Ridley’s Astr RS is a lighter, quicker, 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 joyful to journey as my go-to for informal gravel driving, too. I’ve examined a variety of 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 prime in my e book.
It’s considerably lighter, far more versatile, and probably 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
Categorised Ridley Manufacturing facility Group racers demanded a extra succesful gravel race bike for more durable races like Unbound, Traka, Badlands, The Rift & extra the place quick intense racing will get blended up with rougher terrain. They needed all of the aerodynamic positive aspects, 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, identical to on Ridley’s Falcn RS aero highway race bike
- as much as 52mm extensive 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
Need to get the total breakdown of all the things 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 journey?
Using Impressions: Quicker on fatter tires
It’s a light-weight race bike, so I shouldn’t have actually been shocked 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 & sluggish, and that you just solely actually need huge tire quantity for backcountry adventures or driving gravel bikes on mountain bike trails.
However identical 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, greater quantity tires meant I might run decrease pressures to easy out even easy gravel roads. They meant I elevated grip in sandy and free gravel corners. And when the gravel roads acquired tough, I merely didn’t must decelerate to really feel like I used to be nonetheless in management.
Race Geometry Evaluation: Tweaked for taller tires
And whereas huge 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 on top of things. 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 velocity and cornering. However because the axles are already sitting about 7mm increased off the bottom than the Kanzo Quick due to greater tires, weight steadiness remains to be a bit increased right here. So, it’s extra the longer entrance middle / enhance in total wheelbase that enhances stability, since it seems that the Astr has extra fork rake to offset the in any other case longer fork Path that comes from greater, taller tires.
The bonus counterpoint to the elevated backside bracket peak, 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 doubtless would have reduce one other cm off the steerer tube if it was my private bike.
Using Evaluation: A quick, however versatile all-rounder gravel race bike
Plenty 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 seems to be so much 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 far more steady and comfy to manage.
It’s a noticeably extra impartial dealing with really feel that form of simply disappears beneath you in a great way. Simply pedal and go.
Sure, this can be a race bike. And an costly one at that. However it could even be a terrific 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 may put the hammer down.
Weighing the Professionals & Cons
➕ Large 52mm tire clearance means you may 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 out there now that going wider is a a lot simpler determination to make.
➕ It’s onerous to argue with lightness on a motorcycle that you just’ll be continuously accelerating – whether or not up steep terrain, or simply getting again on top of things after a tough part of gravel. At 890g (claimed) for the body and an actual 7.84kg for the whole medium SRAM Crimson bike with a powermeter with out pedals (8.24kg with my Eggbeaters and a bolt-on toptube bag), this in an undeniably gentle feeling journey.
➕ The identical goes for aerodynamics. Do we’d like all gravel bikes to be aero? In fact not. But when you will get even small incremental aero positive aspects with out sacrificing consolation or weight, I’m 100% on board. No less than the free watts would possibly offset the marginally wider tire profile into the wind.
➖ However, the excessive worth is admittedly onerous to bear right here. With a frameset promoting for 5000€ and the most affordable full bikes from 7300€, there merely are many far more reasonably priced gravel bikes which might be nonetheless race-ready.
➖ The dearth of mechanical drivetrain compatibility is a foul factor in my e book. Name me a luddite, if you would like. Certain, the bike world is trending digital and wi-fi. And UDH is sweet. However I want 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 need to enterprise a bit off the overwhelmed monitor. Plus, you may 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 just 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 just a extra logical alternative, until you may have a vast finances.
➖ 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 extensive 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 must be a minus, as a result of…
➕ Ridley’s on-line customized configurator device makes it simple to get the bike arrange such as you need. Patrons can select their splendid crank size, chainring measurement, and importantly the perfect handlebar match for them. The 4ZA Cirrus Professional built-in cockpit on this bike additionally is available in a flared model that I would like. And have been I to purchase this bike I might decide the right 90mm stem, 380mm extensive on the hoods, 440mm extensive 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 resolution 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 slim headtube and clear seems to be as soon as all the things is in place. But it surely’s a mechanic’s nightmare to get all the things arrange with so little additional room to work in, and even altering bar peak is a tough drawback to unravel with little room for error.
➕ Customized colours are a good way to make your bike distinctive, too! Should you preserve the usual design, choosing your favourite from 37 single colours doesn’t even value any extra. Or for 400-700€ extra you will 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. Individuals in search of 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 advocate the Win Wing!)
Parting ideas on the Ridley Astr RS gravel race bike
There are a variety of ups and downs once I dive into what I like and dislike in regards to the new Ridley Astr RS. However I really feel like the one one subject that sticks in my thoughts is that worth. Should you can abdomen the price, that is absolutely among the finest gravel race bikes you should purchase in the intervening time. It feels quick. It feels snug. And it’s simply as joyful taking it simple on informal rides with buddies, as it’s if you find yourself driving all-out as quick as your legs & lungs will enable.
Now, I preface this closing assertion with the truth that I’ve NOT really ridden the far more reasonably priced commonplace hi-mod carbon Ridley Astr.
However I’ve the sensation that it’ll ship nearly precisely in addition to its RS huge sibling. The aero shaping is similar. The geometry is similar. And the tire clearance is similar. So, if I have been trying 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 seems to be nice, it nearly makes the worth of the Ridley Astr appear even higher by comparability.
