The renamed Criterium du Dauphine has been a feast of new bikes this year and amongst the throngs of aero bikes, Ridley appears to have given its lightweight Falcn RS some much needed updates.
Already in use at the women’s Giro d’Italia, the Falcn RS is a bike that we haven’t seen too much of in pro races. Riders tend to favour the more aero Noah Fast, though since the latter became such a focused aero bike, it hasn’t been best suited for the high mountain days.
At the start of the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes’ first stage, a bike clearly marked as a prototype was easily identifiable in front of the UNO-X team bus.
The new bike looks to have some small revisions over the existing design with a slightly more profiled design around the head tube, presumably for aero savings.
The most notable change, however, is the space inside the fork. Tyre clearance stands at 34mm currently and when speaking to the UNO-X mechanics (a lovely bunch) prior to stage one, they said they were unsure of the upper limit of tyre size.
I also asked about the weight of the bike, an important metric given the bike’s lightweight focus. The mechanics cryptically told me that it wasn’t too difficult for them to trouble the UCI’s 6.8kg minimum weight limit.
When we see the bike launch, presumably some time later this year, it’ll be interesting to compare it to the Specialized Aethos, another lightweight machine.
The bike of Torstein Træen had an interesting setup choice at the cranks. 167.5mm is not a length that we commonly see, either on pro bikes or on consumer models.
He also had a set of Sram Blips on the inside of his drops for easier gear changes when tucked down.
His Deda Nimbus Pro one piece bar features a gentle flare to the drops.
On the front of this, the lightweight theme continues with a skinny 3D-printed computer mount.
(Image Credit: Liam Cahill)This is, however, nothing compared to the lovely custom team design that you’ll find on the Noah Fast.
1 thought on “Ridley isn’t done with climbing bikes – new lightweight prototype spotted at the Dauphine”
“The bike may be a faster version of the Aethos.” Odd phrasing – makes it sound like they’re from the same stable.