Ridley

Orion/Shimano 105 Complete Bike

Don't be fooled by the low price of the Ridley Orion/Shimano 105 Complete Bike. High tech frame details, a smart component spec, and a ride quality that traces right back to their ProTour-level Damocles and Excalibur frames make it more than just a great value.

The Orion has an oversized, semi-round/semi-square downtube with a reinforced bottom bracket to maximize stiffness and power transfer. It's reminiscent in our minds of the "Squoval" tubing on the Cervélo R3 -- it's rounded boxy shape is difficult to explain in words, but is directly correlated to its resistance to torsional and lateral flex. It's no different from the Helium, Noah, Damocles, and Excalibur: The Orion is a pure race bike, and it's at home in any conditions -- flat or hilly, smooth roads or jarring. And not unlike the Excalibur, Ridley built the Orion to deliver the sort of compliant ride that's nice on sub-2 hour rides, but absolutely necessary when you're out for 4+ hours. You can rest assured its stiffness under power doesn't make it a jackhammer on chip and seal roads.

Also like other Ridley frames raced in the ProTour, the Orion is built as a monocoque. This one-piece construction method allows greater quality control and a lighter final structure. It's made from 24-ton carbon fiber. By definition, it has a tensile strength of 24 tons per square cm. It's less expensive than the 30-ton and 40-ton carbon used in the Damocles and Noah so that means they have to use a bit more of it to achieve the intended stiffness and strength. However, the Orion foregoes a 3K weave cosmetic layer of carbon, instead it's all unidirectional fabric and is simply painted. All that to say, the Orion weighs in within 100 grams of the Damocles and costs an astonishing 40% less.

Shimano's venerable 105 group handles all the drivetrain duties with the exception of an FSA Gossamer 34/50 compact crankset. For the rest of the build, Ridley's own 4ZA components make up the bulk of it. The 4ZA Stratos alloy bar and stem are a great complement to the 4ZA R-Blade carbon/aluminum fork to create a steering feel that inspires confidence at speed. And in keeping with that theme, the Fulcrum Racing 7 wheels are light enough to race on, yet tough enough to handle any roads you'll encounter. They're shod with Vittoria Rubino Pro II 23c tires.

The Ridley Orion/Shimano 105 Complete Bike is available in Black/red/white and Matte Black/white and comes in six sizes from XX-Small to X-Large. Given its sloping geometry, we strongly suggest that you focus on the virtual top tube length as you make a determination of the proper size. It uses an integrated 1-1/8" headset, a 31.6mm seatpost, an English bottom bracket, and a 34.9mm clamp-on front derailleur.