Ridley

X-Ride 30 Disc 105 Complete Cyclocross Bike - 2016

One sunny late summer day, the local cyclocross series schedule pops up as you scroll through your newsfeed and piques your interest. It looks a bit like someone took a criterium, mixed it with steeplechase, and plopped the course in the middle of a park. So you decide to check out this ridiculous fun, but need a bike to handle the dirt. Look no further than the 2016 Ridley X-Ride 30 Disc 105 Complete Cyclocross Bike. It brings everything you need to throw down on the cross course with a price tag that won't break the bank.

The X-Ride is fashioned from stiff, triple-butted 7005-T6 alloy with seatstays shaped to mop up energy-zapping vibrations out on the course. Ridley incorporates internal cable routing along the frame for crisp, clean lines that eliminate annoying cable pinches when shouldering the bike on a steep run-up or grabbing the top tube to navigate a set of barriers. Race-driven geometry means this bike is roaring to go fast, and the ample clearance for mud-caked tires helps you maintain that speed when the going gets sloggy.

The 2016 X-Ride comes outfitted with the same Oryx Disc carbon fiber fork found on Ridley's full-carbon X-Night series of cyclocross bikes for a plush ride every time you clip in. It boasts a 15mm thru axle for a super solid ride, with a barely perceptible asymmetry that counters the torsional forces applied to the left fork leg during braking, reducing flex and promoting a longer fork life. You'll find stainless steel inserts in the dropouts that protect the carbon from damage, and a scuff plate affixed to the inner left fork leg fends off errant discs during hurried wheel changes to reduce gouging and scratching.

Ridley completes the X-Ride 30 Disc build with an impressively smooth Shimano 105 11-speed drivetrain and TRP Spyre C Mechanical Disc braking system. 105 features trickle-down technology from the top-line Dura-Ace and Ultegra groups for reliable, precise gear shifts that combine with its famed workhorse durability for an ideal 'cross group. The FSA Gossamer MegaExo crankset holds 46 and 36t chainrings, working in harmony with a Shimano 105 11-28t cassette to provide a massive range of 'cross-specific gear choices. A 4ZA cockpit controls the ride, with a set of Fulcrum Racing Sport DB wheels wrapped in Challenge Grifo Plus tires to keep you rolling fast across the line.