Ridley has launched a brand new gravel race bike today in the form of the Kanzo Fast 2.0
The bike is an aero-focused gravel race machine, with very large tyre clearances. Ridley has joined the brands that are reacting to the rising speeds and aerodynamic requirements and, dare we say it, trends within competitive gravel racing right now.
The Kanzo model has been in the Ridley range for some years, first launching back in 2020. It currently exists in adventure and race-specific forms; this new 2.0 bike sees it join the latest crop of the best gravel race bikes with big tyre clearances.
We spotted this bike in prototype form back in April at the Traka, along with a host of other gravel race bikes like the Argon 18 Anti Matter and a prototype Canyon Grail. Its mean looking silhouette set tongues wagging at the time, and we have been looking forward to receiving more details on it.
A new Kanzo era
Here's what Ridley has to say on the Kanzo Fast 2.0;
"A gravel race bike designed to deliver maximum speed on fast and demanding courses, while giving riders the freedom to choose the tyre setup that best matches the terrain and conditions."
Aero is clearly a consideration the headtube is much deeper than the current Kanzo or the Astr model from Ridley, and is comparable to the Noah Fast aero road model. This theme continues through the bike with deep, agressive tube profiles on show.
Tyre clearance for the new bike is 58mm or a 29x2.3" mtb tyre. A healthy increase from the current Kanzo's 42mm number, and more than the Ridley Astr RS's 52mm. The frame itself is also said to be 150 grams lighter than the previous Kanzo Fast.
Big tyre clearance is a must right now for new gravel race bikes being launched, and Ridley certainly seems on board with that thinking. The 58mm number is a little curious; a lot of bikes have 57mm clearance now. That extra 1mm isn't really going to open up any new tyre options, but it should give a little more clearance with big tyres fitted, and of course a wide range of options, both big and small, are available to a rider with this kind of clearance. It is also the largest we can see on the market currently, beating the likes of the Allied Able and Lauf Seigla by a single milimetre.
That 58mm clearance drew my eye; it feels a little unusual. I asked Ridley if there was any particular significance to it; could it be a simple 'one more than the competition' thing?
The brand told me it prefers working with even numbers in its frame design and that they are easier to work with. Relevant ISO clearance (4mm) is also an even number, and 58 is the next even number up from 57mm.
There is also updated geometry; the bottom bracket has been lowered and fork rake adjusted to deal with the large tyres the bike will be used with, the seat tube angle steepened, and Ridley cites the need to keep the chainstays as short as possible to maintain a racy feel.
To compare the 2.0 with the outgoing Kanzo Fast, the new bike in a size medium has a stack of 585 and a reach of 408. The same size in the current bike has a stack number of 587 and a reach of 385. The 2.0 is both lower and longer.
Aero credentials
Ridley says 'aero efficiency has been improved' and the brand has been to the wind tunnel, likely its own; the brand enjoys the use of a wind tunnel at its bike Valley location in Belgium.
We have some top-line testing numbers from the brand. As is often the case, it's hard for a brand to package up comprehensive aero testing into a compact press release, but we have some numbers, and some claims.
The new Kanzo is said to be 2 watts faster than its predecessor in bike-only testing and 13 watts faster in bike and rider testing. The testing setup included identical wheels and 38mm Vittoria Terreno Dry tyres. The bikes had two bottle cages and bottles fitted.
Ridley claims a 38mm tyre created 6 less watts aero drag than a 55mm tyre. That's with Vittoria tyres fitted to the 4ZA Skiron wheels. However, the brand acknowledges that the rolling resistance reduction on rough ground will offset the aero loss. We came to the same conclusion in our CN Labs tyre testing.
Tunnel results come from a weighted average over a -12 to 12 degree yaw sweep with a rider on, and a -18 to 18 yaw sweep for the bike only testing. All of the Ridley testing was conducted at 36km/h, which is generally regarded as being in line with gravel race speeds.
Frame details and features
The Kanzo Fast 2.0 has internal frame storage in the downtube; two padded pouches will allow riders to store the essentials.
There are also a pair of top tube mount points for riders to mount a top tube bag.
The frame is designed around 1x electronic groupsets and can accommodate up to a 56-tooth chainring, which in part facilitates the generous tyre clearance.
Mudguards can also be fitted to the bike; a bespoke mudguard system has been designed with Belgian brand Curana.
The Nimbus Pro cockpit sounds like it will only come in one size, with a 36cm width at the tops, widening to a 40cm size at the drops.
The 1350-gram Forza Skiron RS wheels which the full bike builds come with feature 50mm deep rims, with a 27mm internal width hookless rim. Vonoa carbon spokes are used, and the wheels will have CeramicSpeed bearings. Whilst they aren't the most widely known wheels, it sounds like they possess a competitive overall specification.
Pricing and specs
The bike will be available as a frameset and in three full builds. What we don't currently have is bike build weights, but we do know it will be possible to customise bikes on the Ridley online custom configurator.
The frameset will cost €4,499 and includes frame, fork, Deda aero seapost, 4ZA Nimbus cockpit and CeramicSpeed SLT headset bearings.
Three builds centred around three SRAM XPLR gravel groupsets, a popular build option right now, are available.
The top-spec SRAM Red XPLR bike will come with DT Swiss GRC14000 DICUT wheels and a 4ZA Nimbus Pro cockpit; it will carry an RRP of €11,699
The Force XPLR bike comes in at €6,499 with Forza Skiron wheels and the same integrated handlebar as the Red-equipped bike.
Finally, the Rival XPLR bike comes in at €5,499 with Forza Skiron GC40 wheels and a Cirrcus Pro cockpit.
