"Pushing the limits of UCI regulations": Ridley officially unveils new Noah Fast aero road bike claiming 8.5 watts of speed savings

It's been no secret that the Uno-X team has switched from Dare to Ridley bikes for the 2025 season, and after images of their riders emerged testing an unreleased frame, the release of the latest generation of the Noah Fast aero bike hasn't been much of a secret either. What we do now have is some rather bold claims from the Belgian manufacturer, boasting that its new flagship aero road bike can save you 8.5 watts per hour vs the outgoing model. It also features a Universal Derailleur Hanger (UDH), which should theoretically make finding a replacement hanger less of a headache. 

In a world where many brands are producing bikes that look almost identical, and races are being won by a matter of centimetres, you don't need us to tell you that 8.5 watts is significant, even if the claimed savings are made at a speed - 50km/h - that most of us won't be able to sustain for very long at all unless we're going downhill.

Looking at the frame shapes though, it's immediately clear that the new Noah Fast looks to be very much a 'pure' aero bike - so much so that the head tube looks like it's been borrowed from a time trial bike. 

We've seen brands like Pinarello and Canyon take advantage of the UCI's relaxation of head tube depth with the latest Dogma F and Aeroad. Ridley, however, appears to have fully embraced this opportunity, admitting that this latest bike is "pushing the limits of UCI regulations".

The press release claims that "in 2025, aerodynamics is everything", and it's easy to see how this has influenced the tube shapes. For example, the fork and seat stays look to be extremely narrow and bladed, something that Ridley says is now possible thanks to the UCI's switch to the 8:1 rule, allowing tubes to be eight times longer than their width, whereas previously it was 3:1. 

According to the brand, the oversized downtube is designed to channel airflow around water bottles, a feature increasingly common in modern aero bikes. Similar design elements can be seen on models like the Dogma F and the BMC Teammachine R.

> Best aero road bikes

The third generation of the Noah Fast also gets a new Nimbus Aero Cockpit, specifically designed for this model. It aims to strike a balance between aerodynamics and comfort, featuring flared drops. This means the handlebars are wider at the drops than at the hoods, an increasingly popular design choice.

Aero bikes of old tended to be limiting when it came to comfort and tyre clearance, but the latest Noah Fast can fit 34mm tyres, which makes it one of the most spacious in the pro peloton. This trend of increasing tyre clearance has been growing across all bike genres in recent years. However, it raises the question: how much more tyre clearance does a race bike truly need? Will manufacturers stop at 34mm?  

Like us, you might be wondering what all this carbon fibre weighs. Well, Ridley appears so focused on aerodynamics that it hasn’t provided any weight detaills (a deliberate choice, we wonder?) Either way, it certainly doesn’t seem likely to challenge the UCI's 6.8kg weight limit.

UDH (Universal Derailleur Hanger)

The new Noah and Noah Fast join a small but growing list of road bikes that use the increasingly popular UDH system. Ridley claims this system is compatible with all modern shifting groups, while also offering added protection against derailleur breakage and chain drops. 

> What is UDH and is it the future of all bikes?

We've seen this standard gain traction in the MTB and gravel sectors, and it appears that road bikes are following suit, with early adopters including the Trek Madone.

Geometry

One of the more intriguing features of this launch is the bike's geometry, despite geometry not always being the most exciting of topics.

Ridley explains, "through years of sponsoring road cycling, Ridley observed a gradual shift in rider bike fits toward a more forward position. Based on this data, engineers determined that a seat tube angle of 76 degrees aligns with the median."

A 76-degree seat tube angle is quite steep. For comparison, race bikes like the Specialized Tarmac SL8 feature a 74-degree seat tube angle on the 52cm and 54cm size bikes (with even shallower angles on larger frames), and the Cannondale Supersix LAB71 follows a similar trend, averaging around 74 degrees across its sizes.

Ridley says this steeper seat tube angle "accommodates the riders’ growing preference for an open hip angle, improving power transfer." This decision is likely based on data from the pros, so we'll be interested to find out if the extreme angles could limit the bike's usability for amateur cyclists. 

Ridley also says that a lower bottom bracket compensates for the wider tyres used in modern cycling, and finally, the lower headtube, combined with an integrated cockpit, is said to allow the rider to adopt a more aggressive aerodynamic position, reducing frontal area.

Pricing and availability 

The Noah Fast is available as a frameset or in standard builds, offered in matte black, red and purple, and sizes XXS to L (see below). It's also customisable using Ridley's online configurator. You can choose the colours and pick the groupset, components, wheels, tyres, saddle and accessories.

The configurations and pricing are as follows:

• Frameset £4,999
• Shimano Ultegra Di2 £7,999
• SRAM Force AXS £8,499
• Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 £10,499
• SRAM Red AXS £11,399

Ridley has also introduced the Noah 3, which the brand claims "offers all the benefits of the Noah Fast at a lower price point". It shares the same geometry but features a different carbon lay-up and an alternative integrated cockpit.

The Noah 3 is capable of taking both electronic and mechanical groupsets, unlike the Noah Fast which is electronic only.  

There's no frameset option available, and the stock builds come in grey, white, or naked carbon. The pricing is as follows:

• Shimano 105 mechanical £3,899
• Shimano 105 Di2 £4,599
• SRAM Rival AXS £5,499
• Shimano Ultegra Di2 £5,999
• SRAM Force AXS £6,399
• Classified Rival AXS £6,799

The full information and spec options can be viewed on Ridley's website.

Just like with the recently released Colnago Y1Rs, there's no doubt who this bike has been designed for: Ridley's sponsored pro cyclists. The third generation Noah Fast looks to be an unwavering and unapologetic attack on aerodynamics. In fact, there's very little mention of comfort in the press release. 

We've requested one to test to see if we can benefit from those big claims too...

Let us know what you think of the new Ridley Noah Fast in the comments section below.