to the elevated backside bracket top, the Astr RS has 13mm decrease body Stack than the Kanzo Quick, which brings weight distribution again down, and reduces the rider’s profile into the wind. Match-wise, I’m fairly versatile, so I appreciated that decrease Stack, and possibly would have reduce one other cm off the steerer tube if it was my private bike.
Using Assessment: A quick, however versatile all-rounder gravel race bike
A variety of bikes centered on racing appear to require fixed consideration to maintain them in management and going quick. But, this bike felt very balanced. The geometry on paper appears so just like the Kanzo Quick, which I discovered a bit too harsh and twitchy for my liking. However I really feel that the mixture of bigger/taller tires, longer total wheelbase, and decrease bar place makes this bike way more steady and cozy to regulate.
It’s a noticeably extra impartial dealing with really feel that type of simply disappears beneath you in a great way. Simply pedal and go.
Sure, it is a race bike. And an costly one at that. However it could even be an excellent all-rounder bike for my on a regular basis gravel rides. Quick and simple on informal group rides. And a race-ready rocket when it’s time to pin a quantity on and see how briskly you’ll be able to put the hammer down.
Weighing the Execs & Cons
Large 52mm tire clearance means you’ll be able to decide one thing like these fast-rolling 47mm Vittoria Terreno Dry semi-slicks or full knobby 50mm/2″ MTB-style treads with tons of grip.
Fatter tires merely supply higher traction, improved management, and extra all-day consolation. A few years in the past I might have stated that 50mm tires have been unnecessarily heavy and stiff feeling, however there merely are so many nice high-volume tires accessible now that going wider is a a lot simpler choice to make.
It’s onerous to argue with lightness on a motorbike that you just’ll be consistently accelerating – whether or not up steep terrain, or simply getting again up to the mark after a tough part of gravel. At 890g (claimed) for the body and an actual 7.84kg for the whole medium SRAM Purple bike with a powermeter with out pedals (8.24kg with my Eggbeaters and a bolt-on toptube bag), this in an undeniably gentle feeling experience.
The identical goes for aerodynamics. Do we’d like all gravel bikes to be aero? In fact not. But when you may get even small incremental aero good points with out sacrificing consolation or weight, I’m 100% on board. Not less than the free watts would possibly offset the marginally wider tire profile into the wind.
However, the excessive worth is actually onerous to bear right here. With a frameset promoting for 5000€ and the most cost effective full bikes from 7300€, there merely are many way more reasonably priced gravel bikes which are nonetheless race-ready.
The dearth of mechanical drivetrain compatibility is a foul factor in my e-book. Name me a luddite, if you’d like. Certain, the bike world is trending digital and wi-fi. And UDH is nice. However I desire the dependable simplicity of a mechanical groupset (and by no means having to recollect to cost it), particularly for a gravel bike the place I wish to enterprise a bit off the crushed monitor. Plus, you’ll be able to nonetheless construct a lighter mechanical setup, than one with a number of batteries interspersed all through the bike.
It’s a sneaky plus right here for Ridley’s new gravel race household although. However the common carbon Astr is solely a significantly better worth than this Ridley Astr RS, at lower than half the value. You save 2700€ off a frameset, solely sacrifice 200g in body weight, and acquire a spherical seatpost and that mechanical drivetrain comparability, all on the similar time. The usual Astr is solely a extra logical selection, until you could have a vast funds.
One of many issues I don’t actually like about my Ridley Astr RS take a look at bike was the lengthy 110mm x 400mm large unflared cockpit, with a kinda deep 130mm drop & 75mm attain. I nonetheless get the sensation that Ridley is a bit old fashioned of their becoming lengthy (digital) stems and longer bars to their dropbar bikes. However this doesn’t actually should be a minus, as a result of…
Ridley’s on-line customized configurator instrument makes it straightforward to get the bike arrange such as you need. Patrons can select their preferrred crank size, chainring measurement, and importantly one of the best handlebar match for them. The 4ZA Cirrus Professional built-in cockpit on this bike additionally is available in a flared model that I would favor. And have been I to purchase this bike I may decide the right 90mm stem, 380mm large on the hoods, 440mm large on the drops with its 16° flare, and a extra compact 120mm drop & 70mm attain combo.
One other draw back in my thoughts is the proprietary inner cable routing answer Ridley makes use of right here. The bike incorporates a tapered 1 1/4″ to 1 1/2″ steerer that’s D-shaped to permit the brake traces to suit contained in the comparatively small higher headset bearing. It makes for a slender headtube and clear appears as soon as every little thing is in place. But it surely’s a mechanic’s nightmare to get every little thing arrange with so little additional room to work in, and even altering bar top is a tough drawback to resolve with little room for error.
Customized colours are a good way to make your bike distinctive, too! Should you hold the usual design, selecting your favourite from 37 single colours doesn’t even price any extra. Or for 400-700€ extra you may get much more inventive. The one draw back being that it’ll barely delay how briskly you get your new bike.
The one different practical draw back may very well be restricted mounting factors. Folks searching for extra bikepacking adventures would possibly need fork mounts. And year-round riders would possibly need fender mounts. However Ridley has the Kanzo Journey particularly for that. Anyway, my very own 3-5-day-long bikepacking journeys often don’t necessitate fork-mounted gear, and I get by well-enough with strap-on fenders if wanted. (I do extremely suggest the Win Wing!)
Parting ideas on the Ridley Astr RS gravel race bike
There are numerous ups and downs after I dive into what I like and dislike in regards to the new Ridley Astr RS. However I really feel like the one one difficulty that sticks in my thoughts is that worth. Should you can abdomen the fee, that is certainly among the best gravel race bikes you should purchase in the intervening time. It feels quick. It feels snug. And it’s simply as pleased taking it straightforward on informal rides with associates, as it’s if you find yourself driving all-out as quick as your legs & lungs will permit.
Now, I preface this closing assertion with the truth that I’ve NOT really ridden the way more reasonably priced commonplace hi-mod carbon Ridley Astr.
However I’ve the sensation that it’ll ship virtually precisely in addition to its RS massive sibling. The aero shaping is identical. The geometry is identical. And the tire clearance is identical. So, if I have been seeking to construct up a brand new carbon gravel race bike and I didn’t have an additional few thousand euros to burn (I don’t), I’d give the common Astr a tough look. Whereas the Ridley Astr RS appears nice, it virtually makes the worth of the Ridley Astr appear even higher by comparability.
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