Ridley

X-Night Disc 105 HD Cyclocross Bike

You have 3 different embrocation formulas depending on the weather conditions, 4 sets of tubular wheelsets on the ready if the heavens let loose, and an assortment of cowbells. If you spend your weekends racing through mud, up stairs, and over barriers and as soon as the racing is over, you can't wait to do it again, you're addicted to 'cross. Well, you should grab up the X-Night Disc 105 HD Complete Cyclocross Bike from Ridley just as quickly as a cold one on the other side of the tape. Straight from the heart of Belgium, the spiritual home of cyclocross where some of the most revered races play out, comes a bike from a company that understands your passion.

The X-Night has several World Cyclocross Championship titles to its name and while medals and trophies don't tell the whole story, it sure speaks volumes to the consistency the brand has with the X-Night. Using 24-ton high modulus carbon fiber, Ridley is able to construct a cyclocross frame that enjoys the light weight and stiffness of its road frames and with such strong carbon, it's able to make the frame more durable while reducing its mass. The frame is built stout to transfer every watt of energy into forward prolusion, but it did add such comfort enhancing features as a 27.2mm diameter seatpost. Additionally, every tube, from its seatstays, top tube, and down tube, is slimmed down to help reduce a jarring ride while you're cross-eyed in a lactic acid induced haze. While not quite as light as the firm's range-topping SL model, the standard X-Night still comes in a tick over 1kg, a mark that was mighty impressive on road bikes not too long ago. The geometry still reflects the geometry honed over courses filled with ankle-deep mud, off-camber slopes, and plenty of twists and turns. Compared to bikes with more "American" 'cross numbers, the X-Night possesses a slightly taller bottom bracket, encouraging more pedaling and fewer pedal strikes, a shorter toptube for more responsive, agile, and nimble handling and a lower head tube for an aggressive cockpit position.

Disc brakes are so common for 'cross, offering more power and better modulation, that it hardly requires a mention but we'd like to point out a few of Ridley's details. Its full-carbon fork X-Night SL fork is tapered 1-1/8 x 1.5in and uses a reinforced lower leg to brace against the extra torsion experienced with using the discs. Ridley even went so far as to add stainless steel plates near the dropouts to prevent wear and tear from rotors during frantic mid-race wheel swaps.

This X-Night is built up with Shimano 105 components, renowned for its durability and value. Although heavier than the Dura-Ace and Ultegra, it's the workhorse of the Shimano line and won't hurt the wallet as much if you damage something in a crash or an hour long mud bath. The option of a double chainring and wide range cassette gives you plenty of option on fast starts as well as off-season gravel adventures. Final details include internal cabling routing for cleaner lines and one less thing to catch or snag on your way to the top.