Ridley’s manufacturing unit staff racers have been torn between choosing 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 totally 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 turned the right alternative for anybody trying 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 one of these mixed-surface driving & racing on cyclocross bikes for the reason that model debuted in 2000. So why did they want an all-new gravel race bike?
Nicely, it appears gravel racing retains getting gnarlier. And the professional riders on the Categorized Ridley Manufacturing unit Workforce merely demanded fatter tires to tackle these rougher programs. They already had a Kanzo Adv, however they needed 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 & modern 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 most likely 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 need to imply gradual dealing with geometry.
Combining massive tires, 2x, and aerodynamics was the true trick to maintain the race-ready dealing with really feel. Ridley managed to maintain the identical brief 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 experience top of the bigger quantity tires.
Weight stability is a shade increased than the Quick – +3.5-5mm for taller tires, then -2mm from the additional BB drop. However Ridley additionally shortened headtube heights and managed to convey 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
- obtainable in 5 inventory sizes (XS-XL)
- 1x with aero Wolf Tooth chainguide or 2x appropriate 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 inner cable routing by means 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 authorised
First Experience Impressions
Keep tuned for a deeper dive into this new bike, however in just some phrases I’d say that I used to be shocked how fast the brand new Ridley Astr RS felt as soon as I hopped on it. Even on massive quantity tires, with loads of room for extra. And completely satisfied to say that it disappeared beneath me so rapidly.
Numerous 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 driving it as my common gravel bike if you simply need to head out for a weekend spin with buddies. 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 normal hi-mod carbon frameset.
You merely add round 200g in additional carbon to save cash. And on the identical time you add full 1x/2x mechanical compatibility, and likewise get the additional advantage of an everyday 27.2mm spherical seatpost. Certain, 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 normal carbon Astr framesets from simply 2300€, imply a variety of worth there.
Ridley Astr RS – Pricing, choices & availability
The brand new Ridley Astr RS and Astr are formally mannequin 12 months 2025 bikes, however can be found to customise on-line or pre-order now by way of your native bike store. Order now and Ridley says it’s best to obtain the bike by the top of the month in most markets. And if you wish to attempt one out now, Ridley has a take a look at fleet of the brand new Astr RS gravel race bikes readily 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, by way of their on-line configurator. Decide the design scheme you need, your favourite colours, and your ideally suited 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 staff duplicate 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 Power 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 Purple 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.
