Ridley

Excalibur - 2012

The Excalibur is Ridley's best-selling race frame for good reason. Some of it is self-evident: At 1100 grams, it's second only to the Helium in Ridley's spectrum of lightness. This is because the Helium uses higher grade carbon fiber (and therefore less of it) netting a lower weight, while the Excalibur relies on 24 ton material with 30 ton reinforcements in the high stress areas of the frame. This is where the cost savings are derived, but don't think that you'll sacrifice stiffness or performance one bit. And, like the Helium, the Excalibur utilizes full carbon dropouts and head tube to reduce weight even further.

Unlike the triangulated "Sharp Edge Design" you find on the Damocles, or the super-aero tubes of the Noah, the Excalibur is built with oversized round tubes. Here's a good tip: If you're interested in assessing the likely torsional stiffness of a frame without eve riding it, inspect the girth of its tubing and junctures -- larger diameter tubes resist deflection better than small. Then take a long look at the headtube/down tube juncture and the down tube/BB juncture of the Excalibur and utter a big "WOW." You'll verify this stiffness under power on the first ride as the Excalibur leaps with every pedal stroke.

While you might look at the Excalibur and think it's a mere kermesse bike -- the sort of "grip it and rip it" rocketship suited for little more than the warp speed circuit races so popular throughout Ridley's homeland of Belgium, think again. It was the team bike of the UCI Continental Pro Team Unibet. Unibet riders cracked the top-20 in 6+ hour epics such as the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix, as well as a host of other rough-and-tumble spring classics on the worst roads of Belgium and northern France. Team Unibet knew the secret of the Excalibur: Its oversized tubing gives it top fuel racer-like acceleration and resistance to flex, but it won't brutalize you when you head out the door for a 5-hour cruise in your 53x19.

You'll be hard-pressed to find another carbon bike in the Excalibur's price class built with such care (both structural and aesthetic), with similar lightness, durability, smoothness and with anything even closely resembling its pro pedigree. It's a thoroughbred that has many of the markings of framesets priced well above it.

The Ridley Excalibur is available in White/black and comes in five sizes from X-Small to X-Large. Given its compact geometry, we strongly suggest that you focus on the effective top tube length as you make a determination of the proper size. The frame comes with a painted-to-match Ridley 4ZA Excalibur monocoque full carbon fiber fork and a proprietary FSA integrated headset. It requires a 31.6mm seatpost, an English bottom bracket, and a 34.9mm front derailleur.

• Curved, wafer-thin seat stays soften up rough cobblestones or gravel fire roads on your 'epic' rides
  
• Carbon fiber dropouts and steerer tube shave excess weight