Ridley

Liz Carbon Road Bike Frameset - 2016

Hearing the words "women's specific frame" often brings to mind the worst side of pink-and-shrink with lesser materials and a reliance on the ever persistent myth that there's a consistent difference in torso to leg proportions across genders. Thankfully, there are a few companies out there getting it right with bike offerings like the 2016 Ridley Liz Carbon Road Bike Frameset. Featuring the same carbon construction and mirroring the geometry of Ridley's versatile Fenix, the Liz lands as a different colorway option for riders of all genders and lets you build up your dream bike with touch points that best fit your frame. As such, it inherits the Fenix's jack-of-all trades personality to adeptly handle epic gran fondos, hard-charging midweek group rides, and long Sunday socials through the vineyards with a blend of long-mile comfort and snappy responsiveness no matter where the road takes you.

The Liz is built from the same 24t high-modulus carbon fiber as the Fenix, a move that we can't applaud enough in an industry rife with examples of shrink, pink, and downgrade when it comes to women-specific fare. It's a layup that delivers a rare combination of long-mile comfort and criterium-worthy stiffness in a lightweight package that soars when the road turns skyward.

Ridley maintains the plush ride in a light, stiff as a result of a few design choices. These include narrow, flat-section seat stays that absorb power-sucking road noise while maintaining lateral stiffness. The flat, curved top tube serves as a leaf spring of sorts that works in conjunction with the seatstays for a net result of system-wide vibration damping and compliance for a more forgiving ride across everything from rural chip seal to the jarring stones of Belgium.

The top tube and down tube utilize a unique multi-hexagonal shape, which is undoubtedly partially responsible for the Liz SL's torsional rigidity and responsiveness. At the front, Ridley utilizes a tapered head tube that makes for increased stiffness while torqueing on the bars and exceptional handling and cornering capabilities while sweeping through descents or diving through the final turn before a finish sprint.

For an extra dose of stiffness, Ridley opts for a beefy PressFit 30 shell. The wide bottom bracket shell anchors the oversized drive spine, solidly transferring every bit of power to the drivetrain without any watt-sucking lateral movement. While this frame isn't billed as specifically aerodynamic, it does boast an integrated fork crown for a smooth transition between the head tube and fork that at least offers the appearance of aerodynamics. You'll enjoy some drag-reduction benefits over frames without the integrated fork crown, and it just plain looks cleaner.

Please note that Ridley recommends a maximum rider weight of 209.5 lbs (95kg) for the Liz.