Helium SL 10 SRAM Red 22 Complete Road Bike - 2015
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Shop Similar ProductsSimple nobility.
Helium is a noble element, which is the purest, simplest form of matter that you can get without breaking down into subatomic particles. So it's appropriate that, for the Helium SL 10 Complete Road Bike, Ridley opted for a simple, traditional, and proven kit with just a sprinkling of new pieces of tech that are actually effective enough to warrant their inclusion. No marketing gimmickry here, just stuff that works and that's been proven to work. Like its noble namesake, the Helium SL isn't interested in participating in the chemical reactions of passing fads, and it will continue to shrug off the hype-machine's products du jour for years to come.
Helium is also light. Really light. And Ridley didn't forget that while designing the frameset that bears its name. The Helium SL frame and fork are an astonishing 1050 grams — that's around 170 grams lighter than most other big-name brands pro frames and 200 grams lighter than the regular Helium. This was achieved through the use of a sophisticated carbon selection, utilizing a strategic placement of unidirectional 60, 40, and 30-ton high-modulus carbon fiber, whereas the Helium only uses 30. The SL also incorporates a nano resin to improve the compatibility of the resin and carbon, which decreases weight and increases durability.
While we were building the bike, we found ourselves questioning the strange seatstays and seatposts that have become all the rage in bicycle "innovation." The seatstays, which are simple, slightly flattened tubes, combine with the traditional 27.2 seatpost for a compliant ride by devouring road noise and bumps like Helium's halogen cousins gobble up other molecules' electrons.
We're also enamored with the Helium's thoughtful blend of internal and external cable routing. The brake cables, which undergo some contortions without getting down near the grime-collecting drivetrain to get where they're headed, are left out in the open for ease of installment and maintenance. The derailleur cables, which travel dangerously close to the drivetrain and are therefore more susceptible to collecting debris, are routed internally — but it's a straight shot. No tricky bends or silly, internal tube shapes that you have to guess at in order to get the cables through.
Many complete bike kits skimp on the wheels, but not the Helium SL. The included Zipp 202 Firecrest Clinchers are still the ideal choice for a carbon wheel, whether they're your first pair or your twenty-first. Zipp sits near the top of carbon wheel manufacturers in the cycling industry because they largely built that category, and the 202s benefit from all the stress testing, braking refinement, and aerodynamic research that many of the younger companies (who burst onto the scene, are in vogue for a few seasons, and then fade into obscurity) lack. The 202s' tech is impressive, but suffice it to say that they're the most stable, predictable, and neutral rim in its speed weaponry arsenal — a true do-it-all rim.
Except for the KMC X11 chain, the drivetrain is entirely composed of SRAM's pain-free, Pro-Tour level, 11-speed Red 22 group. At the heart of the groupset is a surprising article, the oft-overlooked front derailleur. The new Red Derailleur is designed to rotate — like an airplane — along its axis in conjunction with your shifts, preserving an optimal angular alignment with the chain at all times, no matter your gear combination. The Red 22 crank also enjoys some improvements, including burlier crankarms that are truly hollow (no more foam core stuffing) and use less material.
The Helium SL's build is rounded off with 4ZA Cirrus Pro carbon bars and seatpost, and the Cirrus Pro saddle has carbon rails. The stem is also Cirrus Pro, but made from 7075-T6 aluminum, which 4ZA determined makes for the best balance of strength to weight. Even the tires are top-notch, with Ridley opting for Continental's superlative GrandPrix 4000 II clinchers.
The 2015 Ridley Helium SL 10 Complete Road Bike is available in five sizes ranging from X-Small to X-large in the color Grey/red.
- Frame Material
- 60T, 40T, 30T high-modulus carbon fiber
- Fork
- 4ZA Carbon
- Fork Material
- 30T carbon fiber
- Headset
- 1-1/8 x 1-1/4 tapered
- Shifters
- SRAM Red 22
- Front Derailleur
- SRAM Red 22
- Rear Derailleur
- SRAM Red 22
- Crankset
- 52 / 36 t SRAM Red 22
- Bottom Bracket
- PF30
- Cassette
- 11 - 26 t Sram Red XG-1190
- Chain
- KMC X11
- Handlebar
- 4ZA Cirrus Pro Carbon
- Stem
- 4ZA Cirrus Pro
- Saddle
- 4ZA Cirrus Pro carbon rail
- Seatpost
- 4ZA Cirrus Pro Carbon 27.2 x 350mm
- Wheelset
- Zipp 202 Firecrest Clincher
- Tires
- Continental Grand Prix 4000S II
- Tire Size
- 700 x 23
- Pedals
- not included
- Recommended Use
- road race
- Manufacturer Warranty
- 5 years
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